[Basmastersix]

Hi everyone,

I am back today with a question regarding a friends computer that I just recently fixed. I reinstalled a fresh copy of Windows 7 64 Bit on the machine, and everything on the PC works fine and dandy, except for his internet...

And both of us + Comcast cannot figure out what the problem is exactly, so I come to all of you guys for your expert advice and guidance!

Here is the problem:

(Local area connection) doesn't have a valid IP configuration ... And when we run the Windows troubleshooter, it fails every time.

In trying to resolve this problem I have:

Personally trolled countless technical forums, the Microsoft website, and other online sources for help. But none of the suggestions have helped us.

In addition, my friend sat on the phone with a Comcast (his ISP) technician for about 3 hours total on Friday. But they were unable to figure out what was wrong.

As a side note, this is the motherboard he is using:

Motherboard: Asus M2N-E Motherboard

And the network adapter that is built into this motherboard is: NVIDIA nForce® 570 Ultra™ MCP built-in Gigabit MAC with external Marvell PHY

*** I installed the latest driver for this adapter on his machine, which I got directly from the Nvidia website. (This is the driver: Nvidia nForce 570 Ultra Driver)

Also, to give you further information, here is his "ipconfig" from command prompt:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix: This is left blank.
Link-local IPv6 Address: fe80::21eb:9be9:a11:5f24%11
IPv4 Address: 169.254.95.36
Subnet Mask: 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway: This is left blank.

Now, something that raises a red flag to me is the fact that "Connection-specific DNS Suffix" and "Default Gateway" are blank on his machine.

*** One last thing that should be noted: In his "Device Manager," there are 2 "Unknown Devices" (The ones with yellow "!" next to them). ***

The information regarding them is as follows:
_______________________________________________________________________________

Unknown Device:

Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43).

Location Port_#0005.Hub_#0001
______________________________________________________________________________

Unknown Device:

PCI Bus

Code 28.

Hardware IDS: ACPI/ATK0110

*ATK0110
______________________________________________________________________________

I personally am not sure if either of those have anything to do with the network issue, but I figured I would make a mention of them in my initial post.

Anyway, if anyone has any information regarding this issue, I cannot tell you how appreciative my friend and I would be to hear it!

Thank you in advance,

- Basmastersix

Edited by Basmastersix, 02 April 2012 - 02:24 PM.

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Wow, lots of Google links about this lead to no solution or in some cases simple ones. I have done some searching. What I found is below, you have probably seen them all, Just in case though.

Have you tried this:
Open Internet Explorer and go to Tools_Internet Options_Connections(tab). Then hit the LAN Settings button. Make sure that "Automatically Detect Settings" is checked and that nothing else is checked.

Have you seen this,

http://www.sevenforu...-ip-config.html

And

You can manually add the default gateway.

Open Control Panle - Network and Internet - Network and Sharing Center

On the left pane, click Change Adapter settings, right-click Local Area Connection, choose Properties.

Double-click Internet Protocol Version 4, click "Use the following IP address", manually input your Default gateway.

From link below:
http://social.techne...c-26afa6969c82/

Hope something helps, but I have a feeling you have done / seen most of this already.

I have seen some users simply go buy a new network card over this issue.

One more link for you,

http://social.techne...45-69c05e4d0121


Joe

[zep516]

Wow, lots of Google links about this lead to no solution or in some cases simple ones. I have done some searching. What I found is below, you have probably seen them all, Just in case though.

Have you tried this:
Open Internet Explorer and go to Tools_Internet Options_Connections(tab). Then hit the LAN Settings button. Make sure that "Automatically Detect Settings" is checked and that nothing else is checked.

Have you seen this,

http://www.sevenforu...-ip-config.html

And

You can manually add the default gateway.

Open Control Panle - Network and Internet - Network and Sharing Center

On the left pane, click Change Adapter settings, right-click Local Area Connection, choose Properties.

Double-click Internet Protocol Version 4, click "Use the following IP address", manually input your Default gateway.

From link below:
http://social.techne...c-26afa6969c82/

Hope something helps, but I have a feeling you have done / seen most of this already.

I have seen some users simply go buy a new network card over this issue.

One more link for you,

http://social.techne...45-69c05e4d0121


Joe

[Basmastersix]

zep516,

Thank you for your quick response!

Unfortunately everything that you posted, we have already tried. (As you had assumed).

If you, or anyone else has any information that could help us we would greatly appreciate it!

Thank you so much in advance,

- Basmastersix

[zep516]

I know you would like to find out what the issue is and so would I. In the mean time, I'd consider purchasing a network card slipping it in and see if it connects.

I can't believe all the issues with that error I saw!!

One more link I Googled this --->Ethernet Driver (v73.20) WHQL connection issues

http://forums.nvidia...howtopic=155289

Edited by zep516, 02 April 2012 - 10:07 PM.

[Basmastersix]

zep516,

I reviewed the link that you posted, although unfortunately it was of no help to our situation.

My friend, if he has time tomorrow, will be purchasing a network card from Best Buy and installing it in his computer to see if that resolves the issue.

However, while that avenue acts as a quick fix, I personally, as well as you, would like to figure out how to fix this issue normally. Beyond the fix of a new hardware installation.

So, if anyone else has any input Zep516, and I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks again for your help Zep516, and to all those who might help,

- Basmastersix

Edited by Basmastersix, 02 April 2012 - 11:00 PM.

[Troy]

Hello,

First up you need to resolve the Device Manager issues. There should be an ACPI driver available to fix that one up. Also the one that Windows has stopped because it reports problems - is this a USB device? One trick I have used to resolve this before is to right-click on it and uninstall it. After a reboot for some reason Windows is then able to install it correctly. Or perform a BIOS update, then uninstall it from the Device Manager and reboot. These tricks have worked for me on some occasions - all on ASUS motherboards. Either way, do you have the original disc that came with the motherboard, this would be the best option as it should install all device drivers necessary (except for add in cards of course - are there any?). Then after all the original drivers are installed from the disc and the Device Manager is happy you can then update to the latest driver versions as necessary.

Personally the way I see it, once the driver issues are all cleaned up, if the network issue is still persisting you have one of two potential issues (or both haha).

1) The IP address starts with 169.254. - this is known as APIPA. Basically when the computer cannot communicate with a DHCP server it will assign itself an IP address randomly generated with the front being 169.254. Generally it will then find that no other device on the network is using the same IP range and therefore cannot provide any network access - internet included. So are there any other computers that connect the same that are working OK, or does the issue follow to them also? If it follows to them then you have a network setup issue. It could be the DHCP server (most commonly the modem/router which connects to the internet) is not working properly or has been corrupted. Also it possibly has been configured in a manner to only allow certain computers address. Or you are using a faulty network cable.

2) The NIC driver is incorrect and therefore Windows thinks it is properly talking with the NIC. But in actual fact it may not be getting the proper information it needs and so APIPA is the result - because the incorrect driver would be preventing communications with the DHCP server.

Troy

[Basmastersix]

Troy and Zep516,

Thank you both for all of your input on this issue.

My friend went out today and purchased a network card for $20.00 at Best Buy, took it home and installed it. Upon doing this, the problem was resolved!

So, I am not going to bother to much with the network issue anymore, because he told me not to worry about! So with that, I am officially stating that this case is closed.

Thanks again,

- Basmastersix

[mbond65]

He is getting an APIPA address which means the router isn't assigning an address to him, I usally find this is due to connectivity

I would first make sure 100% that he has connectivity to the router. Secondly, I would renew the IP (ipconfig /renew)

Are other computers on the network receiving an IP address?

Also make sure those two unknown device drivers are installed

[mbond65]

He is getting an APIPA address which means the router isn't assigning an address to him, I usally find this is due to connectivity

I would first make sure 100% that he has connectivity to the router. Secondly, I would renew the IP (ipconfig /renew)

Are other computers on the network receiving an IP address?

Also make sure those two unknown device drivers are installed