My computer hasn’t been used for a week as some relatives have been staying here and using my room. For some reason, although no-one has touched anything, it now doesn’t connect to my network, or the internet. I’ve got a Netgear DG834G modem/router with 3 desktops and 1 laptop connected. All the others work fine, it’s just mine that has a problem.
If I set my computers IP address manually the computer will say that it is connected to the network, however it can’t ‘see’ anything, I can’t even ping the router, or access it’s setup page. If I set my computer to get an IP address automatically it will spend a few minutes trying to get one then say that it can’t connect.
I’ve tried…
checking the DHCP settings on the router
rebooting the router
resetting the router to factory settings
changing the network cable
updating the driver for the networking chip on my motherboard
uninstalling and reinstalling the network chip
running a spyware check with Spybot
running an antivirus scan with avg
the only other thing I can think of trying is a complete reinstall of windows, but as that means venturing into my wardrobe to try and find the disc i’m hoping someone my be able to come up with a better solution.
You might just have a DNS (Domain Name Service) problem. Try connecting to http://209.104.5.198 and see if you see the Straight Dope home page.
I would delete the network connection and start again from scratch. Copy the settings from a computer that works, make sure your non-working computer is using the same settings.
You might also try another network adapter, should only be $15 or so. Or get a USB one if you don’t want to open up the machine.
Normally i’d agree, but my aunt and uncle who stayed are scared of computers, even if i’d sat with them they wouldn’t have done anything on there
Nothing:(
Which settings, and how do I copy them?
That’s my last resort if reinstalling windows doesn’t work, however I’m planning an upgrade in a few weeks. This will include a new motherboard and therefore a new network chip, so if that is the problem it would end up a waste of money. I am going to look tomorrow to see if i’ve got an old card somewhere. I don’t remember one, but I’ve never really looked before.
I’ll download that now on my brothers computer, it may take a day or two though as he won’t have his computer on overnight. I’ve never used Linux before though, so I may need some assistance.
I wouldn’t have suggested it if it wasn’t easy to use this cd distro. I am not a Linux fluent person and have no trouble using this one for games or internet browsing. I suggest this one so you can see if your connection works and you have connectivity while you mess with your OS.
I shut down and booted to Knoppix. The browser even pops up when the system is done detecting and configuring. Give the desktop time to finish configuring for up to a couple minutes and when you see the browser pop up everything is functional. Shutdown even pops out the cd for you.
Your network connection can be found under Start, Settings, Control Panel, Network Connections. A wired connection will usually be called Local Area Connection 1. Right-click on it and pick Properties. For Internet you’ll want to click on the TCP/IP protocol and pick Properties. I don’t know of a good way to copy the settings from one computer to another, but if you have a laptop you can set it next to the non-working computer and bring up it’s TCP/IP properties, and just be sure that both computers are set up the same way.
I assume you mean the bit where you can set your ip address and dns server address, in which case i’ve tried changing that to various things, including the automatic setting from the other computers
Is this computer the laptop or one of your three desktops? Is it connected to your network wirelessly, or with an Ethernet cable?
It’ll be easier if it’s the laptop, but even if it’s a desktop that’s got a wireless network card installed, you should try pulling it over to the router and hooking it up through an Ethernet cable, after disabling the wireless network card.
If you now connect as normal, you have a problem with your wireless card or driver, proceed from there.
If you still can’t connect to the network/Internet, you’ve got a more basic network config issue on that computer.
Sorry, I thought i’d said this, but i must have forgotten. My computer is one of the desktops, connected by wire to the router. I’ve tried using a different wire and swapping sockets on the router but it makes no difference.
Well, I turned on my computer this evening, without having changed anything and yet everythings working again. Maybe the network adapters on it’s way out, but I’m getting a new motherboard soon so it only needs to hang on for a bit longer.
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone, I just hope I don’t have to come back tomorrow with it broken again.
