Limited Connectivity / Unknown Network

[Ecsa0014]

About 3 days ago I was downloading a file when I noticed the download had
stopped half-way through. Thinking the router had frozen I unplugged the
router to reset it, as I have done a hundred times before with no problem.
After restarting the router Vista (Home Premium 32-bit SP1) stopped
recognizing my home network (wired) and I started receiving a "Limited
Connectivity" message. When I go into the Network & Sharing screen I see
"Unknown Network". When I boot this same computer into Ubuntu (7.10) I can
access my network and the internet. I also have a small Ubuntu server and
Xbox 360 that can access the network just fine. This is definitely a Vista
issue. After trying many, many suggestions (Unplug router, Reset router, IP
refresh,...) from around the internet with no success, I purchased a new PCI
Ethernet card (Netgear GA311) just to rule out a possible hardware issue. I
unistalled the onboard lan in Vista and disabled it in the BIOS then
installed the new card. No Luck, Same Problem. My router is a Netgear
FWG114P. I have had this network for over a year with no issues and now, out
of the blue, nothing. I tried re-entering the IP, Subnet, Default Gateway and
DNS addresses for the ethernet adapter, NO LUCK. I did notice a strange issue
when I ran "Ipconfig /all" The default gateway was shown as "0.0.0.0". After
re-entering the gateway address, the gateway was listed as "0.0.0.0" with my
gateway address listed below. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Robert L. \(MS-MVP\)]

Quoted from www.chicagotech.net:

The solutions of Vista computer default gateway 0.0.0.0 are 1) reset it by
using route delete 0.0.0.0 command; 2) Disable IPv6; 3) install new firmware
for the router or a new driver for the NIC; 4) Install Microsoft update.

Vista Gateway is 0.0.0.0
http://www.chicagotech.net/vista/gateway0.htm

--
Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
http://www.HowToNetworking.com

 

[Ecsa0014]

Thanks for the suggestion. That site had been suggested to me several times
already but I ran through the suggested fixes one more time just to be sure I
didn't miss anything. No luck. I have only been able to connect to my network
and the internet using Ubuntu. I have spent the last week trying every
suggestion I could come by, aside from a complete system re-install (If I
have to uninstall Vista to fix this, You can rest assured that I will not be
re-installing it.). I have tried several newer "Vista Compatible" routers and
I still cannot even dial into them. I have had no major issues with Vista
until now but this one could be the deal-breaker. I have been contemplating a
complete Linux switch-over for the last several months (To be honest my large
iTunes library is the only reason I haven't already switched.). If this issue
cannot be resolved, I will have no choice but to go ahead and make that
switch. I still really hope this issue can be resolved.

BTW, I am not a Linux fanboy just a very, very frustrated Vista user.

 

[DJT]

Thanks for the suggestion. That site had been suggested to me several times
already but I ran through the suggested fixes one more time just to be sure I
didn't miss anything. No luck. I have only been able to connect to my network
and the internet using Ubuntu. I have spent the last week trying every
suggestion I could come by, aside from a complete system re-install (If I
have to uninstall Vista to fix this, You can rest assured that I will not be
re-installing it.). I have tried several newer "Vista Compatible" routers and
I still cannot even dial into them. I have had no major issues with Vista
until now but this one could be the deal-breaker. I have been contemplating a
complete Linux switch-over for the last several months (To be honest my large
iTunes library is the only reason I haven't already switched.). If this issue
cannot be resolved, I will have no choice but to go ahead and make that
switch. I still really hope this issue can be resolved.

BTW, I am not a Linux fanboy just a very, very frustrated Vista user.

Hi, I had a similar problem.
Suddenly Vista could not connect to DHCP on router.
Symptom was "unidentified Network" with address 169.xxx.x.x.
I tried everything that I could think of.
The only way to connect was to have another device connected to switch
and then cycle the power on the Modem

Eventually it turned out to be the 3rd Party Firewall.
It had worked ok until an update, then would not let Vista access the
router.

I had to uninstall the firewall, just disable would not work as it
re-enabled on re boot


I hopes this helps


DJT

 

[Ecsa0014]

Thank you! As soon as the firewall was removed I had access to my network
again. I had disabled the firewall numerous times thinking that was enough. I
have no idea what broke my firewall as I had not installed any new programs,
updates or made any changes to my system when I lost my network. Anyway,
Thanks again!

 

[Tekee812]

I wasted my whole weekend on this problem as well. I am using McAffee since
it is free through comcast. What firewall did you use/delete? I am dying to
get home and try deleting McAffee.

 

[Ecsa0014]

I was using Comodo Firewall Pro (also free). I had used this firewall for
over 6 months before this with no issues. I am intending to try a re-install
to see if the issue still remains but for right now I am just using the
Windows firewall. I would really like to know what caused this firewall issue
but I have been unable to find any answers so far. Please post back if
removing McAffee solves your issue or not.

 

[Tekee812]

Deleted McAffee... no luck... bought new NIC... success ... price of my
wasted weekend? $18... Not EVER having to call GEEK squad... PRICELESS!

 

[DJT]

I don't think that is a coincidence. The Firewall I was using was
Comodo Firewall Pro also when I had the problem


DJT

 

[Ecsa0014]

Glad to hear you got it figured out. I totally agree with the Geek Squad
comment. At least your $18 actually fixed your problem. The few times my
friends and family members tried to have Geek Squad repair their computers,
They had to bring it to me afterward so I could do what they paid GS to do.
I'll be the first to tell you I am no computer expert but I have to wonder If
those GS guys even turned those computers on. Well, Thats a seperate issue.
Anyway, Thanks for posting.

 

[Ecsa0014]

You mentioned in an earlier post that your problems started after an update.
Do you know what specific update caused this problem? I really liked the
Comodo firewall so I really hate to give up on it just yet. I see that Comodo
released an update yesterday. I am going to install tomorrow to see if this
problem remains. Thanks for posting.

 

[DJT]

I did not take any notice as to what update.
If they released an update in last couple of days, maybe that was to
fix the problem.
I might try it again in the next couple of days

DJT

 

[Robert L. \(MS-MVP\)]

Thank you for all inputs.

--
Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
http://www.HowToNetworking.com