A strange problem with my network. Need advice

[E.D.]

I have 3 computers coupled to a Linksys wireless router, that is coupled to
a braodband connection. All computers are XP and the IP numbers are through
DHCP.

Everything worked fine.
Then my little son got his hands on my laptop (coupled via a wireless card)
and suddenly that computer has no connection with the network or internet
anymore. I look at all the settings in the network card properties,
everything OK it seems, but ipconfig tells me there is no ip address
assigned to the card couse it cant find the DHCP server. ipconfig /release
/renew does not help.

OK I try the cabled network slot on my laptop. Same results.

I try the network setup wizard. That only adds a bridge connection but
doesn't help the situation.

Through another computer in my network I indeed see that the laptop is not
recognized.

In the network card properties of the laptop card I then set a static IP
address.

This works -for both the built in network adapter as well as the wireless
card- but the weird thing is that I now can make contact with the network
again, but not with the internet, eventhough i get the message that internet
is now connected.

The othetr computers on the network have no problems and can access the
network and the internet.

Anybody any idea what is going on? Am I missing something somewhere? What
can I do to fix it.
ED

 

[Gerard Bok]

I have 3 computers coupled to a Linksys wireless router, that is coupled to
a braodband connection. All computers are XP and the IP numbers are through
DHCP.

In the network card properties of the laptop card I then set a static IP
address.
This works -for both the built in network adapter as well as the wireless
card- but the weird thing is that I now can make contact with the network
again, but not with the internet, eventhough i get the message that internet
is now connected.

That's the way it should be. You now have a valid IP address but
no DNS server (normally you would obtain both from DHCP).

What can I do to fix it.

Go to the device manager and remove the network card there. (Just
select and click 'remove', no need to open the case !)

Windows will find 'new hardware' and install the required drivers
and reinstall the TCP/IP stack. (And you don't need the bridge !)

Pretty good chance this will undo your son's modifications

 

[Fred Marshall]

Erik,

I would:

- make sure the wireless on/off button on the laptop is so that wireless is
turned on. (If the wireless is built into the laptop, there could be such a
button). It's easy to poke this button and turn off the wireless without
knowing what you've done. You should have a "radio" status on the laptop
that will tell you something about signal level, etc.
- when your son took over the computer, he didn't move it did he? Wireless
can be sensitive to location and particularly if you've made the signal
marginal. Doesn't work through multiple walls all that well.

- get rid of the bridge connection on the laptop.
- check the Workgroup for the laptop. It's possible the network wizard
changed it for you. Make them all the same Workgroup.
- assign a static IP address (a different one) to *each* of the interfaces
on the laptop. In doing this, you will need to identify the router as the
Gateway: 192.168.1.1???
- I would identify some outside DNS addresses: your ISP DNS servers should
be a good choice.

More comments below:

Fred

I have 3 computers coupled to a Linksys wireless router, that is coupled to
a braodband connection. All computers are XP and the IP numbers are
through
DHCP.

Everything worked fine.
Then my little son got his hands on my laptop (coupled via a wireless
card)
and suddenly that computer has no connection with the network or internet
anymore. I look at all the settings in the network card properties,
everything OK it seems, but ipconfig tells me there is no ip address
assigned to the card couse it cant find the DHCP server. ipconfig /release
/renew does not help.

***Suggests no wireless radio connection. What does the wireless monitor on
the laptop tell you?
Suspect the radio waves first - location, location, location just like real
estate!

OK I try the cabled network slot on my laptop. Same results.

***Suggests something more basic than radio waves.

I try the network setup wizard. That only adds a bridge connection but
doesn't help the situation.

***Don't use the network setup wizard unless you're willing to take things
out of your own hands and deal with the consequences. Learn how to set
things up so you will understand what you've got.

Through another computer in my network I indeed see that the laptop is not
recognized.

***From the laptop:
Start / Run / type in: CMD <enter> or OK - you should get a Command Prompt
window.
In the command prompt window you will see something like
C:\xxxx\xxxxxx>
at the end of the line the cursor should be blinking. You will type here
after the ">"
ping 192.168.1.1
(well, I'm assuming that 192.168.1.1 is your router)
If you get responses, then you are connected.
If you don't get responses, then you aren't.

In the network card properties of the laptop card I then set a static IP
address.

This works -for both the built in network adapter as well as the wireless
card- but the weird thing is that I now can make contact with the network
again, but not with the internet, eventhough i get the message that
internet
is now connected.

***This suggests the workgroup is OK.

***You probably didn't name the gateway or maybe specify one or more DNS
addresses in the TCP/IP setup.
***From the laptop:
Start / Run / type in: CMD <enter> or OK - you should get a Command Prompt
window.
In the command prompt window you will see something like
C:\xxxx\xxxxxx>
at the end of the line the cursor should be blinking. You will type here
after the ">"
ping www.xyz.com
(well, I'm assuming that 192.168.1.1 is your router)
You should see:

Pinging www.xyz.com [64.146.134.38] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 64.146.134.38: bytes=32 time=71ms TTL=50
Reply from 64.146.134.38: bytes=32 time=66ms TTL=50
Reply from 64.146.134.38: bytes=32 time=65ms TTL=50
Reply from 64.146.134.38: bytes=32 time=68ms TTL=50

Ping statistics for 64.146.134.38:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 65ms, Maximum = 71ms, Average = 67ms

if you see this part:
www.xyz.com [64.146.134.38]

It means that: you have reached the internet and DNS is working

if you see:
Ping request could not find host www.xyz.com
Then you don't have DNS working yet.
(DNS is automatic when you use DHCP. You need to tell it something if
you're setting the computer's IP address manually).

If you get responses, then you are connected.
If you don't get responses, then you aren't.

 

[E.D.]

That's the way it should be. You now have a valid IP address but
no DNS server (normally you would obtain both from DHCP).


Go to the device manager and remove the network card there. (Just
select and click 'remove', no need to open the case !)

Windows will find 'new hardware' and install the required drivers
and reinstall the TCP/IP stack. (And you don't need the bridge !)

Pretty good chance this will undo your son's modifications

Thanks, actually I tried that and it did not help. Fortunately though, the
problem is fixed. I switched a couple of times between static and dynamic IP
and suddenly the dynamic IP kicked in again. I still do not know what coused
it to go bad and what caused it to work again. It lasted days, including a
re-install.

Anyway. What you said about the DNS makes sense in general terms, I already
presumed that me leaving that empty would not be a good idea.

If it happens again, perhaps I just let my son play with it a little longer
and he'll undo it again. He managed one time to reprogram my all region DVD
to a single region DVD just by haphazard pushing of butttons on the remote.
Oh well, Kids!

 

[E.D.]

Fred, thanks for your effort. Though I got it to work again, it was not
through your suggestions though they make sense. Obviously with any wireless
problem, the first thing i do is to put it next to my router, but in this
case I had the same problem on the network card. Yes I always get rid of the
bridge and do check that the workgroup is the same.

So in the end I got it to work basically by switching back and forth between
static and dynamic. I'll probably never know what it was, but I appreciate
your help very much

Erik,

I would:

- make sure the wireless on/off button on the laptop is so that wireless is
turned on. (If the wireless is built into the laptop, there could be such a
button). It's easy to poke this button and turn off the wireless without
knowing what you've done. You should have a "radio" status on the laptop
that will tell you something about signal level, etc.
- when your son took over the computer, he didn't move it did he? Wireless
can be sensitive to location and particularly if you've made the signal
marginal. Doesn't work through multiple walls all that well.

- get rid of the bridge connection on the laptop.
- check the Workgroup for the laptop. It's possible the network wizard
changed it for you. Make them all the same Workgroup.
- assign a static IP address (a different one) to *each* of the interfaces
on the laptop. In doing this, you will need to identify the router as the
Gateway: 192.168.1.1???
- I would identify some outside DNS addresses: your ISP DNS servers should
be a good choice.

More comments below:

Fred

I have 3 computers coupled to a Linksys wireless router, that is coupled to
a braodband connection. All computers are XP and the IP numbers are
through
DHCP.

Everything worked fine.
Then my little son got his hands on my laptop (coupled via a wireless
card)
and suddenly that computer has no connection with the network or internet
anymore. I look at all the settings in the network card properties,
everything OK it seems, but ipconfig tells me there is no ip address
assigned to the card couse it cant find the DHCP server. ipconfig /release
/renew does not help.

***Suggests no wireless radio connection. What does the wireless monitor on
the laptop tell you?
Suspect the radio waves first - location, location, location just like real

estate!

OK I try the cabled network slot on my laptop. Same results.

***Suggests something more basic than radio waves.

I try the network setup wizard. That only adds a bridge connection but
doesn't help the situation.

***Don't use the network setup wizard unless you're willing to take things
out of your own hands and deal with the consequences. Learn how to set
things up so you will understand what you've got.

Through another computer in my network I indeed see that the laptop is not
recognized.

***From the laptop:
Start / Run / type in: CMD <enter> or OK - you should get a Command Prompt
window.
In the command prompt window you will see something like
C:\xxxx\xxxxxx>
at the end of the line the cursor should be blinking. You will type here
after the ">"
ping 192.168.1.1
(well, I'm assuming that 192.168.1.1 is your router)
If you get responses, then you are connected.
If you don't get responses, then you aren't.

In the network card properties of the laptop card I then set a static IP
address.

This works -for both the built in network adapter as well as the wireless
card- but the weird thing is that I now can make contact with the network
again, but not with the internet, eventhough i get the message that
internet
is now connected.

***This suggests the workgroup is OK.

***You probably didn't name the gateway or maybe specify one or more DNS
addresses in the TCP/IP setup.
***From the laptop:
Start / Run / type in: CMD <enter> or OK - you should get a Command Prompt
window.
In the command prompt window you will see something like
C:\xxxx\xxxxxx>
at the end of the line the cursor should be blinking. You will type here
after the ">"
ping www.xyz.com
(well, I'm assuming that 192.168.1.1 is your router)
You should see:

Pinging www.xyz.com [64.146.134.38] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 64.146.134.38: bytes=32 time=71ms TTL=50
Reply from 64.146.134.38: bytes=32 time=66ms TTL=50
Reply from 64.146.134.38: bytes=32 time=65ms TTL=50
Reply from 64.146.134.38: bytes=32 time=68ms TTL=50

Ping statistics for 64.146.134.38:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 65ms, Maximum = 71ms, Average = 67ms

if you see this part:
www.xyz.com [64.146.134.38]

It means that: you have reached the internet and DNS is working

if you see:
Ping request could not find host www.xyz.com
Then you don't have DNS working yet.
(DNS is automatic when you use DHCP. You need to tell it something if
you're setting the computer's IP address manually).

If you get responses, then you are connected.
If you don't get responses, then you aren't.

The othetr computers on the network have no problems and can access the
network and the internet.


Anybody any idea what is going on? Am I missing something somewhere? What
can I do to fix it.
ED