Broadband - ping and net view doesn't work on own machine

[Robert Dent]

I've run into a strange problem with my broadband connection (NTL
cable modem). I automatically receive an IP address from my ISP's
DHCP server and this appears to work fine. However the following is
true:

I can't:
- Access webpages, e-mail or Symantec update.
- Ping the IP address the DHCP has given my machine. (Request timed
out) Tracert also fails.
- Ping the DNS name of my machine, although it does display the IP
address the DHCP gave me. (Request timed out) Tracert also fails.
- Use the "Net view \\<<my machine's DNS name>>" and "Net view \\<<my
machine's IP address>>" commands. Both give "Error 53: Network path
not found"

But I can:
- Ping 127.0.0.1 (loopback)
- Ping the default gateway, the DHCP server, the DNS servers and
external webpages using both their DNS names and IP addresses.
Tracert also works for all of these.

I'm using Windows XP with first SP1 installed and later SP2 (installed
this in case it would help - it didn't). In each case, both the
Windows Firewalls and my copy of Norton Personal Firewall are
disabled. Windows claims it can't find any problems with the
connection. The Network Connections "Repair" function appears to run
through okay, but doesn't resolve the problem.

I have a National Semiconductor Gigabyte card (not sure which number)
with the Microsoft certified drivers installed (ver x.0.2.70) [can't
remember what the "x" is, but they are dated last year and come as
part of Win XP SP1 and SP2].

I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling Winsock / TCP/IP protocol as
described in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. I've tried uninstalling
and reinstalling the card while I had SP1 and SP2 installed and while
I've had Winsock removed for each too. Didn't help.

Could it be a hardware problem with my network card? The card is only
about 3 months old. (I haven't tried a different network card yet. I
was going to try a new one next.)

(Since my ISP is NTL, customer service is virtually non-existent.)

Any help/advice would be appreciated.

Robert

 

[Hans-Georg Michna]

Robert,

perhaps you want to look through this list of potential causes:
http://www.michna.com/kb/WxNetwork.htm

Hans-Georg

 

[GeneralJohn]

Might be a SP2 issue, See if this helps:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=884020

 

[Robert Dent]

Might be a SP2 issue, See if this helps:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=884020

I've run into a strange problem with my broadband connection (NTL
cable modem). I automatically receive an IP address from my ISP's
DHCP server and this appears to work fine. However the following is
true:

I can't:
- Access webpages, e-mail or Symantec update.
- Ping the IP address the DHCP has given my machine. (Request timed
out) Tracert also fails.
- Ping the DNS name of my machine, although it does display the IP
address the DHCP gave me. (Request timed out) Tracert also fails.
- Use the "Net view \\<<my machine's DNS name>>" and "Net view \\<<my
machine's IP address>>" commands. Both give "Error 53: Network path
not found"

But I can:
- Ping 127.0.0.1 (loopback)
- Ping the default gateway, the DHCP server, the DNS servers and
external webpages using both their DNS names and IP addresses.
Tracert also works for all of these.

I'm using Windows XP with first SP1 installed and later SP2 (installed
this in case it would help - it didn't). In each case, both the
Windows Firewalls and my copy of Norton Personal Firewall are
disabled. Windows claims it can't find any problems with the
connection. The Network Connections "Repair" function appears to run
through okay, but doesn't resolve the problem.

I have a National Semiconductor Gigabyte card (not sure which number)
with the Microsoft certified drivers installed (ver x.0.2.70) [can't
remember what the "x" is, but they are dated last year and come as
part of Win XP SP1 and SP2].

I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling Winsock / TCP/IP protocol as
described in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. I've tried uninstalling
and reinstalling the card while I had SP1 and SP2 installed and while
I've had Winsock removed for each too. Didn't help.

Could it be a hardware problem with my network card? The card is only
about 3 months old. (I haven't tried a different network card yet. I
was going to try a new one next.)

(Since my ISP is NTL, customer service is virtually non-existent.)

Any help/advice would be appreciated.

Robert

The problem originally appeared while I was still using SP1. I have
subsequently installed SP2, but it didn't help.

According to Microsoft (KB314067), the IPCONFIG /ALL command uses ping
on my IP address to provide the info. However IPCONFIG /ALL works,
but ping doesn't. IPCONFIG /RELEASE & IPCONFIG /RENEW keep giving me
back the same IP address, but it is never ping-able.

Could this problem be related to the fact I'm using a cable modem and
as such (I'm told) my ISP stores my MAC address rather than IP. Is it
possible that my ISP's DHCP is sending an unusable IP simply because
it was my MAC that asked for one? It sounds unlikely, but nothing
would ever surprise me from NTL.

(Due to the pathetic level of customer support, I haven't managed to
get through to NTL's customer support to get them to try pinging the
IP to see if they can reach it.)

Robert