Metspitzer said:
I am trying to get my niece's computer going. It has wireless and the
task bar says she is connected, but when I try google.com it says the
computer is offline. Internet options are set to automatically get
lan settings.
What else to I have to do?
IE and Firefox are both offline.
In both browsers, if you click "File", "the list should have "Work
Offline" at the bottom. If it reads "Work Online", click it.
Here are a few other things to try:
1. Open Internet Options, Connections tab, click "Lan Settings" button,
deselect all.
2. Flush DNS
Click Start, Run, type CMD and click the [OK] button. Type each of the
following:
IPConfig /FlushDNS [Press Enter key]
ipconfig /release [Press Enter key]
ipconfig /renew [Press Enter key]
ipconfig /registerdns [Press Enter key]
3. NETSH
Click Start, Run, type CMD and click the [OK] button. Type the following:
netsh winsock reset
Press Enter key
Restart the system
4. You can also try this software download from a working machine:
LSP-Fix
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm
I tried to walk my niece thru these steps on the phone. The first
thing I tried was have her turn off the firewall. Both IE and Firefox
are still saying they are offline.
She tried the ipconfig stuff and she is still not able to connect.
Short of downloading extra programs, are there anymore suggestions on
how to get her online?
Thanks everyone
In the following, I've hidden the details of my home networking addresses,
by substituting the letters "x" and "y" for the addresses used. 192.168.x.y
is my computer's LAN address. 192.168.x.1 is the address of my router. The
router is the first thing to answer any queries my computer might have.
*******
Run "ipconfig" with no parameters.
IP Address 192.168.x.y
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway 192.168.x.1
My router is 192.168.x.1 and the router serves up private IP
addresses in the 192.168 private address range. My router has
DHCP enabled. My computer is set to get an IP address automatically,
using DHCP protocols.
The value of X and Y range from 0 to 255. 192.168 is one of the
private address ranges set aside for things like home networking
addresses.
My router has a public address, but only the web browser controlling
the router, is displaying that info right now. My public address
is in the 72.a.b.c range. All the packets leaving my house, are
stamped 72.a.b.c, while inside the house, they'd be 192.168.x.y.
Using NAT, a single public address is shared for multiple private
computers. NAT translates from one domain to the other.
*******************************
Run "netsh interface ip dump", and you should see something like
# Interface IP Configuration for "Local Area Connection 3"
set address name="Local Area Connection 3" source=dhcp
set dns name="Local Area Connection 3" source=dhcp register=PRIMARY
set wins name="Local Area Connection 3" source=dhcp
What that means, is in my Network Connections control panel, I have a
Local Area Connection 3 icon, and it is using DHCP to contact the router
and get the information needed automatically. Basically, that "netsh"
command is showing me, how that network is attempting to set itself up.
For example, if I'd set the thing up statically, and typed in all the
IP numbers manually, then the "netsh" command should reflect that I've
done it statically.
********************************
To test DNS (translation from
www.altavista.com to a numeric address,
try a command like "nslookup
www.altavista.com". You should see something
like
*** Can't find server name for address 192.168.2.1: Non-existent domain
*** Default servers are not available
Server: UnKnown
Address: 192.168.x.1
Non-authoritative answer:
Name: avatw.search.a00.yahoodns.net
Address: 72.30.186.25
Aliases:
www.altavista.com
The first four lines, which look like a failure, happen because my router
is private and doesn't have its own valid DNS translation as seen by others
on the Internet. So that flavor of fail is OK. My router has the name "UnKnown".
The second four lines, show the (eventual) address translation. My computer
asks my router to translate. The router doesn't have the info, so my router
goes to a DNS machine at my ISP and asks. If the DNS cache on that machine
didn't have the translation necessary, then it in turn would consult other
DNS machines on the Internet.
*********************************
Now that we have a translation, we can either use a web browser, or try the
ping command.
Since we know the address now, of Altavista, we can ping it. Ping only works,
if the server is configured to support certain aspects of ICMP protocol.
ping 72.30.186.25
Reply from 72.30.186.25: bytes=32 time=48ms TTL=54
Reply from 72.30.186.25: bytes=32 time=42ms TTL=54
Reply from 72.30.186.25: bytes=32 time=39ms TTL=54
That means an answer is coming back in 48 milliseconds, from that server
on the network.
I could also go to the web browser, and enter "
http://72.30.186.25" and
it should work. (Currently, it returns a graphic saying "All the web" for
some reason. But it still reaches a server.)
If I were to try the ping command this way, the difference is, the ping
first asks DNS for a translation, and then pings the resulting IP address.
This could fail, if no DNS was available. Since we already tested with
nslookup, we already know how well DNS is working. So there isn't much
point to this.
ping
www.altavista.com
The ping tells me, there is basic connectivity to the Internet.
The nslookup tells me whether DNS translation works.
That should have been enough to get a web browser to work, unless
some firewall was blocking certain ports. Generally, your outgoing
is open, and your incoming is blocked by default. (The incoming being
blocked, basically means you're not set up for your personal computer
to be a "server", like running an FTP server or a web server.) In other
words, unless you've gone to extraordinary lengths to foul up a
Firewall, it shouldn't be a problem. Most people wouldn't know enough
to be adding a lot of firewalls to their system, so out of the box,
you wouldn't expect that to be the issue. And if *you* installed
a firewall, like Zonealarm or the like, then you should have kept
track of how you configured it or whatever
If "
http://www.altavista.com" doesn't work, and "
http://72.30.186.25"
works, then DNS is broken. And the "nslookup" command should confirm
that. I have to go to the web browser that accesses my router, and
check the configuration page, to find the two addresses of the DNS
servers at my ISP listed. Those are the servers being consulted.
My router is set up to use DHCP, to get that info from the ISP
automatically. It also means, every time the router powers up,
different values of the two DNS server addresses will result.
The ISP changes them all the time, just for fun.
The above are the only basics I know... I'm in the "couldn't escape
from a wet paper bag" category when it comes to networks
*******
If the "ping 72.30.186.25" doesn't work, and it's wireless, it could
mean that the basics of connecting the computer to the wireless
are failing. Things like the security setup, WPA or WPA2 etc. But
if the ping is working, it might be a DNS problem.
Paul
