Can't renew IP address, PLEASE HELP

[Leef]

Hi there,

3 machines in a peer to peer workgroup named STUDIO, connected through a
network switch.
machine1 named: leef
ip: 192.168.0.1
subnet: 255.255.255.0
no gateway set
Direcway (this is our satellite broadband connection on this pc that is
SHARED across the net to the other pcs connected to this workgroup = STUDIO
for internet connectivity.
ip: 10.90.18.43
subnet: 255.255.255.0
gateway: 66.82.24.25

machine2 named: alf (set to get IP using dhcp)
ip: 192.168.0.2
subnet: 255.255.255.0
gateway: 192.168.0.1

machine3 named: lesdt (had to set to static IP)
ip: 192.168.0.124
subnet: 255.255.255.0
gatewary: 192.168.0.1
primary DNS: 192.168.0.1

machine 4 is a wireless notebook, named lesnb, that connects to a linksys
router that is configured as an accesspoint and had dhcp disabled. The
router is wired to the STUDIO workgroups switch via an ethernet cable, which
is not set to a STATIC IP
ip: 192.168.0.251
subnet: 255.255.255.0
gateway: 192.168.0.1
preferred DNS: 192.168.0.1
alternate DNS: 38.9.211.2

==========
Machine 1, leef is the DHCP provider. ALL the computers including the
wireless network, were set with dynamic IP to be set by the DHCP provider.
Several days ago, I started getting a yellow exclamation point on the
connection icon for the wireless notebook, lesnb, and machine #3, lesdt. It
said limited or no connectivity. When going to the LAN network connection
and selecting repair, it would go through, and it would say that it could
not repair the connection, because it could not get an IP address. The
wireless network showed a strong connection to the wireless router, but said
there was little or no connectivity. Same though on doing a repair...
cannot obtain an IP address.

I had to go through massive resetting of the IP's to a static ip on the
wireless and on machine #3. I have noticed some quirkiness on the other
machines.

How can I resolve the issue of not getting the IP addresses assigned to
these devices. Nothing has changed, no new hardware or software.... WHERE
do I start to resolve this issue, as I need to get the ip addressing to be
dynamic, for attaching my other wireless devices to access the net through
the router.

PLEASE HELP!

Sincerely,
Leef

 

[Leef]

I forgot to add, all the computers are on Windows XP, with SP2. All are
current with Norton's Antivirus and are scanned daily. NONE have the
firewall enabled, as the internet connection connects through a proxy
server.

 

[Carey Holzman]

Try tip #3 on the PCs that are having the issues.

www.careyholzman.com/netfixes.htm

Carey

 

[Leef]

I don't think it is winsock related. I have checked the protocols in
msinfo32. I have them working right now using static IP (wireless notebook
and #3,lesdt below). Problem is that the dhcp is not assigning the IPs.
The machine that is supposed to do this is the one that has the shared
Direcway connection below, #1, leef.

It used to work with all the clients set to receive IP automatically, even
the wireless! They were not getting the IP reassigned, and showed limited or
no connectivity. I had to set them IP, sub, gateway and DNS manually.

How do I fix this?

Sincerely,
Leef

 

[Carey Holzman]

Repair the winsock to determine if its a winsock problem.

Carey

 

[John R Weiss]

Sounds like a problem with the DHCP server. From your setup description, you
have one of the computers set to do this, plus you have a wireless router in the
mix somewhere. If so, there may be a conflict between the DHCP servers in the
computer and the wireless router.

For a home LAN, you would probably be better off connecting your broadband modem
directly to the router, and let it do all the DHCP server work. You should also
check to ensure the router is set with the appropriate IP address for the LAN
(e.g., 192.168.0.0), and to assign IP addresses to the range you want within the
subnet (e.g., 192.168.0.xxx) range. My Linksys has a starting address and
number of DHCP assigned addresses available to accomplish that. Any static IP
addresses should be set outside the DHCP range, but within the subnet range.

You should only need a separate network switch if you need more ports than are
available on the router. In that case, make sure it is connected to the
appropriate port on the router, and the Uplink function of the router is set as
required.

 

[Leef]

I don't have DSL or cable broadband. I have a Direcway satellite broadband,
which hooks up via a USB port to computer #1, leef. I do not have the DHCP
enabled on the wireless router, so it acts just like a switch for the
wireless connections, so they can connect to the workgroup and access the
satellite connection on #1.. The router is connected to the wired pc
workgroup via a ethernet cable to the network switch. The networks switch
for the wired workgroup (STUDIO) is a netgear and each port is autosensing.

 

[Leef]

Carey, I looked on your site, and I have XP with SP2, so I follow the netsh
command? In doing this will it require any REconfigurations that I should
be aware of to make things work? IOW, will this repair wipe out any
settings that I might need to rebuild or reset (if so, I need to know which
ones so I can write the settings down and know how to reset them before
rebuilding the winsock)

Please advise, so I can know what to do,

THANK YOU!

 

[Carey Holzman]

I recommend running the WinSockXPfix executable. Unless you have
specifically set your IP and DNS, this should not affect any settings on the
computer. If you have an IP and DNS, you will need to set those back up
again.

Carey

 

[John R Weiss]

I don't have DSL or cable broadband. I have a Direcway satellite broadband,
which hooks up via a USB port to computer #1, leef. I do not have the DHCP
enabled on the wireless router, so it acts just like a switch for the wireless
connections, so they can connect to the workgroup and access the satellite
connection on #1.. The router is connected to the wired pc workgroup via a
ethernet cable to the network switch. The networks switch for the wired
workgroup (STUDIO) is a netgear and each port is autosensing.

OK...

What hardware exists for the Direcway connection?

If there is a box that then connects to leef via a USB adapter cable, check if
the output from the Direcway box is an Ethernet connection. If so, replace the
USB adapter with an Ethernet cable to the router.

If otherwise, describe.

 

[Malke]

OK...

What hardware exists for the Direcway connection?

If there is a box that then connects to leef via a USB adapter cable,
check if
the output from the Direcway box is an Ethernet connection. If so,
replace the USB adapter with an Ethernet cable to the router.

If otherwise, describe.

I have a few clients using the DirecWay satellite connection, and my
understanding is that the DirecWay setup cannot use a router. Unless
this has changed in the last year, only ICS is supported. So I expect
that adding the wireless router into the mix has caused the problem. I
realize the OP thinks the wireless router isn't routing, but perhaps he
needs a wireless access point instead.

Because DirecWay doesn't do their networking in a standard way, I think
the best solution would be to call their tech support and see if they
have a workaround or suggestion as to how the OP can make this work (or
get a definitive "no").

Malke

 

[John R Weiss]

I have a few clients using the DirecWay satellite connection, and my
understanding is that the DirecWay setup cannot use a router. Unless
this has changed in the last year, only ICS is supported. So I expect
that adding the wireless router into the mix has caused the problem. I
realize the OP thinks the wireless router isn't routing, but perhaps he
needs a wireless access point instead.

Because DirecWay doesn't do their networking in a standard way, I think
the best solution would be to call their tech support and see if they
have a workaround or suggestion as to how the OP can make this work (or
get a definitive "no").

I suppose they could use a proprietary protocol of some kind, but if they
connect via Ethernet and TCP/IP, a router should work.

In an attempt to prevent home networking with their broadband connection, some
ISPs look for the MAC address of the originally installed NIC, and will not work
if you change NICs or put a router in the middle. The solution is to use the
MAC cloning feature of the router.

 

[Malke]

I suppose they could use a proprietary protocol of some kind, but if
they connect via Ethernet and TCP/IP, a router should work.

In an attempt to prevent home networking with their broadband
connection, some ISPs look for the MAC address of the originally
installed NIC, and will not work
if you change NICs or put a router in the middle. The solution is to
use the MAC cloning feature of the router.

I believe they use TCP/IP but it isn't ethernet. The satellite box
connects via usb and then has to have a dial-up connection, too. Also,
the connection needs to use a proxy. I ran into the router thing when I
tried to set up a client with multiple computers the "normal" way;
i.e., with a router. I called DirecWay tech support and was told only
ICS was supported. However, this was at least a year ago (maybe longer)
and perhaps that has changed. That's why I suggested calling their tech
support for a definitive answer.

Malke

 

[Leef]

You are correct in that the connection is ONLY via a USB connect from the
IRU and ITR (internet receiver unit and internet sending unit). No ethernet
connection and relies solely on ICS to share the connection on the other
computers that are connected through a network switch for the workgroup.

The router can be used (and we have used it for about a year) for connecting
our wireless devices, but you have to turn OFF the dhcp on the router so
that it performs just like a switch (nothing is plugged into the modem port,
just a cat5 from the port on the router to the workgroup switch). All the
pcs on this workgroup were set to get their IP automatically, but for some
reason, I am having two machines, (#3, and the wireless notebook) all of a
sudden show a yellow exclamation on their network icon, saying little of no
connectivity. The notebook shows a strong connection to the router though.
But when I click on the lan connection icon in Network settings and tell it
to "repair" the connection, it goes all the way through but then stops and
says that it cannot fix the problem because it cannot obtain an IP.

My confusion is that I don't know enough to know which machine is supposed
to be the DHCP server. Who is responsible for assigning the IP addressing
in this workgroup? I am supposing it to be the one that has the Direcway
system attached to it, machine name leef. What would cause this to be a
problem all of a sudden and where to look to resolve the issue.
Temporarily, I have set static IPs on #3 and on the wireless notebook, and
they are connecting fine.... Cannot figure out why all of a sudden they
were not getting their IPs assigned as usual!

You are also correct in that the machines connect through a proxy server
with Direcway that is firewalled. Therefore, we do not run firewalls or the
XP security center as it creates ALL kinds of havoc. We DO have the latest
Nortons Virusscan on ALL the pc's with current defs and they are run every
night after midnight. We also run Lavasoft's Adaware every day. The
machines are clean so the problem is not there....

Hope this clarifies the issue. I am finding that this particular setup with
Direcway satellite is a point of confusion for many that are used to the
more normal DSL or cable modems. We live way out in North Texas (sheep and
goat farm), almost to OK, and we have NO options for DSL, ISDN, cable or any
of the other goodies most folks do that live closer to "town". This setup
is the only thing we can do, besides the pitiful dialup on old decrepit
equipment.....