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Ack, computer can't connect to internet after format
Tav
Irish Minister for DefenceRegistered User regular
Irish Minister for DefenceRegistered User regular
I decided to format my PC and reinstall windows. After this, I've noticed that the computer won't connect to the internet. The current setup in the house is that I have internet coming in through a Netopia modem and then through a Linksys WRK54G router. If I connect router up to the computer that I reformatted, then it or any of the other computers can't connect to the internet. If I connect the router up to either of the oter two computers, then they can connect but the computer that I reformatted can't connect. This means that I can't update the computer with the either of the service packs or graphics drivers, so essectially its useless to me.
The computer that I reformatted is getting an IP starting in 169, which from a quick googling I've noticed isn't a proper IP adress. The other computers are getting the same IP as my router, when I connect them to it, but if the router is connected to the computer I reformatted then all the computers are getting a 169 IP.
I'm really quite stumped by this, since I don't get why this one computer won't connect to the internet. I'm getting a new computer soon to replace the one I reformatted anyway, will that one have the same problems? Also, the spelling in this post is probably awful but I'm forced into using a computer without Firefox spell checker to make this post :P
The computer that I reformatted is getting an IP starting in 169, which from a quick googling I've noticed isn't a proper IP adress. The other computers are getting the same IP as my router, when I connect them to it, but if the router is connected to the computer I reformatted then all the computers are getting a 169 IP.
I'm really quite stumped by this, since I don't get why this one computer won't connect to the internet. I'm getting a new computer soon to replace the one I reformatted anyway, will that one have the same problems? Also, the spelling in this post is probably awful but I'm forced into using a computer without Firefox spell checker to make this post :P
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Last time I had this issue I had failed to install the drivers for my Ethernet ports and that was the issue.
When I do this I get the message
"An error occuerred while renewing Local Interface Area Connection : Unable to contact your DHCP server. The request has timed out".
And by LAN drivers, do your mean the NIC drivers? Windows is connecting to a LAN, but is not sending or recieving any packets.
When I hadn't installed the lan drivers on my computer last time I reformatted the ports were just dead, plugging into them had absolutely zero effect on the computer.
does your setup allow you to check and see if the computer connects when you connect directly to the modem? without the router? I would try that next if possible.
Tried it, nothing happened. It worked when I did it with the other computers, but not with the one I reformatted.
The modem too.
It is for sure this computer.
For some reason it's not sending or receiving information despite recognizing that the connection is present, does that sound right?
Because at this point I'm out of ideas.
edit:
Does your router have an browser accessed control panel? see if you can get to that.
The working commputers can access it if the internet is hooked up to them, but not if the net is connected to the reformatted comp.
I'm sorry, I don't know what to do at this point, but you've firmly established that the problem is this computer, as if you didn't already know.
I just hope that I don't get this same problem when I get my new computer, because I think I'll be ready to go postal on Christmas Day if I don't get play TF2 on my new rig right away.
Be aware, your ISP may well tell you to contact your router vendor for help getting this working because they usually draw the line at supporting 3rd party hardware or computers that are connected to that hardware. If that's the case, fair enough, try contacting the router manufacturers support line.
That said, helplines will probably be closed now, so here's a random forum suggestion:
Try manually setting the ip / dns and default gateway addresses on the non working PC to match one of the working PC's, with one difference: set the IP address of the non working PC to be an IP address that is not in use by either of the other 2 working pc's.
e.g. If your 2 working computers use IP's of 192.168.2.1 and 192.168.2.3, then try setting the third machines IP to be 192.168.2.2 or 192.168.2.4
Power down the modem, router and all the computers. Connect just the non working PC to the router using an ethernet cable that is known to work (ie one of the cables that currently connect one of the other 2 PC's).
Power on in order of : Modem first, wait 2 mins. Then power on the router, wait 1 min, then finally power on the reconfigured problem PC and see what happens.
If it works, great, try powering down and reconnecting the other 2 pc's as well, and power on in the above order again.
Whatever happens then, at least you have some more diagnostic results to feed to the phone support line.
I also second power cycling both your modem and your router. Remember to wait for a couple of minutes before plugging them back in to make sure the memory resets.
In Device Manager, if you see no problems with the NIC, uninstall it, reboot - should reinstall on its own.
If that doesn't work, open up a command prompt and type these two lines, then restart again:
netsh int ip reset log.txt
netsh winsock reset
If you've installed a Firewall (or the Windows firewall is installed), disable it.
Out of curiosity, what does this mean? What, exactly, are the IP addresses of the other two computers? If one computer is getting an IP starting with 169 then that means either your router is bad or you NIC card is (most likely your NIC.)
First thing to do is power-cycle everything. Turn off the modem and router. Wait a few seconds and turn the modem back on. When all the usual lights on the modem are back on turn on the router and wait for it to start up. Now go to the problem computer and unplug the network cable and restart. Then plug the cable back in and see if it works now.
Note: This is assuming you have the correct ethernet/LAN drivers for your computer. Also, since you said it's a clean install I'm assuming your virus/spyware free because they can cause this behavior as well.
Ok, two things to try here:
1. Go to one of the computers that can access the Internet. Make sure it can access the Internet (by opening a browser and going to a Web site). Open the command prompt by clicking on Start and selecting run, then type CMD and hit enter. At the command prompt type:
ipconfig /release
You should see some text that says your IP is now 0.0.0.0
Now type:
ipconfig /renew
After a few seconds you should see some text stating your IP is something starting with 192.168
Ok, if this worked then it's unlikely that your router is bad. However, if it didn't work, or you got an IP starting with anything other than 192.168, then you need a new one.
2. If renewing the IP address worked on one of the functioning computers and you got a valid IP:
Go and get a new ethernet card, yours is most likely toast.
By the computers having the same IP adress as the router, I meant that they both had 192.168 in their IP's... Sorry if that wasn't clear.
Power cycling the modem and the router didn't work.
Trying the cmd command for "ip reset log.txt" did nothing while the command for "winsock reset" came back as an unknown command.
Uninstalling the NIC didn't work. I rebooted Windows and it reinstalled it by itself, but it just made a new icon in Network Connections called Local Area Connection 2, as apposed to the one that was there before with no number. This is the exact same, saying that there is a connection but not sending or recieving any packets.
Manually setting the IP and other settings in the properties tab of TCP/IP did nothing also.
This thing has me at my wits end, since nothing seems to have any effect. As far as I'm aware, the fault is with the computer since the internet/modem/router are all working for other computers, just not this one. Is it possible that reformatting the computer borked the NIC or something, since I can't think of any reason as to why it would be working perfectly before the format and not after.
It shouldn't be since it shows up in network connections, but I guess it doesn't hurt at this point to double check. Also, have you tried moving the card over to another PCI slot?
After going into my router's configuration page, I noticed that it is not recgonizing the reformatted computer, which explains why it is not getting the internet when the router is part of the connection, but I cannnot explain why it is not connecting when I connect directly. Under local area network, It says that it is getting an "Automatic Private Address" and it has no default gateway, but the other computers have a a message saying "Assigned by DHCP" and a default gateway of 192.168.1.x. Trying to assign the computer a gateway manually does nothing.
Should I just wait till I get my new computer, or will I have the same problems with that one when I try to connect it to the internet? It is a second hand one, which has been connected to the internet via a modem for the last 2-ish years, so I know that it has no connection problems currently.
edit: Oh, and I know that I have the right drivers for the NIC since I'm using the ones which came with it, but trying it in a different PCI slot is kinda out of the question =\
Autosense sometimes causes problems with some hardware.
Also, you've definitely ruled out faulty cables right?
I recently reformatted my computer and it needed the ethernet driver to connect to the internet. My computer is self-built so the drivers came with the motherboard cd.
Cheers on the new comp!
The 169.254 stuff means that your computer has a working ethernet card as far as it knows, and thinks it has working TCP/IP.
It's trying to find a device which can assign it an IP address and failing, so instead of giving up, it assigns itself an IP address randomly in a last-ditch attempt to find the internets.
Since your other computers plugged into the router can connect fine, it's either:
a) The router is configured to block the computer specifically, or to only allow the two computers already connected.
b) Or the DHCP service on the router has been broken or disabled somehow.
[Very unlikely, test it by resetting the router to factory defaults and reentering all of the password and setting stuff. Don't forget to write down the settings before you reset it.]
c) The specific physical port on the router you're plugging the computer into is broken.
[Test it by unplugging one of the working computers from the router and plugging the wire for the not-working computer into it]
d) The wire itself is broken, or a crossover cable, or if you're using a wall plug something might be slightly loose or something.
[Switch in a new wire, or if that's tough, install the busted computer in the same location as a working one for the test]
e) The physical port on the computer is busted.
[Switch in a new network card, they're super cheap and usually returnable if the test fails]
f) The network software, drivers, preferences or whatever are configured improperly on the busted computer.
[Make sure that everything is setup exactly the same as a working computer]
If those tests don't fix it, and you're interested in having it fixed, stop back by this thread and we can try some of the really unlikely stuff.
Oh, and first you may want to stop by the device manager and make sure there are no 'x's or '!'s on the listing for the network card. That would indicate driver or hardware issues.