Connecting to router / onboard network

Kheldar · Jun 25, 2007, 11:24:17

ok the long saga of my main pc finally arriving at the ne house and trying vainly to connect to then et.

given up on wireless so moved the pc to connect to the router directly.

pc has an on board network adapter which i used to use for the previous cable connection to the net.

have connected it to the router with a cable i know works.....yet the pc says network cable unplugged - although there are lights on when you connect the cable to the pc...

and at the router end the light comes on to indicate its made a connection to the router ? ie light with number 2 comes on (no 1 being lit for the pc i'm typing this on...)

if i try to connect to the router it comes up and tells me i'm not online and would i like to work offline or connect ?

confused ?

anyone got an idea.....

thanks

steve

DorsetBoy · Jun 25, 2007, 11:30:04

Try deleting the connection in Control Panel>internet connections and then start again.

The settings/type of connection for cable and adsl max are not the same.

Rik · Jun 25, 2007, 11:31:02

Check in My Computer > Device Manager (or Control Panel > System). Is there a yellow question mark against the network card?

Kheldar · Jun 25, 2007, 16:09:01

i'll give it a try dorset.....so the difference would potentially stop me being able to even access the router ?

nope thats the confusing thing Rik - device manager says the onboard gigabyte network card is working fine......

just net connections says its unplugged when its not - at least the lights on the back of the pc and the router seem to indicate a connection ?

Rik · Jun 25, 2007, 16:11:54

The unplugged message could indicate a faulty cable, why are you sure it is OK?

Kheldar · Jun 25, 2007, 16:14:01

Quote from: Rik on Jun 25, 2007, 16:11:54
The unplugged message could indicate a faulty cable, why are you sure it is OK?

cos its the cable i use whenever i go to the office to connect myself to the network.

Rik · Jun 25, 2007, 16:18:07

OK, if you check the properties of the connection, what does it say?

Kheldar · Jun 25, 2007, 17:40:53

properties of settings net connections....

has a Local Area Connection listed as Unplugged. this is the onboard networking stuff.

if you look into some of its items etc i can see that tcp/ip is set to automatically grab a DNS and IP address.

you cant delete it.

device manager says its fine and working ok.

Rik · Jun 25, 2007, 17:48:17

Try right-clicking the connection, select status and, in the next window, click on the 'Support' tab. What does it say there? If you click on 'Repair' does it connect?

Kheldar · Jun 25, 2007, 19:42:22

status and repair are greyed out.

B52 · Jun 25, 2007, 21:34:31

Is it disabled in the BIOS ?

DorsetBoy · Jun 26, 2007, 05:18:17

Just a thought before you do anything else.........what firewall are you running on that PC?

Try shutting it down and see if that allows the connection.Also.is that XP Home or Pro?

Kheldar · Jun 26, 2007, 08:46:21

Quote from: B52 on Jun 25, 2007, 21:34:31
Is it disabled in the BIOS ?

cant be B52 cos it was being used at the old house to connect this pc to the net via blueyonder cable.

Quote from: DorsetBoy on Jun 26, 2007, 05:18:17
Just a thought before you do anything else.........what firewall are you running on that PC?

Try shutting it down and see if that allows the connection.Also.is that XP Home or Pro?

none at the moment Dorset - its turned off.

its xp pro iirc. will check later.....would that make a difference ?

Rik · Jun 26, 2007, 08:57:22

The greying out would tend to suggest you don't have networking correctly installed. Fire up Control Panel > Add/Remove programs > Add/Remove Windows components > Network services, see if everything is present. If it is, remove it then re-install it, if it isn't, install it.

Ray · Jun 26, 2007, 08:58:59

Quote from: Kheldar on Jun 26, 2007, 08:46:21
cant be B52 cos it was being used at the old house to connect this pc to the net via blueyonder cable.

As you were using the PC on a cable connection previously have you tried running the Windows Network Setup Wizard again to re create your connection and settings?

Kheldar · Jun 26, 2007, 10:15:28

Quote from: Rik on Jun 26, 2007, 08:57:22
The greying out would tend to suggest you don't have networking correctly installed. Fire up Control Panel > Add/Remove programs > Add/Remove Windows components > Network services, see if everything is present. If it is, remove it then re-install it, if it isn't, install it.

but how can it not be installed correctly if last week the pc connected to the net with zero problems ?

Quote from: Sheltieuk on Jun 26, 2007, 08:58:59
As you were using the PC on a cable connection previously have you tried running the Windows Network Setup Wizard again to re create your connection and settings?

never used that wizard ? never had to ?

can try it if it might work / make a difference ?

Rik · Jun 26, 2007, 10:20:01

Quote from: Kheldar on Jun 26, 2007, 10:15:28
but how can it not be installed correctly if last week the pc connected to the net with zero problems ?

It's Windows, things stop working sometimes.

DorsetBoy · Jun 26, 2007, 10:20:41

If "Disable" is available I would click that,create a new connection with the wizard,if all is well go back and delete the old connection.

Kheldar · Jun 26, 2007, 10:58:03

Quote from: DorsetBoy on Jun 26, 2007, 10:20:41
If "Disable" is available I would click that,create a new connection with the wizard,if all is well go back and delete the old connection.

this connection cannot be deleted when i tried yesterday.

i will try the wizard and maybe reinstall the network components rik mentioned.

DorsetBoy · Jun 26, 2007, 11:05:29

Quote from: Kheldar on Jun 26, 2007, 10:58:03
this connection cannot be deleted when i tried yesterday.

i will try the wizard and maybe reinstall the network components rik mentioned.

Disable and delete are 2 different things.Is the DISABLE option live or greyed out?

Kheldar · Jun 26, 2007, 11:18:05

i can disable it.

so then try the wizard to re-create it ?

or should a simple re boot force it via plug and play ?

DorsetBoy · Jun 26, 2007, 11:20:54

Either would do,would certainly be interesting to see what windows does about it,yes maybe try the disable then reboot first.

Kheldar · Jun 26, 2007, 16:37:07

windows does nothing with it disabled. does not try to recreate or anything via plug and play.

i then discovered i have 2 network sockets but only 1 was enabled so whilst the one was disabled i enabled the other in the bios to check it....

still nothing works. that one now says unplugged even though its all installed ok according to control panel etc and the lights on it at back of pc all light up to indicate a connection.

DorsetBoy · Jun 26, 2007, 16:45:39

So you now have another socket AND windows connection that don't work............. replace cable.

Rik · Jun 26, 2007, 16:47:04

It does return me to my first suspicion, the network cable, as Dorset says. Can you try with another cable?

Failing that, go into Device Manager and uninstall both network cards, then reboot. See if that brings them back 'clean'. Have you tried re-installing the Windows networking stuff?

Kheldar · Jun 27, 2007, 08:56:53

i tried the cable which works on the other pc on the duff pc and its still not working.

and i tried the 2nd cable on the working pc and it works so i have 2 working cables.

gotta be summat to do with the pc.

will have to try re-installing stuff. just gotta dig out the windows cd for that and not sure where it is as not seen it since before we moved house !

so bottom line is even with a working cable plugged in the back of the pc and with lights windows is reporting the connection as Unplugged. device manager says all is fine though.

its a shame the pc is on the ground floor otherwise i'd try to teach it fly

i have to say i gave up last night and played a game of Railroads instead.

Rik · Jun 27, 2007, 09:10:27

Well, if the cable checks OK, and the lights are on, the next thing has to be to check the Windows setup. It would be much easier if we could see your machine.

Kheldar · Jun 27, 2007, 09:27:40

Quote from: Rik on Jun 27, 2007, 09:10:27
Well, if the cable checks OK, and the lights are on, the next thing has to be to check the Windows setup. It would be much easier if we could see your machine.

i'll take a piccy of it and post it rik

Rik · Jun 27, 2007, 09:28:51

Front view, rear view, cover off and internal view, then lots of screen shots. Oh, and don't forget one of your Windows CD.

Kheldar · Jun 27, 2007, 09:31:04

could not possibly do an internal view.....all that dust u see

seriously cheers for the help.

am getting mightily frustrated with it. esp as 1 week ago at the other house it was merrily connected all the time.

Kheldar · Jun 27, 2007, 17:17:44

omg i'm online on my pc !

Rik · Jun 27, 2007, 17:24:21

What did you do?

Kheldar · Jun 27, 2007, 17:26:39

i gave it a damn good talking to and hey presto !

ok maybe not - i've actually stolen the pci network card out of Rach's pc and installed it into this one and its worked and i'm online in 5 seconds flat !

but its ok cos she's not here atm ! although i could be in troulbe in about 35 mins !

still does not answer whats up with the onboard which worked last week and has worked for the past 3 years for my connection to blueyonder ?

so now i either spend more time fiddling with the on board or just go and buy a cheap pci network card !

Rik · Jun 27, 2007, 17:34:49

Given that you weren't getting any yellow question marks against the on-board NIC, fault finding could be a problem. Obviously, it would be worth going through the BIOS settings to ensure nothing has changed that could be inhibiting the NICs, but if neither on-board interface worked, and plugging in a new card cures the problem, I wouldn't spend too much time looking for the problem. Out of interest, if you go into Device Manager and compare the on-board NIC with the card, can you see any settings which differ significantly?

I'm still wondering whether the cable connection could have anything to do with the problem, but I can't think what - by the time it reached your PC, it was just another ethernet connection.

Kheldar · Jun 27, 2007, 17:40:31

well the pci card has less options in advanced, and ofc apart from the obvious they using diff irq's, memory and pci slots windows reports everything is hunky dory and working fine !!!

i've not touched the bios on this machine since it was built until monday evening when i simply turned on the onboard network port 2.....

yeah was/is the cable to blame ?

it always connected through onboard port 1 as only just turned on the 2nd on board connection ?

Rik · Jun 27, 2007, 17:45:30

It's always possible that the BIOS has corrupted for some reason, especially if the PC is a few years old and has not had a new battery, but has been powered down for a while, eg during your move?

It might be worth working through it, take a note of all settings, then reset it to factory or 'safe' settings and see if it restores the network interface.

Kheldar · Jun 27, 2007, 17:56:47

yeah i guess its possible rik.

its still been used after we moved.

as it was our only net access til i joined Idnet i was going back there 3 times a week, maybe more to use it os its not really been powered down since we moved ever for longer than 5 days maybe ?

Rik · Jun 27, 2007, 18:02:38

Five days is enough to lose settings if the battery is low. All you can do is step through the BIOS page by page looking for anything wrong. As every BIOS is a bit different, it's difficult to tell you what to look for. IAC, it may be nothing to do with your problems, but as Windows isn't flagging anything, it's a good place to start. Did you look at the connection info for the PCI card while it was in the machine? Were there any differences in the TCP/IP settings between that and the onboard NICs?

Kheldar · Jun 28, 2007, 08:17:26

so how long do the batteries for the bios retention last then ?

Rik · Jun 28, 2007, 09:07:46

It's hard to say, there are too many variables, but 3-5 years would be a good ballpark figure.

Kheldar · Jun 28, 2007, 09:23:44

hmm okies.

i reckon this pc is less than 3 years old. sure it will be 3 this december !

okies gotta get a network card.

does it matter on manufacturer ? ie for support / drivers ?

seen a cheap one online called a PC Line ??

else i got for a belkin (got one now in rach's pc) or a netgear ?

Rik · Jun 28, 2007, 09:28:59

If you have a Maplin near you, try this at £6.99.

Kheldar · Jun 28, 2007, 09:33:52

unfrotunately not rik.

around 40 miles away.

was checking online on currrys / dixons websites.

also pc world who are just up the road from where i work.

otherwise its from play.

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/3291068/Belkin-Desktop-Network-PCI-Card/Product.html

Rik · Jun 28, 2007, 09:37:07

The Belkin one doesn't appear to have XP drivers. You should be able to pick one up from PC World without any problems, just make sure they state there are XP drivers with it.

Kheldar · Jun 28, 2007, 10:08:05

well spotted !

cant believe no xp drivers ?!

will take a look in pc world later.

Rik · Jun 28, 2007, 10:09:17

Me neither. It may be an ommission by Play.com, or it could be they are dumping some very old stock.

Kheldar · Jun 28, 2007, 18:01:29

bought network card.

installed network card.

on the net.

sorted.

Rik · Jun 28, 2007, 18:03:24

That's the route I'd have taken, having established it would work by using the card from Rach's machine. You might be able to sort the problem with the onboard network interfaces, or you might be looking around for ages. I'm a great fan of pragmatism.

Kheldar · Jun 28, 2007, 18:06:24

i'm a great fan of KFC myself

also of if it aint broke dont fix it which for my onboard networking translates in devonian as 'its broke so leave it the hell alone'