networking

[Baz]

Ok quick daft question what I should know but cant get to work at the moment.

my sons system is at the moment wireless but speed is not too good so I am trying to hard wire it, plugged in the cable, LEDs showing on the router but cannot get a connection on his system upstairs. What have I missed out to do???  Have taken out the wireless adapter he had in and enabled the network in the network connection page in control panel

[Rik]

Is the network set up correctly, Baz. What shows under properties?

[Baz]

What am I looking for Rik. it was working well on wireless its just nothing when I plugged in the cable

[Rik]

If you go into Network Connection, right click the cable connection and select properties, what do you see Baz?

[Baz]

sorry Rik Im up and down stairs.......get the local area network properties window with   general/authentication/advanced tabs

connect using..........(drop down box)      realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast Ethernet NIC

[Rik]

On the general tab, do you have something like this?

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Baz]

yes...

[Rik]

OK, if you go to Settings > Network Connections, right-click the cable connection and click Status, what do you get?

[Baz]

Settings where Rik?

[Rik]

On the start menu, Baz, but then I'm using classic menus, so the same may not apply to you. Wherever you went before, to check properties, but select Status instead.

[Lance]

Are you sure the cable is fine, Baz (test with another machine if you can)?

[Baz]

well  not sure about the cable but its brand new today so hope it is.


got logged out there     anyway Rik  in the status window , on general tab we have a connection pane showing connected and an activity pane showing nothing at the moment

[Rik]

Can you reach the net, or another machine on the network?  Have you re-booted the machine since making the changes?  If you click the support tab, does it say (of the address) Assigned by DHCP?

[Baz]

there is no entries in the support tab at all

[Rik]

I wish I could see the machine from here.

Is the network card showing up OK in Device Manager?

[somanyholes]

hey

if you look at the network card in the pc, is it lit up?

also

click start
goto run
type in cmd
click on ok

type in ipconfig /all


and post the output here

also do you get a response if you type in ping 127.0.0.1



also

it might be wise to disable your wireless card. right click it it network connections and click disable.

[Baz]

yes its showing ok. no exclamation marks next to it.


but just had a stupid moment and thought does it need a network card in, system calls it a realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast Ethernet NIC........

[Rik]

Not with you Baz. That is a network card, almost certainly on the motherboard. You don't have more than one do you?

[Baz]

phew.....thought I made the classic mistake there    no only the one Rik. the adapter for wireless is removed now, although there is an entry in Task Manager showing that something connected with the wireless adapter is running

[Baz]

hey


also

click start
goto run
type in cmd
click on ok

type in ipconfig /all


and post the output here

also do you get a response if you type in ping 127.0.0.1



also

it might be wise to disable your wireless card. right click it it network connections and click disable.

this gave Windows IP configuration


and sent/received/ 4 and lost none

[Rik]

Did you do what So suggested? Ah, yes you did but you didn't paste the output. It should look something like this:

ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

        Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : BEANMAIN
        Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . :
        Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
        IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
        WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
        DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : gateway.2wire.net

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 4:

        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : gateway.2wire.net
        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Marvell Yukon 88E8052 PCI-E ASF Gigabit Ethernet Controller
        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0E-A6-F1-D8-95
        Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
        Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.64
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.254
        DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.254
        DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.254
        Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 15 April 2008 08:42:04
        Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 16 April 2008 08:42:04

[Sebby]

How about if you do

ipconfig /all

?

Edit: got there a bit after Rik. You say you have a light on the router, which suggests the physical connection is fine. So we need to see if the computer has been assigned an IP.

[Baz]

I get no output at all at the ipconfig/all request

[Sebby]

You need a space between ipconfig and /all.

[Baz]

tried both ways with same result

[Rik]

If you look in Device Manager, what details do you have for the driver on the NIC, Baz?

[somanyholes]

as sebby has said mate

ipconfig /all

make sure there is a space between ipconfig and the word /all

if that doesn't work, are you using windows 98

if so type in winipcfg select the network card and you should have some information

[Sebby]

Sorry if this is patronising, but are you pressing enter after you've typed it? Just to be sure.

[Baz]

driver date 1.7.2001

version 5.398.613.2003


and the location on HD

[Baz]

as sebby has said mate

ipconfig /all

make sure there is a space between ipconfig and the word /all

if that doesn't work, are you using windows 98

if so type in winipcfg select the network card and you should have some information

on XP   tried without and with space

[Baz]

Sorry if this is patronising, but are you pressing enter after you've typed it? Just to be sure.

yes .....dont get me thinking that way Sebby, will get me in daft mode    think I have missed something stupid 

[somanyholes]

scratches head ...

i've never know it not work, don't take this the wrong way mate but you are typing

ipconfig not ipcomfig as i have done before, are you logged on as an administrator? the command really should work after pressing enter

[Baz]

do you mean try it on the suspect system or mine downstairs that is working
  just tried it on mine and only get info about my system anyhoos

[LesD]

yes .....dont get me thinking that way Sebby, will get me in daft mode    think I have missed something stupid 

I am in daft mode reading this and may have missed it if you have covered it already but two or three things are bothering me.
1) I am not sure whether the LAN you are trying to get to work is a plug-in PCI type LAN card or a built into the mobo "on-board" LAN.
2) If by some chance you have both, to use the PCI one I would go into the BIOS and disable the "on-board one just to eliminate it.
3) If you are using an "on-board" built into the mobo LAN is it enabled in the BIOS because having had Wireless up and running before it just might not be?

Sorry if this has been covered already but if it has I have missed it!

[Rik]

What does happen with an ipconfig /all on your own machine, Baz? Can you test the cable on your machine (I don't think it's the cable, but just to be sure...)? What exactly did you delete when removing the wireless connection?

And what Les said.

[somanyholes]

download this

http://www.imgsrv.worldstart.com/download/WXP-IPConfig.hta

save it to disk

run it and click on full information, then ok, then give us the output

[Baz]

I am in daft mode reading this and may have missed it if you have covered it already but two or three things are bothering me.
1) I am not sure whether the LAN you are trying to get to work is a plug-in PCI type LAN card or a built into the mobo "on-board" LAN.
2) If by some chance you have both, to use the PCI one I would go into the BIOS and disable the "on-board one just to eliminate it.
3) If you are using an "on-board" built into the mobo LAN is it enabled in the BIOS because having had Wireless up and running before it just might not be?

Sorry if this has been covered already but if it has I have missed it!

1)on board

3) enabled in BIOS

[Baz]

What does happen with an ipconfig /all on your own machine, Baz? Can you test the cable on your machine (I don't think it's the cable, but just to be sure...)? What exactly did you delete when removing the wireless connection?

And what Les said.

on my machine I get a result Rik. to try the cable do I need to shut down to remove it or not.

I just unplugged the wireless adapter it is a USB one but there is no entry in Network Connections for it since unplugging

[Rik]

on my machine I get a result Rik. to try the cable do I need to shut down to remove it or not.

No, you can hot plug an ethernet cable.

I just unplugged the wireless adapter it is a USB one but there is no entry in Network Connections for it since unplugging

No software changes, then? Did you re-boot?

I have to leave you now, Sue, dinner and a rugby match are calling. Good luck.

[LesD]

1)on board

3) enabled in BIOS

That's good. I have suffered a dead on board LAN port.
When the ethernet cable is plugged in to the router/switch and the on board LAN port do you see the LED's by the sockets light up. If not there is a hardward problem. I know this has been said before but no lights no connection.

I concur with somanyholes I have never known ipconfig /all not to work but I have only got experience with XP Pro. Is yours Pro or Home? Home may need some extra network bits and pieces installing but I don't know if this is the case or not.

[Baz]

yes re boot many times.


many thanks for every ones help, I too need to go now so will try all the suggestions tomorrow and let you know how I get on.

Thanks again guys

[Baz]

yes lights on back of board near socket. XP home

[Rik]

I'm just wondering if the dongle had some software installed which is still 'sitting on' the networking?

[LesD]

Home may need some extra network bits and pieces installing but I don't know if this is the case or not.

I do know now after a bit of Googling and ipconfig should work in both XP Home and Pro. 

Bill Gates he says so here:  8)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314850
and I quote:
The Syntax and Options for Using the Ipconfig Diagnostic Utility for Network Connections
.
.
.
APPLIES TO
• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition

[Steve]

I ask this question out of ignorance, what would you get from ipconfig if TCP/IP been removed or box not ticked?

[LesD]

I ask this question out of ignorance, what would you get from ipconfig if TCP/IP been removed or box not ticked?

Good question Steve, I don't know!
This has to be the next thing for Baz to check.
No TCP/IP no connection but whether the ipconfig command stops working is anybodies guess.
ipconfig /? gives all the help syntax stuff so you would think this should work but maybe not.

[Baz]

tried uninstalling the wireless adapter spftware, re boot and tried the cable again. still no connection.

tried the cable in my system downstairs and it picked it up straight away and connected. unfortunately am back to square one as my son need to use hi system so we installed the software again. even tried a different port on the router, no luck.

Am starting to think its router related somehow but dont know  what, been through all the settings on router and cant see anything obvious.

[Sebby]

We really need to know if the PC is getting an IP, Baz.

[Baz]

sorry Sebby will have to leave it till tomorrow as its back on wireless now. Not that it will help any but it does get an address when on wireless

[somanyholes]

tcp/ip is working as he can ping his loopback address or 127.0.0.1.

i really don't think you need to do this but the command to reset tcp/ip is

netsh int ip reset log.txt

[somanyholes]

this may seem like going backwards, but on the problem machine, if you enable the wireless card and connect to the internet and then do an ipconfig /all do you get any information for the wireless connection?

[Rik]

I suppose it could just be a bad NIC on the machine, which isn't being detected as faulty? I think I'd be inclined to take a look in the BIOS at this point and make sure it's set up correctly there.

[Glenn]

Baz,

In Network Connections, is your LAN connection there? If it says 'disabled' then right click on it and select 'enable'.

[Sebby]

I don't think it can be disabled; if it was, the connection light wouldn't be on on the router. That's why the physically connection would appear fine.

[Rik]

OTOH, I suppose the physical connection could be fine, but the NIC to Windows area is not working. I'm not sure exactly what the LEDs signal, ie it could just be a hardware handshake, with no data communication.

[LesD]

Probably time to try a cheap and cheerful PCI LAN card.

Though I do have some vague recollections about some drivers having to be uninstalled in Safe Mode to get rid of them properly but this could have been in the days of W'98. May be worth a try with the wireless ones then intall the MoBo Lan Drivers again.

When my onboard LAN died first thing I tried was drivers with no success then I disabled it in the BIOS with a view to re-enabling it to see if this made any difference but I did not get that far.
When I booted up like this good old Bill Gates kicked me when I was down by saying my Genuine Windows XP had to be re-activated within 48 hours! 

This change (simply disabling the on-board LAN in the BIOS) scored enough points for their cock-eyed scheme to think I had put my XP on another machine. Hence a quick trip to PCWorld for a PCI LAN card, which fortunately fixed the problem and let me get back on-line and re-activated with-in the time limit. Sometimes I love WG as much as BT! 

[Baz]

unfortunately I havent had the chance to try it today so we are running it on the wireless again with no probs. When I get the chance I will double check the BIOS setting to be sure and try the un-install the wireless software approach again and re-try the cable where as last time I just un plugged the USB adapter. Dont suppose theres any adjustments need in the router is there. Another thought I had was do the router ports have any priority or not, which I havent tried yet.

will keep you informed.

[Dangerjunkie]

Hi,

Some things to try:

Really silly idea... Have unplugged and rebooted your router and then all the machines (to make sure the router hasn't got its head up its bum and all the machines have good addresses?

If you can find another wireless access point, plug it in on the table next to the problem machine and connect it to the same cable you were using for the machine. If it works and you can surf the net over it then the cable is good. If you can't get another AP move the machine down to the router and try a different cable.

I suspect that will work. The fact the ipconfig /all doesn't list the adaptor leads me to the strong suspicion that this is a bad NIC or a Windows driver/IP stack issue. Do you think you may have or have had any kind of virus or spyware infection on the machine? Sometimes these can break the TCP stack when you remove them.

Open the Control Panel and go to Hardware and the Device Manager. Can you find the NIC in the network adaptors list? Is it shown with a symbol like an exclamation mark or a cross next to it? If you look at the properties does it say it's working normally?

Go to the mobo manufacturer's site and download the motherboard driver(s) for that board. Install the latest version. If for some reason the old driver wasn't working the NIC may reappear or start to work.

Next thing (Take cover, out comes the Linux again) Go to http://www.ubuntu.com and download and burn the Ubuntu Linux CD. Boot the machine off it and see if the internal network works then. If Linux can surf the net then you know the NIC is good and it must be a Windows problem.

Have you installed any hardware in the machine since the NIC last worked? Open the machine up and remove all the boards other than the graphics card. If the NIC starts working you may have a conflict with one of the boards you just removed.

Good luck,
Paul.

[Baz]

Hi Paul,

Really silly idea... Have unplugged and rebooted your router and then all the machines (to make sure the router hasn't got its head up its bum and all the machines have good addresses?


the router has been re booted a few times during the process when I was trying the cable yesterday. It may sound like a silly idea but sometimes they are the ones that work, then it makes you feel like a right pratt

If you can find another wireless access point, plug it in on the table next to the problem machine and connect it to the same cable you were using for the machine. If it works and you can surf the net over it then the cable is good. If you can't get another AP move the machine down to the router and try a different cable.


dont have another router but I have tried the cable on my system downstairs and it worked straight away, no probs


I suspect that will work. The fact the ipconfig /all doesn't list the adaptor leads me to the strong suspicion that this is a bad NIC or a Windows driver/IP stack issue. Do you think you may have or have had any kind of virus or spyware infection on the machine? Sometimes these can break the TCP stack when you remove them.

not sure about this although my son is pretty good at keeping his AV up to date and checking regular, something has rubbed off on him from me at last

Open the Control Panel and go to Hardware and the Device Manager. Can you find the NIC in the network adaptors list? Is it shown with a symbol like an exclamation mark or a cross next to it? If you look at the properties does it say it's working normally?

yes have tried that and there is no exclamation marks, reported as working normally


will try your other ideas when I get time, maybe not the Ubuntu one though

thanks for the help Paul

[Baz]

Well..........started again and un-installed the wireless software then removed the USB adapter. Had previously checked again that the LAN was enabled in BIOS which it was. Tried again with the cable enabling the connection,nothing. Went through every thing I had already done and all the suggestions here, checked network properties,  status, ipconfig /all etc still nothing. Checked the driver properties then stuck in the mobo cd to try the drivers. Couldnt remember installing them originally as we didnt have the router then so found the LAN drivers on cd and installed them but checking the properties after re- boot it was still the same as before with the original driver listed. Could not think of much else so just fiddled about for a bit going over the same stuff and then it just seemed to kick into action 

couldnt believe it when it worked   great to get it going but hate it when things get 'fixed' but you're not sure why or how

anyway it seems to have improved the slowish speed from the wireless a great deal which was the problem, just need to get some drilling now to get the cable out the way to keep the wife happy   then the next job is to get his ps3 working online   


thanks to everyone for the help and ideas they were very much appreciated . stand by for more probs in the future

[LesD]

then it just seemed to kick into action 

That's great! 
I am pleased that you have it working despite a little mystery as to why but I expect re-installing the driver may have been the catalyst.

One question though does ipconfig now work? 

[Sebby]

I'm glad to hear that you got it sorted in the end.

[Rik]

Pesky machines. 

[Baz]

That's great! 
I am pleased that you have it working despite a little mystery as to why but I expect re-installing the driver may have been the catalyst.

One question though does ipconfig now work? 

Sorry Les, just re-read this post and yes the ipconfig does now work



Edit: Quote markup sorted

[LesD]

Sorry Les, just re-read this post and yes the ipconfig does now work



Edit: Quote markup sorted

Thanks Baz, that´s good to know. 

I have just tried it in my new Ubuntu Terminal Window and disappointingly got this:

les@Linux-desktop:~$ ipconfig /all
bash: ipconfig: command not found
les@Linux-desktop:~$   (We need a thumbs down smiley for the likes of here!  )

My memory must be dying prematurely because I thought that this was a command that was common to DOS and UNIX. Ah well!

P.S. A X-check with man confirms that it´s not available:
les@Linux-desktop:~$ man ipconfig
No manual entry for ipconfig
les@Linux-desktop:~$

[Rik]

This do you, Les?

or this 

[LesD]

This do you, Les?

or this 

Great let´s have ´em both. 

I need one for the double presses of the comma under the @ symbol key that I was showing off with above here in my Ubuntu Linux environment!   

[Rik]

The first one can be used by typing : thumbsdown : without the spaces after and before the colon. The second one is available on the post form.

[somanyholes]

ipconfig is windows only

try

ifconfig for wired

iwconfig for wireless

for brief options just do

ifconfig --help


should do the trick

[LesD]

should do the trick

Certainly did So thanks for that.

I see below that this machine has been assigned 192.168.1.66, odd that it is so high a number from the DHCP as it is only the third device to be connected to my 2700.

les@Linux-desktop:~$ ifconfig
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:xx:yy:zz:xx:yy 
          inet addr:192.168.1.66  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          inet6 addr: ff60::250:11:yyyy:zzzz. Scope:Link
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:2507 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:1506 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:851918 (831.9 KB)  TX bytes:301063 (294.0 KB)
          Interrupt:11 Base address:0xec00

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback 
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1
          RX packets:1250 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:1250 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
          RX bytes:62500 (61.0 KB)  TX bytes:62500 (61.0 KB)

les@Linux-desktop:~$

[Rik]

That seems correct, Les. By default the first machine would be 64, second 65 and third 66.