View Full Version : [Merged] Connection problem - IP address 169.
Hi, its been getting on my nerves for ages dont want to call tsb because at least i have a connection and i know its only a petty thing lol! But i Have Win Pro on a Dell pentium2 450mhz with 192mb memory :D :D (i Know i hear fits of laughter !!! but it does me for what i want!) But everytime i start my pc i get an i.p. of 169.xx. Its just a pain in the butt having to go downstairs after putting my pc on upstairs to reboot the stb which is a ditv 1000 box, then everything works fine. The weird thing was i installed broadband medic the other day, and since then i seem to have about 96% success of connecting to BB without rebooting stb first?! The one time i did have a problem i ran bb medic and it said network card failed - it is a 3com 3c905tx, but again was ok after reboot? Anyone any suggestions please - need new NIC even? Cheers folks
Some possible reasons for your 169 address are listed here:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/badip.html#ip169
cheers will have a look through
th'engineer
09-07-2004, 12:31
Check your firewall is allowing your connection to refresh its lease
here (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/security.html)
also ditch BB medic :D Ditv for BB 1000 box:td: 2000:tu: 4000:td: samsung have not played with one yet any offers:rolleyes:
luckylucas
09-07-2004, 13:57
Hello all
I need help, at the moment I cannot connect to the internet although everything looks normal correct lights on STB and USB light as normal, in internet options it shows my connection as being connected but the IP address is a 169. (not getting IP from NTL)
Now just to give a bit of history I had this problem a few months ago and NTL could not work out the problem and after numerous visits and new set top boxes they said they could not find a problem so it must be my pc, I clean installed my pc which is a dell/xp and the problem was still present, I was booked in for another visit however before they could come out again it came back on as if by magic. (I found out online there was some NTL maintenance being carried out relatively near - so I put it down to that even though NTL said it wasn't their problem).
(At the time of this loss of service I was downloading an Mpg file with did not work and I got a server reset message from the target server and the download stopped - this happened twice but after the first time I had no problem with NTL):td:
I am at work so can't really try anything at the moment but any suggestions will be welcome, as I don't want to go through the hassle I went through last time only for it to come back on without anything changing.. There is something online about service outage but as of last update 7th july my area is not mentioned :confused: ;) Thanks in advance.
I had this happen last night to my son's pc ....
Go to Device manager, via My Computer ... properties.
Find your USB connection and remove it.
Reboot, the PC will refind the USB device and reinstall drivers.
All should work from then ...
Not sure what the problem actually is, wheteher it is NTL or the modem, but that fixed it for me (although I use Ethernet cards).
luckylucas
09-07-2004, 14:18
Thanks Nemesis, I will try that if I still have problems when I get home, the nationwide maintenance is now reported as complete so possibly the problem may have gone.
Thanks again:tu:
th'engineer
09-07-2004, 14:55
suggest you go to NIC card and ditch the usb it tends to use far to much pc memory resources and that cause the timeouts
luckylucas
09-07-2004, 15:02
Yes, I was on NIC when this problem occurred the first time and the NTL engineer switched me to USB (clutching at straws trying to find a solution) then after it fixed itself I kept it as it was. (didn't want to disrupt it back when it was working):)
Well as theEng says, Nic would be better, so switch back anyway :D
th'engineer
09-07-2004, 15:06
NTL and engineer,:confused: NTL and engineer :confused: hmm no NTL and tech:D :angel:
Chrysalis
09-07-2004, 19:53
get SACM
th'engineer
09-07-2004, 20:06
get SACM or a samsung box
Moominpappa
15-07-2004, 23:17
Long story but bear with me - I need help!
Have had NTL broadband for a year via a set top box. The wall socket was in a separate room, linked by RJ45 cable plugged into the LAN Ethernet port on our Mesh computer running XP. Oldest son took the Mesh to University, and we replaced it with an Evesham (XP again)- it just plugged and played straight away on the ethernet NIC. Son came home and tried to install a Netgear DSL router to share the broadband connection.
For reasons of his own, he decides that he doesn't read\need router install instructions, doesn't keep a note of the MAC or IP address and sets up everything, (router and two PC's) while the set-top box is still switched on. He also decides to set up his PC as the administator. Later he tells me that when tried to plug the broad-band connection into his PC it didn't work then, so he just plugged it back into ours.
Anyway router fails to initialise and the set-up wizard aborts. Son then decides to manually configure everything, and plays with settings, (but keeps no record of what). By the time I get home, the only option appears to be get everything back to the pre-install state. Neither machines has the router software as the wizard was aborted and the manual config never achieved anything. So I turn off the Evesham, turn off the set-top box, unplug the cables that came with the router and re-attach the RJ-45 to the wall socket and the LAN port. Fire her up and hey presto.... private IP address and no broadband connection. Same on the Mesh. Okay,go for a system restore point some three weeks earlier, (oh, did I mention he didn't take a system restore point). Nothing. Ring NTL technical support line, go into multiple checks, - ipconfig release, ipconfig renew, turn off DHCP, turn off DNS, turn them on, disable the network card drivers, re-enable them, all with re-boots of PC and set-top box. The NTL people assure me they can ping all the way to the network card. Then NTL want me to re-install XP (I haven't yet) but then they say both network cards must be dead\faulty.
So I set up peer to peer network, using the RJ45 cable and the LAN ports on both PC's. The Mesh accesses the printer via the Evesham. The Evesham accesses the re-instated dial-up on the Mesh. I use internet sharing and the Microsoft small network facility in XP. NTL get me to try some DOS command that will restore everything to the original factory settings for the Evesham after I've removed the ICS\network. Still no joy. I phone up customer services - can the PC (Evesham)be plugged directly into the set-top box. Plug in, hooray, a welcome to NTL world screen, and then nothing, it hangs for forty minutes while I sit in NTL's call centre queue. I give them an ultimatum, mend it or take it away. They'll get an engineer out.
Engineer arrives and he can't get an IP address or connection. Eventually replaces much of the wiring and all of the leads until signal obtained. Plug new RJ45 cable into the back of the Evesham, power up set-top box, power up PC and....private IP address. I'm referred back to the Technical help-desk.
Meanwhile, I discover that installing a Netgear router on NTL broadband is not for the computer novice. I get referred to Robin Walkers web-pages on NTL BB problems, but the router has gone back to the supplier, and as it never installed properly, so a lot of the other stuff there doesn't seem to apply. Is it a virus or some form of denial of service. Well - we haven't got a virus checker, (son has Norton on his MESH),as knew we were getting the router, and I'd heard that both Norton & McAfee can cause problems with router installation, plus routers usually come with a firewall that is every bit as good. Using dial up I've been to both the Symantec and McAfee web-sites and used their free scanners, but neither found anything. Spybot and WinPatrol are installed on the Evesham.
All subsequent system restores to earlier points have failed since that first restore. I've tried to write our files to CD's, but both the DVD\CD writer, and the ordinary CD writer aren't working.I've not had cause to use them before for this purpose, so both may never have worked as writers.
Any suggestions - I'd love to go to another broadband supplier but if its a PC config or Denial of Service then we could still have the same problem.
I suspect this started because you (he?) has changed the MAC address of the device talking to the STB. Have you found this page?
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/swap.html
Moominpappa
17-07-2004, 10:54
Yep, tried Robin's page and tried most of what seems to apply. I can see that son can't have put correct MAC address into the router because he didn't keep a note of the MAC address for either machine before he started, (d'oh - but then he's the one who did computer studies at A level, hence my naive trust!):rolleyes:
Even with all his fiddling around, I can't see that he could have cloned another MAC address into the NIC on either PC so I can only assume that what shows up in ipconfig/all is what it was before the router installation.
Either way, the STB has recognised the MAC's previously for both machines when they have been the sole machine using broadband. It concerns me that son's machine couldn't subsequently access broadband after we'd set up the Evesham machine. I see from Robin's web-page that the NTL server use to only recognise one MAC, but as the page goes on to say, that is no longer the case, and Tech Support have confirmed this. However, I have followed Robin's suggested procedure for de-installing one computer and replacing it with another - all to no avail.
The complicating factor from my perspective is that neither machine can now be set up with broadband - it seems too much of a co-incidence that there would be the same hardware glitch on both.:confused:
It's a pain in the A*** - every time I try something I have to break the dial-up network sharing that I've set up, turn off set-top boxes, etc, all with three kids and a wife who either want to be on the internet or watch cable tv breathing down my neck!:rofl: My usage bill came to £150 extra last month plus a rental for a BB connection that I can't connect to! I've even tried getting local firms out to come and have a look - as soon as I tell them its NTL with a set-top box they run a mile.........
Yep, tried Robin's page and tried most of what seems to apply. I can see that son can't have put correct MAC address into the router because he didn't keep a note of the MAC address for either machine before he started, (d'oh - but then he's the one who did computer studies at A level, hence my naive trust!):rolleyes:
Even with all his fiddling around, I can't see that he could have cloned another MAC address into the NIC on either PC so I can only assume that what shows up in ipconfig/all is what it was before the router installation.
Either way, the STB has recognised the MAC's previously for both machines when they have been the sole machine using broadband. It concerns me that son's machine couldn't subsequently access broadband after we'd set up the Evesham machine. I see from Robin's web-page that the NTL server use to only recognise one MAC, but as the page goes on to say, that is no longer the case, and Tech Support have confirmed this. However, I have followed Robin's suggested procedure for de-installing one computer and replacing it with another - all to no avail.
The complicating factor from my perspective is that neither machine can now be set up with broadband - it seems too much of a co-incidence that there would be the same hardware glitch on both.:confused:
It's a pain in the A*** - every time I try something I have to break the dial-up network sharing that I've set up, turn off set-top boxes, etc, all with three kids and a wife who either want to be on the internet or watch cable tv breathing down my neck!:rofl: My usage bill came to £150 extra last month plus a rental for a BB connection that I can't connect to! I've even tried getting local firms out to come and have a look - as soon as I tell them its NTL with a set-top box they run a mile.........
What area are you in. If its the north west i could pay a visit :)
Regards
In case you're worried - Bill is NTL's Mr Fixit in the Northwest.
;)
Moominpappa
18-07-2004, 15:48
Thanks guys that really is appreciated- but it's Norwich I'm afraid. In latitude terms we are closer to the North Pole than Birmingham so at least we're not softy southerners!....but I don't think I'm really north enough for you.
I'm resigned now to trying to re-install XP on at least our machine - son can make up his own mine as he did a runner to his girlfriends after the install c***up and is only gracing us with his company when her parents are away and therefore no-one will cook for him\them.
So one last question - all the guidance says make sure that your computer can boot from the CD drive, and seems to assume that I know how to do this - is there an idiot's guide somewhere that anyone knows of, (preferably for very dumb idiots like me - I know enough to be dangerous but not enough to be useful)
Thanks guys that really is appreciated- but it's Norwich I'm afraid. In latitude terms we are closer to the North Pole than Birmingham so at least we're not softy southerners!....but I don't think I'm really north enough for you.
I'm resigned now to trying to re-install XP on at least our machine - son can make up his own mine as he did a runner to his girlfriends after the install c***up and is only gracing us with his company when her parents are away and therefore no-one will cook for him\them.
So one last question - all the guidance says make sure that your computer can boot from the CD drive, and seems to assume that I know how to do this - is there an idiot's guide somewhere that anyone knows of, (preferably for very dumb idiots like me - I know enough to be dangerous but not enough to be useful)
Try these sites
http://www.windowsreinstall.com/
http://windows.radified.com/windows_xp_install.htm
http://www.blackviper.com/Articles/OS/InstallXPPro/installxppro1.htm
Hope they help you :)
th'engineer
18-07-2004, 18:57
Try these sites
http://www.windowsreinstall.com/
http://windows.radified.com/windows_xp_install.htm
http://www.blackviper.com/Articles/OS/InstallXPPro/installxppro1.htm
Hope they help you :)
The master at work again i am not worthy , the best help in the NW BILL C:D
The master at work again i am not worthy , the best help in the NW BILL C:D
:blush:
Um - if the original poster was getting a private IP fine, then the STB connection is working fine, and all they need to do is go through registration, which takes about a minute, assuming they still have their original PIN and password.
You don't need to muck about with changing MAC addresses and the like.
Moominpappa
19-07-2004, 01:14
Trouble is to register I've got to get past a default HTML page that tells me that my PC can't connect to the internet, a ping\network connection repair\network card uninstall and reinstall that all tell me that the DNS server can't be contacted or has failed to respond. Funnily enough I didn't get my original welcome letter so had to ring up and get the details which I still have written down - I would welcome the chance to use them.
Ok - I've just spent three hours installing XP - the set-up didn't even give me the option of a repair install, (presumably because I've got Eveshams OEM version of XP). About half way down the first page of the XP reinstall guide on
http://www.windowsreinstall.com/, what was happening on my screen was going off on a completely different tangent. I then had to install the software for stuff like the Nvidia networking card and such-like, and I've still got a small stack of CD's for tomorrow night. So of course I've lost all the personal files, mails etc - which hopefully are backed up because I copied them over to my son's hard drive before removing the network connection.
And I bet you can guess what I still haven't got after all that:rolleyes: Sorry to sound tetchy - its just that's another weekend wasted and if anything I'm worse off than I was on Friday night - even the big overkill solution doesn't appear to solve this one!
Default HTML page saying you can't connect?
This the standard Microsoft one rather than any HTML one?
Make sure:
You haven't specified any DNS servers.
You haven't specified a proxy.
I've registered on STB broadband from a variety of machines from Win 98 to FreeBSD and it's worked every time.
If you PM me with the STB's MAC address or smart card number I can double-check it's still got broadband enabled on it. No point mucking about reinstalling XP until the basics are checked, really.
Um - if the original poster was getting a private IP fine, then the STB connection is working fine, and all they need to do is go through registration, which takes about a minute, assuming they still have their original PIN and password.
You don't need to muck about with changing MAC addresses and the like.
He said 169.x range - thats usually Window's own internal addressing when there's no DHCP present...unless NTL use that range too?
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