Can't get online - Won't pick up an IP

[Halcyon]

Hi everyone,

Been helping a friend to troubleshoot their connection.
They used to be on BT ADSL and connecting via USB.
I went round and they told me they now have VirginMedia Broadband.
They cant get on the web at all.
I decided to have a quick look.

I checked that ethernet cable was in properly, modem on, wait for lights.
All lights are ok.
Boot up PC and cant get a connection.

Check to see if cable is working. Taking it in and out sees there is a cable attached. Still doesnt work.
Decide to do an ipconfig /release and renew as well as flushdns.
Still doesnt work.

I then decided to check settings in control panel, network connections, and check that tcp/ip is selected and that obtain IP address automatically, DHCP enabled.
All is fine there, makes no difference.

Each time I am checking I go back to local connection and click to repair and it attempts to get an IP.
This always times out and when checking status window there is only sending packets and none received.

I then checked Bios to see if anything was turned off. Disabled, Re-enabled, made no difference.

Then completly removed adapter in Device manager and rebooted. It auto found it and still no success.
Also tried removing drivers and re-installing drivers.

They've never used the built in ethernet port on their motherboard before.
Although there is one orange light on the ethernet port, I have a feeling the port is not working.

Does anyone have any sollutions I have not tried as yet ?
Wonder if it worth just putting in a cheap NIC. Wonder if it will solve problem.

My friends bringing his laptop from work tommorow to rule out Virginmedia modem problem but from modem lights, all looks ok that end.


Thanks for your help,


halcyon.

[sstainer]

hmm i presume you tried the boot modem wait 30 secs boot pc routine?
maybe if can try access http://192.168.100.1/ user & PW being root / root then look at operation config will work even if no service allowed for modem

will have a think on rest

[Halcyon]

Thanks sstainer,

I did do routine....modem on, leave approx 30 seconds, then boot up PC.

Still nothing.

[Dai]

A network card with a solid green LED or light usually indicates that the card is either connected or receiving a signal. Note: generally, when the green light is flashing, this is an indication of data being sent or received.

If, however, the card does not have any lights or has orange or red lights, it is possible that either the card is bad, the card is not connected properly, or that the card is not receiving a signal from the network.

Check bios settings first, make sure NIC is enabled.
I'd try a spare cable next, as the cheapest option. If no joy then bung in a PCI network card and try that.

[Ben B]

Just a thought, have they registered the broadband either via the installation disc or via https://autoreg.autoregister.net/ i.e. have they got their new email address, username etc.

Ben :)

[Wicked_and_Crazy]

Are there any new drivers available?

[r00t]

Halcyon, what IP address do you get?

[Halcyon]

Check bios settings first, make sure NIC is enabled.
I'd try a spare cable next, as the cheapest option. If no joy then bung in a PCI network card and try that.

Thanks.

Yes, I've checked Bios and disable/enabled LAN settings several times.
Still not working.


Just a thought, have they registered the broadband either via the installation disc or via https://autoreg.autoregister.net/ i.e. have they got their new email address, username etc.

Ben :)

Now normally doesnt it autopoint it when you brose to a webpage ?
Even if not, I pointed it to that address and still wouldnt go through.


Halcyon, what IP address do you get?


No IP address.
I get no IP and no default gateway.

[haydnwalker]

Usually a NIC has 2 lights... one for "connected" and the other for "activity"

IF: Connected = green then usually means connected at 100mbps and orange is only 10mbps (depending on NIC).

And when the activity light flashes then its indicating data sent/received.

Could be duff NIC. A cheapo card is only about a fiver/tenner so is worth it. If mates laptop is OK then thats the issue :)

[brundles]

Is it possible the ethernet cable is a cross over cable?

[Halcyon]

It's the standard ethernet lead they got from Virgin so I would assume it is correct.

Usually a NIC has 2 lights... one for "connected" and the other for "activity"

IF: Connected = green then usually means connected at 100mbps and orange is only 10mbps (depending on NIC).

And when the activity light flashes then its indicating data sent/received.

Could be duff NIC. A cheapo card is only about a fiver/tenner so is worth it. If mates laptop is OK then thats the issue :)

It has a few flashes on it but no real data transfer.
I was thinking I've tried everything now.
A cheap PCI card is probably next best thing. Just hoping it won't cause same issue, though doubt it.

[Ben B]

A cheap PCI card is probably next best thing. Just hoping it won't cause same issue, though doubt it.

Well at least if it still doesn't work with the PCI ethernet card you can always take it back. Good luck, all the same :)

Ben :)

[greencreeper]

You could try a reset of the winsock:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811259

and TCP/IP:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/299357

[Halcyon]

Thanks I'll give that a go. :tu:

[The PIT]

Or use winsock fix and lsp fix which do the same job without you doing all the typing.

[Halcyon]

UPDATE:

Thanks for everyones help.

Turned out the onboard ethernet was dead.

Installed a cheap PCI network card and all is working. :)

[Dai]

Nice to see a happy ending to the tale.

I don't know why onboard ethernet seems to be so fragile but I've seen a few of these dead now. The PCI card seems to be the more reliable option still.