My laptop not connecting to the Internet. It did in the past

[shobansen]

I apologize if this is not the right forum for this topic, but I did not find any Networking forum.

I have a small wireless home network between my desktop and laptop computers. The desktop is working fine -- I am using the desktop to submit this help request. With the laptop, I cannot connect to the Internet. (I could connect in the past.) I can see the Intel PROSet Wireless bubble on the taskbar and it is saying I am connected to the Internet, and the signal
strength is Excellent. But I cannot reach any Web site with IE7 or AOL.

I ran the Microsoft Network Diagnostics. It said, NETWORK ADAPTERS FAILED. When I clicked on the plus sign to expand Network Adapters, I found the following details:

Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection FAILED.
More details about the above:

1. Default IP Gateway = 192.168.1.1 (Same Subnet) - FAILED.
2. DHCP Server = 192.168.1.1. - FAILED.
3. DNS Server Search Order = 192.168.1.1 - FAILED.
4. IP Address = 192.168.1.33 - PASSED.

How can I fix the problem? PLEASE HELP. THANKS.

My OS is Windows XP Home Edition, SP3. The Router is Netgear. ISP is Comcast. Broadband connection is Cable.

[ozbloke]

Hey shobansen - First thing to do in cases like this is; turn the router off...leave it off for 2 or 3 minutes then switch it back on again.

If that doesn't fix it please post back. Also let us know the following: Navigate to Device Manager and look for 'Network Adapters'. Is there a yellow icon associated with that entry...anything which suggests there may be a problem??

Cheers....Jim

[shobansen]

Hey Jim:

The answers are NO and NO.

[ozbloke]

Oh....bummer!!

Must admit I am not all that familiar with the procedure in XP...never used wireless connections with that OS. I could be way off base but it sounds as though the wireless card may have failed. How old is the laptop?

Anyway, I'll refer this to Dave and Ziggie, they are experts in this field and will have some more helpful input.

Stand by!!

Cheers...Jim

[shobansen]

UPDATE:

I just got off the phone with the Netgear (my router manufacturer) tech service rep. After two hours of troubleshooting and tweaking some of my laptop's internal settings, he concluded that my network connection is okay. There were some problems with connecting to my network which he corrected. But still I cannot comnect to Google or any other site. His conclusion: The network connection is okay. The problem lies with my laptop. He suggested to contact my computer manufacturer's (Dell) tech support to fix the computer problem. Unfortunately, my warranty has expired. It will cost a lot of money (which I don't have) to get telephone help from Dell.

Does anybody has any idea about how to troubleshoot my computer (Dell Inspiron 6000) problem? Thanks.

[ozbloke]

As I said mate, this is most likely a hardware issue.....sounds like the wireless card is no longer working properly.

Can you try connecting the laptop to the router via cable? If the internet connection works OK while hardwired, you can just about be certain that the card is kaput!!

If you can ascertain that the problem is definitely with the card then you can buy a wireless USB adapter (receiver) to replace it. This will do exactly the same job. They are quite inexpensive and very easy to install (just plug the device into any available USB port).

Cheers....Jim

[shobansen]

Hi Jim:

You are a genious. I knew that from the beginning.

I connected my laptop with the router via an ethernet cable as suggested by you (it did not occur to me), and there -- the Internet jumped right into my laptop!!

So my internal wireless card is indeed kaput! Right? What else is new? Things ALWAYS happen after the warranty expires. I know about the external wireless adapter that attaches through an USB port of the computer. I understand, I just plug it in and install the software that comes with it, and I am all set. Do I have to do anything else? Do I have to somehow tell the computer that I am not using the internal card, but switching to the external adapter? Dumb question, I know, but I want to make sure that I am not screwing up anything. Please enlighten me. I am not as brilliant as you are. LOL.

[ozbloke]

Hey shobansen - I'm not sure too many would agree with the "genious" label....but thanks anyway mate!!!

I just plug it in and install the software that comes with it, and I am all set

...yep, that's right. No need to let the PC know you have changed devices, it will automatically start using the new device.

Cheers....Jim

[DavesComputerTips]

Not to doubt Jim's diagnosis (he really is a genious!), but there is one more thing you can try...

Delete the wireless card from device manager, reboot your computer, let Windows install the drivers for the wireless card. Then delete any wireless connections that appear in Windows. After you've done that you can do one of the following...
1. If you only have one wireless computer I would start over with the router - new SSID, new wireless key, etc and create a new wireless connection on the laptop.
2. If you have other wireless computers and don't want to risk affecting their access then skip the router and just create a new wireless connection on the laptop.

If that doesn't work it is possible to buy a replacement card for the laptop. They are generally mini PCIe and a bit pricey. If you don't mind having an external adapter they can be had much cheaper.

[Ziggie]

Two notes I'll add -- I had this happen to my WinXP machine recently, but my wife's Vista machine had no problems.

On the XP machine, the connection would work for a bit, then conk out entirely. I could get it back by rebooting or right clicking on the wireless icon and selecting 'repair'.
After a couple weeks of this, I got fed up and replaced the router and everything has been working just fine ever since.

Does your problem go away (even for a little bit) after reboot / repair? My guess is that there was something the router was no longer doing that Vista compensated for in the Wireless (I too could use wire with no issue).

--Zig

[john]

i would just add my 2 cents.

the culprits are comcast and modem/router.

did you ever checked the logs in your modem to see if it shows any upstream errors?

wireless connections are weak compared to wireline/ethernet. they cannot sustain the connection if there is a break of connection. You would not notice it as your wireless card is connected to the router - (assuming) it is always on. so there is always a path form the laptop to router. but wait what if the modem is down/no connection. you will never notice. and this break/make of connection would not reflect back to the wireless card on the laptop. it doesn't gets anything and dies..

john

[grr]

the culprits are comcast and modem/router.

You stole my words...

well from my modem I have logging of:

1. TSM: TxError WatchDog - Restart Upstream (always)
2. HAL: Overcoming Tx Error (reseting the US - DMA) (always)
3. No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out (couple of times in a day)
4. modem restarts (at least 5 times in a day)

So yes john i agree to some extent that ISP and modem or router could be responsible.

@shobansen - could you try connecting wireless to internet outside ur ISP?

and yes no prizes on guessing my ISP (Comcast). have another tech visit 2moro, 2nd in past 8 days..