Damn computer

[veronica_rich]

My laptop will connect to the wireless router, but it will no longer access the Internet or sign up for chat. Any suggestions from those who know more than me? (Which is almost anyone - really, if you're 12, you can help ...)

ETA: Opening the connection window and clicking "Repair" does no good. The connection is strong; I actually have two networks to which I can connect equally well. I simply cannot get online.

Comments

[mrs-norrington.livejournal.com]

I've had the same problem. I'm not sure if what I do is what fixes it because I think my computer has a mind of it's own, but...

Start>Connect>Show all connections

Now click once on your wireless icon. On the left bar with all the different links on it, click on "Repair this connection."

It'll go through it's own little thing.

If that doesn't work, fiddle around disabling it and then enabling it or fiddle around with the "change settings."

That's all I do. I'm afraid all I've done is hit and miss, but I eventually get it working.

Good Luck!

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I've tried that several times. It's not working ... but thanks! :-)

[gryphons-lair.livejournal.com]

You're using Windows, right?

Hover your pointer over the little computer with the "radio waves" coming out of it. (The wireless connection icon.) It should be on your taskbar, by your other little mini-icons for AIM, WinAmp, your antivirus software, all that stuff.

A window should pop up telling you what router you're linked to. I suspect it'll also say "limited or no connectivity". If it does, that means your laptop didn't get a valid IP address when it connected to the router. It happens to me at the coffeeshop where I spend my lunch hour all the time.

Click on the wireless connection icon. It'll pop up a window that's titled something like "Wireless Network Connection 2".

Click on the "Support" tab.

Click the "Repair" button. You may have to do this a couple of times, but eventually the router will stop stonewalling and cough up a valid IP address for you.

Alternately, you can reboot your computer or reboot the router; either one gives you a second chance at a valid IP address. But the "Repair" button usually does it for my laptop.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

No dice. I've already tried that several times with no success. It's a good, strong connection; in fact, I have access to two connections, both of which connect up - and on neither will a webpage open for me.

But thanks for the advice ...

[gryphons-lair.livejournal.com]

Hmm... Weird.

I assume you've already checked your ISP to see if it's having trouble? 'Cause if you have, I'm fresh out of suggestions.

Sorry I couldn't be more help!

[mrs-norrington.livejournal.com]

Is your wireless inside your computer or is it removable?

I'm sure you've tried refreshing the network and shutting down your computer, so I'm sorry that none of that worked out.

[erinya.livejournal.com]

Have you tried resetting the router by unplugging the cable, waiting a moment and then plugging it in again? Then let the computer try to connect again. Make sure it's connecting to the right network.

I have to do this with mine at least once a week. I don't know why, but pulling the plug on the router usually does the trick.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Nope. The usual tricks don't work. (I should probably edit my post to say that. This is a singularly unique problem that's lingered for several days.)

[astria.livejournal.com]

My parents' had a similar issue once, and I was forced to reset the router to factory defaults and set everything back up from scratch. Some allow you to "save" the settings to a file which you can then put back (unless they're causing the problem.) Um... yeah, not sure what else since the unplugging didn't work.

You can also check the modem to make sure it's actually doing what it's supposed to do (blinking normally). If that isn't a problem, you could try wiping out the settings on your computer for that network then re-add it all. It could be the DNS is messed up, too. I'm not too familiar with wireless settings on Windows, so I have no idea how to go about checking what servers its trying to use. Are on on cable, dsl, or dial-up? Every once in a while my cable modem goes weird and I have to restart it and the router.

There's also a hammer... but that makes a mess. :)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I think it's truly the computer itself. It worked fine three nights ago, and then it shut down in the middle of operations (which does happen occasionally - it's kind of old). When I booted it back up, it refused to get online. (And yes, my cable modem is a bitch too, but it's actually behaving well enough for me to use the desktop computer that I'm on right now.)

[smtfhw.livejournal.com]

This may or may not work...

From the connection window, check that the laptop isn't trying to connect to a specific IP address, proxy or DNS. Clear out any that are in there and set it to select automatically.

Start > Run > cmd > enter.

Type in "ipconfig" and see if the laptop is still hanging onto an IP address. If it comes up as all zeroes, then this won't work.

If a number appears, type in "ipconfig/release" which will clear any addresses.

Reboot the laptop and try again.