Wireless Network Problem

littlejp

My friend is having a problem with the Wireless Connection on his laptop. He can connect to the Wireless Network no problem and he gets a strong signal. The problem is when he tries to use the Internet he cannot access any pages. He just gets the page not found error. It happens in Firefox and IE. I am at a loss as how to help him. I guess it's not a hardware problem seen as he can connect to the network. Couldn't be a virus, he recently formatted his hard drive and reinstalled Windows. The Internet was working since then it's only in the last day or two that it suddenly stopped working.

Can anyone think of any possible fix for this? It could be something simple that I am overlooking? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

ethernet

Can he connect to the router's admin page by typing the address into the browser, in the form 192.168.x.x?

Try flushing the DNS cache. Open the Command Prompt [Start --> Programs --> Accessories --> Command Prompt] and type the following:

ipconfig /flushdns

Then hit enter. Now try visiting a website.

Shane O' Malley

Can he ping any sites.

Start with the router and then try www.yahoo.com

Capt'n Midnight

do you have a router or just an access point

at the command prompt type ipconfig if you have an address like 192.168.1.x then you have a router and the default gateway should be similar.

if you have a 169.254.x.y address then DHCP is not setup

if you have a different address then you probably have an AP

post your settings - will probably be moved to networks as it probably not a windows problem

littlejp

sorry took so long to get back. been busy.

His ip address is 192.168.2.100

As far as I know it's a router. It's our landlords upstairs so I can't check any settings on the router.
I tried the flush DNS thing but still no luck.
Any more suggestions? How do I set up the DHCP thing?

ethernet

littlejp wrote:

sorry took so long to get back. been busy.

His ip address is 192.168.2.100

As far as I know it's a router. It's our landlords upstairs so I can't check any settings on the router.
I tried the flush DNS thing but still no luck.
Any more suggestions? How do I set up the DHCP thing?

You need to open up Network Settings from the Control Panel. Right click on your network connection [probably Local Area Connection] and choose Properties. Double click the TCP/IP settings and choose to get an IP address and DNS servers by DHCP.

BKtje

Are you sure that you don't have "limited or no connectivity".

Quite often it will seem that a wireless network has been connected to but it has infact been rejected by the router/access point for incorrect password.
Windows usually reports that it connected.

ethernet

littlejp wrote:

My friend is having a problem with the Wireless Connection on his laptop. He can connect to the Wireless Network no problem and he gets a strong signal. The problem is when he tries to use the Internet he cannot access any pages. He just gets the page not found error. It happens in Firefox and IE. I am at a loss as how to help him. I guess it's not a hardware problem seen as he can connect to the network. Couldn't be a virus, he recently formatted his hard drive and reinstalled Windows. The Internet was working since then it's only in the last day or two that it suddenly stopped working.

Can anyone think of any possible fix for this? It could be something simple that I am overlooking? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

What DNS servers are you using? The ISP's? Worth changing them to OpenDNS to see if that fixes the error. Strange how it connects but can't transfer pages.

Can you ping the router?

littlejp

B-K-DzR wrote:

Are you sure that you don't have "limited or no connectivity".

Quite often it will seem that a wireless network has been connected to but it has infact been rejected by the router/access point for incorrect password.
Windows usually reports that it connected.

No. It says the signal is good or excellent. I'm using the same connection on my laptop with no problems. The network is open so there are no passwords.

ethernet wrote:

What DNS servers are you using? The ISP's? Worth changing them to OpenDNS to see if that fixes the error. Strange how it connects but can't transfer pages.

Can you ping the router?

I'm not really sure how to check the DNS server. The ISP is Roger's. I'm in Canada at the mo.
I'm at work at the minute but I'll try these suggestions tonight. Thanks for the help everyone.

littlejp

this is getting wierd. It mysteriously started working again a few days ago but now it's gone wrong. It says "Limited or no Connectivity" and the same thing has happened on my laptop. We talked to our neighbour and it's working fine on his laptop. I've tried it on public networks and it connects no problem.
Does anyone have any ideas? what settings would I need to check?

ethernet

littlejp wrote:

this is getting wierd. It mysteriously started working again a few days ago but now it's gone wrong. It says "Limited or no Connectivity" and the same thing has happened on my laptop. We talked to our neighbour and it's working fine on his laptop. I've tried it on public networks and it connects no problem.
Does anyone have any ideas? what settings would I need to check?

Well if he has a good signal and is getting the "limited or no connectivity" error message, then the client is not able to get an IP address by DHCP. Try assigning a static IP address or simply reboot the router.

matt-dublin

can you post up an ipconfig /all?

sounds like a dns or gateway issue.

guigsy

Sounds to me like your Wireless chipset drivers are out of date by some time.
Find out what wireless card he has, Centrino, Linksys, etc and get the latest drivers off the website. Some Routers support some extra features like signal boost or speed boosts which can play havoc with some chipsets. If it still persists then its not too unreasonable to assume that the wireless card is faulty. Intermittent issues are the worst but you need to eliminate things one at a time like;

1. Chipset driver
2. Signal strength. Take the laptop very lose to the access point to eliminate noise while testing.
3. Other wireless cards. If you can try another wireless card vendor it may be interesting to see the difference.
4. Ensure you don't have any applications that are complimentary to the card like a wireless manager. Disable then and go to Start > Run > Type 'services.msc' and then ensure the 'Wireless Zero Configuration' Service is not disabled.

Good luck!

Croc

Any chance he is running a Firewall or Some Anti-Virus Software that maybe be blocking access.

CptSternn

Has he tried connecting the laptop to the router via a CAT5 cable and going on the internet? Are we sure this is a wireless issue and not a router issue?

matt-dublin

Limited or no connectivity could also be security,

you may have the wrong key?

are you using WPA PSK, or WEP security?
or is the wireless network unsecured?