PC will not connect to the internet all of a sudden

martinlest · 24 Mar 2012

I was having a problem with very slow booting, but this morning, when trying to connect to the internet, I got a message that Adobe Flash had crashed. I rebooted and to my surprise, it took only 20 seconds instead of the 2-3 minutes that I had been getting.

However, I cannot now connect to the internet (all sites say 'cannot find server'). I connect via wi-fi: my laptop uses the same wi-fi connection and has no problems. I have reinstalled Flash (latest x64) but that hasn't helped. I have run ipconfig /release then ipconfig/renew and ipconfig/all. The results are below. Can anyone please help? Is it a hardware problem? Seems a bit odd that the USB device I use on the PC (D-Link) should fail at the same time!

I disconnected my router for 15 seconds and reconnected - no change. No change with firewall disabled either.

Well the results of the IPCONFIG are below. What is 'Media Disconnected'?

Many thanks,

Martin

-----------------------

Code:

 
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
 
C:\Users\Martin>ipconfig /release
 
Windows IP Configuration
 
An error occurred while releasing interface Wireless Network Connection : An add
ress has not yet been associated with the network endpoint.
 
No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection while it has its media di
sconnected.
 
C:\Users\Martin>ipconfig /renew
 
Windows IP Configuration
 
An error occurred while renewing interface Wireless Network Connection : unable
to contact your DHCP server. Request has timed out.
No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection while it has its media di
sconnected.
 
C:\Users\Martin>ipconfig /all
 
Windows IP Configuration
 
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Martin-PC
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
 
Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:
 
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : D-Link DWA-140 RangeBooster N USB Adapter
(rev.B2)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 84-C9-B2-6F-50-56
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::4c32:568:8f18:ae98%12(Preferred)
Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address. . : 169.254.174.152(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 344246706
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-14-9E-3F-57-BC-AE-C5-02-8E-85
 
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled
 
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
 
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Marvell Yukon 88E8056 PCI-E Gigabit Ether
net Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : BC-AE-C5-02-8E-85
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
 
Tunnel adapter isatap.{CCF89C87-B7C9-44B6-BDC6-DB40BC20E2E2}:
 
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
 
Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:
 
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
 
Tunnel adapter isatap.{5182FF81-02DF-487F-853A-5B40FEABBEA3}:
 
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
 
C:\Users\Martin>

F5ing · 24 Mar 2012

Didn't read the linked thread, but the release/renew didn't work, and you're not getting a valid IP address.

Did you shutdown and restart?

And your media disconnected refers to your wired adapter (which I assume really is not connected).

martinlest · 24 Mar 2012

Yes, I have rebooted. The D-Link is connected - the light is flashing orange (which it did before I think) - I'll have to recheck the manual to see what it means. But I have no wired adapter connected, you are right.

Thanks,

Martin

martinlest · 24 Mar 2012

In my wifi Wireless network Connection Status window, Ipv4 and IPv6 show as 'No internet access'. 'Media State' shows Enabled.

In Device Manager, the D-Link USB wifi adapter is shown as working properly. )The whole thing was working properly this morning!)...

Hope someone can advise as I am totally stuck.

Martin

gregrocker · 24 Mar 2012

Try turning off any WiFi Manager bloatware to default to Win7's superior version. The connection will be through the five-bar icon in bottom right System tray. An HP requires selecting "Use Independent WiFi" first.

If you know for sure your Wireless button is enabled on laptop, an orange light sounds wrong. I would read the Manual on your model's Support Downloads webpage to see what that means exactly. Try pressing the button a few times to see if it changes.

martinlest · 24 Mar 2012

Not sure what the 'bloatware' would be: I installed the software for the D-<Link USB and that's all I think.

An HP requires selecting "Use Independent WiFi" first. Sorry - no idea what that means.

The laptop has no 'wireless button' (well, it's a Dell M1730 - I suppose it does on the side) - it is an internal WiFi card and it connects automatically when I turn on the laptop.

The pC didn't have WiFi so I bought the external D-Link USB, which until today worked just fine. The orange light shows that it is working OK - it doesn't change to green or whatever. It was always orange and the manual says it should be. I've unplugged it & rebooted .. but I don't think it's the hardware that is at fault.

The Windows 7 Network & Sharing Centre shows this (as I say, all seems fine in Device Manager), don't know if this helps.

Martin

gregrocker · 24 Mar 2012

You only want the D Link driver to have a clean install. The DLink software is an add-on which may override Win7's superior wireless manager. Disable it and then connect directly in System tray.

Since you have a Dell you wouldn't need to know about an extra step to turn off HP's wireless software.

If this fails I would reinstall the card, check for a newer driver in optional Updates or on DLink website.

chev65 · 24 Mar 2012

From what the ipconfig shows you aren't getting anything from your router at all.

I believe that resetting the router might fix this problem. :)

Jerryg50 · 24 Mar 2012

martinlest said:

I was having a problem with very slow booting, but this morning, when trying to connect to the internet, I got a message that Adobe Flash had crashed. I rebooted and to my surprise, it took only 20 seconds instead of the 2-3 minutes that I had been getting.

However, I cannot now connect to the internet (all sites say 'cannot find server'). I connect via wi-fi: my laptop uses the same wi-fi connection and has no problems. I have reinstalled Flash (latest x64) but that hasn't helped. I have run ipconfig /release then ipconfig/renew and ipconfig/all. The results are below. Can anyone please help? Is it a hardware problem? Seems a bit odd that the USB device I use on the PC (D-Link) should fail at the same time!

I disconnected my router for 15 seconds and reconnected - no change. No change with firewall disabled either.

Well the results of the IPCONFIG are below. What is 'Media Disconnected'?

Many thanks,

Martin

-----------------------

Code:

 
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
 
C:\Users\Martin>ipconfig /release
 
Windows IP Configuration
 
An error occurred while releasing interface Wireless Network Connection : An add
ress has not yet been associated with the network endpoint.
 
No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection while it has its media di
sconnected.
 
C:\Users\Martin>ipconfig /renew
 
Windows IP Configuration
 
An error occurred while renewing interface Wireless Network Connection : unable
to contact your DHCP server. Request has timed out.
No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection while it has its media di
sconnected.
 
C:\Users\Martin>ipconfig /all
 
Windows IP Configuration
 
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Martin-PC
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
 
Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:
 
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : D-Link DWA-140 RangeBooster N USB Adapter
(rev.B2)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 84-C9-B2-6F-50-56
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::4c32:568:8f18:ae98%12(Preferred)
Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address. . : 169.254.174.152(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 344246706
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-14-9E-3F-57-BC-AE-C5-02-8E-85
 
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled
 
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
 
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Marvell Yukon 88E8056 PCI-E Gigabit Ether
net Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : BC-AE-C5-02-8E-85
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
 
Tunnel adapter isatap.{CCF89C87-B7C9-44B6-BDC6-DB40BC20E2E2}:
 
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
 
Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:
 
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
 
Tunnel adapter isatap.{5182FF81-02DF-487F-853A-5B40FEABBEA3}:
 
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
 
C:\Users\Martin>

_________

The first thing I would try to do is reboot (hard reset) the router and then the DSL modem. After a hard reset you will have to go in to them and re-setup all the necessary parameters.

If after the router reboot does not work, try connecting the DSL modem directly to the computer to see if the router is having a fault.

Can you do a ping to the router from the command prompt? You will need to know the IP address of the router.

Can you ping the DSL modem from the command prompt? You will need to know the IP address of the DSL modem.

If you can get the ping responses, this means your network and DSL modem is functioning, but Windows itself cannot see the network.

If you have other computers in your network, at the command prompt you should be able to type "net view" without the quotation marks. You should be able to see the names of the other computers in your network.

If you can ping the DSL modem and there is no connection to the net, log in to the DSL modem and run the modem's diagnostics. See the modem documentation for diagnostics information.

If IE cannot see the net, go in to Tools, Options, and Connections. Check that the LAN settings are on Automatic, unless you have other requirements. If this does not work for you, for your version of IE check the Help section about how to reset the IE internet connection.

I have seen a NIC card (LAN card) fail in the computer. If your computer has its card built in to the mother board as most do and it is defective, you can get a USB to Ethernet adapter.

I have had instances where I had a computer that would not see the network after going through a lot of investigating. I uninstalled the NIC card, and let the OS P&P re-install it on the next re-start.

I have seen a few rare circumstances where the OS had some corruption in the registry. I saw to fix it I would have to do an OS re-install to make it work again. Fortunately, I keep at least 4 previous image backup sets for each of my computers. I re-called an older image backup, and then re-installed all the necessary updates.

Jerry G.

martinlest · 24 Mar 2012

Thanks for the replies..

Firstly, I am in a rented apartment in the middle of Bangkok. The apartment comes with a router but I don't have access to any of the setup details. I did disconnect the router, wait and then reconnect - but no change there. If there were a problem with the router itself, surely I would also get a problem with the Dell laptop (which has a wifi card). I can access the internet normally via the apartment's wifi on the Dell. The PC, as I say, had no WiFi card so I bought the D-Link USB device. It was working fine until yesterday. Then, if you see the other thread..

Boot times - how best to analyse?

.. my Adobe Flash crashed, and with it my internet access. I reinstalled the Adobe afresh - but the internet connection has gone..

I uninstalled the D-Link software and reinstalled it - there is only an option to install the drivers on the setup menu. This installs all the D-Link software. If I don't install this (my only other option) the D-Link stick does not flash orange, which is the indication that it is working.I don't have a cable anywhere near long enough to connect the PC to the router via the LAN port.

I could try pinging the DSL modem but how do I find the IP address?
The Dell and the PC are not linked together, on a network.

My LAN settings in IE are already set to automatically detect...

If the problem had been in the registry, wouldn't my having done a system restore to a time all was OK have fixed the problem (it didn't of course)?

There are a number of areas in which I consider myself 'expert' when it comes to PCs, but WiFi is definitely not one of them (so help much appreciated!).

Thanks again,

Martin