Windows 7: Laptop connecting to network but not internet

Have my modem connected to a switch and my desktop and laptop connected to the switch. The internet works flawlessly on my desktop with no problems at all. The laptop is connecting to the network but is not connecting to the internet. It tells me " 'Local Area Connection' not a valid ip configuration."



I have tried using the flushDNS script but it doesn't work. It hangs up on ipconfig /renew, gives me an error, and then completes the rest. The error is "unable to connect to your DHCP server"

The problem is that you have a modem plugged directly into a switch which isn't how it works.

You need to have a router after the modem in order to obtain DHCP IP's "automatic IP assignments" from the router.

If you need to connect more than one machine you need to either use a router or ICS "internet connection sharing" which has limited use and reliability and requires that you have a PCI network adaptor. In most every case using a router is the best way to go here.

Modem>router>switch>machines plugged into router or switch in order to obtain DHCP IP's from the router.

I have also tried to connect the modem directly to the laptop to bypass the switch completely. I still had no luck. Should I do a direct connect and then ipconfig /all again?

If the laptop won't work directly connected to the modem then most likely the driver for the wired connection isn't installed. You can try posting the ipconfig/all after direct connection and I'll have a look at it.

The switch won't help if you are only using a modem.