Local Area Connection doesn't have a valid IP

lisaone · 16 Apr 2010

one day about 2 weeks ago, my net stopped working just randomly. I get the error 'Local Area Connection doesn't have a valid IP' when i try to use the router, and some 'unidentified network' shows up, i cannot connect to it.

I reset everything and unplugged everything but couldnt get it to work until i unplugged from the router and plugged my computer directly to the modem. A good fix to get the net going in a pinch but it has become a real problem with me, my husband and my kids all using one computer when we're used to having our own. You cant even imagine the drama.

I've tried everything i can to fix it, usually google gets me through anything i cant fix on my own and i did come across a few other people having my problem, they all seemed to fix it by disable a bonjour process. I had the same service running but their trick to disable it didnt fix my problem, it is still exactly the same.

Another suggestion was to get rid of windows 7 driver for the network card and use the vendors own driver, tried that, made no diff either. also tried rolling back to several different times but for some reason the process failed.

i dont know what caused it, i cant remember if anything new was updated that day.. i dont think so, but im not certain, i have even gotten rid of all internet security and tried disabling windows firewall too.

I dont know what else to do but we cant go on with one working computer for much longer!!

Crispy · 17 Apr 2010

Use this it should help: Fix Internet Connection with Release Renew | Windows 7 Maintenance | Windows Tools, Help & Guides

lisaone · 17 Apr 2010

release/renew didnt work for me, after typing the renew part it hung for a lil bit then came back with "An error occurred while renewing interface Local Area Connection : unable to contact your DHCP server. Request has timed out"

I dont know what it means but im sure its more bad news.

edit: while googling the above error, i read it can mean firewall interference or damaged win7 installation. I have firewall off at the moment and i dont know how my win7 can possibly be damaged when its been running so well for several months.

manhunter2826 · 17 Apr 2010

Which brand of router? Does the problem occur even with a fixed Ethernet connection?

lisaone · 17 Apr 2010

the router is Dlink 624, but i tired another router and the problem was the same, but my computer connects to the net just fine when i connect directly to the modem.

manhunter2826 · 17 Apr 2010

^Ah, so the problem only affects wireless?

Bill2 · 17 Apr 2010

lisaone,

looks like your router (the DHCP server) is having trouble assigning ip addresses to the computers on your network. Instead of using DHCP, just change to a static ip address on the computer you are having trouble on. You'll need to specify these settings in the TCP/IP properties of your computer. If you are not familiar with this, check out the article below.

static ip LAN - converting from DHCP

This problem first struck me in Vista, I then switched to static ips and have remained so.

lisaone · 17 Apr 2010

manhunter2826 said:

^Ah, so the problem only affects wireless?

no, when my computer is hard wired to the router (like it normally was) it doesnt work.

bill, ill try that after dinner. ty for the replies.

zzz2496 · 17 Apr 2010

lisaone, one of the ways to troubleshoot this is to use a static IP address for your computer. If you did reset the Dlink, you can use 192.168.0.10 as your IP address and try login to Dlink's web interface (open http://192.168.0.1 in your favorite web browser). If it opens, check the "Internet" part, see it got any IP address.

zzz2496

chev65 · 17 Apr 2010

Try this procedure in the link on the machine with the problem.

Windows 7 Unidentified Network, Limited Access, No Internet Connection Problem Resolved