Networking Problem, Please Help!

For as long as I can remember, my system tray network icon has said "Not Connected--connections are available" when I hover over it. I am, however, connected to the internet. Recently this has caused more problems for me. Since my computer seems to think I'm not connected, it won't let me set up a Homegroup. I've tried to set up Windows Media Center on my Xbox 360 but it can't find my laptop. In addition, my VPN does not show up on the list of available connections.

Hey MattJones16

That's quite a list of stuff!

Network - Are you sure that it's the right icon telling you connections are available? Is it the 'Ramped Wireless Strength Bars' or the 'Computer Monitor w/ Network Jack' icon that is giving you this message? Just want to be sure you aren't picking up on an unplugged WIRED network status that might be displaying by accident. AFter re-reading, perhaps the icon you are hovering over IS YOUR VPN Network Icon... That makes more sense.

Perhaps you need to uninstall/reinstall the VPN - See what the icons do as a result of uninstalling, then reinstall with hopefully a good installation.

All Versions of Windows 7 support VPN connections. You do need to have the correct settings for your remote site. Have you talked to the Admin at the remote site? Or are YOU the admin at the 'remote site'...

XBox Media Center - WoW - I am falling behind :) The couple of articles I have found seem to think this may be a really ... educating task, and that it might take a bit of time... Better get the network part dialed in first.

Keep us posted...

It does show the ramped bars. Sometimes it looks like it's connected and other times it has the little yellow star on top of the bars to show it's not connected. Either way, it is actually connected but it specifically says "not connected" when I hover over the icon. When I click it, it gives a list of wireless connections but doesn't include my VPN (I'm a college student and the VPN allows me to connect to the Virginia Tech network so I can download software when I'm off campus).

In addition, it won't let me set up a homegroup. When I click "Homegroup" in the "Network and Internet" section of the control panel it says "This computer can't connect to a homegroup" and "Homegroup is not ready yet. Please try again in a few minutes." The troubleshooter doesn't help either.

I'll try and attach some screen caps to this post.

Most likely the VPN you have installed is causing this problem to occur.

Then how do I uninstall the VPN?

mattjones16 said:

Then how do I uninstall the VPN?

Did you install any type of VPN software like shrew? I would think you can remove the VPN software by going to add-remove programs. Control panel>catagory view>programs,uninstall a program then find the VPN software on the list.

Are you sure that the time/date settings are correct on this machine?

No. I just followed the instructions on my school's website to set one up in Windows.

[QUOTE=chev65;1013696]

mattjones16 said:

Are you sure that the time/date settings are correct on this machine?

Good question - and checking his Wireless screen shot I can see that the date is right, not sure about time...

Homegroups must be setup by someone - are you connecting to an existing Homegroup? or starting your own...

My experience with Homegroups was not wonderful. I simply reverted to the "old way" we did it in Vista/XP with Network Sharing. Works excellent, and research shows that it's faster too!

So - do you really need a homegoup?

It does seem to have something to do with the VPN because others with Windows VPN have this same problem.

This Technet post talks about the problem, further down the page Novac shows way to resolve the problem but I can't say for certain what is causing it.

Windows 7 states I'm not connected to any networks when in fact I am connected to my wireless network??

[QUOTE=Pierre50;1013740]

chev65 said:

mattjones16 said:

Are you sure that the time/date settings are correct on this machine?

Good question - and checking his Wireless screen shot I can see that the date is right, not sure about time...

Homegroups must be setup by someone - are you connecting to an existing Homegroup? or starting your own...

My experience with Homegroups was not wonderful. I simply reverted to the "old way" we did it in Vista/XP with Network Sharing. Works excellent, and research shows that it's faster too!

So - do you really need a homegoup?

That is because Homegroups is only made to work with Windows 7 machines. I can assure you that it works absolutely perfectly and is easy to use. Although I'm only working on the connection problem for now.

This document from Msoft shows you how to down level share using Homegroups with other types of Op systems. Download the .xps document if you want to learn more.
Download details: Windows 7 & HomeGroup: Sharing with Windows XP, Windows Vista, and other operating systems