Network problems

[dragotron]

how do I troubleshoot this...

I have two computers and I use them both a lot. They are both for work. I have Input Defender to allow me to use my mouse on both screens. Unfortunately, quite often my laptop seems to boot up and isn't connected to the network at all. I have to restart it and / or just wait til it decides to connect. Sometimes hours.

How can I figure out why it's not connecting to the the network and / or internet.

thanks...

 

[torrentg]

Hi. First thing to do is disable any firewall, including Windows Firewall if that's what you are running...to test.

Then run Wireshark and you can see all the communications that your network adapter is doing.

If it's calling out for an ip address from the router and receives no response, you can see that. Then you can take things from there to try and figure out why.

 

[dragotron]

OK, thanks.. I guess i'll have to wait for it to happen again. The minute I went to troubleshoot it after your message yesterday the network popped up

 

[roban]

Thanks for the wireshark a very handy program indeed.

 

[dragotron]

OK, so I ran wireshark and pressed Capture... still not connected, doesn't seem to be monitoring anyting but it says Capture In Progress at the bottom...

 

[Scorp]

Hi

I am new to SevenForums. I have been googling a issue I am having and came accross the forum.

Sounds to be a very similar issue as you describe.

I have a Broadcom 802.11g Wireless NIC using suggested windows drivers. Most of the time I can connect to the Wireless network with no troubles, internet works fine with good speed etc.
My issue is that sometimes out the network connection will have limited connectivity. If I disconnect from the Network and try to re-connect to the network I keep getting message that Windows is unable to connect to the wireless network. Running throught the troubleshooter suggests that I need to reset the router, which I know is not the problem becuase my other computer running XP connects fine.

I have tried the obvoious things. Restart the computer. Uninstall the NIC and re-install. Tried different drivers. Reset the router.

I don't think the NIC is faulty as it works sometimes.

What is even more bizarre, if I leave it for a couple of hours and check again the connection will be fully restored.

I have spent hours trying to get to the bottom of this, but no luck.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Raargh]

OK, so I ran wireshark and pressed Capture... still not connected, doesn't seem to be monitoring anyting but it says Capture In Progress at the bottom...

Hi;
Wireshark is a great program, but I would not try to use it to troubleshoot if you don't already know your way around with it. It's complex and will probably raise more questions than it answers. Get up to speed with it on a computer that is functioning.

Start with the basics, and try "divide and conquer" if possible. What do you get from ipconfig /all? Are you getting a DHCP lease? Have you verified the NIC driver is fully up-to date? (I assume it is wired). Is the switch and the NIC both set to auto? Do you have another computer you can plug into the end of the cable and compare?

Raargh

 

[torrentg]

Set the DHCP lease time to expire after the longest period of time it allows, on the router.

That's why Windows suggested you reboot it in the first place. It couldn't renew the lease. So if you set it to something like 99 days, fixed.

Better than all of that is to assign a static ip for the wireless adapter in Windows.

 

[Raargh]

Hi

I have a Broadcom 802.11g Wireless NIC using suggested windows drivers... Most of the time I can connect to the Wireless network with no troubles, internet works fine with good speed etc.
My issue is that sometimes out the network connection will have limited connectivity.
What is even more bizarre, if I leave it for a couple of hours and check again the connection will be fully restored.

I'd stick with the latest Broadcom driver for Win7 for your specific nic, from the Broadcom website. Make sure the Wireless setting is "Infrastructure Only", not "Ad Hoc". 802.11g runs in the 2.4 GHz band and it is possible you are getting interference from other devices.

Wireless is complex, but very interesting. Here's a link to some tools that will get you started on being able to see more details:

NetStumbler for Windows 7 at WLAN Book.com

Is the computer a laptop? What brand and model router? Have you tried looking at the logs on the router? What about the Win7 event logs? Any errors or warnings?

Raargh

 

[torrentg]

NetStumbler does not work on 7. Vistumbler does. At least that's what users reported.

I think NetStumbler works in compatibility mode for XP. SP2

 

[dragotron]

OK, so I ran wireshark and pressed Capture... still not connected, doesn't seem to be monitoring anyting but it says Capture In Progress at the bottom...

Hi;
Wireshark is a great program, but I would not try to use it to troubleshoot if you don't already know your way around with it. It's complex and will probably raise more questions than it answers. Get up to speed with it on a computer that is functioning.

Start with the basics, and try "divide and conquer" if possible. What do you get from ipconfig /all? Are you getting a DHCP lease? Have you verified the NIC driver is fully up-to date? (I assume it is wired). Is the switch and the NIC both set to auto? Do you have another computer you can plug into the end of the cable and compare?

Raargh

Hi Raargh.. I did ipconfig and i'm not sure what how to tell if i'm getting a DHCP lease. I half the instances of DHCP say enabled and half say disabled... but dont see anything about DHCP Lease...

Also, I tried maxxing out my DHCP range as suggested here. Dunno if that comment was for me but it didn't help its still seems to be happening.

thanks guys

 

[Raargh]

Hi Drago;

From my system:
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : T3400-win7
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : elp.rr.com

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : elp.rr.com
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom NetXtreme 57xx Gigabit Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-23-14-29-D8-A7
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::7f23:9943:4ed0:805b%11(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.100(Preferred) << The current lease
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Friday, November 27, 2009 1:36:58 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, November 28, 2009 1:36:58 PM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1 << My Linksys router
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1 << My Linksys router

the IPv6 stuff does not matter (at least not in 2009 )
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 234889753
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-12-9C-EE-20-00-23-14-29-D8-A7

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 24.93.41.127 << Road Runner supplies these
24.93.41.128
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled << Eeek! Just noticed this - I don't do any local Windows sharing so I don't need and will disable ASAP.

Tunnel Adapter is (I think) related to IPV6
Tunnel adapter isatap.elp.rr.com:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : elp.rr.com
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 9:

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
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:4137:9e50:28d7:35a2:3f57:fe9b(Preferred)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::7f23:9943:4ed0:805b%13(Preferred)
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : ::
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

C:\Windows\system32>
------------
Can you please do an ipconfig /all and post it here?

Sorry I don't have a specific suggestion to fix the problem, but gathering data is always a good first step.

Raargh

 

[torrentg]

Hey Raargh.

I know you're trying to be helpful and actually are being, but I wouldn't advise posting such personal info as internal ip addresses and especially mac info online for public to see.

 

[Raargh]

Hey Raargh.

I know you're trying to be helpful and actually are being, but I wouldn't advise posting such personal info as internal ip addresses and especially mac info online for public to see.

heh - I edited the MACs and IPs that could reveal any personal info. . I'm old and paranoid.

@drago - ditto for when you post - either blank out the MACs or alter them.

Thanks!

Raargh