Why won't my PC connect to the internet? Help please.

GHP

GHP

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Gary
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Hi all.
I hope one of you PC whizz-kids can help me.
I have an old PAckard Bell PC which runs Windows XP pro.
It hasn't been used for a while, but I thought I would set it up for my kids to use when they visit, just for internet browsing/downloading etc. It's not good enough to play (modern) games on.
It uses a Belkin USB wireless adapter which is plugged in, and was working fine when I last used the PC, before I upgraded to a new machine. To all intents and purposes it looks like it is connected correctly.
My problem is that it doesn't connect to the internet. The tray icon for the wireless says it is an excellent strength signal, and it says it's connected at 54mbps. I have a Sky wireless router (I think it's a Sagem). When I click to open IE, or firefox, or Chrome, it says in the browser I'm connected to the internet, but I might need to try re-connecting?? I don't know why it's doing this.
My other PC and laptops connect fine using the same router.
I admit to being a bit dense when it comes to PCs, so if anyone can help I would be very grateful.
Thanks in advance,
Gary.
 
Gary can you connect it to the hub via ethernet?
try that to see if it is the dongle, is there a yellow exclaimation mark on the screen when connected.
 
Is the browser offline?

Can you ping a website

Open a command box (type cmd in search or run)

Type ping www.bbc.co.uk.

If it comes back with times then you are on the internet but perhaps not able to view web pages.

It is also possible the system is stuck on an old ip address.

Open a CMD box again and type

ipconfig /release (note space after g)

then type ipconfig /renew

You may have to reconnect to the router after this.
 
ukcyberboy said:
Gary can you connect it to the hub via ethernet?
try that to see if it is the dongle, is there a yellow exclaimation mark on the screen when connected.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I don't possess a cable, but if I need to, if all else fails, I will go and get one.
Thank you.
 
PsiFox said:
Is the browser offline?

Can you ping a website

Open a command box (type cmd in search or run)

Type ping www.bbc.co.uk.

If it comes back with times then you are on the internet but perhaps not able to view web pages.

It is also possible the system is stuck on an old ip address.

Open a CMD box again and type

ipconfig /release (note space after g)

then type ipconfig /renew

You may have to reconnect to the router after this.
Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the time Mark.
OK, this is what happens:
After typing in ping www.bbc.co.uk I get:
4 lines which say
Reply from 212.58.244.67: bytes=32 time=24ms TTL=55
Then under that something about packets sent =4, received =4, lost =0
under that round trip time in milliseconds, average=24ms

so then I do the other 2 things you suggest:
ipconfig /release
Comes back with:
Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection 7:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix .:
IP Address. . . . .:0.0.0.0
Subnet mask. . .:0.0.0.0
Ip address....:?
Default gateway :

Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-interface:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix :
IP Address...: ?
Default Gateway . . . . . .:

I then go on to type in the ipconfig /renew
And after a couple of seconds comes back with:

Windows IP Configuration

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection 7:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix .:home
IP Address. . . . .:192.168.0.9
Subnet mask. . .:255.255.255.0
Ip address....:?
Default gateway :192.168.0.1

Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-interface:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix :
IP Address............................: ?
Default Gateway . . . . . .:

All of this means nothing to me, but when, after doing all this I try and open Firefox, still no webpage !!
Any more ideas?
Thanks for being so patient. I appreciate all your help.
 
Long time since I've played with XP too but I do remember it having a habit of trying to use the wrong interface for networking. You have a wireless dongle connected but it tries to use a modem or ethernet that aren't connected.

Control panel>device manager and disable network devices you are not using like the ethernet and a modem if it has one. Reboot and see if it helps.
 
if youre getting ping responses back and youre getting an IP on the renew (and it looks valid) then it should all be okay..

you dont have any firewall software installed at all?
 
Basically a ping response means you are on the internet, but something is stopping web pages loading in the browser.

There was a fairly common issue with XP that caused this and a little tool to download (from another PC obviously) that fixed it. I'm just struggling to remember it at present.
 
RobertP said:
Long time since I've played with XP too but I do remember it having a habit of trying to use the wrong interface for networking. You have a wireless dongle connected but it tries to use a modem or ethernet that aren't connected.

Control panel>device manager and disable network devices you are not using like the ethernet and a modem if it has one. Reboot and see if it helps.
Click to expand...

I did try this, and disabled all apart from the wireless usb adapter, but when I rebooted it finds them again, and re-installs them. I think it was an ethernet device and something else.
Getting frustrated now !
 
neil_g said:
if youre getting ping responses back and youre getting an IP on the renew (and it looks valid) then it should all be okay..

you dont have any firewall software installed at all?
Click to expand...

As far as I can make out, firewall is off.
 
PsiFox said:
Basically a ping response means you are on the internet, but something is stopping web pages loading in the browser.

There was a fairly common issue with XP that caused this and a little tool to download (from another PC obviously) that fixed it. I'm just struggling to remember it at present.
Click to expand...

It sounds like I need to use something on this machine. If nothing else works, it might be a hammer !!
I can download utilities/progs to use, on my laptop, and copy it over with a flash drive if I need to. I just don't know what I need. If I search on Google, it comes up with 5 million solutions!
 
GHP said:
I did try this, and disabled all apart from the wireless usb adapter, but when I rebooted it finds them again, and re-installs them. I think it was an ethernet device and something else.
Getting frustrated now !
Click to expand...

you can disable the connections and/or the device rather than removing the device as like you say when you reboot itll reinstall it.
 
GHP said:
It sounds like I need to use something on this machine. If nothing else works, it might be a hammer !!
I can download utilities/progs to use, on my laptop, and copy it over with a flash drive if I need to. I just don't know what I need. If I search on Google, it comes up with 5 million solutions!
Click to expand...

see post above yours
 
Is it on board ethernet and modem (if any) or plug in cards? if it is cards you could open the case and remove them. I thought disable (does XP have it?) would survive restart (delete will get re-discovered)

I wasted a day on this once trying to do it the 'right' way and I know a reasonable amount about networking so don't feel too bad :)

As said already you are connecting Ok it just a matter of XP using that connection.

Edit. try Psi's fix first...
 
Last edited:
PsiFox said:
Right remembered it

It may be a "Winsock Error"

Go to the page below, download "winsock fix" and run it

Note there is also a Winsock 2 fix lower down the page if required.

http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/winsock-fix/
Click to expand...

Thanks Mark.
It is downloaded and running it now.
If not, I'll go through the steps on that page and see what happens.
Thanks again to all of you for having a go.
A pint for whoever fixes it :beer:
 
What are the LAN settings in Internet Options?

Depending on your IE version it'll be something like: Tools->Internet Options->Connections->LAN Settings. Specifically there should not be a Proxy Server or Auto configuration URL selected.

Also, just to be safe, are there any Dialup connections on the connections tab.
 
arad85 said:
What are the LAN settings in Internet Options?

Depending on your IE version it'll be something like: Tools->Internet Options->Connections->LAN Settings. Specifically there should not be a Proxy Server or Auto configuration URL selected.

Also, just to be safe, are there any Dialup connections on the connections tab.
Click to expand...

Just checked that, and there is nothing in either of them.:shrug:
 
GHP said:
All of this means nothing to me, but when, after doing all this I try and open Firefox, still no webpage !!
Click to expand...

All of that means you have an internet connection, in that packets go from your machine, to a place on the internet (the BBC webserver, in this case) and a reply comes back.

The problem is that firefox is not displaying web pages. This could be a firefox problem or it could be a machine problem (e.g. a proxy interfereing, firewall software etc)


In firefox, in the "File" menu, near the bottom there is an option "work offline". Does this have a tick next to it? It shouldn't. If it does, click on the tick and try again.

Also, try putting

http://192.168.0.1

into the browser address bar. What do you get? It should be a login prompt of some kind, as that is your router address.
 
OK, the winsock fix programme didnt work, so I followed the instructions on MS site and deleted the registry entries for winsock and winsock 2, rebooted, and installed tcp protocols. now my wireless connection is trying to renew my IP address, but it's been trying for 5 minutes, and nothing seems to be happening.
 
onomatopoeia said:
All of that means you have an internet connection, in that packets go from your machine, to a place on the internet (the BBC webserver, in this case) and a reply comes back.

The problem is that firefox is not displaying web pages. This could be a firefox problem or it could be a machine problem (e.g. a proxy interfereing, firewall software etc)


In firefox, in the "File" menu, near the bottom there is an option "work offline". Does this have a tick next to it? It shouldn't. If it does, click on the tick and try again.

Also, try putting

http://192.168.0.1

into the browser address bar. What do you get? It should be a login prompt of some kind, as that is your router address.
Click to expand...

Not all routers use that IP as their default.
 
Now I can't get past it trying to renew my IP address !
I am going backwards here!
 
PsiFox said:
Not all routers use that IP as their default.
Click to expand...
Sky ones do...

And judging by the IP configs where he was pinging, the 192.168.0 subnet was being used...
 
It's very frustrating, Gary, but we've all been there, sometimes more than once:'(

It sounds to me as if you have a firewall problem. Check again that everything on the security front is disabled. Even if you uninstalled your firewalls untill you get connected.

If still no go, I would advise you to nick out and get a LAN cable and that should get you on.

Then the 192 doodah should get you into your router and you can take a note of your network settings to try the wireless with.
 
Hurrah! Finally got it working. After all that it turned out to be a problem with a firewall! I had uninstalled Norton using add/remove programmes but read that I needed to use the Remove Norton programme instead. I downloaded it to a flash drive using my laptop, ran it and I am finally connected. Thanks to everyone for your patience and help. I would never have done it without you.
 
yup and stay away from Norton, get AVG it free
 
PsiFox said:
Not all routers use that IP as their default.
Click to expand...

I know, mine doesn't for example (I'm in the "NAT is evil" camp, so mine's not on an RFC1918 address at all).

The output from ipconfig /renew that the OP posted previously showed that the default gateway, which on a simple home network setup will always be the modem/router, was at the IP address I specified.
 
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