network driver

[devilswhore]

hi im having big probs with my network driver. im on broadband, and when i got my ethernet cable plugged in, most of the time, i get a 169 ip address. after a daily rant off with telewest, somehow we get the pc up and running by some form of jigging of other. the firewall is ok and has been checked on a weekly basis, but telewest point the finger at the network card....... any ideas? ive spoken to pc world, and we have reinstalled it ........ to get nowhere..... :evil:

[Micron]

Hi devilswhore

Welcome to the group.

Whenever your in a network, you are assigned a local IP address of 192.168.x.x where x is anything from 0 to 255. When you connect to the internet you will use your ISP assigned IP.

OK, so your problem. Does it stop you from connecting to the internet? or is it just that you have a 169 ip address?

Let us know and again, welcome.

[carrieparkinson]

thanks. i can't connect, i keep getting page cannot be displayed.... telewest reckon its my network driver, but wouldn't it stop me from getting on at any time? i can get online at times.

[Micron]

It could be allsorts stopping you.

I very much doubt that its a driver problem. I need to ask a few questions to determine what the problem may be.

What browser are you using?

I'm on NTL (same as Telewest) and when I first called them they told me to type an IP address into my cable modem and go through a configuration process, did they ask you to do this?

Did you do or change anything that would have caused you to have a different address, anything like a Proxy number or server?

Check your network card in device manager - Press Start > right click My Computer > Select Properties > Hardware Tab > Device Manager > Look for your Network Adapter, if it has a problem, it will have a yellow triangle next to it.

Thats about it for now.

Sorry it took me a while to reply, was away for the weekend.

[carrieparkinson]

its ok. browser? i haven't a clue, how do i find out?

[Micron]

Your either using Internet Explorer, Firefox or Opera.

[carrieparkinson]

i think its internet explorer..... thats what the icon says......!

[Micron]

Hi Again.

Ok, all this below may look complicated, but if read, it will explain how to check your connection properly and how to diagnose and fix it.

If after you have done the steps below, you still have problems, then its something else. We will start with your connection then will check your IP. so fingers crossed and if possible, Print this out by clicking here (http://www.experiencewindows.co.uk/forum/printview.php?t=860&start=0) and printing it.

If at anytime you get stuck, let us know.

Checking for Connection Problems

Anytime your network refuses to send and receive data properly, your first troubleshooting step should be to check for problems with the physical connection between the local computer and the rest of the network or Internet. Assuming your network connection uses the TCP/IP protocol, your most potent weapon is the Ping utility. When you use the Ping command with no parameters, Windows sends four echo datagrams, small Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) packets, to the address you specify. If the machine at the other end of the connection replies, you know that the network connection between the two points is alive.

To use the Ping command, open a Windows XP command prompt window (Cmd.exe) and type the command ping target_name (where target_name is an IP address or the name of another host machine). The return output looks something this:

C:\>ping www.example.com

Pinging www.example.com [128.9.176.32] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 128.9.176.32: bytes=32 time=94ms TTL=242
Reply from 128.9.176.32: bytes=32 time=76ms TTL=242
Request timed out.
Reply from 128.9.176.32: bytes=32 time=81ms TTL=242

Ping statistics for 128.9.176.32:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 3, Lost = 1 (25% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 76ms, Maximum = 94ms, Average = 83ms

If all the packets you send come back properly in roughly the same time, your TCP/IP connection is fine and you can focus your troubleshooting efforts elsewhere. If some packets time out, the "Request timed out" message appears, as in the example above, indicating that your network connection is working, but one or more hops between your computer and the target machine are experiencing problems. In that case, repeat the Ping test using the –n switch to send a larger number of packets: ping –n 30 192.168.1.1,for example, sends 30 packets to the computer or router at 192.168.1.1. (Note that the –n switch is case-sensitive; don’t capitalize it.) A high rate of timeouts, also known as packet loss, usually means problems elsewhere on the network and not on the local machine. (To see the full assortment of switches available for the Ping command, type ping with no target specified.)

If every one of your packets returns with the message "Request timed out," the problem may be the TCP/IP connection on your computer or a problem with another computer on that network. To narrow down the problem, follow these steps, in order, stopping at any point where you encounter an error:

1. Ping your own machine using either of the following commands:

ping 127.0.0.1
ping localhost

This standard IP address corresponds to your computer. If you receive an error, then TCP/IP is not configured properly on your system.

2. Ping your computer’s IP address.
3. Ping the IP address of another computer on your network.
4. Ping the IP address of your router or the default gateway on your network.
5. Ping the address of each DNS server on your network. (If you don’t know these addresses, see the next section for details on how to discover them.)
6. Ping a known host outside your network. Well-known, high-traffic Web sites are ideal for this step.
7. Use the PathPing command to contact the same host you specified in step 6. This command combines the functionality of the Ping command with the Traceroute utility to identify intermediate destinations on the Internet between your computer and the specified host or server.

If either of the two final steps in this process fail, your problem may be caused by DNS problems.

To eliminate this possibility, ping the numeric IP address of a computer outside your network instead. (Of course, if you’re having DNS problems, you may have a hard time finding an IP address to ping!) If you can ping a Web site using its IP address but not by using its name, DNS problems are indicated.

If you suspect that there’s a problem on the Internet between your computer and a distant host or server, use the Traceroute utility (Tracert.exe) to pinpoint the problem. Like the Ping command, this utility works from a command line. You specify the target (a host name or IP address) using the syntax tracert target_name and the utility sends a series of packets out, measuring the time it takes to reach each "hop" along the route. Timeouts or unusually slow performance indicate a connectivity problem. If the response time from your network to the first hop is much higher than the other hops, you might have a problem with the connection to your ISP; in that case, a call to your ISP’s support line is in order. Problems further along in the traceroute might indicate congestion or hardware problems in distant parts of the Internet that are out of your ISP’s hands and that might disappear when you check another URL that follows a different path through the Internet.

If your testing produces inconsistent results, rule out the possibility that a firewall program or network address translation (NAT) device (such as a router or residential gateway) is to blame. If you’re using a third-party firewall program, disable it temporarily. Try bypassing your router and connecting directly to a broadband connection such as a DSL or cable modem. To see whether you’re using the Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall (ICF), look in the Network Connections folder for a padlock icon and the word Firewalled on the connection icon in question. If you see these indicators, turn off Internet Connection Firewall temporarily, using these steps:

Right-click the firewalled connection and choose Properties from the shortcut menu.

Click the Advanced tab.

Clear the Protect My Computer And Network By Limiting Or Preventing Access To This Computer From The Internet check box.

If the Ping test works with the firewall or NAT device out of the picture, you can rule out network problems and conclude that the firewall software or router is misconfigured. After you complete your testing, be sure to enable the firewall and router again!

Diagnosing IP Address Problems

On most networks, IP addresses are assigned automatically by Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers; in some cases, you need to use static IP addresses, which are fixed numeric addresses. Problems with DHCP servers or clients can cause network connections to stop working, as can incorrectly assigned static IP addresses.

If you’ve recently switched to Windows XP from Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me, you may be used to using the Winipcfg command to discover details about your IP connection and repair IP-related problems. That command is no longer available in Windows XP. To perform IP repairs, use the status dialog box from the Network Connections window. For detailed information about IP configuration, use the command-line based Ipconfig utility. Both techniques are described in this section.

To see details of your current IP configuration, follow these steps:

Open Control Panel and click Network Connections (click Network And Internet Connections if you’re using Control Panel’s category view).
Double-click the icon for the connection about which you want more information. (Alternatively, you can select the icon and click the View Status Of This Connection link in the Network Tasks pane.)
Click the Support tab to see the currently assigned IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway for that connection.

If those details aren’t sufficient—in particular, if you want to see information about DNS servers and when your DHCP address will expire and be renewed, click the Details button.

Want still more information? Then fire up a command prompt window (Cmd.exe) and use the IP Configuration utility, Ipconfig.exe. Used without any parameters, typing ipconfig at a command prompt displays the DNS suffix, IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway of your primary network connection. (It’s identified as Local Area Connection in the Network Connections folder, unless you’ve renamed it.) To see exhaustive details about every available network connection, enter ipconfig /all.

The actual IP address you see may help you solve connection problems:

If the address is in the format 169.254.x.y, your computer is using Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA). This means your computer’s DHCP client was unable to reach a DHCP server to be assigned an IP address. Check the connection to your network.
If the address is in one of the blocks of IP addresses reserved for use on private networks make sure that another computer (an Internet Connection Sharing host) or a router or residential gateway is routing your Internet requests to a properly configured public IP address.

If the address of your computer appears as 0.0.0.0, the network is either disconnected, or the static IP address for the connection duplicates an address that already exists on the network.

Make sure you’re using the correct subnet mask for computers on your local network. Compare IP settings on the machine that’s having problems with those on other computers on the network. The default gateway and subnet mask should be identical for all network computers. The first one, two, or three sets of numbers in the IP address for each machine should also be identical, depending on the subnet mask. A subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 means the first three IP Address numbers of computers on your network must be identical—192.168.0.83 and 192.168.0.223, for instance, can communicate on a network using this subnet mask, but 192.168.1.101 will not be recognized as belonging to the network. Likewise, with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0, the first two sets of numbers must match—172.16.2.34, 172.16.4.56, and 172.16.83.201 are all valid addresses on a subnet with this mask. In every case, the gateway machine must also be a member of the same subnet. (If you use a router, switch, or residential gateway for Internet access, the local address on that device must be part of the same subnet as the machines on your network.)

Note: Are you baffled by subnets and other related technical terms? For an excellent overview of these sometimes confusing topics, read Knowledge Base article Q164015, "Understanding TCP/IP Addressing and Subnetting Basics."

Repairing Your TCP/IP Configuration

If you suspect a problem with your TCP/IP configuration, try any or all of the following repair options:

Run the Network Setup Wizard again This option is especially useful if you’ve been tinkering with connection settings, or if you’ve installed a third-party utility that may have done so. Be sure to choose the correct option for your network configuration and enter the correct network name, as outlined in "Using the Network Setup Wizard."

Use the automated repair option Double-click the connection icon in the Network Connections folder and click the Repair button on the Support tab. Selecting this option has the same effect as typing the following commands from a command prompt:

ipconfig /renew. Automatically renews your IP address from a DHCP server
arp –d. Flushes the Address Resolution Protocol cache
nbtstat –R. Reloads the NetBIOS name cache
ipconfig /flushdns. Clears the DNS cache
ipconfig /registerdns. Registers the computer’s name on the appropriate DNS server
Renew your IP address If you don’t want to perform the full set of repairs, use the Ipconfig /renewcommand to renew your IP address from the DHCP server.

Restore the base TCP/IP files Although you can’t uninstall TCP/IP in Windows XP, you can reinstall all its components and reset registry keys to a clean state. To do so, type netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt. Note that this step is not as drastic as it sounds and will not tamper with your current network settings.

DNS Issues

Is your ISP experiencing DNS problems? A misconfigured DNS server (or one that’s offline) can wreak havoc with your attempts to use the Internet. Try pinging each DNS server to see whether it’s available. If your ISP has multiple DNS servers and you encounter problems accessing one server, remove that server from your TCP/IP configuration temporarily and use another one instead.

Have you installed any "Internet accelerator" utilities? Most such programs work by editing the Hosts file on your computer to match IP addresses and host (server) names. When Windows finds a host name in the Hosts file, it uses the IP address listed there and doesn’t send the request to a DNS server. If the owner of the server switches to a new service provider and changes its DNS records to point to a new IP address, your Hosts file will lead you to the wrong page.

A Hosts file can be useful on a mid-size network where all computers have static IP addresses. By entering computer names and IP addresses in a Hosts file, you eliminate the need to broadcast messages around the network looking for each machine. Instead, Windows finds the machine name and matching IP address in the Hosts file and goes straight to the correct address. To edit the Hosts file, use Notepad or another text editor. Open the Hosts file (it has no extension) in %SystemRoot%\System32\Drivers\Etc. The comments in this file explain its syntax and are very easy to follow.

If you suddenly and mysteriously lose the ability to connect to sites on the Internet, check to see whether you have more than one active network connection. This situation is most common if you’ve connected to a virtual private network and you also have a broadband Internet connection. In this case, the problem most likely occurs because the VPN connection thinks it is responsible for Internet access too. To fix this problem, follow these steps:

Open Control Panel, Network Connections, and click the icon for the active VPN connection. In the Network Tasks pane, click Change Settings Of This Connection to open the properties dialog box for that connection.
On the Networking tab, choose Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and then click the Properties button. In the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box, click the Advanced button.

In the Advanced TCP/IP Settings dialog box, shown here, clear the Use Default Gateway On Remote Network check box.

Click OK and then close all dialog boxes to save your changes.
Temporary DNS problems can also be caused by the DNS cache, which Windows XP maintains for performance reasons. If you suddenly have trouble reaching a single site on the Internet and you’re convinced there’s nothing wrong with the site, type this command to clear the DNS cache: ipconfig /flushdns.

[L-knot]

What does you event viewer say under "system" [start/control panel/admin tools/event viewer]

[Neo, Knock, Knock]

Not to distract from this original post, but I took a look at my event viewer and found it interesting. Maybe one of you smart guys can write a post about it. Sorry for the distraction

[Micron]

Here you go Neo: http://www.experiencewindows.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3712

[carrieparkinson]

ok, im gonna print this lot off and see what it says. i've done the ping thingy before.......

[L-knot]

i get a 169 ip address.

169 occurs in my machine when a driver did not load

http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/2175/1697iv.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/1377/bt1os.jpg (http://imageshack.us)