Urgent Computer Help!

[DrFaroohk]

Computer problem, on a crappy computer and don't have time to surf for a computer-specific forum...

Basically: Windows 2000 machine won't connect to the internet. My other windows 2000 computer connects just fine. Everything is plugged in right, as far as I can tell. I'm not sure if that's an ethernet card or if it's something that looks just like an ethernet card and isn't.

The network settings shows that there is an active lan connection, even shows stuff being sent and received, but internet explorer isn't working at all. I went under Internet Options and Connections, and this one is set to dial into People PC. I disabled that, and have tried settting up the Lan options and all that and still nothing. I don't know what else to do, most everything I do is pretty automated.

Anyone able to help me? I'd appreciate it!

[Fire_on_High]

Double check everything. Make sure you have the correct IPs and all of the proper fields filled out, that nothing is conflicting, that it's not being blocked at the router.

If all else fails, nuke the networking settings completely and start from scratch.

2k isn't usually too awful about networking, but it also has zero leeway for mistakes.

You'll want to know the IP you should have on the machine, the IP for the gateway (be it a router or another machine), the subnet, and DNS. If you're in a situation where another machine is handling the connection, set that for DNS rather than an outside DNS server.

[crashhelmet]

If the local connection is showing data going in and out, i'd see if you could ping somewhere.

1) Open up your command prompt. (Start>Run>type in CMD and hit enter)
2) Type ping yahoo.com and then hit enter
You should see something like:
Pinging yahoo.com [209.131.36.159] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 209.131.36.159: bytes=32 time=16ms TTL=51
Reply from 209.131.36.159: bytes=32 time=16ms TTL=51
Reply from 209.131.36.159: bytes=32 time=16ms TTL=51
Reply from 209.131.36.159: bytes=32 time=16ms TTL=51

Ping statistics for 209.131.36.159:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 16ms, Maximum = 16ms, Average = 16ms

If it says something like "Cannot find domain specified" try the ping command with yahoo's IP address that's listed above. If it completes with the IP Address and not the domain name, type in ipconfig /flushdns and then hit enter.

If it fails either way, you're not online. I'd recommend checking your configs like Fire pointed out. If they're where they should be, uninstall and reinstall the drivers for your network card. you'll prolly need the CD or you can download them with your other system.

If the ping is successful but you still can't browse, there are a couple of things you'll want to check.

1) Make sure you're running the most recent Service Pack. (I think they're up to SP4 if i remember right)
2) If it's still fails, you may need to follow this link How to repair network or modem connectivity issues in Windows 2000
WARNING!!! You will need the Windows 2000 CD to complete this.

This seems like a lot, but it's kind of an "If, Then" situation. Hit us up if you have questions.

CH

[Blade_Raver]

Are both computers plugged into a router?
Possibly the router is configured for MAC address filtering?

Go to command prompt (cmd at run prompt) do an ipconfig /all on your troubled computer, get the MAC address of your network card. (It will be listed as physical address and will be 12 characters in 6 pairs separated by : symbols)

Go to the router settings and if the MAC filtering was enabled, enter the MAC address from the other computer to allow it to access the network.

Also seen situations where the auto detect link speed doesn't work right either.
Start > Settings > Control Panel > Network Connections
Right click on the network card > Properties
Click Configure > Advanced tab
You should see a property listing on the left called "Link speed" or "Speed and Duplex" or something similar to that. Try changing the settings from Auto (which is normally set as by default) to other settings (10/Half, 10/full, 100/half, 100/full) and see if it works.

Also it could be a bad ethernet cable. Replace the ethernet cable to see if that helps.

Check network settings on the computer that does work? Maybe it's set as a static IP address instead of automatically obtain IP address? If so, assign the other computer with a network address that's on the same network range as the other (ex. if first computer is set to be 192.168.1.100, set the other one to 192.168.1.101)

Also it might be a DNS issue as the previous responder advised. Set your DNS servers to 4.2.2.2 and 4.2.2.1 (Those are GTE/Level3 Communications DNS servers and are the root DNS servers in according to RFC.)

Could it be a firewall software causing this issue? Disable any and all firewall software to see if that helps.

Possible virus?

Maybe TCP/IP protocol stack is corrupt.
Resetting it might help.
Go to Start > Run > cmd
In the DOS prompt type: netsh int ip reset reset.txt (enter)
You should just get the DOS prompt showing up with no errors. If so, exit the DOS prompt and then reboot the computer and try to access the internet again.

If all this has been followed and to no avail, OS is hosed, backup/format/reinstall Win2k.

I hope this helps. This is everything that I can think of.

[PepperElf]

also... if they're both on a router... try switching the cables between the two computers
sometimes cat5 breaks

[DrFaroohk]

I've tried just about everything I can think of. My other computer works just fine, and I even tried running it with duplicate settings to see if it'd work, and nothing. Tried different plugs, tried going around the router. I've done all the pinging crap, and it works fine. Just doesn't want to go online. I thought it might be in internet explorer itself, and originally the settings were telling it to dialup, but I changed all that and it still won't work.



I was supposed to be fixing it for my father-in-law, but i guess he'll have to take care of it some other way and to continue thinking I'm a loser.

[Fire_on_High]

I was supposed to be fixing it for my father-in-law, but i guess he'll have to take care of it some other way and to continue thinking I'm a loser.

If he's such a hot shot then why doesn't he fix it himself? *smiles sweetly*

[Dreamstalker]

The only other thing I could suggest is trying a different browser as well as reinstalling/updating IE if you can and see if either helps.

[crashhelmet]

If it will ping out but won't surf, it's a WinSock issue. Follow the link I posted and it should resolve it for you.

CH

[Blade_Raver]

Do you have proxy settings enabled?

In internet explorer: Tools > Internet Options > Connections Tab > LAN Settings > Uncheck 3rd box.