unable to connect to the internet

I have a Dell XPS M1530 and I'm unable to connect to the internet on a Arcor DSL line in Germany. I have tried wired and wireless but I'm still unable to get a connection.

It works fine at home in the States and at hotels or other wireless hotspots in Germany but no luck at my girlfriends apartment using her Arcor DSL. The line works perfectly fine using her old Dell Inspiron 1100 and my new Sager NP8662 so I have no idea why it wont connect.

When I plug the CAT5 cable in, the cursor will flash to a "working" icon every couple seconds but it never connects. Sometimes the network icon in the system tray will show a "limited connection" but mostly it displays no connection.

I've tried reinstalling the driver for the computers broadband modem and resetting router.

I'm using Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit.


Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Blake.

 

Hi Blake. Here's a few steps for you to try:

1: When it connects, press the Windows Key + R. Then type in the Run box
"cmd". Press enter

2: When the black command prompt box opens, type on "ipconfig". Look for your connection. What IP Address are you getting? (Usually IPv4). It should be something along the lines of 192.168.x.x.

3: If you are getting anything like 169.254.x.x this means your router is not assigning your computer an IP Address completely. If this is the case you can try manually putting in your IP settings.

4: It's also possible you ALREADY have manual IP settings. If this is in the wrong IP pool for your new router this could cause issues. If you are indeed getting a 192.168.x.x IP Address, take a look at your girlfriends router. The first x should be the same number as on the bottom of the router. So for example if on the bottom of the router it says your Default Gateway/IP address pool is 192.168.0.x, then ensure your IP address is 192.168.0.x, and not, for example, 192.168.1.x. Otherwise it will not connect properly.


Let me know if any of this doesn't make sense to you, or what your results are, I'll try my best to help you get this resolved

 

You probably did this already, but try the Vista Diagnose and Repair.

Try booting to safe mode with networking.