CAN'T ACCESS INTERNET BUT GOOD WIFI CONNECTION!

I just got a sony viao with built-in Wifi. It says I have excellent connection to wireless newtworks (from my home, from school, from coffee shops, etc) but when I am unable to access the internet or use my outlook express or aol. What is going on?

 

I'm not sure on this one but I think the problem might be that windows is not allowing you to connect to an "insecure" (not encrypted) network without explicitly stating you are willing to do so. I seem to vaguely recall running into that before with XP. Try double clicking on the connection icon and see if there is something that essentially says to connect anyway.

 

I have disabled all security and still am unable to connect. I have tried changng from 802.11 b and g to only b to only g. Still nothing. I have tried releasing all the IP #s too. Nothing

 

OK, let's walk through a few screens just to confirm we are saying the same thing. First, confirm for me that you are using Win XP. If so, at the bottom right of your screen (in the system tray) there should be a picture of a computer with little squiggly "radio wave" lines. I assume this is where you are seeing the good signal. Click on that icon. (If you do not have that, go to the control panel, hit network connections, and select your wireless connection to get to the same place).

Once there, hit the button near the bottom right that says "view wireless networks". Click on that and you should see your local wireless network displayed. Hit the refresh network list button near the top left (just to be sure) and highlight your local network and hit the connect button near the bottom right. (If you were already connected then disconnect and then hit connect again just to refresh it).

OK, now tell us what happens. Were you able to connect? Are you able to use the web? If not, do one more thing. Hit the start button and select run and then type "cmd" and hit enter to open a command (DOS) window. Type "ipconfig" and hit enter. If you know networking basics, then try to ping the gateway address. If not, just tell us exactly what comes up there.

 

Yes, Windows XP Pro. I have done all those things. I've tried clicking 'repair', I've tried reconfiguring it, I've tried releasing all IP #s and resetting. Every time I go to the internet (or aol or netscape or outlook express) it has it cannot detect network settings.

 

You say you release your IP settings, do you get IP settings on your wireless device? And do you have any other network connections active?

 

have you run the internet connection wizard to establish the connection. If you are using a wireless router you may have to use the ip address of the router as the default gateway I have a vaio and have had no problem connecting. On last thing if you are trying to connect to a secure network you will need to enter the WEP key

 

I HAVE DISABLED ALL SECURITY PROTECTION. I HAVE CONFIRMED THAT I AM WILLING TO CONNECT TO ANY INSECURE NETWORKS. I HAVE DIABLED FIREWALL AND ALL OF MY SECURITY PROGRAMS

 

We're getting into the obscure possibilities now. That's why I asked if you get an IP address and if you have any other connections.

If you are getting an IP address then you are really connected and it is a routing problem. If you have another connection (to other local machines, for example) then you might be connecting to that other network first and your default routing is down that dead end street.

If you don't have an IP address, then the connection is never being properly established and it might be a wireless connection problem or a DHCP problem (getting an address).

But it doesn't appear to be one of the common, typical problems.

One other thought though - have you checked to ensure you have the newest drivers for your wireless device?

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by brobiche

 

may need more specifics
1. do you have a wireless router in your home connected to your cable or DSL modem
2. has that router been setup for wep encryption
3. is it using DHCP to assign ip address or is it static
4. have you cloned mac addresses into router

as far as other networks most require a network key to enter and use

Can you be more specific about your setup

 

I have an ip address, but I cannot connect to any of my network connections

 

OK, it is sounding like the most likely culprit is that your ISP is looking for a MAC address and you haven't cloned the one from your PC.

Assuming your PC works fine when connected directly to the modem but you cannot access the web when connecting through the modem, then...

from your PC that can connect when connected directly to the modem open and command window (hit Start/Run and type "cmd" and hit OK). At the prompt, type "ipconfig /all" and look for the "physical address". Write it down.

Now open your router's configuration screen. All routers are different, but you should find someplace to enter the WAN MAC address. Type in the characters you wrote down above.

If that's not it, then please try to give us more information so that we can better try to help. Be as descriptive as possible. Tell us all the things you have tried and exactly what is and is not working. Good Luck!

 

unless the IP address he's getting is the Windows default 169.x.x.x address...it has to be a valid IP address...the defaults for home routers are usually 192.168.0.x or 192.168.1.x

-----------------------------------
Scott

Network Guru Extraordinaire

 

Try unplugging the modem and router for 30 seconds then plug them back in again.

My Canada Does Not Include Celine Dion

 

Go to the 'DNS configuration' tab and enter your router's IP address in the 'Prefered DNS Server" field.

I had this problem before and my problem was with the fact that my notebook computer didnt get any DNS info from my wireless Router.

 

Lets get back to basics.

1. Do you have a broadband internet connection, which includes a modem and wireless router?
or
Are you trying to connect to someone else's network?

if 2nd scenario is the case when you hit view wireless networks, under the name of the network it should indicate if it secured or unsecured. If it is secured you need to have the right type of encryption and the proper key to connect.

 

on your router try a LONG preamble instead of short, and do this on your sony
start-->run-->ipconfig/flushdns



-->Asus M6BNe | Pentium M 1.6GHz Dothan | 1024MB PC2700 Micron Ram | Radeon 9700 Pro 64MB | 80GB Samsung 5400 RPM 8MB Cache | Gigabit LAN | CDRW + DVD Combo |
-->Compal CL56 | Pentium M 1.6GHz Dothan | 1024MB Ram | Radeon 9700 Pro 128MB | 60GB HDD | 10/100 LAN | DVDRW |

 

I typed this: "ipconfig" and hit enter. If you know networking basics, then try to ping the gateway address. If not, just tell us exactly what comes up there. What comes up is:

Windows IP Configuration

Ethernet Adapter wireless network connection:

Connection-specific DNS suffix: hsd1.ca.comcast.net
IP Address....
Subnet Mask....
Gateway.....

 

I am not sure you have stated this anywhere, but can you connect to the Internet when you are connected by wired network?
Check to make sure that you do not have any proxies set up in Internet Settings.

 

Network Gurus: I am having the same problem as Brobiche in that I can connect to my wireless router, but can't acces the internet. I also have a Viao, and am running Win 2000. I have used wireless access from this computer at work, and am now trying to connect it to my wireless home network. The home network works fine as we have 5 other computers connected to it (it is WEP secured). The interesting thing about my Viao is that I can't connect to the internet even when connected to the router via a cable, nor can I connect to the internet when dialed in via Earthlink. And I went though the trouble of connecting to the wireless router via an external wireless-G adapter, and that also connected to the adapter but no internet access.

I have run ipconfig/flushdns but the result is the same.

When I run ipconfg, here is what I see:

Ethernet Adapter Local Area Network 2:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix:
Autoconfiguration IP Address: 169.254.130.181
Subnet Mask........................ 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway: .................

Wireless Adapter reads connected (in lower right tray) at 11Mbps, with 82 Packets sent, and 0 Received.

I manually entered in the DNS Servers as someone suggested (got them off another computer connected to the router) but also no luck.

When I run Ipconfig on my other computer that can connect to the intenet via the wireless router, it looks like this:

Ethernet Adapter Local Area Network 2:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix: hsd1.ca.comcast.net.
IP Address:......................... 192.168.1.106
Subnet Mask........................ 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: ................. 192.168.1.1

Any ideas appreciated!!!

Tito

 

I would check to make sure your firewall is not blocking your connection. Since wired or wireless does not work.

You may need to add a security rule to allow your subnet (192.168.1.1 - 255.255.255.0).

Even if you enter the IP manually, if your firewall is blocking it, it will not work.

 

Thanks for the idea Blue68. I turned off the firewall but still can't connect to the internet, even when connected to the wireless router via cable. Ipconfig gives same result as above.

 

Good idea ZX10Guy. We are making progress. I hard-coded the IP address, subnet mask and default gateway in. Now when I ping the router at 192.168.1.1 I do get a response. So it is recognizing it. But still no internet access (although Yahoo Msg is trying to connect so something is happenning). My ipconfig now looks like this:

Ethernet Adapter Local Area Network 2:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix:
IP Address: ......................... 192.168.1.108
Subnet Mask........................ 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: ................. 192.168.1.1

Any other ideas?

 

Verify that you port properites for Internet Protocol (tcp/ip) is set to DHCP, obtain auto, and DNS. If so disable port then re-enable and see if pulls the IP settings. I've see where this works over the cmd line. It flushes out the memory cache. If everything is set correctly, try re installing the drivers. You may need to reset the tcp sack, will have to search MS for instructions.

Or just set everything manual as previously suggested. This will be a pain if you connect to multiple sites.

 

just to drop in my two cents, it's possible that you have limited the number of DHCP connections that your router will allow. maybe check on that in the router's configuration settings.

 

Thanks to ZX10Guy, Blue68, and BigV for the help. I manually set the DNS server to 192.168.1.1 and no luck. Still no internet connection. I also tried grabbing the DNS setting from my other systems that are connected and plugged them in also to no avail.

I tried to auto grab the settings via DHCP but this didn't, so went the hard-code route. I don't plan to move this computer much so that should be ok.

My wireless router is a Linksys Wireless G router with 5 clients connected. It should be able to handle more DHCP connections than that right?

Ipconfig now looks like this:

Ethernet Adapter Local Area Network 2:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix:
IP Address: ......................... 192.168.1.108
Subnet Mask........................ 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: ................. 192.168.1.1

I am still not grabbing the Connection-specif DNS Suffix. Is there a place I can manually enter this also? Help appreciated.

 

No luck on the Nslookup. Can't see www.google.com or 4.2.2.2 Error says it can't find a server name for my DNS addresses, which are hard-coded in. I can ping the IP addresses of other PC's on my network. Just nothing outside.

I am using IE and it is set as you suggest above. But still no internet connection.

 

Only if the DHCP range allows it.

Also check to make sure you are not mac filtering on the router. If so disable or add your mac addresses into the router.

Try using the DNS from the WAN (isp) settings.

 

Blue, DHCP is ok up to 50 users so I think we are ok there. Not Mac filtering either. We have been able to easily add other computers to the network with just the WEP key.

I think I am using DNS from the ISP since I got them from the other computers that are connected.

 

Zx10, ran route print, and the gateway is my router IP address, and the Interface is my laptop IP. Under "Metric" is a column of 1's whereas when I run route print on my system that can access the net, I get a Metric of 25 in the first line, and a combo of 1's and 25's in the rest of the column.

The wired ethernet port shows the same behavior as the wireless one - connects to the router (via cable) but not to the internet.

 

No. just one IP for the default gateway. Metric is set to 1 and not 25 as in my connected computer. Does this matter?

This laptop used to connect to a wired work network, and wired home network with no problem. Used to also connect to various wireless networks. But we moved and now just trying to get it to connect to new home wireless network.

When I look at the Ipconfig/all I notice that Mode Type is set to Hybrid, whereas its Peer-Peer for other computers that can connect. Could this be the problem? How do I set this?

 

Sure, will send under separate cover. Thanks for looking at this.