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Troubleshooting Internet Connection Problems

The purpose of this section is to give general tips
on troubleshooting your Internet Connection

While there are many possible configurations, I'll try and cover the most common ones.

Making Sure You Have Correct IP Information
Basic PING Tests
Browser Configuration

Making Sure You Have Correct IP Information
1. Make sure you have the correct IP scheme for your network. This would include the:
  • IP Address
  • Subnet Mask
  • Default Gateway
  • DNS Servers
2. There are a few ways you can see what IP addresses are being assigned.
But generally for:

Win9x - Start / Run / command
Windows2000/XP/Vista - Start / Run / cmd
Windows7 - Start / CMD

The run IPCONFIG /ALL. A sample where a router is used is in the following graphic.
3. IP Address:
If you have a router, common examples would be:
192.168.0.x, 192.168.1.x or 10.0.0.x

If you are directly connect to your DSL or Cable Modem, you should have an IP address that would correspond to something from your ISP.

What you don't want to have is something like 169.254.x.x. This means you are not getting and IP address assigned and needs to be resolved first.
4. Subnet Mask:
Also make sure you have the correct Subnet Mask. Most commonly this would be 255.255.255.0 but might vary if you are not using a router.
5. Default Gateway:
Make sure you have the correct Default Gateway IP address.
With a router, this is typically the IP address of your router.
6. DNS Servers:
Make sure you have the correct DNS Servers.

Sometimes this is the IP address of your router, so it would be the same as the Gateway IP.

Sometimes (as in this example), it is the actual DNS servers used by the ISP.
7. Possible causes for not getting an IP address assigned are:

1. Defective cable, network card or port on the router. Make sure you are using all known working components.

2. Your router is not configured for DHCP (which would automatically be assigning IP addresses).

But you need to have this working before proceeding.

Basic PING Tests (Both by IP address and Name)
1. This and can be done from that same command prompt you used to run IPCONFIG
2. Try pinging the router's IP address

e.g. ping 192.168.1.1

If you get a reply, then your connection to the router is working.

If you don't get a reply, then you need to double check your network card, cable, port on the router. You might also see if any other computers on the network can do the same.
3. Try pinging an external site by IP address

e.g. ping 4.2.2.1

If you get a reply, then you have a connection to the Internet.

If you don't get a reply, there are several things you can try:

1. Double check that the router is connecting to the Internet. Typically you can access the router through your web browser and check it's status.

2. Take the power off your DSL/Cable modem and Router. Plug the modem back in a wait a minute or so. Plug the router back in and wait a minute or so. Then restart your computer.

3. Winsock Fix - It is possible that the Winsock Registry entries have gotten corrupted. This is getting to be a more common problem. See WINSOCK FIX for clean ones you can download
4. Try pinging an external site by Name

e.g. ping www.yahoo.com

If you get a reply, then you have a connection to the Internet and DNS is working

If you don't get a reply, there are several things you can try:

1. Double check your DNS entries
2. You many need to use the same DNS IP address that your ISP or Router is using.
3. On rare occasions your ISP has problems with their DNS servers. But that is rare in comparison to misconfigured computers.

If your PING tests work but you are having problems browsing sites on the Internet
1. If you could ping external sites by both IP address and Name, but cannot browse the web, likely your web browser is misconfigured.
2. Double check that you don't have an incorrect or not needed Proxy server assigned.

For the Internet Explorer - Tools / Internet Options / Connections tab / LAN settings button. Uncheck both Automatically detect settings and Use a proxy server for your LAN.

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