Router/reciever problem

I have two computers, one has a direct cable internet connection and the other is connected to the first via router/antenna. This morning, the second computer would not connect to the internet. It says the connection is enabled and the device is working properly with a good signal strength. However, it will not connect to the internet.

Once , I got the message that the "internet did not assign a network address to the computer" but it has been working for months with no problem. I am confused, and don't know what to do. Can anyone help me out?

 

Reset the router. Many routers occasionally have hiccups and need to be rebooted or reset. First try to just power off the router for 15 seconds and then plug it back in. Then after 30 seconds or so, go to the affected computer and assuming winxp click on start -> settings -> network connections. Single click on the network connection you use and then click on "repair connection" in the left side option box on the screen. This will release and renew its connection and assuming a simple router glitch it will reassign it a proper ip and allow it to connect.

 

Thanks, I will try that...

 

No luck...

 

It is set up to get an automatic connection, which is the same as always and it's never had a problem before. Not too long ago, however, I had a browser hijacking and I'm thinking that has something to do with it.

Today, I encountered another problem...my start menu froze up and I can't get it to work properly. All these problems and I don't know how to fix them. Don't know what to do...

 

You haven't said what operating system you're using. WinXP? Win98? Something else entirely? Each one handles the hardware a bit differently, and fix instructions for one OS may not fit another.

If you're running Win9x, I'd tell you to run WINIPCFG from the Run command on the machine that won't connect to the Internet. (Maybe you can still do it in WinXP, but I don't know....) Make sure that WINIPCFG shows the network/ethernet adapter, not the PPP/dialup adapter or modem, and see what it reports for that machine's IP address and the gateway address. Depending on how your router is configured, the machine's IP address will likely look something like "192.168.0.101".

If the IP address is all zeroes, that may be your problem -- the DHCP server has failed to assign an IP address to that machine.

If you still haven't got a connection, click on "Release", then "Renew", to make the DHCP server re-assign an IP address to that machine. If you can't get a new IP address for that machine, the problem may be with the DHCP server, i.e., the router, or the connection between that machine and the router.

One way to check that is to make a note of the gateway address shown in WINIPCFG, go to a DOS prompt, and issue the command "PING <gateway address>". (Don't enter the quotes, and substitute the numbers shown in WINIPCFG for the gateway address in place of the expression <gateway address>. It should look something like "ping 192.168.0.1".) If you get a reply, your machine is talking to the router, and the problem is either in the router or somewhere beyond it.

Let us know what OS you're running, and what happens when you try the above.

 

Well, my operating system is windows xp. And now, for some reason, I cannot even click on "start" it's frozen, the whole bar on the bottom of my screen is like stuck. I have tried restarting the computer several times and it doesnt do anything. So now I cannot connect to the internet, or even click on the start button.