PC won't connect to network after restart

feenster99 · 16 Apr 2006 at 23:12

Hi all,
One of the PC's in our house has a weird problem where it won't connect to the network, and therefore the internet. On turning it on, it won't acquire an IP address so when i do ipconfig, it shows nothing in the IP field. To get it to connect, I have to disable the network connection in the control panel, then enable it, then do an ipconfig /renew. The computer is connected by a longish (10m) cat5 cable into a Linksys 4 port router which in turn goes to a NTL Terrayon modem. My PC is setup virtually the same but works fine every time.

Anyone experienced this sort of thing before? Any ideas where to look to sort it? I have run the usual spybot/adaware/anti-virus scans and checked the cable is plugged in properly at both ends, and that it is set to get an IP address automatically (ie. not a fixed address)

Cheers,
Matt

Indy500 · 16 Apr 2006 at 23:13

Why not just have a fixed IP?

starscream · 16 Apr 2006 at 23:14

when you do an ipconfig, is it actually blank or is it 0.0.0.0?

Also, does the light on the back of the NIC blink when it does this or is it off?

feenster99 · 16 Apr 2006 at 23:15

I have tried that previously and it does the same thing. I'm begining to wonder whether the cat5 cable is failing in some way, not sure how common this is though when it has been laid and not disturbed after that?

Matt

feenster99 · 16 Apr 2006 at 23:16

starscream said:
when you do an ipconfig, is it actually blank or is it 0.0.0.0?

ISTR that it is completely blank as is the "Default Gateway" field. Not sure about the lights flashing as I have been behind the box to look :S

Matt

skiba · 16 Apr 2006 at 23:16

Try reinstalling the NIC. Ununisntall it in device manager then restart and it should pick it up again. Otherwise as above, just give it a static ip in the DHCP range of your router.

starscream · 16 Apr 2006 at 23:20

feenster99 said:
ISTR that it is completely blank as is the "Default Gateway" field. Not sure about the lights flashing as I have been behind the box to look :S

Matt

It's worth checking as the lights will give you a good idea if it is a cable or hardware problem or not. If they are blinking OK, it's worth removing the NIC from the device manager and reinstalling with the latest drivers. If they're not blinking, it could well be a hardware problem. The fact that it's OK after restarting makes be think it isn't the cable, as you would be getting intermittent problems if the lead was dodgy, or nothing at all.

feenster99 · 16 Apr 2006 at 23:21

Thanks chaps, that gives me a good wedge of things to dabble with tomorrow.

Cheers,
Matt