Cannot connect to internet after trying to set up a network

[markbudde]

I recently got a laptop with wifi. I bought a wireless router so both my new laptop and my family computer could access the internet. Everything was going ok, so I decided I would network the computers so I could play music from one on the other. I didn't really know what I was doing, but I attempted to run the windows xp network setup wizard. I eventually got it so that my family pc would show up on the laptop's network, but then all went wrong. Both computers then had problems connecting to the internet. After trying to undo things for a while, I got the internet back on my laptop by deleting/removing the "bridge". I still cannot get any internet on my family pc, and I have tried everything.
Here are some things I have tried, error messages I have recieved.

error:
Common Client User Session has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience. (this comes up at startup)
- I read that this problem could be caused by norton antivirus. A guy on google forums reported nearly the exact same problems/symptoms as me and someone recomended uninstalling/reinstalling norton. I
uninstalled norton and when the computer restarted, I got no error message. Immediatly after reinstalling norton, I recieved this message again, so maybe this is just a result of this program not having internet access.

error:
Repair Connection: The following steps of the repair operation failed:
Renewing the IP address
Please contact your network administrater or ISP.
- I get this error when I click on the Local Area Connection and click repair.

Also or interest is that when the cable is unplugged, either from the cable modem or the back of the computer, a message come up that says "Local Area Connection: A network cable is unplugged" when it is replugged back in, it says "Local Area Connection is now connected: Speed: 10.0 Mbps" When I check the Local Area Connection Status, it says something like "Packets: 143 sent, 9 recieved" I'm not sure if the small number it says it has recieved are normal, but i think this means that it is connected to something.

When I open a program that uses the internet, such as internet explorer, I get the typical error message that "The page cannot be displayed" and that it Cannot find server or DNS server

I did a system restore to before I started messing with the network, but it didn't help anything. I use RoadRunner, and have not been using the router since this happened. The internet works fine from my laptop when the same cable is used, and I have turned the cable modem on and off to clear the mac address, to no availe. Any help, advice at all would be greatly appreciated.

Mark Budde
markbudde@yahoo.com

 

[mechBgon]

Welcome to the Forums So let's get the layout described here.

Internet's coming into the modem on a coaxial cable. What is the modem connected to on your side... directly to the family PC again? Is it connected with a network cable, or with a USB cable? Do the modem's lights indicate that it's got a successful connection to RoadRunner?

 

[markbudde]

The family comp is connected to the modem with a network cable. There is an indicater light which is lit when the network cable is connectde to the back off the computer, but dim when unplugged.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: markbudde
The family comp is connected to the modem with a network cable. There is an indicater light which is lit when the network cable is connectde to the back off the computer, but dim when unplugged.

Ok, got it Start by going to Control Panel > Network Stuff and right-click the network connection's listing, go to TCP/IP, hit Properties and make sure it's using DHCP. That means that it looks for a "boss" on its network to give it an IP (Internet Protocol) address.

So try this next: go to Start, click "Run," and type cmd into the box and click OK. You should get a command-line box and now you could type ipconfig /release (enter) and then ipconfig /renew (enter), and hopefully your PC will pick up the IP address from the modem and be able to get out the door.

While we're on the whole topic, you should have firewalling of some kind if your PC is directly connected to a cable modem. One popular, good, free firewall software is the basic version of ZoneAlarm, which you can get from here. They do try to get you to bite on ZoneAlarm Pro, which they license for a fee, so stick to ZoneAlarm basic unless your intention is to buy ZA Pro at some point.

If you'd like help with your router, start again from the top and follow the instructions closely in the setup guide. In and of itself, it shouldn't be too big of a troublemaker and will help firewall you against the Internet.

 

[markbudde]

Ok, got it Start by going to Control Panel > Network Stuff and right-click the network connection's listing, go to TCP/IP, hit Properties and make sure it's using DHCP. That means that it looks for a "boss" on its network to give it an IP (Internet Protocol) address.

under advanced tcp/ip settings, it says "DHCP Enabled"

So try this next: go to Start, click "Run," and type cmd into the box and click OK. You should get a command-line box and now you could type ipconfig /release (enter) and then ipconfig /renew (enter), and hopefully your PC will pick up the IP address from the modem and be able to get out the door.

when I do "ipconfig /release" i get

"Windows IP Configuration

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.17.161
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway. . . . . . . . . . . . :
"
when I do "ipconfig /renew" i get

"
Windows IP Configuration

An error occurred while renewing interface Local Area Connection : An operation was attempted on something that is not a socket.
"

While we're on the whole topic, you should have firewalling of some kind if your PC is directly connected to a cable modem. One popular, good, free firewall software is the basic version of ZoneAlarm, which you can get from here. They do try to get you to bite on ZoneAlarm Pro, which they license for a fee, so stick to ZoneAlarm basic unless your intention is to buy ZA Pro at some point.

I was using the windows firewall, but disabled it because I had read somewhere that it might be the source of the problem. Once I get the internet working again, I will connect the pc back to the Linksys Router, which has a built in firewall, but I figured I wouldn't worry about a firewall untill my connection was fixed.

If you'd like help with your router, start again from the top and follow the instructions closely in the setup guide. In and of itself, it shouldn't be too big of a troublemaker and will help firewall you against the Internet.

The first step in the router installation instructins is to form a connection with only the cable modem, which is what my problem is.

 

[mechBgon]

Try deleting that connection in the Network panel altogether and creating a new one.

 

[markbudde]

mech thanks for all your help so far...

Try deleting that connection in the Network panel altogether and creating a new one

it says "The connection you selected cannot be deleted." I guess I will try to uninstall the drivers associated with the Local Area Connection and see what happens.
-Mark

 

[markbudde]

mech, thanks for all your help. I uninstalled my network card completely and then everything was all messed up. After I reinstalled the drivers and everything, the connection was now called Local Area Network 2, and had the same problem. I system reverted back to last week, before I ever hooked up the router and my internet connection restored. I am so happy now, thank you so much.
-mark

 

[mechBgon]

Sure thing Sorry I wasn't a whole lot of actual help, but I'm glad to hear you are back online