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Fixing a friend's internet connection tomorrow, need a bit of advice.

W

Woolong

Member
I'm going to be at my friend's house tomorrow in an attempt to fix her computer connection problems, and since I won't have any internet access when I'm there I just wanted to ask now. What kinds of problems would possibly affect the connection? Besides a dead or disconnected wire, what kind of things in general are most likely to affect the connection?

I'm calling her in a bit, so I'll be able to tell you wether or not she has a router. I doubt she does, though. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks. And I'm sorry I lack a decent amount of information.
 
Bring your own laptop or "working" computer, so you can separate "computer" problems from "Internet" problems. Hook up YOUR computer to the Internet connection and see if it works. If it does, then it's her computer that's giving the problem.

The TOUGHEST problem you'll run into could be if her TCP/IP stack in her operating system (usually XP) has been corrupted. If she has other computers that are getting an Internet connection, but only one that isn't, that's one possible cause.

Internet connection problems usually are solved by:
1) Waiting for the ISP to fix THEIR problem.
2) Replacing a failing cable/DSL modem.
3) Resetting a router to the default values.
4) Re-flashing the router's firmware.
5) Replacing a bad ethernet cable.
6) Resetting the computer's TCP/IP settings to "Automatically obtain IP address" and "Automatically obtain DNS settings".
7) Re-enabling the NIC in the BIOS.
8) Re-installing missing or corrupted NIC drivers.
 
Only problem there it that I don't have a laptop, my cords are literally tethered to my desk here, and I doubt she has any extras. I mean, I could just bring mine and try hooking it up using her computer's cords, but... I don't know if she has all that I need.

I guess I could look, and if it does, come back with my computer. Chances are it's a computer problem though. No to be mean, but most girls I know don't exactly practice good usage of the internet...

Edit: If the internet isn't the problem, I'll be back here tomorrow after I get out of school and I'm at her house so I can get a better idea of how I could go about helping her. If the real problem isn't just a loose or damaged cord. Speaking of which, how can I tell if a cord's damaged?
 
Hello there,

(Wow.. looking back, I realize this is quite a long, drawn out and technical reply. I apologize if some of what I have said doesn't make sense or if it's too technical; I work for an ISP... hehe)

IMO, I would say the most likely "internet problem" is not actually a problem with the ISP, but a computer problem, and most likely the computer problem is related to spyware/adware. I would recommend burning a disk with Ad-Aware SE Personal and Spybot Search and Destroy on it (with updates to their definition files included on the disk) and scanning her computer for spyware/adware. In my experience, this will fix the majority of problems people have with their "internet".

However, before I would run spyware removal programs, I would check some basic settings on the computer, such as making sure the "Local Area Connection" or whatever they use to connect to the internet is enabled and receiving an IP address from whatever device they are plugged into (router, modem, etc.). If they are getting an IP address that IS NOT a 169.254.x.x address, then their internet connection is probably fine. However, if they have a router or some other device, and are getting an IP address, there could still be a problem with the router or the modem. In fact, the first thing I would personally do when I get there is power cycle (unplug the power for 10 seconds and plug it back in) their modem or router or whatever device(s) they have that have to do with the internet connection.

Now, if they are getting an IP address but the internet is still broken, try running those spyware scans, remove what they find, and restart the computer and see if that fixes it. It probably will.

If they aren't getting an IP address, or are getting a 169.254.x.x address, then either they don't have the cable plugged in, or their network card is broken, or something else is up with a device physically.

So, I would suggest trying the above stuff and see if that fixes it. It could be something really easy like what is above, or you could be in for a hair pulling experience. Have fun!

 
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