What's wrong with my network?

[BeeBoop]

My computer doesn't seem to want to connect to the internet. My computer is hooked up to a powerline adaptor and all three lights are blinking green on that adaptor so i believe it is working fine. Also my laptop which is connected to a router on a different powerline adaptor is working fine.

So where do i start to fix my problem?

I'm on windows 8.1

 

[Mushkins]

Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change Adapter settings (on the left). Does icon look ok or is there a big red X through it?

 

[BeeBoop]

YES! There's a big red X next to local area network.


It says that it might not be plugged in but i know that it's plugged in. Maybe the powerline adaptor signal dropped?

 

[Mushkins]

Can you try a different network cable from the powerline adapter to your PC? Could be a bad/broken cable.

If it's not, odds are the powerline adapter isnt configured properly or just isnt going to work where you have it plugged in. They're very hit or miss.

 

[BeeBoop]

Everything was actually working yesterday but I'm guessing the signal just dropped. The main computer plugged into the modem works.

Yesterday I added a wireless linksys router to me network on a lan to lan connection, so i think that might have something to do with it. Before, it was a lan to wan connection and never had any dropped signals.


I guess I didn't describe my network properly. I have 1 main computer connected to the modem. Two computers wired to a powerline adaptor and one wireless router connected to a powerline adaptor.


Edit
Thanks for your help. I think i figured out the problem. It's my router. I was setting up a lan to lan connection with my router through the powerline connectors and I believe it makes the connection drop. I've had a lan to wan connection with my router up and running for a month with no drops so that must be it. Sucks though because I really wanted my printer on the same network.

 

[Mushkins]

I'm not following you: A typical network would go Modem > Router > PCs. It sounds like your two computers and that router are their own separate network from the PC directly connected to the modem.

I guess the better question is: what are you trying to accomplish here?

 

[BeeBoop]

I'm not following you: A typical network would go Modem > Router > PCs. It sounds like your two computers and that router are their own separate network from the PC directly connected to the modem.

I guess the better question is: what are you trying to accomplish here?

I want everything on the same network to use a printer. I'm thinking it might not be possible without dropping connections.


I have 4 rooms that I want internet in. One room has the modem/router in it. The all in one modem/router is connected to a PC and a powerline adaptor. Now, that power line adaptor is connected to three other rooms. Two rooms contain their own PC and the third room(living room) has a wireless router in it that i want to use just for wireless.


Room 1 - PC, All in one Modem/Router, Powerline adaptor
Room 2 - PC, wired to Powerline adaptor
Room 3 - PC, wired to Powerline adaptor
Room 4 (living room) - Linksys wireless router, wired to Powerline adaptor


Edit:
I actually had this setup up and running for a month without any dropped connections. It was just yesterday that I changed the router from a lan to wan connection to a lan to lan connection that I experienced this drop this morning.

 

[Mushkins]

Ah, that makes a whole lot more sense now that you detailed it, and is totally doable. What was going on: You were creating a double NAT situation with the router, essentially a network within a network. It works, but sharing resources between the two networks is a pain and rarely works right.

When you switched it to lan-to-lan, now you have two routers trying to fight each other to route and assign IP addresses on one network, you're going to get IP conflicts, no connectivity, and all sorts of network nightmares.

The solution: the wireless router needs to be configured *just* as a wireless access point: http://www.ezlan.net/router_AP.html

 

[BeeBoop]

Thanks for the info Muskins. I was hoping for an auto detect but I guess that's not going to happen. Will follow those instructions. Thanks!

 

[marshsebastian]

Your Pc's control panel have all the options there, follow them or renew the ip once.