Failure to connect to the internet

Networking, connecting to the internet, wi-fi and home entertainment
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silverback
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Failure to connect to the internet

Post by silverback »

Over the last three weeks or so, I have been having problems with my desktop PC. I boot it up, but the network internet access icon shows 'connected, but no internet access'. I try and troubleshoot this, and it always ends up with problem not fixed, 'Ethernet does not have a valid IP address'

Can some help by telling me whether this indicates an internet provider problem, a problem with the router or something going wrong with the desktop PC (if so, what?)

I connect to the router using Solwise Homeplug 'data over the mains' plugs, not Wi-Fi.
Thanks
Silverback

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Argus
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Re: Failure to connect to the internet

Post by Argus »

A good start would be to look at the router.

Can you log into the router, and what do you see? What model is it?

(OS is Windows?)
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silverback
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Re: Failure to connect to the internet

Post by silverback »

Argus wrote:(OS is Windows?)
D'uh! Sorry, should have provided more info.
Windows 10. Router is Huawei (!)
You mean can I log in to the router when I have the ethernet problem, right?

Silverback

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Argus
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Re: Failure to connect to the internet

Post by Argus »

Internet access is one thing, local network is another; connected devices, such as your computer, get an IP address from your router, my question was if you can log on to the router, and what you see there. There can be some kind of "dashboard", telling you the router's IP address, i.e. that it's connected to your ISP (on many routers there are also lights on the outside); there can be a log, and if Internet access is down, it can tell you when it went down etc.

A first test could be to restart the router.
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Re: Failure to connect to the internet

Post by JoeP »

What version of Windows 10 are you running? SKU (i.e. Home or Pro) and release (i.e. actual version & build from Settings | System | About).
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silverback
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Re: Failure to connect to the internet

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JoeP wrote:What version of Windows 10 are you running? SKU (i.e. Home or Pro) and release (i.e. actual version & build from Settings | System | About).
Windows 10 Home
Version 1909
OS Build 18363.628

Silverback

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Re: Failure to connect to the internet

Post by Doc.AElstein »

I saw this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmXdEYW6heM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
He suggests some of the things in cmd prompt window which have sometimes worked for me. He also explains the standard trouble shooting-

Also for me a few other things sometimes work
_ 1 Deactivating, and re Activating the virtual network connector,
_ 2 trying the built in repair and diagnoses on Network adaptors
Network Adaptors.jpg https://imgur.com/SjjkC5B" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ,
( How To get to Network connection in Windows 10 : https://www.top-password.com/blog/open- ... indows-10/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )
Netzwork Connections.JPG

_ 3 Restarting my router, ( by pulling the mains plug out, wait 1 minute , then plug it back in )

_ 4 Computer restart.

I can have my computer connected to my router via WLAN or a fixed RJ45 LAN Ethernet cable ( https://imgur.com/apfM7Jd" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) …_
_ 5 … Trying one or the other will work on different days. Fiddling around with de Activating and / or re Activating either of the two connector adaptors sometimes gets internet working on one or the other.


_._________________________________________

Usually a different combination of all the things works on a different day when I have a problem.

I find these sort of problems very erratic and inconsistent in what works on any one day to get the internet working.

Alan

( P.S. Its probably a coincidence, but I and a friend of mine ( he is in another part of europe ) have been having more problems than usual with connections to our router in the last three weeks including the problem you mentioned originally. Maybe Microsioft have put something "in the air" :) )
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Argus
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Re: Failure to connect to the internet

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silverback wrote:
Argus wrote:(OS is Windows?)
D'uh! Sorry, should have provided more info.
Windows 10. Router is Huawei (!)
You mean can I log in to the router when I have the ethernet problem, right?
Thanks.
Routers can have a couple of different default IP addresses, even within the same brand, such as Huawei. One can then log in to the user interface of the router by typing that address in a web browser, with the help of username and password.

What do you see if you type: ipconfig /all in a command prompt or PowerShell (and press Enter)?
(To access cmd or PowerShell; Start menu > type CMD (for command prompt) or powershell.)

We are looking for IPv4 Address, Default Gateway, and DHCP Server.

This is just one path; it could some minor trouble with the NIC, settings.
Doc.AElstein wrote: _ 4 … Trying one or the other will work on different days. Fiddling around with de Activating and / or re Activating either of the two connector adaptors sometimes gets internet working on one or the other.
...
Usually a different combination of all the things works on a different day when I have a problem.

I find these sort of problems very erratic and inconsistent in what works on any one day to get the internet working.
Alan,
We are not here to fiddle around.
The OP has already, as it seems, tried the built-in troubleshooter.
Using wi-fi instead of ethernet cable isn't always an option, would be a defeat, and it should work anyhow.
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Doc.AElstein
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Re: Failure to connect to the internet

Post by Doc.AElstein »

Argus wrote:...
We are not here to fiddle around……The OP has already, .... tried the built-in troubleshooter.
.......should work anyhow.
The built in trouble shooting you get from right clicking on the Network adaptor ( https://imgur.com/D3NvTCZ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) sometimes gives me different results to other in built trouble shooting, …..
In other systems I also had another option for trouble shooting if I right clicked on a symbol which sometimes came up bottom right in the system tray. That sometimes gave different results as well. I have not seen that symbol yet in Windows 10. It might pop up sometimes when you have an internet problem. I am not sure.
As for the rest.. I would fight to the death ( seriously ) for you or anyone else to have your opinion on how to solve these things. :)
I beg to differ. Often a lot of things go on that you have no control of effecting an internet computer problem as you try to solve it. If you rely on what should work and are not prepared to fiddle, then I think the success rate at getting the job done will be less Just my opinion, but hey, you do anything ya wanna do… :) :wink: :wink:
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Argus
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Re: Failure to connect to the internet

Post by Argus »

The point is, as I see it, that we are all trying to solve problems and help each other and at the same time gain some knowledge over time. This, again as I see it, can only be done if one can link one or several solutions to a problem.

If one's only interest is: "hey, it's working now, and I haven't got the faintest idea why", then fine, but there is a risk one will be back in the same spot in the future, with no knowledge about what to do. :smile:

That said, from a quick look, I agree with some of the things mentioned in the video you linked to (though I don't understand why so many, during the last 10-15 years, prefer a 5-10-15 min video instead of a short page of instructions). That said, again, if the OP's computer has an IP address, say 192.168.etc. but no Internet access, releasing and renewing said IP address loan from the router, or flushing the DNS, will not change a thing. The router will happily give the computer a new IP address loan.
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Argus
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Re: Failure to connect to the internet

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silverback wrote:You mean can I log in to the router when I have the ethernet problem, right?
OK, Silverback; I understand that your router´s IP address is 192.168.1.1 (that is in a reserved address space for private networks, no access from the Internet, i.e. it's not your public IP address, and same as several others; I have it as well on one network). And your computer (and other devices connecting to your router) seems to get an IP address in that address range.

Do you have knowledge about the username and password for your router? Which model of Huawei do you have? If so, you can try to type 192.168.1.1 in the browser's address field, and then log in with username and password. But it would help to know which router model.

Have you tried turning of the router for a minute or two?
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silverback
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Re: Failure to connect to the internet

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Argus wrote:
silverback wrote:You mean can I log in to the router when I have the ethernet problem, right?
OK, Silverback; I understand that your router´s IP address is 192.168.1.1 (that is in a reserved address space for private networks, no access from the Internet, i.e. it's not your public IP address, and same as several others; I have it as well on one network). And your computer (and other devices connecting to your router) seems to get an IP address in that address range.

Do you have knowledge about the username and password for your router? Which model of Huawei do you have? If so, you can try to type 192.168.1.1 in the browser's address field, and then log in with username and password. But it would help to know which router model.

Have you tried turning of the router for a minute or two?
1. I have logged in to the router i.e. I know the username and password for it.
2. When the problem occurs, I have not tried turning it off for a minute or two. I will do so. I have tried turning it off then on, but that did not fix the problem.
Maybe I should have said that, to date, the only way I have managed to restore internet access is to switch off at the mains, which causes the PC to go through its "didn't shut down properly" routine, rebuild caches and do all sorts of other things which are way out of my knowledge area :smile: and when it finally restarts, internet access has always been there. I don't like doing this! Most days, the PC boots and all is normal, but when this loss of internet happens, it seems quite difficult to get it back.
I am very grateful for your continued interest in my problem.
Thanks
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Argus
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Re: Failure to connect to the internet

Post by Argus »

I wouldn't suggest switching off at the mains. :grin:

For quite some time (since Vista) Windows has used the Network Connectivity Status Indicator, NCSI, to check if there is an Internet connection available (it does some DNS lookups and connections in the background). That's how it can tell if there is access to Internet or not, and also other network connectivity.

(At times it can be a bit slow in updating, telling us there's "no Internet" when there is, but that's rare.)

Initially you mentioned seeing this problem with your desktop PC, and one would then like to check if the router has Internet access at the time. That can be lights on the outside of the router, or shown in the router user interface (that's why I asked if you can log in to your router). If it doesn't, it's probably your Internet service provider (or, if any, problem with a modem connected to the router).

If it has Internet access, another step would be to check with another device connected to the router, if there are any.

Next step would be to check the settings for IP addresses. Most people don't change the settings in the router, so it probably hands out IP addresses within a certain address space as it should. You can check that your desktop's connection is set to receive an IP address from the DHCP in the router. We know it has an IP address, but the settings for this are in the Network & Internet settings in Windows; you can check them under 'Change your network settings', 'Change adapter options', double-click on the connection and select Properties (or right-click on the connection and select Properties), double-click on 'Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)' and make sure both settings on the General tab is set to obtain an IP address and obtain DNS server address automatically. If they are, you can cancel your way out of the dialog boxes.

It is possible it might help to reset Winsock, as mentioned in the steps here (second item, under Run the Network troubleshooter followed by networking commands) (and as mentioned in the video linked by Alan). Sometimes these trouble-shooters have been doing just that, resetting, releasing and renewing addresses, but it can't hurt.

Another thing to check is NIC drivers, i.e. for the network adapter. I don't know, but it's possible that Windows has updated them, and that's why you see these problems since some weeks. You can take a look at drivers, date, version etc. via the Device Manager. Right-click on Start, select Device Manager, double-click on Network adapters, and right-click on your adapter and select Properties. There is tab for Drivers. You can also check Windows Update history and see if there have been any driver updates.
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