Windows 7 My PC won't connect to the internet..

[RowanWolf]

Hi,
I got a new router at the end of October, just after a new PC.
My connection has dropped a few times and windows has diagnosed the problem and connected me again, no problem.
Just before christmas I lost my connection and couldn't get it back. I left it to do something else for a few hours and checked this laptop, which could connect fine. When I went back to my PC the connection came back on it's own after a while.

Last night my connection dropped again. Windows diagnosed an issue with my modem and advised me to turn my router on and off, etc etc.
I tried this and nothing changed, I rebooted. No connection. This laptop downstairs worked fine. I left it a while in the hope it might come back as before but I still have no connection this morning and Windows cannot detect any problems when I try to get it to diagnose.

My router seems to be working fine and the router status page seems fine.
It is just my PC that cannot connect and I'm very frustrated as this is the second time only worse and connections/networking etc is my weakest point.

This may have nothing to do with it but last time this happened it was the day after a failed windows update, the day before I had bad BSOD issues. I had a seemingly successful windows update the day before yesterday.

I'm not very good with these issues, you can probably tell so I hope I can follow any advise given and I hope someone can help me figure this out.

I use Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.
My router is a Cisco Linksys Wireless-N home ADSL2+Modem router. Model number: WAG120N
My PC uses an ethernet connection to my router. This laptop also does and is also set up for wireless.

I'll be very grateful if someone can help me as I'm disabled and my life is online and on my own PC.
Will provide other details if needed.

 

[patcooke]

If you have IPv6 enabled you should disable it as you are very unlikely to be using it at the moment. Have you checked that you are getting a valid connection to your router? You can to this by running a command prompt as administrator and entering the command:

ipconfig /all

and looking at your ethernet connection to see if is getting an ip address that starts 192.168 . . .

 

[RowanWolf]

Looking at the info yes it seems ok. My ethernet connection does have an ip address that starts 192.168.
I'm not overly familiar with the info in the command promt box, everything in this ethernet adapter local area connection part has information next to it except the first line ' Connection - specific DNS suffix'.

 

[patcooke]

Best to check your dns settings - can you show us al the entries from ipconfig for your ethernet connection please.

 

[RowanWolf]

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix :
Description : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Pysical Address : (this is listed and correct in the box)
DHCP Enabled : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address : fe80::3515:2e64:2a4d:5db%11<Preferred>
IPv4 Address : 192.168.1.100<Preferred>
Subnet Mask : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained : (todays date)
Lease Expires : (tomorrows date)
Default Gateway : 0.0.0.0
192.168.1.1
DHCP Server : 192.168.1.1
DHCPv6 IAID : 237031216
DHCPv6 Client DUID : 00-01-00-01-14-3F-8D-60-(includes pysical address)

DNS Servers : 212.159.6.9
212.159.6.10
NetBIOS over Tcpip : Enabled

 

[patcooke]

The DNS server address is an external one which the router will be using but I would expect the pc to use the IP address of the router as its dns server address - the router would then pass dns requests on. Have a look at the ethernet adapter settings for IPv4 and see if the DNS server is set to the router address - 192.168.1.1

 

[RowanWolf]

I'm not sure how to do that.

 

[Mike]

Here is a proper method to use your default gateway (router DNS) as the primary DNS configuration. However, if your router has a misconfigured DNS, this may fail as well. This is an unlikely scenario if your router automatically retrieves DNS settings from your ISP.

Start -> Search
View Network Connections
Double-click Local Area Connection (Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller)
Double-click Properties
Double-click Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4)

Select the checkbox "Use the following DNS Server Addresses"

Enter the following values:

For Preferred DNS Server: 192.168.1.1
For Alternate DNS Server: 8.8.8.8

Click "OK".

If this does not work, try using 8.8.8.8 as the primary DNS and 192.168.1.1 as the secondary. This may prevent you from connecting to other computers on your home network, as it will use Google's public DNS servers. It can, however, restore Internet access.

Getting Additional Support/Information from your ISP and Cisco/Linksys

If you continue to have problems, you will need to access the router itself and check all configuration settings. This can require some intermediate to advanced knowledge of networking protocols, and you may want to contact either your ISP or Cisco/Linksys for further assistance. Your ISP may not support 3rd party devices like routers, and support at major ISPs usually say this so that they can cut costs. You may still want to try them first, telling them that you need to reconfigure your router and need configuration information. You can then take down this information, and consult the manual for your router or contact Cisco/Linksys support for a walkthrough on setting up the router.

Those of us who have configured these routers do not have much difficulty doing so, but it is difficult to convey the idea in text or with pictures. You will want someone to professionally walk you through the whole ordeal if the above settings do not work. Your ISP will start with basic troubleshooting of your connection, likely by measuring signal strength coming off your modem, and by making you do a number of mundane tasks like turning things off and on. This is usually all they are trained to do. They may even reluctantly move on to a possible at-home support request. Most technicians who do at-home service for major ISPs in home environments either do not know how to configure a 3rd-party Cisco router, or refuse to do so, since it is not their priority (they are trained to wire cable and set up modems). As far as I know, however, Cisco's support unit, will still in fact walk you through a router set up over the phone provided you have the correct information from the ISP. Still be prepared for one support division to claim you have to call the other and vice versa.

 

[RowanWolf]

I entered the values and nothing happened. I rebooted and still nothing but it has suddenly come back.
I hope it was that simple. Thank you very much indeed for the help, both of you.

 

[patcooke]

Thanks for letting us know - I'm surprised the router itself didn't set it's own address for your dns server but the setting you've made should keep it ok now.