Experienced user here, reduced to the point of banging head against the wall and spamming forums with my issue hoping for some luck. I'll try to make this as detailed as possible, complete with an image.
Problem: (Nutshell) My desktop computer cannot connect to the home network, and thus, no internet.
Details:
Other computers connect just fine, both wirelessly and wired, thus the modem and router are not to blame.
Spontaneous failure. Worked fine in the afternoon, in the evening (without an update or restart in between) it would not connect to the internet.
Network and Sharing Center states that it can connect to the network (which it has always listed as 'unidentified network' in this particular panel), however attempts to access the router or modem via 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 respectively both fail.
The following image includes useful information for I hope somebody to help pick out the issue. My attempted solutions, all which have failed will continue after.
Image contains cmd prompt with ipconfig/all and a ping of yahoo.com, Network and Sharing Center, Local Area Connection Status, Network Connection Details.
When clicking the "x" between unidentified network and internet, Windows network diagnostics offers the following: Plug a cable into the network adapter "Local Area Connection 2', Automatically get new IP settings for for the network adapter "Local Area Connection", and A problem with your network router or broadband modem might be preventing an internet connection.
All three of these issues seem to be red herrings. My motherboard (full system specs to follow) contains two network adapters, (1 and 2, for argument) and this solution pops up for whichever adapter isn't currently connected to the ethernet cable to the router. It also doesn't appear when the disconnected adapter is disabled. The Automatically get new IP settings choice, always fails to correct the problem. the third points me to the help dialogs, which are of no use.
I briefly received errors similar to the one stated here
windows 32 bit - nforce networking controller issue however, since following solutions in that and other similar threads, that particular error has stopped occurring. (And while it pointed to the nforce controller, I never actually recieved the error31 in the device manager, which never acknowledged that the devices were malfunctioning.
I've also attempted to update the drivers, downgrade the drivers, switch from the nvidia nforce networking controller to the microsoft default. I've attempted to uninstall and reinstall the drivers and software, and manually remove teh driver from the system32 drivers folder. Many restarts later, still no luck.
I've seemed to narrow it down that it is a computer issue and not a network or modem issue, although I have also attempted to reset and power cycle both the DSL modem and the linksys router, without complication, as the laptop I'm currently typing on is successfully internet connected.
My confusion other than why this is happening at all, is that the computer claims to be able to connect to the network in the network and sharing center page, but not the network to the internet, as the other computers can connect to the internet, and the desktop cannot access 192.168.1.1 (the linksys router).
Further attempts at forcing the network adapter into fulltime 100Mbps full duplex mode, and switching the IPv4 and IPv6 to their alternate settings, as suggested by some other forum posts to which I can't remember the addresses have also failed.
The only progress I've seemed to make is to eliminate some obvious issues, and remove the NVIDIA nForce related error. I did install the nforce_winvista32.15.08_english file which was apparently the update to the adapter, but after further failures and more forum reading I did a system rollback several days previous, to remove it and any other recent updates, so that should be a non-issue. The computer is currently at an 'update-state' at which it should be working flawlessly, yet it is not. Thus my frustration.
The computer itself is as a home-built machine:
Asus Striker II NSE
Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4ghz CPU at stock clock speeds
4.00GB Corsair XMS
System Disk is a 74GB WD Raptor
Additional Disks are WD Caviar 500 and WD Caviar 1000 GB disks
nVidia 8800GTS x 2 video cards linked in SLI
Coolermaster 1000W PSU
Soundblaster X-Fi Extreme Gamer Audio
All wrapped in a Kandalf LCS case liquid cooling the processor, with a second, separate liquid cooling circuit taking care of the video cards.
I use my computer for work and school (Architectural Design), and without an internet connection, things are going to be rather difficult for me.
Its my baby, and it doesn't love me right now. Help me?
And thats about where I am at the moment. Other than another forum post suggesting that I download an nVidia Chipset Drivers file, which for some reason doesn't recognize Windows as being Windows, so it refuses to install, thus modifying nothing. Any input is appreciated at this point.
Additional:
Connecting the ethernet cable to different ports on the router fails, as does connecting it directly to the modem.
Several restarts fail to knock anything loose so to speak, nor does leaving it off for approximately 8 hours and starting up again.
There is no wireless internet built into the computer, and while I have the ability to install a wireless card as a last resort, I'd have to replace the audio card, which, naturally I'd like to have installed, not to mention the superior performance of using a wired connection. So that seems to be a last resort, however, I may have to try it if it would allow me to ask Vista to automatically scan the internet for a fix of some sort. But I won't do it unless somebody here suggests it might be fruitful, since adding the wireless card is a temporary fix and not a permanent solution.
And.... thats about all I can think of right now. If I'm leaving out any pertinent detail let me know.
Solutions :-), questions, advice, all welcome, nothing is too small or too silly a "have you tried this?".... I'm at the bottom of the barrel, and I appreciate any and all help. After this comes paying somebody way to much to try the things I've already tried.
-TurboNitroMonkey