Solved Can't network using a cable

[StupidUser]

Are there any network settings anywhere in Vista's hierarchy where you turn on or off settings for cable networking?

My vista x64 laptop can network to the wireless router that it's sitting next to with no problem. But I also have it plugged into the router. When I turn off the wireless radio (there's a switch in front), I cannot network. Note that if I plug the same network cable from the back of this laptop into another laptop, it networks fine. Therefore, the router and cable are working fine. Note also that I was able to connect by cable just days ago, but I disconnected this laptop to take it to school and brought it home and now when I try to use it through the cable, it doesn't work. This is rather important to me because my apartment experiences a lot of interference and I'm trying to do some long running operations on a cluster at school.

When I try the network troubleshooter, it reports that my device drivers may be out of date (they're not), or it tells me to plug in a cable (it is plugged in, that's the point!). Any idea what's wrong?

I've tried resetting the PC and the router and everything, with no luck.

 

[Shadowjk]

I will be honest with you here. It does have some classic symptoms of a bad NIC or a faulty connector Though I would like to rule out some possibilities first. Can you first try and boot your machine into Safe Mode with Networking and verify whether or not you can connect through a wired connection. This will help to identify if there is a third party application that could potentially be causing the issue.

To do so, Please follow this tutorial - http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/123496-safe-mode.html [METHOD ONE ONLY]

   Note

Please replace all references of 'Safe Mode' with 'Safe Mode with Networking'

Please post back your results and we will do what we can to help,
Josh

 

[StupidUser]

I had to turn on the wireless radio to get to the web in safe mode. With the wireless off, I could not get anywhere.

 

[townsbg]

It sounds to me that maybe your laptop is hanging on to the ipaddress it got from your school and not getting one from your router. Try this. Open up start menu and type in cmd. Right click on command prompt and select run as administrator. Now in the black box type in the following commands one at a time.

ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew

Test your connection.

 

[StupidUser]

It sounds to me that maybe your laptop is hanging on to the ipaddress it got from your school and not getting one from your router. Try this. Open up start menu and type in cmd. Right click on command prompt and select run as administrator. Now in the black box type in the following commands one at a time.

ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew

Test your connection.

Hi, I fell asleep last night, so slow response.

I ran cmd as administrator and tried ipconfig /release. I got messages which said the network connections have "its media disconnected". Same result when I tried ipconfig /renew. The cable connection continues to not work. Here is the output I received.

Edit: Note that I tried both of these commands with wireless radio on and off. I got similar results in both cases.

C:\Windows\system32>ipconfig /release

Windows IP Configuration


No operation can be performed on Wireless Network Connection 3 while it has its media disconnected.
No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection while it has its media disconnected.
No operation can be performed on Bluetooth Network Connection while it has its media disconnected.

...

C:\Windows\system32>ipconfig /renew


Windows IP Configuration


No operation can be performed on Wireless Network Connection 3 while it has its media disconnected.
No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection while it has its media disconnected.
No operation can be performed on Bluetooth Network Connection while it has its media disconnected.

 

[Patonb]

Do a ipconfig and show it's out put.

I find uninstalling and reinstalling via the device manager fixes a lot of wonky network issues.

 

[StupidUser]

Following is output of ipconfig. To get this, I ran cmd as administrator in full (not safe) mode, while the wireless was turned on.

I don't have the time (or knowledge) at the moment to reinstall. Will try that tonight. Can you advise what devices need uninstalling/reinstalling?

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6002]Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.


C:\Windows\system32>ipconfig


Windows IP Configuration




Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection 3:


Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :


Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:


Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::f160:ffb4:9aad:6666%14
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.164
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1


Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:


Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :


Ethernet adapter Bluetooth Network Connection:


Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :


Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 6:


Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:5ef5:79fb:3029:2caf:3f57:fe5b
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::3029:2caf:3f57:fe5b%16
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : ::


Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 11:


Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :


Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 12:


Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :


Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 13:


Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :


Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 15:


Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

 

[Shadowjk]

You are correct in saying that the NIC won't pick up the cable. It is reporting as media disconnected. Your setup maybe different but I would first try and uninstall the NIC driver in device manager. It should be under network adapters for you. To do so, just simply right click the NIC and click uninstall. DO NOT UNINSTALL YOUR WIRELESS NIC. Doing so will completely cut out your internet connection and may not restore it. If you are unsure simply send us a snip of your device manager and we should be able to suggest the appropriate device to reinstall.

To find device manager, follow this tutorial up to step 5 only - http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/193584-device-manager-install-driver.html

A sample picture of mine:



Hope This Helps,
Josh

 

[StupidUser]

The highlighted device is my guess. The three below it all say WiFi (wireless) and the two above it are for BlueTooth (which I have probably never ever used on this machine -- or anywhere).

The device under PCMCIA adapters had "controller" in the name and sounded too ominous to uninstall and nothing else really strikes me as network related. (Also, I now notice your image showing the Network Adapters part of the tree).

You've been exceptionally helpful and patient with me. More patient than I am -- if I don't hear back soon, I will probably just blow that one away and let it reinstall.

 

[StupidUser]

I uninstalled the highlighted driver and restarted my PC. It reinstalled the driver and I rebooted a second time (for good measure). I ran ipconfig again and got pretty much the same results as 3 posts ago.

Is my NIC card dead? Is that the problem?

 

[townsbg]

hmmm. Certainly suspicious however a few things come to mind. First I would try downloading a bootable version of linux such as Ubuntu or Knoppix. You don't have to install Linux just burn it to a CD run your system from Linux. Second you can try running SFC a few times. http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66978-system-files-sfc-command.html Third from device manager try having windows look for an updated driver. You might also try this guide to reset your tcp/ip How to reset TCP/IP by using the NetShell utility. Note though that this could affect your wireless connectivity but that isn't likely.

 

[StupidUser]

Well, sfc /scannow found some problems, but they seem to only relate to the Sidebar (which I don't even use, anyway, since it's only function seems to be to cause problems). I tried to attach a search of the "[SR]" records it created (sfcdetails.txt).

Edit: [DEL]I haven't tried resetting the TCP/IP yet, but I will get to it[/DEL].
I also tried resetting the TCP/IP using Net Shell. After all of that, ipconfig still reports that "Media disconnected" for the "Ethernet Adapter Local Area Connection".

Edit​: Windows did not find a more updated driver (besides, the driver was working a week ago, so it couldn't be that).

I will [DEL]probably[/DEL] not download Linux since I never learned how to use burn to a CD (floppy disks were so much easier -- albeit smaller and less reliable).

If it is the NIC card, is it possible to purchase USB (or other connector type) NIC cards? If they're cheap enough, it might be quicker and easier to plug in a new one.

 

[townsbg]

Running linux will help determine if the issue is with windows or is hardware therefore I strongly recommend it. Here is a guide on how to burn an iso. How To Burn an ISO File to a DVD (or CD or BD)

There are usb cards or even express cards provided that you have a port for an express card. Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Wired Networking, Network Interface Cards

 

[Patonb]

When you ran ipconfig, was the network cable plugged in?

And take your time, if you get too frustrated, take a break, post a note you're cooling off, ad come back when you're ready.

 

[StupidUser]

When you ran ipconfig, was the network cable plugged in?

And take your time, if you get too frustrated, take a break, post a note you're cooling off, ad come back when you're ready.

Yes, the network cable was plugged in when I ran ipconfig. I also notice a difference in response between my two PCs when I plug the cable in. On my new Win 7 machine, a window pops up with a "completion percentage" scroll-bar (don't know what it's really called) indicating that it is switching to cable (and turning off the wireless radio). Nothing like that occurs on the machine which is an issue. (Unfortunately, the "working" machine doesn't turn the wireless radio back on when I unplug the cable <smh> -- but that's not very significant.)

 

[Patonb]

I'm leaning to dead NIC, booting to a livecd of Linux, like Town suggested is the best way to trouble shoot it.

I suggest Ubuntu
Try Ubuntu before you install it | Ubuntu

 

[townsbg]

Is your wired working at other locations?

 

[StupidUser]

Is your wired working at other locations?

Yes, if I unplug the cable from the back of this laptop and plug it into (what I call my) my mobile laptop (even though it sounds redundant), then that laptop immediately switches to cable connection and automatically turns off the wireless radio (of course, Windows doesn't turn the wireless radio back on when I unplug the cable).

Edit: I have burned an Ubuntu disk and will test it soon.

 

[StupidUser]

Ubuntu would not start on my PC. It had a "kernel panic" and exit code x09. I can't figure out how to download Knoppix because their download page only has advertisements and a link to bittorrent downloads -- but my ISP has conveniently blocked torrents <grr...>. I'm not sure it's worth it anymore. I appreciate all of your effort to help me, but I think the NIC is broken (and the PC is old) and I see that I can get a NIC for under $30 (which is more than a poor college student can afford, but what the heck).

 

[townsbg]

Well I don't know enough about linux to help you with a kernal panic but you can download knoppix without bittorrent. KNOPPIX - Mirrors

Beside each mirror there are different download options. Select either http cd or http dvd. Either will work for your purposes. After you click on that you will get a license accept prompt and you will be taken to the entire directory structure with files based upon version and file type. Look for something that says for example KNOPPIX_V7.2.0gCD-2013-07-28-EN.iso assuming that you want it in English.