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Wi-Fi connected, cannot access internet at all

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  • Windows XP
  • Networking
  • Internet
Last response: in Networking
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September 9, 2014 2:40:47 PM

I am having somes issue with my Toshiba running Windows XP. It was working fine until I changed my internet provider from AT&T DSL to Time Warner Cable Road Runner. My other two laptops running Windows 7 connected just fine after the conversion, but not the one running Windows XP (I know it is old -- used for specific purpose). I have tried everything I have read and read . . . .nothing. I uninstalled the virus program AVG because people were saying it could be interfering, I tried all of the ipconfig - release, renew, flush, etc. I did a system restore. I uninstalled and reinstalled adapters. I noticed that the IP address was different on the XP. The Windows 7 IP addresses both start with 192, whereas the XP started with 169. I read somewhere that an IP address starting with 169 is no good, so I tried to manually enter the same profile from my working laptop. It still says it is connected, but will not bring up any internet pages. It would not allow me to enter my network key - it said it had to be hexidecimals or something like that, so I checked "obtain key for me" and then it worked. Maybe that is part of the problem?
Any ideas, suggestions would be appreciated.

More about : connected access internet

September 9, 2014 4:15:24 PM

The request for a hexadecimal key is just for the particular security setting that router has. Some allow for 'plain text' passwords consisting of ascii characters, whilst others will want a generated hexadecimal key consisting of, and you may have guessed, hexadecimal characters.

Have you gone through the whole "running the ipconfig /all command and verifying everything is okay" steps? If not then that is always a good place to start.

The 169.xxx.xxx.xxx IP address does sound like an issue, as that puts it on a different network and gives it a different class of IP address too. When you put the same information shown for the working laptop, did you also put the same IP address in? You'll need to change the last octet so they don't have exactly the same IP address, so assuming your laptop has an IP address of 192.168.1.4, set the computers IP address to, say, 192.168.1.44

If you do an "ipconfig /all > toms.txt" command then it will pipe out the result to a .txt file that should be saved to your computer in the users/'you' (your name) directory, which in my case is c:/users/chris
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September 9, 2014 5:48:53 PM

Chris Scott 84 said:
The request for a hexadecimal key is just for the particular security setting that router has. Some allow for 'plain text' passwords consisting of ascii characters, whilst others will want a generated hexadecimal key consisting of, and you may have guessed, hexadecimal characters.

Have you gone through the whole "running the ipconfig /all command and verifying everything is okay" steps? If not then that is always a good place to start.

The 169.xxx.xxx.xxx IP address does sound like an issue, as that puts it on a different network and gives it a different class of IP address too. When you put the same information shown for the working laptop, did you also put the same IP address in? You'll need to change the last octet so they don't have exactly the same IP address, so assuming your laptop has an IP address of 192.168.1.4, set the computers IP address to, say, 192.168.1.44

If you do an "ipconfig /all > toms.txt" command then it will pipe out the result to a .txt file that should be saved to your computer in the users/'you' (your name) directory, which in my case is c:/users/chris


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September 9, 2014 5:59:08 PM

Thanks for response! I did use the exact same profile as on my other laptop, so I am going to try your suggestion of adding a number to the IP address. I have run the ipconfig/all, but do not understand it. I will send it to you. So, I think there are two places where the network key is entered. One place, I entered it and the other place, as I said, it would not accept it. I am not sure if they are the same in both places. Would that pose a problem?
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September 9, 2014 6:18:04 PM

You can just copy and paste the contents of the file in to a message and send that to me through the forum. It shouldn't contain any personal information that will compromise your computer's security, as it doesn't show your public facing IP address (which is what people use to gain access)

Could you check to see what security encryption type your wireless is using? It will be something like WPA2/PSK ,AES or just WPA. This will help me know how to correctly handle the security key.

http://ask-leo.com/how_can_i_tell_what_kind_of_wifi_enc... there's a guide showing you how to check it if needed.
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September 9, 2014 6:38:56 PM

Chris Scott 84 said:
You can just copy and paste the contents of the file in to a message and send that to me through the forum. It shouldn't contain any personal information that will compromise your computer's security, as it doesn't show your public facing IP address (which is what people use to gain access)

Could you check to see what security encryption type your wireless is using? It will be something like WPA2/PSK ,AES or just WPA. This will help me know how to correctly handle the security key.

http://ask-leo.com/how_can_i_tell_what_kind_of_wifi_enc... there's a guide showing you how to check it if needed.


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September 9, 2014 7:20:18 PM

Chris:
The IP address was set at 192.168.0.1 so i changed it to 192.168.0.11 - no go. What about the Default Gateway address - should i change that too? Should i have a WINS address? There is nothing in there now. The Wireless network key on the box itself reads WPA-PSK and data encryption AES; however, the Toshiba reads Open and WEP. If I try to change that, it wants the Network key and if I enter what I know is the key, it then changes to "unable to connect to preferred wireless network" - it only will stay connected if I leave it at Open and WEP and click "The key is provided for me automatically" option. I have to unclick Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication for this network or it will then say it needs a certificate of some kind. By the way, my other laptop says WPA2-Personal and AES. You say to copy and paste the read out in a message, but since I am unable to get internet, how do I do that? Also, I have adjusted the proxy in IE. I checked the services and it seems everything necessary is at started and automatic. Some people mentioned that Windows SP3 could be an issue, but I do not think so because that was done and it was working. This all happened when I switched my provider.
I just pinged the DNS Server and it says Request timed out (4 times) and then Lost=100%
I also have it at Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP and IP Settings says DHCP Enabled.
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September 9, 2014 8:02:11 PM

Quote:
Chris:
The IP address was set at 192.168.0.1 so i changed it to 192.168.0.11 - no go. What about the Default Gateway address - should i change that too? Should i have a WINS address? There is nothing in there now.


The default gateway should just be the address of the router device you're using to connect to the internet, which will be the same as the Windows 7 machines, so that's okay as it is if they're the same. The WINS address showing up as blank, if it's had something in the past, is really odd though, as WINS is a pretty old method used to connect to a network. I've got zero experience with WINS as a result.

Quote:
The Wireless network key on the box itself reads WPA-PSK and data encryption AES; however, the Toshiba reads Open and WEP. If I try to change that, it wants the Network key and if I enter what I know is the key, it then changes to "unable to connect to preferred wireless network" - it only will stay connected if I leave it at Open and WEP and click "The key is provided for me automatically" option. I have to unclick Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication for this network or it will then say it needs a certificate of some kind. By the way, my other laptop says WPA2-Personal and AES.


That looks like it could be the source of the issue there then. If the access point is using WPA2-PSK, but the Toshiba is using WEP, then the Toshiba won't be able to connect. That information, coupled with it previously having a WINS address, makes it sound like the Toshiba is really old.

As far as I'm aware, you need the security types used to match up, so the Toshiba will need to connect using the same security type and encryption as the Windows 7 machines, which is WPA2-Personal and AES. The onboard wireless might be out of date and not support that type of encryption though if it's a pretty old machine, so you'll need a wireless dongle to handle that, if that is the case.

Quote:
You say to copy and paste the read out in a message, but since I am unable to get internet, how do I do that? Also, I have adjusted the proxy in IE. I checked the services and it seems everything necessary is at started and automatic. Some people mentioned that Windows SP3 could be an issue, but I do not think so because that was done and it was working. This all happened when I switched my provider.
I just pinged the DNS Server and it says Request timed out (4 times) and then Lost=100%
I also have it at Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP and IP Settings says DHCP Enabled.


Try pinging your default gateway address to verify that you can at least connect to your local network, but I suspect it won't work if what I said above is correct. As for how to get the file posted; you'll have to transfer over the file from the Toshiba to one of the machines that can connect to the internet somehow.

when you switched providers, did the engineer come out and install a new router, or configure your previous router?
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September 10, 2014 6:47:31 AM

Yes, the engineer came over and installed the new router. He did nothing else.
I called TWC and was on the phone with them for 2 hours and they could not come up with a solution. They said to call Toshiba. Not sure Toshiba would know the solution to this. Yes, it is an old laptop, but shouldn't it still be able to connect to the internet with the new carrier?
It was working fine before, just a bit slow.
No, the working laptop was not showing a WINS address, that is why I did not enter anything there. On the Toshiba, there is no option in the drop down of WPA2-Personal. It shows WPA, WPA-PSK, WEP, Open and Share.
What is a wireless dongle?
Why would my other laptop connect with the encryption WPA2-Personal and AES, when the box itself reads WPA-PSK? I looked and this is what it says on the back of the unit.
I can try copying it to a flash drive.
It lets me change the encryption to WPA-PSK, AES, but then I get the message "unable to connect to preferred wireless network" using that. I am wondering if that network key thing is causing an issue too.
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September 10, 2014 7:56:37 AM

A wireless dongle functions just like the wireless adapter built in to your laptop. They can support different types of security and encryption and I use one myself as my laptop cannot use the 802.11n standard for connection.

You can either buy a dongle (they're pretty cheap) or change the security settings on the router. I'd not advise doing that if you aren't too confident about it though. Unless anyone has any other suggestions as to what the problem may be and can troubleshoot a bit more, I'd give the wireless dongle a go.

Here's what one looks like. That one in particular is tiny, but some are much bigger. They function much the same though.

If you do buy one then you'll want to use the software that comes with it to connect to the wireless point. You turn off the one built in to the Toshiba and just use the one plugged in to the USB to connect, then you should be able to select the right security and encryption types.

I suspect the old router used the older type of security protocol, and when the engineer came and installed the new router he just went with the more secure type and didn't consider what was used in the previous one.
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September 10, 2014 11:08:17 AM

Does it matter the type/style dongle I purchase?
I would not have a clue how to change the security settings on the router or even where to do that!
I am not sure how to turn off the wireless point built in to the Toshiba. Turn that off first? Where is that?
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Best solution

September 10, 2014 7:49:24 PM

Try and get one that supports WPA and WPA2 security with AES encryption, and also IEEE 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b standards. Make sure that it works with your operating system too. All that information is often listed on the product information. I know it sounds like a lot but most dongles available will support all of that.

Turning off the wireless on the Toshiba should be as easy as pressing a button. Most laptops have what is called a hardware switch that turns the wireless off and on. Where that switch is located will depend on the specific Toshiba model you own.

If you have a little wireless symbol on any of your F keys along the top of the keyboard then press the Fn key followed by that F key.
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September 11, 2014 1:15:44 PM

There is an on/off switch on the right hand side. That must be the wireless point.
I will purchase the wireless dongle and see what happens and I will let you know if that solved the problem and mark as such!
Thanks.
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October 12, 2014 3:50:27 PM

I've had this issue too. My Phone would be connected to the wireless but would not be able to access the internet. This required daily router restarts to get the phone to connect to internet. Today I noticed that the phone's IP address was 192.168.0.1 (The Routers), so I changed the DHCP Server start address to 192.168.0.2. The result is the phone no longer conflicts IP addresses and as of the last hour is now working.
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