Good wireless signal - but browser cannot find it?

  • Thread starter Thread starter shoulderhead
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S

shoulderhead

Hello,

All our PCs are Windows XP and we have a Netgear router which sends out a
108mbps signal. All is working well - except:

We fitted a wireless PCI card into our son's PC to enable him to connect.
It installed fine, connected to the network - and the logo on the taskbar is
showing an excellent strength signal.
But his browser cannot find any connection and displays the error page
whenever we try to connect (on both Firefox and IE7). I have tried to help
them find it by using -Tools>Options>Connections>Settings - and checking the
'Automatically detect settings' box - but still nothing.
Yet network tests confirm that a good signal is reaching the PC?

This PC used to connect via an ethernet cable and recently via a USB
wireless device and never had a problem finding the connection.

The firewall is Norton - but disabling it temporarily made no difference.

I'm probably forgetting something very basic here, but I'm lost. I'm so used
to just plugging things in and letting Windows do all the rest!

Any advice appreciated. Apologies for rambling question. Thanks in advance.

Best wishes, Shd
 
Hello,

All our PCs are Windows XP and we have a Netgear router which sends out a
108mbps signal. All is working well - except:

We fitted a wireless PCI card into our son's PC to enable him to connect.
It installed fine, connected to the network - and the logo on the taskbar is
showing an excellent strength signal.
But his browser cannot find any connection and displays the error page
whenever we try to connect (on both Firefox and IE7). I have tried to help
them find it by using -Tools>Options>Connections>Settings - and checking the
'Automatically detect settings' box - but still nothing.
Yet network tests confirm that a good signal is reaching the PC?

This PC used to connect via an ethernet cable and recently via a USB
wireless device and never had a problem finding the connection.

The firewall is Norton - but disabling it temporarily made no difference.

I'm probably forgetting something very basic here, but I'm lost. I'm so used
to just plugging things in and letting Windows do all the rest!

Any advice appreciated. Apologies for rambling question. Thanks in advance.

Best wishes, Shd
Click to expand...

Un-check the 'Automatically detect settings' box and all of the other
boxes in the LAN Settings window. They don't apply to your setup.

Please do these tests to help diagnose the problem:

1. Right-click the wireless network connection, then click Status >
Support > Details. What does it show for IP Address, Subnet Mask,
Default Gateway, and DNS Server?

2. Open a command prompt window (Start > Run > cmd), and type these
commands. Each one should receive four replies:

ping 208.67.222.222
ping resolver1.opendns.com
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
Hello Steve,
Thanks for reply.

Unchecked auto-detect boxes in connections and LAN.
The details for the network connection are as follows:

IP Address - 192.168.1.4
Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway - 192.168.1.1
DNS Server - 192.168.1.1

(Also, a DHCP Server was listed with same numbers as DNS Server)

Pings not so successful?

ping 208.67.222.222 - This received 'request timed out' message, four
times. Concluded with a summary - Packets sent 4, Received 0, Lost 4 (100%
loss)

ping resolver1.opendns.com - This received the message: ping request could
not find host resolver1.opendns.com. Please check the name and try again.

Any of this sound familiar to you? It throws me into deeper bafflement!

Thanks again for your time.
Best wishes, Shd
 
Hello Steve,
Thanks for reply.

Unchecked auto-detect boxes in connections and LAN.
The details for the network connection are as follows:

IP Address - 192.168.1.4
Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway - 192.168.1.1
DNS Server - 192.168.1.1

(Also, a DHCP Server was listed with same numbers as DNS Server)

Pings not so successful?

ping 208.67.222.222 - This received 'request timed out' message, four
times. Concluded with a summary - Packets sent 4, Received 0, Lost 4 (100%
loss)

ping resolver1.opendns.com - This received the message: ping request could
not find host resolver1.opendns.com. Please check the name and try again.

Any of this sound familiar to you? It throws me into deeper bafflement!

Thanks again for your time.
Best wishes, Shd
Click to expand...

You're welcome, Shd, and thanks for giving the test results. They
show that your wireless network connection is getting the right
settings from your Netgear router, but it isn't able to access sites
on the Internet.

Can the computer ping the router? Try this command:

ping 192.168.1.1

Since the Norton Firewall is installed, make sure that the Windows
Firewall is turned off.

Resetting TCP/IP might help. Type this command, then reboot:

netsh winsock reset

If none of that helps, please post a copy of the computer's route
table. Enter this command, then copy/paste the contents of the
"route.txt" file:

route print >route.txt
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
Hello Steve,
Many thanks for reply, it's much appreciated.

Just a quick note to inform you that I can't do any more tonight as most of
the household has gone to bed (I'm in UK, it's 2am) and I can't access said
computer.

However, I will carry out your instructions tomorrow and post back the
results.

Thanks again.
Best wishes, Shd
 
Hello again Steve,
Thanks for your patience.

Not such good results, this time.

Couldn't ping router - request timed out 4 times - Packets sent = 4,
Received = 4, Lost = 4, (100% Loss)

TCP/IP reset and rebooted. No change noted.

No firewall conflicts present.

But when I gave the command to see the route table, the text box briefly
flashed on the screen and then disappeared. I tried this several times but
without success. The text box appears full, but stays on screen for a
fraction of a second and then disappears. No chance to copy and paste - or
even read it.

Could this disappearing screen be a clue?
Thanks again for your help so far
Best wishes, Shd
 
Hello again Steve,
Thanks for your patience.

Not such good results, this time.

Couldn't ping router - request timed out 4 times - Packets sent = 4,
Received = 4, Lost = 4, (100% Loss)

TCP/IP reset and rebooted. No change noted.

No firewall conflicts present.

But when I gave the command to see the route table, the text box briefly
flashed on the screen and then disappeared. I tried this several times but
without success. The text box appears full, but stays on screen for a
fraction of a second and then disappears. No chance to copy and paste - or
even read it.

Could this disappearing screen be a clue?
Thanks again for your help so far
Best wishes, Shd
Click to expand...

I have seen this before and it was a firewall problem. I was using
Norton 360 v2 software which has an enhanced firewall module. Every
time I was trying my wireless adapter, I was getting strong wireless
signals but no access to the Internet or the router's internal web
pages. Turned out the firewall module needs to be told to trust the
router's LAN IP address (aka default gateway for the PC) and the
wireless router's SSID name.
 
Thanks smlunatick, this sounds good.

But I have already tried it without the firewall and it still couldn't find
any sites.
To be on the safe side I have currently disabled all of Norton Internet
Security until I can I can get the PC on the internet, and the situation
remains the same, so I'm pretty sure the problem lies elsewhere.

Thanks for the suggestion, though.
Cheers, Shd
 
Hello again,

I hope that this doesn't change anything but I thought I should inform you.

I have now removed Norton Internet Security from this PC and replaced it
with AVG free and Windows firewall. I found NIS 2008 difficult to work with
and had issues with it (as many others did, according to forums) hogging the
CPU. Subscription renewal was due next month, so I've got rid of it.

I still have the discs and licence and can reinstall it if it affects the
issue discussed in this thread.

Thanks, Shd
 
Hello again Steve,
Thanks for your patience.

Not such good results, this time.

Couldn't ping router - request timed out 4 times - Packets sent = 4,
Received = 4, Lost = 4, (100% Loss)

TCP/IP reset and rebooted. No change noted.

No firewall conflicts present.

But when I gave the command to see the route table, the text box briefly
flashed on the screen and then disappeared. I tried this several times but
without success. The text box appears full, but stays on screen for a
fraction of a second and then disappears. No chance to copy and paste - or
even read it.

Could this disappearing screen be a clue?
Thanks again for your help so far
Best wishes, Shd
Click to expand...

Type the "route" command in the same command prompt window that you
use for the "ping" commands.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
D'oh!
Forgive my incompetence.

Here is the route.txt: (The Fuzz is his PC name)

C:\Documents and Settings\The Fuzz>route print
===========================================================================
Interface List
0x1 ........................... MS TCP Loopback interface
0x20002 ...00 16 e3 88 17 2d ...... Atheros AR5006X Wireless Network Adapter
- P
acket Scheduler Miniport
0x20004 ...00 0d 56 6c e6 c4 ...... Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated
Controller -
Packet Scheduler Miniport
===========================================================================
===========================================================================
Active Routes:
Network Destination Netmask Gateway Interface Metric
0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 192.168.1.1 192.168.1.2 20
127.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1
192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.2 192.168.1.2 20
192.168.1.2 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 20
192.168.1.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.2 192.168.1.2 20
224.0.0.0 240.0.0.0 192.168.1.2 192.168.1.2 20
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.2 20004 1
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.2 192.168.1.2 1
Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
===========================================================================
Persistent Routes:
None

It seems to have copied/pasted a bit askew - but the numbers are still in
their relevant columns. Hope this makes sense to you.

Continued thanks for your diligence.
Best wishes, Shd
 
Hi.

Realise that the route text I pasted came out a bit hard to read.
Here is a Microsoft Word copy which lays the numbers into their correct
columns.
If this doesn't work, I'll have to brush up my html.

C:\Documents and Settings\The Fuzz>route print
====================================================================


Interface List
0x1 ........................... MS TCP Loopback interface
0x20002 ...00 16 e3 88 17 2d ...... Atheros AR5006X Wireless Network Adapter
- P
acket Scheduler Miniport
0x20004 ...00 0d 56 6c e6 c4 ...... Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated
Controller -
Packet Scheduler Miniport
====================================================================
====================================================================
Active Routes:

Network Destination Netmask Gateway
Interface Metric
0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0
192.168.1.1 192.168.1.2 20
127.0.0.0 255.0.0.0
127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1
192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.2
192.168.1.2 20
192.168.1.2 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1 20
192.168.1.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.2
192.168.1.2 20
24.0.0.0 240.0.0.0
192.168.1.2 192.168.1.2 20
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.2
20004 1
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.2
192.168.1.2 1

Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
====================================================================
Persistent Routes:
None

C:\Documents and Settings\The Fuzz>

Hope this is clearer, if not, I'll try other methods.
Thanks again, Shd
 
oh no! Even worse!

shoulderhead said:
Hi.

Realise that the route text I pasted came out a bit hard to read.
Here is a Microsoft Word copy which lays the numbers into their correct
columns.
If this doesn't work, I'll have to brush up my html.

C:\Documents and Settings\The Fuzz>route print
====================================================================


Interface List
0x1 ........................... MS TCP Loopback interface
0x20002 ...00 16 e3 88 17 2d ...... Atheros AR5006X Wireless Network Adapter
- P
acket Scheduler Miniport
0x20004 ...00 0d 56 6c e6 c4 ...... Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated
Controller -
Packet Scheduler Miniport
====================================================================
====================================================================
Active Routes:

Network Destination Netmask Gateway
Interface Metric
0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0
192.168.1.1 192.168.1.2 20
127.0.0.0 255.0.0.0
127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1
192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.2
192.168.1.2 20
192.168.1.2 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1 20
192.168.1.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.2
192.168.1.2 20
24.0.0.0 240.0.0.0
192.168.1.2 192.168.1.2 20
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.2
20004 1
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.2
192.168.1.2 1

Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
====================================================================
Persistent Routes:
None

C:\Documents and Settings\The Fuzz>

Hope this is clearer, if not, I'll try other methods.
Thanks again, Shd
Click to expand...
 
Realise that the route text I pasted came out a bit hard to read.
Here is a Microsoft Word copy which lays the numbers into their correct
columns.
If this doesn't work, I'll have to brush up my html.
Click to expand...


The first version was fine. Just select fixed pitch font to read it in
nicely ordered columns.

Personally, I'm hoping someone will explain this line
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.2 20004 1
since the rest of the table looks okay.


Jim.
 
The first version was fine. Just select fixed pitch font to read it in
nicely ordered columns.

Personally, I'm hoping someone will explain this line
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.2 20004 1
since the rest of the table looks okay.

Jim.
Click to expand...

I agree, Jim -- that's a strange entry in an otherwise normal route
table. I'd expect the interface numbers for the wireless and wired
network adapters to be 0x2 and 0x3, not 0x20002 and 0x20004 as shown
in the interface list.

Shd, I recommend that you go to Device Manager and un-install the
wired and wireless network adapters. Reboot and let Windows
re-install them, and then try network access.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
Thanks Jim and Steve,

Will try the uninstall and reboot - letting Windows install, method and
report back.

Deeply indebted. Shd
 
Hello again,

Many thanks for your continued support.
I'm sorry that this is dragging on so long - but, I'm afraid, the
uninstall/reboot/Windows install didn't do the trick.
All has come back to where it was before (wireless receiver showing
excellent signal but browser(s) unable to connect to sites).

Should I remove the wired network (ethernet) PCI board? This was a previous
method of connecting but is no longer used. Could it be confusing the issue?
As may be obvious, I'm guessing in the dark, here.

Once again, I must express my gratitude for your generous help to date.
Cheers, Shd
 
Should I remove the wired network (ethernet) PCI board? This was a previous
method of connecting but is no longer used. Could it be confusing the issue?
As may be obvious, I'm guessing in the dark, here.
Click to expand...

It could be causing the problem because when both wired and wireless
exist, xp will default to the wired interface. You shouldn't need to
remove it physically. Right click my computer and select
properties->hardware->device manager. Disable the wired network card
from there and re-boot.

Ensure the wireless card is set to get its ip address automatically
(which I think it is already).


Jim.
 
Hello James and Steve,

Apologies for late reply.

Wired card disabled - and then uninstalled - then removed. I'm sorry to
report; no change.

I'm on the verge of giving up on this one. Could be the card I bought trying
to save a some money. May have to weather the credit-crunch and fork out for
a quality card from the same manufacturer as router. Then, at least, I can
pester their tech. dept. if it doesn't work!

Thank you both (all) for the time and effort you have put in on this
problem, it is hugely appreciated and I hope I can return the favour some day.

I'll keep pottering about with it until (whenever) and will post any
interesting results.

Best wishes, Shd
 
Hello all,

Apologies for long delay in concluding this thread - I have been busy
working (life etc).

I have now purchased the wireless card which is the recommended card to
partner the router (Netgear WG311T).

Installed it using the CD supplied. A slight hiccup at the first attempt to
connect but soon connected (to the Netgear site, so I could register the
card!) and has worked well ever since.

Would it be fair, therefore, to conclude that the problem was caused by a
defective component (the previous wireless card)?

I thank you all again for your help in this matter.

Season's greetings . Shd
 
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