Safecoms.com

Troubleshooting Internet Connection problems the easy way

1. Make sure you have the correct IP information and the correct IP scheme for your network. This would include:

• IP Address
• Subnet Mask
• Default Gateway
• DNS Servers

2. There are a several ways you can see what IP addresses are being assigned.

3. IP Address:

If you have a router, common examples would be:

192.168.0.x, 192.168.1.x or 10.0.0.x

If you are directly connected to your DSL or Cable Modem, you should have an IP address that would correspond to something from your ISP.

What you don't want to have is something like 169.254.x.x. This means you are not getting and IP address assigned and this problem needs to be resolved first.

4. Subnet Mask:

Also make sure you have the correct Subnet Mask. Most commonly this would be 255.255.255.0

5. Default Gateway:

Make sure you have the correct Default Gateway IP address.

With a router, this is typically the IP address of your router.

6. DNS Servers:

Make sure you have the correct DNS Servers.

Sometimes this is the IP address of your router, so it would be the same as the Gateway IP.

Sometimes (as in this example), it is the actual DNS servers used by the ISP.

7. Possible causes for not getting an IP address assigned are:

• Defective cable, network card or port on the router. Make sure you are using all known working components.
• Your router is not configured for DHCP (which would automatically be assigning IP addresses).

You will need to have this corrected before proceeding.

Basic PING Tests

• If you get a reply, then your connection to the router is working.
• If you don't get a reply, then you need to double check your network card, cable, and port on the router. You might also see if any other computers on the network can do the same.

3. Try pinging an external site by IP address e.g. ping 4.2.2.1

• If you get a reply, then you have a connection to the Internet.
• If you don't get a reply, there are several things you can try:

1. Double check that the router is connecting to the Internet. Typically you can access the router through your web browser and check its status.
2. Take the power off your DSL/Cable modem and Router. Plug the modem back in and wait a minute or so. Plug the router back in and wait a minute or so. Then restart your computer.
3. Winsock Fix - It is possible that the Winsock Registry entries have been corrupted. This is getting to be a more common problem. See WINSOCK FIX for clean ones you can download

4. Try pinging an external site by Name e.g. ping www.yahoo.com

• If you get a reply, then you have a connection to the Internet and DNS is working.
• If you don't get a reply, there are several things you can try:

1. Double check your DNS entries.
2. You may need to use the same DNS IP address that your ISP or Router is using.
3. On rare occasions your ISP has problems with their DNS servers, but this is rare in comparison to misconfigured computers.

If your PING tests work but you are having problems browsing sites on the Internet:

For the Internet Explorer, click Tools / Internet Options / Connections tab / LAN settings button. Uncheck both Automatically detect settings and Use a proxy server for your LAN.]

Or simply just This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it !