DSL Modem connects fine, but not Cable Modem

[dluke07]

OK.... this is bizarre: I changed my Dad's internet provider from SBC Global via DSL to Cable. We get the cable modem and he can't get on the internet. I call tech support, they bring out two guys. The first said, "it's spyware", and the second guy said, "your computer is probably too old for our fast 10mbs internet connection (It's a sempron 1.7 GHz with 512 RAM... kinda old, for sure, but not ancient!!). We connect my dad's Dsl modem and all is fine!! It's stumping me... we've done the usually "repair" of network settings, changed wires, changed cable modems (provided by the ISP, etc....) ANY IDEAS out there??????

 

[eibgrad]

One of the problems w/ your typical "cable guy" is they never bring an actual computer w/ them to test. Their conclusion that it's "working" is always based solely on testing the physical line for continuity. If that's OK, they're satisfied. But it doesn't mean the line is usable. It's not unusual for a new cable installation to require a few minutes, even a few hours, before it's provisioned by the cable company, which amounts to authorizing the cable box on their network. IOW, it's an administrative task that needs to be completed before you can expect service. Now obviously if you’ve been at this for several days, that’s a different problem.

As far at the computer being too old, that’s total nonsense. That’s the cable guy(s) just being clueless (he has to say something, right). Again, all they typically understand and deal w/ is the physical layer. Anything above and they’re basically worthless. You might as well ask your mom what to do.

Let’s dump the TCP/IP configuration and see if it reveals the problem. Go to Start->Run, type "cmd" (no quotes), and hit enter. In the command window, type "ipconfig /all > temp.txt" (no quotes), and hit enter. Post the contents of temp.txt here.

 

[dluke07]

Thanks...well the cable company did bring a laptop (the 2nd guy who said that perhaps the system is too old). He was able to get on the internet. Anyway, here's the text file from "ipconfig/all". (I tried pinging google first and couldn't get anything.) Thanks for the help!!



Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Nelson>ping google.com
Ping request could not find host google.com. Please check the name and try again

C:\Documents and Settings\Nelson>ipconfig/all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : owner
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : astound.net

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : astound.net
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-E0-4C-E8-07-3A
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 66.234.214.229
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 66.234.214.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 69.42.31.36
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 76.14.0.8
76.14.0.9
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, October 02, 2010 6:32:18 P
M
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, October 03, 2010 6:32:18 PM

C:\Documents and Settings\Nelson>

 

[eibgrad]

That ipconfig dump looks fine, so it's something other than the network config.

Go to a DOS prompt on that machine and see if you can ping Google, first by name, then by IP address.

ping www.google.com

ping 72.14.204.104

If you get a reply, you definitely have internet access. If might be a problem w/ IE. For example, maybe IE is configured to use a proxy server w/ the prior ISP, or maybe a VPN server, something like that. Now that proxy/vpn server is not available w/ the new ISP.

You might try another browser as well (Firefox, Chrome, etc.) just to see if something else will work. Don't just confine your testing to IE. Because there's no reason the internet connection shouldn't be working based on the ipconfig dump. I strongly suspect it's just the app (presumably IE) that's the problem.