Question I'm suddenly unable to access the Internet on my PC ?

[flon_klar]

An odd problem arose yesterday. My internet suddenly stopped working on my desktop PC. I usually have a direct ethernet connection, but I also have a WiFi card as a backup. I reset my modem and restarted the computer. Still no internet. The Windows diagnostics said that both the Ethernet and WiFi connections were unable to establish an IP address. I chatted with the ISP. They saw no problem on their end, and said that the modem seemed to be working well.

At this point I realized that I still had wifi access on my phone and access to my Ethernet-powered security cameras (which connect directly to the router). I tried a different Ethernet cable with no change. I switched ports with the camera system; the cameras still worked and the Ethernet still didn’t. So not the modem/ router.

I have reset my IP configuration several times with no change. I started thinking there was a problem with my network adapter. However, the Device Manager said the adapter was working normally. The Event Viewer shows several instances of “Your computer was not assigned an address from the network…”, followed by “Error: 0x79.”

Q1) Does all this seem to point to a network adapter failure?

Q2) If I have a WiFi card plugged into a PCI slot, does it still work with the motherboard network adapter, or does it function independently, as its own network adapter?

While I research this issue, I have ordered a new PCI network card to bypass the onboard adapter.
Any other ideas?

Thanks.

 

[cruisetung]

Have you tried different browsers? Did you set any proxy server settings? Did you install any VPN?

 

[Ralston18]

Curious indeed.

I ran "Who is 209.18.47.61" again.

Results = "209.18.47.61 is a static assigned IP address allocated to Charter Communications Inc. It is located in Colorado Springs, United States. The address belongs to ASN 7843 which is delegated to TWC-7843-BB"

Not sure how I ended up with "MIT" before or why my pings timed out.....

My pings still time out.

= = = =
Suggestions:
Set the router's DHCP lease time to max allowed value - technically should not make a difference. However, short lease times can be problematic.
Toggle/Configure the network adapter to DHCP and leave it set.
Set the gateway to 192.168.0.1 (router)
Set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0

Change the DNS Servers from Charter to Google (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4)
Disable IPv6
Reboot PC and try connections again.
If necessary run and post "ipconfig /all" again.

Another way to see network settings is to use Powershell cmdlets.
Get-NetAdapter and Get-NetIPConfiguration
Reference:
https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/PowerShell-commands-for-network-troubleshooting

= = = =

Results from my compter where XXXXX redacts personal information:
Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Install the latest PowerShell for new features and improvements! https://aka.ms/PSWindows

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-NetAdapter

Name InterfaceDescription ifIndex Status MacAddress LinkSpeed
---- -------------------- ------- ------ ---------- ---------
Bluetooth Network Conn... Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Netw... 13 Disconnected 74-40-BB-D5-2D-BE 3 Mbps
M_XXXXX Realtek PCIe GbE Family Controller 12 Up 8C-EC-4B-7E-7E-D4 1 Gbps


PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-NetIPConfiguration


InterfaceAlias : M_XXXXX
InterfaceIndex : 12
InterfaceDescription : Realtek PCIe GbE Family Controller
NetProfile.Name : Network
IPv4Address : 192.168.1.118
IPv4DefaultGateway : 192.168.1.1
DNSServer : 8.8.8.8
8.8.4.4

InterfaceAlias : Bluetooth Network Connection
InterfaceIndex : 13
InterfaceDescription : Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)
NetAdapter.Status : Disconnected



PS C:\WINDOWS\system32>

= = = =

Objective simply to verify that all configuration settings are as required or expected.

"Get" cmdlets are safe - they only get information and do not change anything.

 

[flon_klar]

C:\Windows\System32>ping -a 209.18.47.61
Pinging dns-cac-lb-01.charter.com [209.18.47.61] with 32 bytes of data:

C:\Windows\System32>ping -a 209.18.47.62
Pinging dns-cac-lb-02.charter.com [209.18.47.62] with 32 bytes of data:

So both IP points to Charter;s DNS servers, not MIT,

Everything looks OK, I don't see why you can't get online?

Can you

tracert 209.18.47.61

? or

tracert 8.8.8.8

?

and this is what I get when I use Charter's DNS

do the same and post what you get

C:\Windows\System32>nslookup
Default Server:  syn-2600-6c50-647f-c9e0-6238-e0ff-feb1-d1f8.biz6.spectrum.com
Address:  2600:6c50:647f:c9e0:6238:e0ff:feb1:d1f8

> server 209.18.47.61
Default Server:  dns-cac-lb-01.charter.com
Address:  209.18.47.61

> apple.com
Server:  dns-cac-lb-01.charter.com
Address:  209.18.47.61

Non-authoritative answer:
Name:    apple.com
Addresses:  2620:149:af0::10
          17.253.144.10

Yeah, I can get a response from charter.

I can’t get onto the Internet because somewhere between my router and my computer, the ping is lost on its way to the DNS server, or ANY DNS server.

 

[flon_klar]

Yeah, I can get a response from charter.

I can’t get onto the Internet because somewhere between my router and my computer, the ping is lost on its way to the DNS server, or ANY DNS server.

Curious indeed.

I ran "Who is 209.18.47.61" again.

Results = "209.18.47.61 is a static assigned IP address allocated to Charter Communications Inc. It is located in Colorado Springs, United States. The address belongs to ASN 7843 which is delegated to TWC-7843-BB"

Not sure how I ended up with "MIT" before or why my pings timed out.....

My pings still time out.

= = = =
Suggestions:
Set the router's DHCP lease time to max allowed value - technically should not make a difference. However, short lease times can be problematic.
Toggle/Configure the network adapter to DHCP and leave it set.
Set the gateway to 192.168.0.1 (router)
Set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0

Change the DNS Servers from Charter to Google (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4)
Disable IPv6
Reboot PC and try connections again.
If necessary run and post "ipconfig /all" again.

Another way to see network settings is to use Powershell cmdlets.
Get-NetAdapter and Get-NetIPConfiguration
Reference:
https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/PowerShell-commands-for-network-troubleshooting

= = = =

Results from my compter where XXXXX redacts personal information:
Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Install the latest PowerShell for new features and improvements! https://aka.ms/PSWindows

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-NetAdapter

Name InterfaceDescription ifIndex Status MacAddress LinkSpeed
---- -------------------- ------- ------ ---------- ---------
Bluetooth Network Conn... Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Netw... 13 Disconnected 74-40-BB-D5-2D-BE 3 Mbps
M_XXXXX Realtek PCIe GbE Family Controller 12 Up 8C-EC-4B-7E-7E-D4 1 Gbps


PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-NetIPConfiguration


InterfaceAlias : M_XXXXX
InterfaceIndex : 12
InterfaceDescription : Realtek PCIe GbE Family Controller
NetProfile.Name : Network
IPv4Address : 192.168.1.118
IPv4DefaultGateway : 192.168.1.1
DNSServer : 8.8.8.8
8.8.4.4

InterfaceAlias : Bluetooth Network Connection
InterfaceIndex : 13
InterfaceDescription : Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)
NetAdapter.Status : Disconnected



PS C:\WINDOWS\system32>

= = = =

Objective simply to verify that all configuration settings are as required or expected.

"Get" cmdlets are safe - they only get information and do not change anything.

Also- if I set my computer to DHCP, it doesn’t recognize the automatically-assigned Ethernet connection at all.

 

[cruisetung]

How about tracert and nslookup results?

==

By the way, a server that does not respond the ping command doesn't mean you can't reach it or it's not functioning, it just means that it does not respond the specific ping command, as you can see it still respond my nslookup's DNS query.

Even your Windows firewall can allow or disallow icmp ping.

 

[Ralston18]

Make and model: modem, router, or modem-router if combined?

Reading back I realized that I am not sure about the overall network and connected devices. Especially the mentions of modem, router, and modem/router - do you have all three?

Connection path being something like the following line diagram where ----> represents an Ethernet cable:

ISP === (coax, DSL, fiber) ===> Modem ---->[WAN Port] Router [LAN Ports] ---> Wired Network devices (computers, security cameras, printers, NAS, switches, APs, etc..)

And Router ~~~~~ >Wireless devices.

Feel free to edit and correct my line diagram. Identify all devices by make and model.

How many ethernet security cameras - are they configured with Static IP addresses? Any switches or APs in use? What ports are being used to connect the cameras?

And the computer in question.

= = = =

"Also- if I set my computer to DHCP, it doesn’t recognize the automatically-assigned Ethernet connection at all."

Open the applicable windows that you are using to set the computer. Take some screenshots and post accordingly.

Post the screenshots via imgur (www.imgur.com > green "New post" icon).

Also post the results of Get-NetAdapter and Get-NetIPConfiguration.

(There may be other cmdlets needed - TBD.)

Lastly, the full results of the current "ipconfig /all".

 

[flon_klar]

The ISP tech came out and looked at it today with a new/different modem. There was no change, so the faulty router hypothesis has been discarded.

I told the tech at Motorola that he was off the hook, but he continued to give me tips and suggestions. He was a good guy.

The situation has not changed at all. I have a static IP address (if I want it,) but no ability to connect to a DNS server. There is no indication of a hardware failure. Windows does not detect any problems with network adapters or the system in general, other than the lack of internet access. So my last resort is to wipe my C drive and do a fresh install of Windows. This is always fun!

Thanks to everyone here who offered help and advice. You guys are a great resource for knowledge. Keep it up!

 

[COLGeek]

Will this same system connect properly when booting from a Live Linux distro? This will isolate whether you have a hardware or software issue pretty quickly.

 

[Ralston18]

Question - Post #24

IPv4 and IPv6 Servers.

Configured to "Obtain Automatically from MSO" is enabled.

MSO being Multiple System Operator and that would be Charter - correct?

The Primary and Secondaray DNS are (at the time of Post #24) were set to the Charter IP addresses.

Not sure about all that has transpired in the meantime....

What happens if "Obtain Automatically" is disabled and the Primary/Secondary DNS servers are configured to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 respectively?

Disable IPv6 but do not enter any IPv6 server addresses.