Tech issue: Can't find ethernet port?

Michael Knubben

Hey guys,

Obviously I can locate the port myself, but the installer for my new internet-provider immediately tells me it can't find any network-card or ethernet-port, which is annoying. I can tell it to continue regardless, but it just gets stuck later on for the same issue. Does anyone know how I could check wether it works/is enabled, and what I could do to fix this? The installer works on my girls' laptop, So It's a problem on my system...

Michael Knubben

This just occurred to me: Since it's an Ethernet connection to my router (which has been proven to work on the laptop), I shouldn't need drivers or anything, right? Unfortunately, the installer-process is quite painful, and since the router's been set up on another computer: also quite useless. How would I go about setting up a connection to this router? I must admit to being quite dim when it comes to these things. I had a look through the new connection wizard, but that didn't seem to have the right options. Should I just be able to plug in and connect?

PfhorRunner

Alright, Click Start, Control Panel, Administrative tools, Computer Management. Once in here, click Device Manager, and go to network adapters. If it isn't a giant yellow question mark, then you have drivers and/or its installed correctly.

Next, depends on vista or XP. If you're using XP, go to my computer, and on the left hand control panel thing, click Network or Manage Network Connections, find Local Area Connection. Right click it, and say enable. If that isn't an option, click repair.

On Vista, Start->Network->Network And Sharing (at the top)-> Manage Network Connections (on the left). Right click Local Area Network, and say Enable and/or Repair.

sinistergfx

Usually you need to be hooked directly to the modem for the setup stage and not through a router. Then after your internet is all happy and working, hook your computer and modem back up to the router. Make sure you restart the modem after you switch things around.

pliang

Repair connections work on the usual disconnect issues but if the problem persists...try disabling that connection you tried to repair and left click.

See if you are disconnected from your wireless network...if so go into properties...select the network you're connected to and refresh...

Its kind of a hack job way when my comp would not connect and it managed to locate the network after a little while.

Michael Knubben

I'll try this when I get home and I'll let you guys know, thanks for offering up some possible solutions!

Motz

You shouldn't need an installer for an ISP. There is absolutely nothing they provide that will make or break you having a connection. Only obscure old DSL connections ever used some kind of ridiculous vpn style login and pw software.

If your Network card is recognized by windows, and your cablebox/dsl line and router are both set for DHCP you will get an ip address and be connected.

If it's wired, just plug it in. If it's wireless it should already be broadcasting, and if it needs a WEP key you should have set one, or if you had someone install it they should have set one.

If your router isn't configured, try connecting to it from a browser. Open a CMD box and type in 'ipconfig'. It will list your address as something like 192.168.0.#. Just open up a browser and try to connect to 192.168.0.1, that is the typical default router web config shite.

Mark Dygert

[ QUOTE ]
Usually you need to be hooked directly to the modem for the setup stage and not through a router. Then after your internet is all happy and working, hook your computer and modem back up to the router. Make sure you restart the modem after you switch things around.

[/ QUOTE ]

I had to do this too when I switched ISP's. Then I had to go into my router management software and clone my mac address so it would recognize my router. At that point any machine that I connect to the router has access. Since you already had one machine connected to the modem you might need to clone its mac address to the router to get your machine on?

I'm not sure about your ISP but mine wants to charge for every machine that connects to the modem, so the standard way to get around this is to use a router that tells the modem all the traffic is from the same machine.

You can also restart the modem and it might drop the mac address and search for a new one, at that point the first machine to connect to it (hopefully your router) will give it a good address, but some modems have a limited battery that holds onto that address for days so if restarting it doesn't do the trick then try cloning the mac address. They can also release the mac address if you give them a call.

For my router I bring up a browser page, and punch in 192.168.0.1 and it brings up the router management software, one of the buttons on the main screen is "clone mac address".