Extremely Strange Problem with my Dimension 8400

Question

Okay, here it is. I just bought a brand new Dimension 8400 (service tag FMJG871). I then plugged my LAN cable to the Broadcom Gigabit adapter (which came with the computer), the connection icon says it's on.

So then I started my IE, but strange thing is....... it doesn't recognize that there is an internet connection.

So I thought maybe the problem is in the Broadcom Gigabit Adapter. I raced to local BestBuy and bought a 10/100 PCI Adapter (ethernet card). I then plugged the ethernet card into the PCI slot, and start connecting......

But the problem stays!

I know for sure my internet connection is absolutely fine. I tried it with my laptop and my old computer, no problem with the connection.

But why it doesn't work with the new Dimension 8400?

Strange thing is, I can repair the connection and everything. The connection icon says the LAN connection is connected.

hate the word "connect" !

Anyway, IE doesn't recognize the internet connection, nor does Windows Messenger. I even use the media player to connect to MSN music guide, still not working!!

So I browsed this forum looking for similar problem. I saw a couple ones, and Steve indicated that there might be something wrong with the winsock or whatever the heck it is. Download this : http://www.spychecker.com/program/winsockxpfix.html

It's still not working. IE is still unable to connect to the internet.

I don't think the problem is in the ethernet card. I have tried 4 different ethernet cards (Belkin, Netgear, D-Link, Linksys), and none of them works!

Are Dell's new PCs have a completely different motherboard, that it just doesn't work with network adapters that's in stores right now?

Somebody experience in this, please help !!

jmwills · Answer

Cable or DSL?  Did you check the Dell or Broadcom sites for the latest drivers?

Rijko · Answer

hi,

it would be helpful to know more about your setup. DSL or Cable ?

Do you use static (manually entered) ip adresses or DHCP ? What brand/type router and/or modem are you using ? Are there indication lights on those that may indicate a problem ?

First i would remove all NICs and plug the network cable into the onboard NIC. Check that the NIC is enabled in the bios. No problems to be found in Device manager ? Broadcom NIC recognised and a connection icon that says 'connected' ? ok.

Do you have other pc's you can try and will connect succesfully ?

The problem can be found in 4 places :

1. your pc. This is the place to start looking.

can you click start-run and type CMD. Hit the enter button.

( on ME you may have to type COMMAND i have no experience with ME )

In the black command screen, type IPCONFIG /ALL and hit enter again. The result should look like :

C:\>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

        Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : test
        Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
        Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
        IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
        WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

        Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter
        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-11-2F-53-8E-7A
        Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
        Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.101
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
        DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
        DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 194.109.104.104
                                            194.109.6.66
        Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, April 23, 2005 2:06:47 AM
        Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, April 24, 2005 2:06:47 AM

( please post the result back here )

What you need is an IP address, Subnet Mask, Default gateway and at least 1 DNS server.

If instead of "IP Address" something like "autoconfiguration IP address" is stated your network connection may be at fault.

If you have the entry "DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1" try the following in the command window : type PING 192.168.1.1 ( type the IP Address that is stated in your window instead of the 192.168.1.1 ) and see if you get a reply.

2. The cabling may be bad. Since you get the 'connected' icon we will not go there now.

3. The modem and or router may be failing. We'll see about that later. You already checked for indication lights, right ?

4. the internet connection may be down. Also something to look at later.

Hope this helps.

geekbee · Answer

I think it's a Cable connection, not DSL.

It uses DHCP.

The router is fine. Like I said before, the connection is working just fine. I tried it on a laptop and my old PC with Realtek NIC, it connects successfully.

I right clicked the properties of the connection icon. I can see that I have an IP address, Subnet Mask, Default gateway and at least 1 DNS server.

I'm feeling extremely frustrated right now. The problem won't go away. I desperately need more helps, folks!

jmwills · Answer

What is the IP Address?

geekbee · Answer

When I ping my own IP address, it works just fine. But when I try pinging www.google.com for example, it says something like "can't find the host/server" - essentially, it doesn't work when I try to ping anywhere other than my own IP address.

This is driving me nuts......

geekbee · Answer

Jim, trust me. It's not 127.0.0.1   :smileyhappy:

jmwills · Answer

One more time, what is the IP Address of the connection? Please run the ipconfig /all command from a Command prompt and post the results. Message Edited by jmwills on 04-23-2005 10:04 PM

Rijko · Answer

help us help you : i asked you specific questions to try and determine your problem...   But for now : if you are on cable you may try to shut down the cable modem and pc. Power on the modem after 5 minutes and power on the pc 1 minute later.   Background : some cable modems allow only 1 connection. They 'learn' the identity of the pc that is hooked up ( your laptop in this case, and that works ). The modem 'forgets' that information after a few minutes and when you power on the modem again it 'learns' the new identity of your pc.

geekbee · Answer

This is what I got:

Windows IP Configuration

        Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : quill-68bbf74d4
        Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
        Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
        IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
        WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection :

        Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NETGEAR FA311 Fast Ethernet Adapter
        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0F-B5-46-66-FC
        Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
        Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.3.180
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.3.254
        DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 63.175.164.250
        DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.254.254.3
        Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, April 24, 2005 12:42:41 PM
        Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, April 24, 2005 2:42:41 PM

jmwills · Answer

Thta doesn't appear to be a valid IP Address for that subnet.

geekbee · Answer

Can you tell me more about that? The ip address starts at 10., does it has to start at 255. then?

Rijko · Answer

well that is a strange setup. I cannot see how that will work. But since you say it does work....

Let's look at your post : you say you cannot ping www.google.com.

Right, this may be a DNS problem. Try to ping 216.239.59.104 ( that's a valid internet ip address) and see if you get a reply.

Usually, people have 1 or 2 pc's and an ethernet router/modem.

Using DHCP means the ethernet modem provides the pc with all it needs to get onto the internet.

IP address, subnet mask, default gateway and DNS server(s).

Usually, the router does have the role to give out IP addresses as well as playing the DNS server role.

That means if the DHCP server has ip address 63.175.164.250 (strange) the ip address for the DNS server (that's the router too, right ?) should also be 63.175.164.250.

In your case, the DNS server shows 10.254.254.3. Try pinging it ( ping 10.254.254.3) - i think you will not get an answer. If not, there is a configuration fault in your router.

Try to ping your default gateway ( which is the main route to the internet ) using ping 10.0.3.254 - i think you may not get an answer. If not, that's a configuration fault.

It appears your modem acts as a bridge towards internet by showing your public, outside ip address to the pc's on the inside, in your home. Not the preferred way, but hey...

What is strange is that the router mixes addresses on the internet with addresses in the 10.x.x.x range which is private for use other than on the internet.....

I am curious who installed this setup.

It also makes me wonder if the laptop uses fixed DNS servers, or in other words : if an ipconfig /all shows the same setup as on the pc.

Message Edited by Rijko on 04-25-2005 10:40 PM

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

Extremely Strange Problem with my Dimension 8400

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