Wireless says connected but cannot access the internet!

Question

I have a Inspiron E1750...  When it boots up I get the little bubble that tells me I'm connected to the internet, signal strength excellent and it gives the IP address.  I cannot however get the internet to start up!  In my clicking around I did get a message that I wasn't connected to the internet even though in the bottom right corner it say that I am!  I did a ipconfig /all and among other things it tells me that the media is not connected (I have no idea what that means), and the gateway address is blank!  I've tried repairing the connection, I've tried doing a ipconfig /regen and /renew and nothing works.   I also have a Inspiron 8000 and it seems to have no problem connecting to my wireless network!  The Wireless Network is not encrypted or password protected or secured in any way so that is not a problem.   Any help is greatly appreciated!   Thanks!

volcano11 · Answer

To help troubleshoot this problem, go to Start > Run and type cmd then click OK. In the command prompt window that opens, type ipconfig /all then hit the enter key. Write down the output from this command or select it and save it to a txt file, then copy this output into a reply to this message.

Steve

tri-girl · Answer

Thank you for trying to help me! I'm at work at the moment so I can do as you requested when I get home this evening. What I can tell you is that when I do the ipconfig /all the only things that jumped out at me as being out of the ordinary is that it said the media was not connected and the gateway address was blank! Everything else looked normal. If that isn't enough information for you I can copy you everything this evening!

Thanks again!

BH_19 · Answer

If you cant find ICS on Wireless Properties, check LAN Properties window instead, then goto Advanced Tab, make sure ICS is disabled..

Network Connections > Right-click on LAN, click on Properties > Advanced > Uncheck ICS.

Make sure computer is set to Obtain IP add automatically..

Let me know if this works...:smileyhappy:

john_doe1925 · Answer

Is it possible if you can give me the information that you can get if you do ipconfig.that would be very helpful.restoring your system to its factory defaults would not be of great help if we cannot isolate whats causing this problem.but you can also try it.do you happen to know how to do it?

tri-girl · Answer

I don't think there is a problem with the router since it was working fine until I started playing with trying to set up the WEP!  I've since turned the WEP off and my other computer had connected wirelessly with no problem so I don't know why this new computer won't do the same!  I can use my other computer to ensure that everything on the wireless lan is disabled but since the new computer already says that the network isn't protected I'm pretty sure that isn't the problem.  I just don't know why the gateway is blank!

tri-girl · Answer

Thank you!  I'll give that a go!  I'm getting alot of suggestions here!  I'm really hoping that one of them will get me going again!

john_doe1925 · Answer

If no things would do you can try restoring your system to factory defaults but It would delete all the files that you have made.press as you turn on the system.but please do exhaust all steps just to avoid deleting your files.:)

BH_19 · Answer

Possibly ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) is enabled. ICS is used for peer-to-peer networking and you're into wireless..   Open Wireless Properties, goto Advanced tab, make sure 'Allow other networks to connect through this computer's Internet connection' is UNCHECKED..   Hope this works! :smileywink:   If there's no option under Wireless Properties, open LAN Properties instead, then Advanced tab, disable ICS. Make sure computer gets ip add automatically. Message Edited by BH_19 on 04-20-200602:28 PM

tri-girl · Answer

I looked on the dell website on how to restore factory defaults. I couldn't find the E1750 but I found several references to other computers. I thought that by restoring the factory defaults it would un-do whatever I've done and put it back to "new" condition!

As for the information from ipconfig... I can send you that once I get home from work this evening and I'm back at the computer. I can tell you that what stuck out for me is that it had one like that said media disconnected and the gateway was blank. That tells me that it just isn't connecting to the wireless lan for some reason??

tri-girl · Answer

Maybe if I told you the whole story...  I tried to encrypt my wireless network...  Everything was working fine until then.  I put in a WEP key and then I couldn't access the internet anymore!  The key would not work!  I reset the wireless lan and my other computer got back on just fine but this new computer won't! When I say show available networks it just gives a message.  I just don't understand why it can tell me its connected and everything is fine but then say there's no internet connection and I can't repair it!  So I'm a bit aggrivated and I've only had this computer for 2 weeks...  I was thinking about just restoring the factory defaults but I've never done that before and I'm not sure what that does.  Would you recommend that I do that??  If it restores the computer back to as I received it condition I would be very happy.  It had no problem getting on the wireless network then!    I was also told that something may still be encrypted on the wireless lan.  With my other computer I can get on and make sure that everything is disabled, but since my both computers are saying that it isn't encrypted so I really don't think that is the problem!

john_doe1925 · Answer

Try to connect your modem directly to your system just to isolate the problem.if you can access the internet on a wired connection the problem is in your router.:)

BBraxton · Answer

signal strength is excellent -- indicates wireless
What is the brand and model of wireless access point to which you aspire to connect?
What is the SSID (name of)?
What shows up when you select "Show available wireless networks"

BH_19 · Answer

If there's no ICS option on Wireless Properties, open LAN Properties window instead, then disable ICS. Also make sure the computer is getting an ip address automatically.

moceanu · Answer

Hi,

Are you using Wireless Zero Configuration set up or Dell adapter set up because it will make a big difference and you'll be on internet in no time. Confirm one ot these set up's and I might know the problem....

tri-girl · Answer

From what I can tell it is getting the IP address ok but the gateway is blank.  I'm told that the gateway is what the computer uses to talk to the router.  Since my other computer is working on the wireless internet just fine I did look to see the gateway number it had and I entered that number manually into the new computer but that didn't work.  I've since un-done that.  I'm going to try disabling the ICS as you requested.  I'm going to use the old computer to check the settings of the wireless lan to make sure it isn't password protected or anything.  I'll try doing a ipconfig /release and /renew again.  I'll reboot my computer and I'll unplug and replug in the wireless lan.  If none of that works then I think I will have to do the restore factory defaults as another reader has given me instructions to do!  If you can think of anything else please let me know!

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

Wireless says connected but cannot access the internet!

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