Network Problems

Latest revision as of 19:33, 26 February 2010

[edit] Webpages not loading; MSN, IP addresses or some webpages loading

Most likely a DNS issue

• Check you can ping something by IP address, e.g. 203.220.0.228 (www.overclockers.com.au)
• Check your IP/DNS settings are correct, compare with another known working computer if there is one
• Reset your modem and router

[edit] Getting a 169.x.x.x IP address in Windows

This means your computer is not getting a valid DHCP address from your router or modem.

• Check that the router or modem has DHCP turned on and has a wide enough range, or set a static IP address.
• If this doesnt fix the problem, try resetting the modem or router.

[edit] Network File Sharing

If you have shared folders or drives and cannot access them from other networked computers

• Check if you can ping the computer with the share from the other computers
• Access the shared computer using the IP address, eg: '\\{ip_addr}'

[edit] Problem getting a router to work with Bigpond Cable

• Make sure you have the internet type set to Heartbeat or Bigpond with the right Heartbeat server address.
  
  • There are guides to set this up here
• Make sure to hard reset the Cable modem. To do this, unplug the modem from power, hold down the reset button and turn it back on.

Bigpond Cable requires a Heartbeat client setup to keep the connection alive. Without this setup the internet can dropout every 5 minutes. Also, the modem 'locks' onto the MAC address of the first connected NIC. Therefore when changing from a Modem->Computer setup to Modem->Router->Computer(s) setup you need to hard reset the modem.

[edit] Very slow or unstable wireless network

• Check for other sources of interference
  • Other wireless networks on same channel
  • Cordless phones operating on 2.4GHz
• Try the connection from a short distance away (<5m)
• Check that both adaptors are in 802.11G mode if supported
• If it is a USB wireless adaptor, make sure it is plugged into a USB2 port
• This problem can also be due to poor wireless adaptors or wireless routers

[edit] Port Forwarding or Game/File/FTP/Web Server problem

• Make sure you are forwarding the required ports.
  • Follow the guides on this website
• If you are still having problems
  • Make sure you turn off any firewalls, including the XP2 firewall to see if that solves the problem
  • Some ISPs block certain ports

[edit] No Internet Connection with Bigpond Cable and new Router/Computer

• You need to hard reset the modem before swapping the device connected to it.
• To do this:
  • Disconnect all devices connected to the modem
  • Unplug power cable
  • Hold down 'reset' button on modem
  • Plug back in power
  • Release reset button
  • Connect new device to modem
• Also make sure you setup the proper Heartbeat details in your router. See here for a lot of information about the Bigpond Cable 'Heartbeat'.
• You need to add the proper Heartbeat Server Login IP, your Bigpond Username and Password. For the Login IP, see here.

[edit] Terms used on this page

• {ip_addr} should be replaced with the required IP address. For example 192.168.1.1
• NIC: Network Interface Card or Network Card

[edit] More Links

• Networking, Network Protocols, Network Troubleshooting
• Wireless Network Security, Wireless Networking
• Review:Linksys AG241 ADSL2 Modem Gateway, Routers
• DebIPsec