Cable Internet Connection Guide (for Windows XP) (UPDATED) V.3

A. NO CONNECTION

-when you cannot connect to the Internet
-after each step, check for browsing

Step 1: Powercycle and check connections

-turn off all computers that access the Internet in the home
-if you are connected through a router, power it down by disconnecting the power cord
-power down the cable modem by disconnecting the power cord
-let things sit offline for about a minute
-checked that the coax cable into the cable modem (like your TV cable, with the pin) is screwed in tightly
-check the network cable (ethernet like the big phone jack, or USB with two different ends) that goes from the cable modem to the next device (your computer, or a router if you are using one), and make sure it is connected securely
-*if you are wired to a router* check the network cable which runs from the router to your computer
-first return power to the cable modem, and let it sit about 2 minutes to initialize

**Some common modems:
Toshiba modem = wait for solid "cable" light
Motorola Surfboard modem = wait for solid "online" light
Thompson RCA modem = wait for solid "cable link" and "Internet" lights
Ambit modem = wait for solid "sync" and "ready" lights

-if your modem lights do not come on properly, contact ISP
-if you are using a router, return power to it next and wait for it to initialize (if you're not sure, just wait 2 minutes)
-bring up your computer

Step 2: Check for a valid IP address

-open the command prompt by clicking start, clicking run, then typing cmd into the run box, click ok
-at the command line, type ipconfig
-windows may look to more than one connection, but you should see for one an entry called IP Address followed by a series of numbers
*IP address rundown: Windows auto assign IP address (indicates no connection) = 169.254.x.x
Router (network) IP address = 192.168.x.x <--issued by router
Other IP address that begin in the 60's or 20's (among others) are valid
-if you have a valid IP, or are on a router with 192.168.x.x IP, and still cannot browse the Internet, go to the NO BROWSING section
-if your IP address is 169.254.x.x, continue here

Step 3: Turn off firewalls and antivirus

-turn off XP firewall by clicking start, control panel (if it says "switch to classic view" then click there), open "Windows Firewall", turn off
-look at your system tray (the icons by the clock in the bottom right), hover over each icon, if it is a firewall or antivirus then right-click it and choose exit, shut down or disable

Step 4: Check your network adapters

-click start, control panel, switch to classic view, open "System"
-click on the hardware tab, click on the button which reads "Device Manager"
-if the drivers for your network adapter are not installed properly (ie. there is a conflict), then it may be listed under "Other Devices"
-click the plus next to "Network Adapters"
-you should see your network adapter listed. if there is an X over the symbol next to it, then right-click the adapter and choose "enable"
-the symbol should be green to indicate it is working properly

Step 5: Check your protocol settings

-click start, control panel, switch to classic view, open "Network Connections"
-if you are hard-wired, look to "Local Area Connection"; if you are wireless, look to "Wireless Connection"
-right-click your connection, choose properties
-under "this connection uses the following items" click to highlight "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)"
-click properties
-set to: "obtain an IP address automatically"
-set to: "obtain DNS server address automatically"

Step 6: Restoring TCP/IP

-click start, click run
-type cmd and click ok
-type netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt and hit enter
-type exit on the next command line and hit enter
-click start, control panel, switch to classic view, open "Network Connections"
-if you are hard-wired, look to "Local Area Connection"; if you are wireless, look to "Wireless Connection"
-right-click your connection, choose properties
-click install
-choose protocol, click add
-click "have disk"
-where it says "copy manufacturer's files from" type c:\windows\inf then click ok
-choose "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" and click ok
-close windows and restart computer

B. NO BROWSING

-when you have a valid IP address but cannot open web pages
-test for browsing after each step

Step 1: Scan for viruses and spyware

-hopefully you are running antivirus and spyware protection programs.
-be sure to run a full system scan, one program at a time, and do not perform any other operations while these are running
-if you feel comfortable, you can also try the scan in safe mode for a more thorough scan
-if there are untreatable files, contact the vendor of the software for technical assistance
- http://testmy.net/forum/t-3924 <-- check this out for more info

Step 2: Turn off firewalls and antivirus

-turn off XP firewall by clicking start, control panel (if it says "switch to classic view" then click there), open "Windows Firewall", turn off
-look to your system tray (the icons by the clock in the bottom right), hover over each icon, if it is a firewall or antivirus then right-click it and choose exit, shut down or disable
-IMPORTANT: in the program permissions of your firewall, make sure that "Generic Host Process for WIN32" is not blocked.

Step 3: Ping command

-click start, click run, type cmd
-in the command window, type ping www.testmy.net
-if the ping goes through, there will be a "ping statistics" line. look for packet loss, and high round trip times
-if the ping is ok (no loss), proceed to Step 4: Restoring Browser Defaults
-if the ping says "unable to resolve host" or has 100% losses, try to ping by IP address
-type ping 67.18.179.85 and hit enter, and check for packet losses
-if the ping by IP address is ok (no loss), try to browse by IP address: in the address bar of your browser, type 67.18.179.85...does testmy.net come up? If so, it is a DNS issue. Proceed to Step 5: DNS Settings
-if ping by URL and ping by IP address both fail, proceed to Step 6: Restoring TCP/IP

Step 4: Restoring Browser Defaults
Internet Explorer 6

-open Internet Explorer, click Tools, click Internet Options
-under the General tab:
-click "Delete Cookies" and click "ok" to the dialogue box
-click "Delete Files", put a check where it says "delete all offline content" and click "ok" to the dialogue box
-click "Clear history" and click yes to the dialogue box
-where it says "Days to keep pages in history" set it to 5 or less (the default is 20)
-under the Security tab:
-click the "Default level" button
-under the Privacy tab:
-click the "Default" button
-under the Connections tab:
-make sure it is set to "Never dial a connection"
-click the "LAN Settings" button, set it to "Automatically detect settings" and click ok
-under the Programs tab:
-click the "Reset web settings" button, click "yes" to the dialogue box
-under the Advanced tab:
-click the "Restore defaults" button
-click apply, then ok
-close and reopen Internet Explorer, test for browsing on a few different site
-if still no browsing, continue to Step 6: Restoring TCP/IP

Mozilla FireFox

-select Tools from the menu bar and then click on Options
-select General from the menu on the left and click on the Connection Settings button
-put a dot in Auto-detect proxy settings for this network
-select the Privacy Icon from the left menu and clear all values

Step 5: DNS Settings

-click start, control panel, switch to classic view, open "Network Connections"
-if you are hard-wired, look to "Local Area Connection"; if you are wireless, look to "Wireless Connection"
-right-click your connection, choose properties
-under "this connection uses the following items" click to highlight "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)"
-click properties
-set to: "obtain DNS server address automatically"
-test browse to "testmy.net" (try others also)
-click start, click run
-type cmd and click ok
-type ipconfig/flushdns and hit enter
-type exit on the next command line and hit enter
-if you still cannot browse by URL, continue to next step, otherwise contact your ISP to check for DNS issues

Step 6: Restoring TCP/IP

-click start, click run
-type cmd and click ok
-type netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt and hit enter
-type exit on the next command line and hit enter
-click start, control panel, switch to classic view, open "Network Connections"
-if you are hard-wired, look to "Local Area Connection"; if you are wireless, look to "Wireless Connection"
-right-click your connection, choose properties
-click install
-choose protocol, click add
-click "have disk"
-where it says "copy manufacturer's files from" type c:\windows\inf then click ok
-choose "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" and click ok
-close windows and restart computer