Networks Sudden loss of connectivity - resolved, sort of

So I got a new laptop for the missus the other day (an HP 8530w EliteBook - quite a sexy machine by the way), and as I was working to set it up properly for her, she was quite giddy with anticipation (well, she's pregnant now, so mostly anything gets her either a) giddy, or b) horribly, horribly psychotic...). Anyway, as I finished all was well and good; the machine was responsive, fast and quite delightful to work with, and it went online without any hassle at all. This was wednesday night, and up until today the computer has been working fine.

Today however, after resuming from standing by for an hour or so, the computer suddenly wouldn't connect to the network anymore. I tried resetting the network adapter without any luck - it just kept complaining about not achieving connectivity and inability to obtain an IP.

So, I proceeded to reset our cable-modem and our switch. No change. Then followed a couple of hours of restoring it to an earlier point (no change) booting in safe-mode with network (no go) and finally, reinstalling the system (also no change). Now I'm at my wits end.

On my own computer I have no such issues, and it connects quickly and without any hassle at all - as does her old laptop, as well as the old emergency Dell we've got stuffed under the couch. It is just the new machine that simply will not, despite all the hours of effort I've put into it, connect anymore. And as far as I can see, the only thing I have not tried yet is hooking the 8530w directly into the cable modem, which I will try obviously.

A possibly related issue is the fact that as we've been surfing alongside eachother we have, from time to time, experienced unstable and slow connection. I'm assuming this is related to the switch we're using, which could undeniably be better, and possibly to the cables. So, I've opted to get a new and proper switch as well as new cat 5e cables which will hopefully be delivered within a couple of days.

My question is if the issues of connectivity with the new laptop could be related to the lame switch and cabling, or if this could be an ISP problem - possibly due to our ISP updating DHCP servers or something like that.

Any ideas?

 

Make sure on all of your computers to see if one of them has decided to block access for your new laptop. Its usually in your virus checker/firewall. Also check your router's settings and check the logs it makes and see if the machine i actually trying to connect but is being banned.

 

Thanks for the advice.

I did go over all firewall/virus settings, and even disabled them all at one point to see if that would help - nothing. It seems to be trying to connect, but it simply can't.

Why/how would it be banned? I mean, I can see how this could be done from ISP-level toward internet access, but the computer should still be able to access my home network right?

I still think the problem, in some part, lies within my switch or cabling, so I will swap these out this week. I had to order a new switch in as there are no local dealers that had any proper switches in at this time.

I will also contact my ISP today and see if they can be of any assistance. Unless anyone has any other suggestions?

 

Is it a wireless or wired solution?

If its wired try re-installing your ethernet port drivers making sure you delete the old ones first. Also try unplugging the network cable from your computer and try that in your laptop.
Have you tried connecting to the network wirelessly?

 

Try a loopback test, open up a command prompt and type 'ping 127.0.0.1' This will help rule out a problem with the laptop's NIC.

 

It is wired, and I have tried that - several times. Wireless is not an option as I do not have a wireless router, nor do I want one. Thanks for the advice though.

 

I will try this as soon as I get home from work.
Thanks for the advice.

 

Pinging 127.0.0.1 worked flawlessly... hm...

 

Seems like the problem is the network adapter, but what the problem is I just can't seem to grasp. I went out and got a USB -> LAN adapter on a whim, got home, plugged it in, and lo and behold - connection. Weirdness.

Anyway, the result is that now the missus is able to use her new laptop which is good, but whatever is causing the built-in adapter to not get connected is beyond me at the moment.

Anyone got any ideas?

 

Have you tried setting the wireless interface up with a static ip address instead of dhcp?

You need to put the router's address in both the gateway and the first dns setting.

It could be the lease time for dhcp on your router - if another computer nabs a previously allocated ip address, it can do weird things.

 

Our network is wired, and I intend to keep it that way.
I figured it might have something to do with DHCP, and I have reported this issue to our ISP who reported that they only provide a maximum of 4 IPs per subscriber. However, this shouldn't be an issue as we've only got 4 computers total, with only two - three at most - online simultaneously. But the weirdest thing yet is that it would not even get access to our local home-network through the built-in adapter.