Cable Modem, internet won't connect...

OK, I've tried everything I can think of, can anybody think of anything that may work? When I connect my cable modem to my desktop, it works fine, has for months. When I try to connect it to the laptop, though, it says that it's checking then says it's limited connectivity, and the internet doesn't work.

I tried:

-Turning everything off in about 6 different orders. Did this a number of times
-Turning off windows firewall
-Repairing the connection about 8 times
-Running the software from the ISP, all it does is tell you where to connect the wires, then it checks to see if it's working, then says it's not
-Reconnecting the wires, though I don't see where it would help anyway since I can take the ethernet cable out of my laptop and stick it in my desktop right next to me and it works fine

I may have tried something else I don't remember, but if anybody can think of anything before I call the tech support for my ISP tomorrow, that would be great. Anything to keep from having to deal with them. I'm probably doing something dumb, anyway.

Thanks

 

reset the router again. go to ipconfig. type "ipconfig /release" without quotes. then type "ipconfig /renew". see if that helps.

 

problem when you connect wired or wireless ?

 

Wired. When I did the ipconfig it said, after I did ipconfig/renew, it said it is "unable to connect your DHCP server. Request has timed out." It also says my wireless is media disconnected, but I would guess that's because I have it turned off. Doesn't matter, I'm trying to connect wired. right now.

 

1. what happens when you plug directly into the cable modem, bypassing the router?

2. if you can't connect wired, i'd say maybe a MAC addy limitation/restriction

 

umm... I think I am connecting directly to the modem. It says modem. I don't know that it's a router. I only have a vague idea of what a router is...sorry. What is the MAC addy restriction? I was thinking it could be that the ISP won't allow another computer to use the same service, but I don't know if that's the same thing.

 

ok my bad, i just assumed you had a router.

then i would definitely say it's a MAC address restriction; basically your ISP logged your desktop's MAC address and it will only accept that one as valid.

you need to spoof your MAC address so that the "modem" will recognize your notebook.

google for MAC address spoofing for walkthru and necessary software

EDIT: actually, i should have mentioned that a more permanent solution is for you to buy a router, that way you can leave your desktop connected and connect your notebook simultaneously; either with a wired connection or wirelessly (assuming you have a wifi card in your notebook)

 

Awesome. Worked perfectly. I'm typing on it now. Thanks a lot, guys!

 

can you post your fix so that if others have a similar problem they can read about it?

 

Sure, no problem. Just post it on this thread?

The first thing I did is find out my MAC address in my desktop. To do this, I went to the command prompt (type cmd in the run feature in the start menu, or I think it's usually under accessories, too) and typed "ipconfig/all" without the quotes. I looked for "physical address," which is the MAC address. I wrote it down on some paper. Then I went to find some MAC spoofing software.

I googled for "mac address spoofing," myself, cause I had never used the stuff. I found a number of MAC spoofing software, but the one that actually was free was called MAC Makeup(the other one I tried was a-mac, which looked good, but it only allows you to spoof a random address unless you pay $20). MAC makup is the first one listed on Google if you search MAC adress spoofing.

All the software I saw was set up the same basic way. There is a place to type in the MAC address you want to change to. I just typed the number I had written down into the space (on MAC makup it doesn't allow you to put in the dashes; it still works the same, though). Hit the "change" button, that's all.

After that everything worked fine. Just connected to the modem like before and everything was working as it should.

 

muchas gracias, glad it's working