The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Internet connection problem with Dell laptops

    Discussion in 'Networking and Wireless' started by Savri, Aug 1, 2006.

  1. Savri

    Savri Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Hi,

    My sister has a dell inspiron 600m that has suddenly developed a problem with connecting to the internet and local networks.

    When I plug a Cat5 internet cord into the input on the laptop, the computer fails to recognize that the cord is plugged in. Thus i can't connect to my home network or connect to internet anywhere. Any idea what might be causing this? Could the 10/100 card be faulty or maybe the drivers need to be updated? (just throwing out random ideas because im at a loss)

    Thanks
     
    Savri, Aug 1, 2006
    #1
  2. nistco92

    nistco92 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    3
    Messages:
    100
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Sorry if this is apparent, but have you tried using a different cat5 cable in? You could check device manager (right click my computer>properties>hardware tab) and look at the ethernet there
     
    nistco92, Aug 1, 2006
    #2
  3. Savri

    Savri Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Yeah, i've tried hooking up to different cat5's and also tried connecting to the internet at the office as well as home. The laptop appears to have simply stopped recognizing when there is a cable plugged in. I hope there is a software based remedy for this and it isn't the result of faulty hardware.
     
    Savri, Aug 1, 2006
    #3
  4. Aivyn

    Aivyn Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    3
    Messages:
    261
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    is the computer plugged into the wall? there is a feature in quickset that disables the ethernet card when the computer is unplugged.
     
    Aivyn, Aug 1, 2006
    #4
  5. Savri

    Savri Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Yes, the computer is plugged into the wall...This is really frustrating me. I'm not sure what else to do here guys...
     
    Savri, Aug 1, 2006
    #5
  6. Aivyn

    Aivyn Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    3
    Messages:
    261
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    do any of the lights light up on the network card when it is on and the cat5e cable is plugged in?
     
    Aivyn, Aug 1, 2006
    #6
  7. Amber

    Amber Notebook Prophet NBR Reviewer

    Reputations:
    1,659
    Messages:
    5,066
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    205
    I would try reinstalling the driver: Goto support.dell.com and reinstall your Network driver (the 10/100 broadcom driver). If you can't get any internet access on the laptop, you can save the file on another computer and then use a usb jumpdrive/disc to transfer it to the other computer laptop. Once you transfer the file to the other computer, double click on the driver and leave everything default. It should uninstall/reinstall the current driver that is on your system.
     
    Amber, Aug 1, 2006
    #7
  8. Savri

    Savri Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Yes, one green light on the network card is illuminated when the cat5 cable is plugged in. I just restarted the computer and when it booted up the notification symbol popped up and informed me that i had little or no connectivity...duh....

    it shows that i am sending 65 packets but not receiving any.
     
    Savri, Aug 1, 2006
    #8
  9. Aivyn

    Aivyn Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    3
    Messages:
    261
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    reboot the router. Ive had that problem before. Sometimes it can store the MAC address in the cache and the router gets confused. Ive had that happen. The green light indicates that it is getting a connection, the orange light would indicate data.
     
    Aivyn, Aug 1, 2006
    #9
  10. ScifiMike12

    ScifiMike12 Drinking the good stuff

    Reputations:
    801
    Messages:
    2,529
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Yes, exactly what Aivyn said. I had the same problem too and I power-cycled my router and modem and it fixed everything. This should hopefully work for ya.
     
    ScifiMike12, Aug 1, 2006
    #10
  11. Leshii

    Leshii Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    31
    Messages:
    554
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Just FYI: "little to no connectivity" means that there is a physical connection to your router, but your laptop cannot get an IP address from it. Green light on the back also indicates that there is "link".

    power-cycling the router or the modem should fix it, if not, tell us more about your network setup.
     
    Leshii, Aug 1, 2006
    #11