One computer on network doesn't connect to internet

Question

We have a small home network with 2 PCs and an assortment of mobile devices.

Recently, the newer of the PCs froze and needed a restart. However, since the reboot, it won't connect to the internet. Mousing over the networking icon on the start bar yields the text "Unidentified Network. No internet access".

We have tried numerous things. We have restarted the PC and the router numerous times. I have disabled and re-enabled the static IP multiple times and it doesn't work in either case.

Looking at the network info, it says "No Internet Connectivity" next to both IPv4 and IPv6.

The computer is connected via a 3m ethernet cable going through the floor.

• Running ipconfig /all gives the following information:
• Windows IP Configuration
• IP Routing Enabled : No
• WINS Proxy Enabled : No
• Ethernet adapter Router
• DHCP Enabled : Yes
• Autoconfiguration Enabled : Yes
• Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address : 169.254.52.90(Tentative)

The last line I copied is what I am most suspicious of as surely it should be along the lines of 192.168.0.X

What should I do? And what part is failing?

If any further info is needed, do ask.

It's also worth noting I am not particularly experienced with networking setup but I can understand most of it.

Further information:

After following steps in answers. Here is the information I get (note I am having to copy this all out manually):

Static IP  : 192.168.0.199
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
DNS Servers: 208.67.222.222
             208.67.220.220

DHCP       : No
Autoconfig : Yes

After running the commands recommended, this was the output. I have censored the MAC Address and IPv6 address where they appear.

C:\WINDOWS\system32>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

   Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : XXXXX
   Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . :
   Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
   IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Router:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : XXXXX
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : XXXXX(Preferred)
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.199(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 248533145
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-1E-29-61-44-D0-50-99-7C-B8-55
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 208.67.222.222
                                       208.67.220.220
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter isatap.{9A1C2E65-A816-4017-A217-0D7BA6439C1C}:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

C:\WINDOWS\system32>netstat -se
Interface Statistics

                           Received            Sent

Bytes                             0               0
Unicast packets                   0               0
Non-unicast packets               0               0
Discards                          0               0
Errors                            0               0
Unknown protocols                 0

IPv4 Statistics

  Packets Received                   = 63
  Received Header Errors             = 0
  Received Address Errors            = 0
  Datagrams Forwarded                = 0
  Unknown Protocols Received         = 0
  Received Packets Discarded         = 182
  Received Packets Delivered         = 719
  Output Requests                    = 994
  Routing Discards                   = 0
  Discarded Output Packets           = 177
  Output Packet No Route             = 5
  Reassembly Required                = 0
  Reassembly Successful              = 0
  Reassembly Failures                = 0
  Datagrams Successfully Fragmented  = 0
  Datagrams Failing Fragmentation    = 0
  Fragments Created                  = 0

IPv6 Statistics

  Packets Received                   = 149
  Received Header Errors             = 0
  Received Address Errors            = 0
  Datagrams Forwarded                = 0
  Unknown Protocols Received         = 0
  Received Packets Discarded         = 296
  Received Packets Delivered         = 349
  Output Requests                    = 536
  Routing Discards                   = 0
  Discarded Output Packets           = 9
  Output Packet No Route             = 5
  Reassembly Required                = 0
  Reassembly Successful              = 0
  Reassembly Failures                = 0
  Datagrams Successfully Fragmented  = 0
  Datagrams Failing Fragmentation    = 0
  Fragments Created                  = 0

ICMPv4 Statistics

                            Received    Sent
  Messages                  28          28
  Errors                    0           0
  Destination Unreachable   28          28
  Time Exceeded             0           0
  Parameter Problems        0           0
  Source Quenches           0           0
  Redirects                 0           0
  Echo Replies              0           0
  Echos                     0           0
  Timestamps                0           0
  Timestamp Replies         0           0
  Address Masks             0           0
  Address Mask Replies      0           0
  Router Solicitations      0           0
  Router Advertisements     0           0

ICMPv6 Statistics

                            Received    Sent
  Messages                  4           17
  Errors                    0           0
  Destination Unreachable   3           3
  Packet Too Big            0           0
  Time Exceeded             0           0
  Parameter Problems        0           0
  Echos                     0           0
  Echo Replies              0           0
  MLD Queries               0           0
  MLD Reports               0           0
  MLD Dones                 0           0
  Router Solicitations      0           3
  Router Advertisements     0           0
  Neighbor Solicitations    0           10
  Neighbor Advertisements   1           1
  Redirects                 0           0
  Router Renumberings       0           0

TCP Statistics for IPv4

  Active Opens                        = 35
  Passive Opens                       = 34
  Failed Connection Attempts          = 1
  Reset Connections                   = 0
  Current Connections                 = 3
  Segments Received                   = 347
  Segments Sent                       = 345
  Segments Retransmitted              = 2

TCP Statistics for IPv6

  Active Opens                        = 3
  Passive Opens                       = 2
  Failed Connection Attempts          = 1
  Reset Connections                   = 4
  Current Connections                 = 0
  Segments Received                   = 772
  Segments Sent                       = 770
  Segments Retransmitted              = 2

UDP Statistics for IPv4

  Datagrams Received    = 404
  No Ports              = 366
  Receive Errors        = 52
  Datagrams Sent        = 989

UDP Statistics for IPv6

  Datagrams Received    = 291
  No Ports              = 245
  Receive Errors        = 51
  Datagrams Sent        = 460

C:\WINDOWS\system32>wmic NIC list brief
AdapterType     DeviceID  MACAddress         Name                                    NetworkAddresses  ServiceName  Speed
                0                            Microsoft Kernel Debug Network Adapter                    kdnic
Ethernet 802.3  1         XXXXX              Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller                        RTL8167      1000000000
Tunnel          2                            Microsoft ISATAP Adapter                                  tunnel       100000
                3                            Microsoft Teredo Tunneling Adapter
                4                            WAN Miniport (SSTP)
                5                            WAN Miniport (IKEv2)
                6                            WAN Miniport (L2TP)
                7                            WAN Miniport (PPTP)
                8                            WAN Miniport (PPPOE)
                9                            WAN Miniport (IP)
                10                           WAN Miniport (IPv6)
                11                           WAN Miniport (Network Monitor)

C:\WINDOWS\system32>wmic NICCONFIG list brief
DefaultIPGateway  Description                             DHCPEnabled  DNSDomain  Index  IPAddress                                     ServiceName
                  Microsoft Kernel Debug Network Adapter  TRUE                    0                                                    kdnic
{"192.168.0.1"}   Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller      FALSE                   1      {"192.168.0.199", "XXXXX"}                    RTL8167
                  Microsoft ISATAP Adapter                FALSE                   2                                                    tunnel
                  Microsoft Teredo Tunneling Adapter      FALSE                   3                                                    tunnel
                  WAN Miniport (SSTP)                     FALSE                   4                                                    RasSstp
                  WAN Miniport (IKEv2)                    FALSE                   5                                                    RasAgileVpn
                  WAN Miniport (L2TP)                     FALSE                   6                                                    Rasl2tp
                  WAN Miniport (PPTP)                     FALSE                   7                                                    PptpMiniport
                  WAN Miniport (PPPOE)                    FALSE                   8                                                    RasPppoe
                  WAN Miniport (IP)                       FALSE                   9                                                    NdisWan
                  WAN Miniport (IPv6)                     FALSE                   10                                                   NdisWan
                  WAN Miniport (Network Monitor)          FALSE                   11                                                   NdisWan

C:\WINDOWS\system32>wmic NICCONFIG list dhcp
Description                             DHCPEnabled  DHCPLeaseExpires  DHCPLeaseObtained  DHCPServer  Index
Microsoft Kernel Debug Network Adapter  TRUE                                                          0
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller      FALSE                                                         1
Microsoft ISATAP Adapter                FALSE                                                         2
Microsoft Teredo Tunneling Adapter      FALSE                                                         3
WAN Miniport (SSTP)                     FALSE                                                         4
WAN Miniport (IKEv2)                    FALSE                                                         5
WAN Miniport (L2TP)                     FALSE                                                         6
WAN Miniport (PPTP)                     FALSE                                                         7
WAN Miniport (PPPOE)                    FALSE                                                         8
WAN Miniport (IP)                       FALSE                                                         9
WAN Miniport (IPv6)                     FALSE                                                         10
WAN Miniport (Network Monitor)          FALSE                                                         11


C:\WINDOWS\system32>wmic NICCONFIG list dns
Description                             DNSDomain  DNSDomainSuffixSearchOrder  DNSEnabledForWINSResolution  DNSHostName  DNSServerSearchOrder                  DomainDNSRegistrationEnabled  FullDNSRegistrationEnabled  Index
Microsoft Kernel Debug Network Adapter                                                                                                                                                                                   0
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller                 {}                          FALSE                        Olie-PC      {"208.67.222.222", "208.67.220.220"}  FALSE                         TRUE                        1
Microsoft ISATAP Adapter                                                                                                                                                                                                 2
Microsoft Teredo Tunneling Adapter                                                                                                                                                                                       3
WAN Miniport (SSTP)                                                                                                                                                                                                      4
WAN Miniport (IKEv2)                                                                                                                                                                                                     5
WAN Miniport (L2TP)                                                                                                                                                                                                      6
WAN Miniport (PPTP)                                                                                                                                                                                                      7
WAN Miniport (PPPOE)                                                                                                                                                                                                     8
WAN Miniport (IP)                                                                                                                                                                                                        9
WAN Miniport (IPv6)                                                                                                                                                                                                      10
WAN Miniport (Network Monitor)                                                                                                                                                                                           11

Ping results:

Good PC ping 192.168.0.199
    Destination host unreachable
Bad PC ping 192.168.0.199
    Ping fine. 0ms average
Bad PC ping -4 localhost
    Ping fine. 0ms average

All instructions followed including restart after finished. Still no connection.

Disabled IPv6 and pinged the following:

192.168.0.1    : Transmit failed. general failure
8.8.8.8        : Transmit failed. general failure
www.google.com : Could not find host

Followed update 3: all pings returned "Transmit failed. General failure"

UPDATE I left it off over night and appears to be working now. I can't for the life of me figure out why though. I'd still appreciate an explanation of what the problem was if possible so I can better diagnose it in the future if it comes up again.

Answer 1

The IP address being assigned to that network interface is a automatic private internet address (apipa) which is used when configured for DHCP but cannot for one reason or another successfully communicate with the DHCP server. It is not a routable address, by design, which is why you can't connect to the internet on that PC.

I'm not sure if you are trying to use a static IP or a DHCP assigned one, so I provided info on both:

You mention that you've tried setting and unsetting the 'static' IP address on this PC a few times - are you trying to manually assign an IP to it, or are using a DHCP server for your IP address assignments?

• If you are using a static IP address, make sure that it is a unique static IP address on the LAN - an apipa will be used if it is detected that your IP address is not unique. Try pinging that IP address with the 'bad' PC completely off to see if something else has it. Make sure the static IP address you are assigning is not within the DHCP range used by the router.

• If you are trying to use a static IP address, then the fact that ipconfig indicates that DHCP server use is enabled is your issue - you have a configuration conflict. See the following guide to correctly set your network card to a static IP configuration.

• If instead you are intending to use DHCP, a guide to properly configuring for DHCP can be found here. Make sure your settings are essentially equivalent to those.

Basically you can't use DHCP and a static IP address on the same interface, and it appears that the system is trying to (thats the most likely scenario in any event).

This could be caused by a corruption in the windows network stack, so here are some steps to reset that if your configuration (whichever way you are trying to set it) appears good:

In an elevated command prompt run the following commands to reset the network stack

netsh winsock reset

netsh int ip reset

netsh int tcp reset

Then reboot the PC.

If that doesn't work, then try the following (rebooting after each)

1. Uninstall / reinstall the driver for the network interface card.
2. In an elevated command prompt, run sfc /scannow to check system file integrity.
3. If you are trying to use a static IP address, it is configured correctly, it is unique, and you are still getting the apipa, try disabling apipa in windows using the following registry modification
   

Create or edit the following registry key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters

Name: IPAutoconfigurationEnabled
Type: REG_DWORD
Hex: 0

Update - still not working after trying previous steps

1. Since you are saying you are still getting a 169.254.x.x address the registry modification apparently did not work - double check that that was set correctly - here is a link to a guide to making that setting change. You shouldn't be getting any IP address if DHCP fails and this setting is being used.

2. Besides that, A full reset to installation defaults is the next logical thing to try. Here are the commands to run in an elevated command prompt (source):

Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults:

netsh winsock reset catalog

Reset IPv4 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults.

netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log

Reset IPv6 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults.

netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log

And then reboot

3. Do you (or did you) have any third party firewall or 'safe internet' browsing type applications on that PC? Bitdefender is infamous for breaking network connections after removal. If you have any third party software still installed, try uninstalling it.

4. Try setting it as a static ip address and let me know what you see:

   • Select a new IP address that is within the subnet of the rest of the network and that you haven't used for this PC previously, e.g. 192.168.0.199 (if that's the right subnet)

I'm assuming numbers here, so adjust accordingly; 192.168.0.1 == router, subnet == 255.255.255.0. You can confirm them by looking at another PC on the network that is operating properly. Configure the TCP IPv4 properties as follows

   IP Address: 192.168.0.199
    Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
    Default Gateway: 192.168.0.1
    Preferred DNS Server: 192.168.0.1

Now close out the configuration window and see what happens. Update your answer with the following details.

1. The full contents of ipconfig /all - at a minimum the full header and the contents of the pertinent adapter; marking out hostname and MAC address; e.g:

   ipconfig /all

   Windows IP Configuration

      Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : XXXXXXXX
      Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . :
      Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
      IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
      WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   
   Ethernet adapter Ethernet 2:
   
      Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
      Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
      Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : XX-XX-XX-XX-9A-92
      DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
      Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
      IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.101(Preferred)
      Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
      Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, July 9, 2016 10:00:30 PM
      Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, July 12, 2016 10:00:29 AM
      Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
      DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
      DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
      NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled
   

   2. output from these commands run from elevated prompt
      netstat -se
wmic NIC list brief
wmic NICCONFIG list brief
wmic NICCONFIG list dhcp
wmic NICCONFIG list dns

   3. From a different computer, try to ping this computer at it's new IP address. What happens? A timeout or a 'no route to host' error?

   4. From the 'bad' computer, what IP address did it get if different than requested? From a command prompt, ping the intended (192.168.0.199) address, and issue command ping -4 localhost and let me know what you see.

That should be sufficient information to diagnose what's going on, because if the other steps didn't work, and the new ones (reset) don't either, it is a very odd issue.

5. Try using the netadapter repair utility, first following the instructions they provide it will duplicate many of the things you already did, but it's worth a shot if all else fails. When you get to step 10, use the netadapter tool (they offer 3 choices): http://www.thewindowsclub.com/netadapter-repair-network-issues

Update2 - disable IPv6 If you can easily transfer files to this PC, then use this MS tool to disable IPV6. If you need to re-enable, use this tool. To do it manually for just this adapter, uncheck the ipv6 settings (shown checked in picture), then click ok:

Update 3

After you disable ipv6 and rebooted, reboot the router.

Then confirm on the good PC that you have the same gateway (192.168.0.1) and same subnet mask (255.255.255.0) on both.

Update the badPC to match goodPC if needed.

Then run the following ping commands - replace goodPC with it's IP address.
ping 192.168.0.1
ping goodPC
ping 8.8.8.8

It's behaving as though you are not on the same logical (subnet) network, and ipV6 is probably a factor.

Answer 2

Given that your pc gets a 169.254.x.x address means it cannot receive an IP from the DHCP server.

This can have several meanings.

1. The DHCP server is not working properly or it cannot hand out any leases because the range is full.

2. The PC does not make contact with this particular DHCP server. This is likely due to a cable problem. If another DHCP server were to steal the lease, it would not give a 169.254.x.x address but likely a 192.168.1.x or 10.0.x.x address.

We have to rule out 2 which is easier to do first.

At the back of the computer, where the Network cable is plugged in, the plug itself has 2 diagnostic LEDs. A green and yellow one. They should be active indicating there's a connection to whatever it leads to. If the LEDs are not giving any light, then either the cable is unplugged at this end, the other end, or the cable itself is broken. First unplug, then insert again, do from both sides and see if the lights come on. If not, replace the cable.

If the lights do lit, but you still get a 169.254.x.x address, double check the DHCP server.

If you try everything, but the lights on the back of the network card just won't light, consider reinstalling the drivers.

Answer 3

a while ago i had similar issue with my motherboard network, fortunately i had dual network so i was able to switch between them

it kept happening so after a while i did this:

1. shutdown computer   
2. remove power cable
3. remove motherboard battery
4. wait 5 minutes
5. put everything back together
6. try again

for me, doing this, worked

maybe something in memory that wasn't being cleaned...

Answer 4

The most obvious sounds to me being the network cable. Just because it worked BEFORE and doesn't now, does not rule out a coincidence of errors.

1. turn off static IP, you'll want it dynamically assigned, even if only for getting it up and running
2. unplug and reseat your network cable, even re-terminate if necessary. Change it out even. (are you getting flashing lights on each network port indicting a connection is present?)
3. grab a new cable and run it directly from the bad PC to the router (ie not thru the floor)
4. If you have a laptop available, take it to the bad PC and plug it into the cable thru the floor, does it connect to the internet/router?

Answer 5

Try turning off the static ip if you are using one because it may be out of the ip range of your router. You could also connect to the router using another computer and connect to the routers gateway and find the up range. Edit: Also restart both the router and the pic after disabling the static ip.