My laptop won't connect to the internet, its sending stuff but not recieving anything!!?

Question

my old landlord used to mess with my computer to configure it to his connection, but ever since i moved out it hasnt been working. even if i try to plug it into the house internet. does anyone know why this is?? can i take it anywhere to have it looked at, that won't cost me a lot of money?? please help! i've been paying this laptop off but havent been able to really use it.

Answer 1

try reconfiguring the connecting device or get someone to do it for you

Answer 2

The best advice I can give without knowing more would be to call your ISP for assistance.

However, if you'd like my troubleshooting advice, I'll have to make the assumption that you are using some variety of Windows XP as your operating system. (The procedures will be similar for Windows Vista or Windows 2000.) If you are using some Unix, Apple or other OS, the same procedures won't apply, but the general troubleshooting methodology may still work. Furthermore, I have to assume you are using a broadband connection with a router and that you are obtaining dymanic IP addresses from your ISP as well as from your internal equipment.

1) Verify you have a connection. Look in the Windows System Tray (bottom right corner by the time) to see if you have an icon that shows the status of your network connection.

If you don't have that icon, go to your Control Panel, open the "Network Connections" applet, right click on the network card you are using (wired and/or wireless, but generally not the 1394 connection), select "Properties", and enable the "Show icon in notification area when conneted" and "Notify me when this connection has limited or no connectivity" checkboxes. Then, click OK, and exit from the Network Connections applet and the control panel.

If and when you do have that icon, verify the status of the connection is "Connected". If the connection status shows something like "Network Cable Unplugged", and you are using a wired connection you have to check your network cable, hub/switch, router, etc... to get the connection established. If you see the proper link lights and the status doesn't change, it's possible a port or cable went bad and you may have to try a different cable or different ports. If you are using a wireless connection, you'll need to use either the utility that came with the wireless card or the Windows default wireless configuration software to connect to an access point.

2) If and when your status shows as connected, and you still can't access the Internet, you'll need to check your IP address and routing information.

To do this, click on the Start menu and click "Run". In the Run dialog box, type "cmd" and press ENTER.

You should be presented with a black window where you can enter commands. Type "ipconfig" and press ENTER.

Make a note of your IP address and Default Gateway. If you don't have an IP address, you should call your ISP for assistance. To isolate the problem, you'll need to verify you have connectivity to other network devices. While these next few steps are admittedly backwards for an IT professional, I think it would be more helpful for you to proceed as follows:

a) in the command prompt window, type: "ping 127.0.0.1"
and press ENTER. You should receive 4 replies. If you don't you have a major problem which may require you to reinstall TCP/IP or update Windows with the latest service pack.

b) next, type: ping
then press the spacebar and then type in the numeric address of your default gateway, as identified by the ipconfig command and then press ENTER
If you receive anything other than 4 replies, the problem is probably (though not definitely) with the device you use to connect to the Internet. You should reset that device. If you still don't have luck, you may have to reconfigure the device by using the reset button on it. If you are using a DSL modem without a router and software loaded on your computer to connect to the DSL modem, you may have to reinstall it. At that point, you should call your broadband provider for tech support.

c) next, type "ping 216.109.112.135" and press ENTER
If you get 4 replies, you are connected to the Internet and you may have a DNS issue (the service that translates names like yahoo.com to IP addresses like 216.109.112.135)
If you get 4 timeouts, it's either because your router isn't connected to the Internet or because the website isn't configured to respond to a ping (which is why you should use Yahoo!'s IP address).
If you get 4 "destination host unreachable" errors, the problem may very well be with your ISP. You should contact them.

d) finally, type: "ping yahoo.com" and press ENTER
If you receive a message that says something like, "host uknown", you have a DNS issue. You'll have to do a little more troubleshooting to see why your DNS isn't working. Possibly, you can go into the network control panel applet and ensure your network card is set to receive DNS server information automtically. Or, your router may not be set to get DNS server information from your ISP. Otherwise, if (c) worked, then (d) should work. If however (c) works and (d) doesn't, you may have a spyware infestation on your computer as it is common for some spyware to take over your ability to resolve names through DNS.

If you need more assistance, I'd recommend contacting someone like the geeksquad at Best Buy as they are used to working with consumers. Or, if you could post more specific information for this question, I'll see if I can help. Good luck.

Answer 3

Please do not misunderstand this but many times users are uncompfortable fooling with confiquring there Internet settings and there mail settings as well.
If you don't know or you are uncompfortable then you need to get one of your friends to help you out.
There are several settings that need to be typed in and if you are not sure than don't fool with it. It really is not hard, yhe problem is more often than not a simple case of not understanding the terms that are used and what you need to do. Get one of you computer guru friends to sit down and walk you through it.
Don