Sitecom router: Internet connection disappeared

Desperately hoping someone here can help.

I run Windows XP and began using a Sitecom broadband router about three weeks ago, simply as a firewall, not to connect a network. No problems until 5 days ago when suddenly - from one minute to the next - I could no longer connect to the Internet.

All attempts to resolve this, including three sessions with my ISP HelpDesk on Friday and Saturday, were unsuccessful.

We did determine however that the problem is not with the Motorola broadband modem (I have a good signal) or the cable. (Using the same cable, I'm able to connect to the internet on my laptop.)

Thinking my Sitecom router might be the problem, I dismantled it from the PC. Still no connection. My IP address simply isn't being picked up. (No luck with Run>Cmd>ipconfig either.)

On my laptop, I can connect to the Internet, but not when the router is in use.

Do you have any idea what might be causing the PC not to be able to connect?

I thought perhaps there might be a problem with the network card, but I get the message that it's working properly.

In a nutshell:

My PC works offline, no problem. But no internet, with or without the router.
My laptop works offline and online, but not with the router.

Any suggestions as to the core of the problem? I just want to get the darn PC online again. Assistance very much appreciated!

Thanks!

Donna

What do you mean, "no luck with ipconfig"? It isn't a matter of luck, it's a matter of the information it's giving you about your connection; ip addresses assigned and so forth.

Hehe - DaWei_M and DoMaDe are really similar

DoMaDe: can you please post the ipconfig results you get in your next post.

Thanks to you both for responding. Here's the requested data.


Connection-specific DNS Suffix:
Autoconfiguration IP Address: 169.254.57.15
Subnet Mask: 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway: ...................

Hi 169.254 is I think an address the MS OS provides when there is a problem resolving your nic ip address, have you tried manually configuring?

Indeed I have, jono. Numerous times, both on my own and with the assistance/supervision (now four times, counting last night) of my ISP HelpDesk technician. He maintains the problem is with the network card.

Puzzling is that on my laptop I can connect to the Internet but not when using the router.

I'm presuming that the ipconfig details you posted above are for the network card that connects to the router. The router should be configured to give out IP addresses automatically, but check in the settings that DHCP is enabled. To do this, for the time being, set your settings manually. If the router is using the IP address 192.168.1.1, then set your computer to an IP address of 192.168.1.10 and the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0. Set the default gateway to 192.168.1.1 (the address of your router). Then see if you can ping the router. Then, try to access the web based config for the router, and confirm that DHCP is enabled.

Edwin, I've determined that the DHCP is enabled. I've also taken other steps to re-establish a simple connection between the modem and the PC, but to no avail.
I suspect even more strongly that the network card is the culprit. I'll try moving the current card to another slot (suggested by the ISP helpdesk technician) to see if that helps. If not, a new card will be on the agenda.

Thanks very much though for the time and effort in trying to help me solve the problem.

Donna

If it doesn't work connecting the modem directly into the PC, then perhaps there is a problem with the NIC. They're pretty cheap really, so this shouldn't be too big a problem. I'd be interested to hear how you get on.

Yes, I'll keep you posted, Edwin.

I'm convinced now the problem is with the NIC. Putting in a new one next week will resolve the issue, I hope.

Thanks for your ongoing input.

Donna