Troubleshooting Basic Connection Problems in Windows XP

The following are the first steps I will use to troubleshoot typical Ethernet connectivity problems on a Windows XP machine.
Each step tests a specific connectivity issue, so it is best not to skip ahead.

Step 1
Check to ensure that your Ethernet cable is plugged in and you have a link-light.

The link-light verifies that the computer is properly connected to a network hub or switch.
If your Ethernet cable is plugged in and yet there is no link-light, either the network card in your computer or the switch on the other end of the cable is not functioning.
If you do see a link-light, proceed to the next step.

Step 2
In Windows, Click Start, Run, type CMD and hit the Enter key to open the Command Prompt (shown bellow).

The Command Prompt is a tool you can use to test the state of your computers network.
It is OK if this prompt is showing a path other then C:\, but if you want it to show C:\ like the example above, type CD \ and hit the Enter key.
Proceed to the next step.

Step 3
In the Command Prompt, type IPCONFIG and press the Enter key. You should see a screen that looks like the following (though the numbers may be different)

If the numbers scroll past to quickly to read, use the scroll bar on the right side of the screen to scroll back up.
You can also retype the command as IPCONFIG |MORE to have the data returned page by page.
The amount of data returned depends on the amount of adapters in your computer. We are only interested in the Ethernet adapter for this step.

Your IP address should not begin with 0 or 169; if it does begin with 0 or 169 then click here for further troubleshooting on this issue.
If you IP begins with something else (most commonly 192.168) then write down your Default Gateway address and proceed to the next step.

Step 4
From the Command Prompt, type PING followed by the address of your Default Gateway from the previous step and press the Enter key.

If you get a Request timed out message, then click here for further troubleshooting on this issue.
If you got a Reply from as shown above, proceed to the next step.

Step 5
This step is much like the last step except you will be pinging a specific address.
From the Command Prompt, type PING 216.109.112.135 and press the Enter key.

If you get a Request timed out message, then click here for further troubleshooting on this issue.
If you got a Reply from as shown above, proceed to the next step.

Step 6
If the last step was successful then we have verified that your computer has a connection to the Internet.
While this may be the case, it doesn't mean that you can automatically browse resources on the network by name.
This test will verify that your computer is properly setup to use DNS to resolve names of other computers.

From a command Prompt, type PING Yahoo.com and press the Enter key.

If you get a Request timed out message, then click here for further troubleshooting on this issue.
If you got a Reply from as shown above, proceed to the next step.

Step 7
OK, so now we've verified that your computer is connected all the way out to the Internet and can see resource by name.
So now we want to see if your computer can see other computers in your own network.
We check this by typing NET VIEW at a Command Prompt and pressing the Enter key.

This will show you all the other computers on the network that your computer can see.
You should see all the computers that are sharing resources here.
In this example, you can see ICECUBE as it is sharing printers and drives with other computers.

Browsing computers with this utility should give you the same results as browsing computers in the Windows Network via the My Network Places icon.

If you can't see any computers that you think you should be able to see, proceed to the next step.

Step 8
Open the Control Panel from Windows Explorer and select the Network Connections icon.

Then select the Local Area Connection icon

In order for computers to use Windows Networking to browse to eachother, they both need to be running the Client for Microsoft Networks.
You can look at the properties of your Ethernet adapter in the Control Panel, under Network Connections and Local Area Connection Properties.

You should see the Client for Microsoft Networks on all the machines that you would like to be able to communicate within Windows.
You should see the File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks on the machine that is sharing resources such as files or printers.

If these items are already checked, proceed to the next step.

Step 9
One of the things that can prevent computers from being able to communicate (even when all the required protocols are loaded) is a software firewall.
Even the Windows Firewall, which is part of Windows, can stop your computers from being able to see each other.
For testing purposes, disable any software firewalls, including the Windows Firewall.

To disable the Windows Firewall, select the Advanced tab from the Local Area Connections Properties found in the pervious step.

Try to browse the computers on your network again as described in Step 7.
If you still cannot browse your Local Area Network, try the fix in the next step.

Step 10
If you have followed all the steps thus far, you might just need to recreate your local network using the Network Setup Wizard.
The Network Setup Wizard is located in the Control Panel and can be used to create, recreate or repair a Windows Network.
The wizard will also create a floppy disk that you can use to repair your network in the future.

Conclusion
Hopefully this guide has helped you to resolve your issue.
Because Windows is a secure operating system, there are many security features in place which can prevent computers from talking to each other.
If your issue was not resolved here, it is most likely because of a hardware failure or more advanced security options that are in place.

The following fixes are referenced by previous troubleshooting steps.

Bad IP Address
If your IP address begins with 0 or with 169, you may need to renew your IP address from your router.
From a Command Prompt, type IPCONFI /RENEW to perform this action.
If your address doesn't renew or comes back again with a number starting with 0 or 169, your router is not properly setup for DHCP.

If your computer did acquire a new address that doesn't begin with 0 or 169, click here to continue with this guide.

No Reply from Gateway
If you did not get a response from your Default Gateway, the router or modem that your computer is plugged into has stopped responding.
These devices can usually be reset by unplugging them for 1 minute and plugging them back in to fully reset the device.

After resetting your modem or router, click here to try the ping test again and continue with this guide.

Your ISP is unreachable
If you did not get a response from the ping test to 216.109.112.135, your ISP may not be reachable.
Please contact your ISP to resolve this issue.

Click here to try this test again.

Your ISP is providing a bad DNS
If you did not get a response from the ping test to Yahoo.com, your ISP may not be providing a valid DNS server.
Please contact your ISP to resolve this issue.

Click here to try this test again.

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