Internet Connection

sam27

I have just purchased a Dell 4500 Desktop (Second Hand) and have tried unsuccessfully to connect to the internet.

I have a wireless network set up with a Laptop connected and printer also.

I connected via ethernet cable to modem the Desktop, however i have failed to connect to the internet. I have called both Eircom and Dell to find a solution to the problem, only to be told by Dell that I must pay them €120 to get advice to recitfy the problem.

I would appreciate any help with this matter.

bonzodog2

Have a look at Network Connections in the Control Panel, what does it say for the LocalArea Connection item (this is your wired ethernet socket).

Also run the command
ipconfig /all
in a command prompt and post back the results

It should include an item (under the Local Area Connection section) for Default Gateway, with an IP Address probably like 192.168.x.y, if so try putting this into the address bar of your browser, this shoulod get to the web config pages of your router.

What is your ISP and router/modem model ?

sam27

hi bonzodog,

thanks for your reply.

the problem is i tried all that with Dell Technician and in relation to ipconfig, no results showed up on the screen. In the local area connection 1394 showed up.
he informed me then that i would need to pay €120 for professional advice. i don't think its worth putting that money into it as only purchased it for my 11 year daughter for school work.

the day i set up the desktop the internet worked ok and i downloaded few programmes like spy bot and cc cleaner. its after this that all went wrong. tried system restore but no good.

Eircom and Netopia.

Am only an novice in relation to computers, so any advice much appreciated.

slave1

If you purchased second hand the previous owner may have wiped the hard drive and put a fresh operating system on it but forgot to put in the ethernet drivers back on...did the laptop come with a Dell Utilities disc so you can ensure the drivers are all okay?

aidan_walsh

sam27 wrote: »

hi bonzodog,

thanks for your reply.

the problem is i tried all that with Dell Technician and in relation to ipconfig, no results showed up on the screen. In the local area connection 1394 showed up.
he informed me then that i would need to pay €120 for professional advice. i don't think its worth putting that money into it as only purchased it for my 11 year daughter for school work.

the day i set up the desktop the internet worked ok and i downloaded few programmes like spy bot and cc cleaner. its after this that all went wrong. tried system restore but no good.

Eircom and Netopia.

Am only an novice in relation to computers, so any advice much appreciated.

Could you do it again for us please so that we would be able to see the results?

bhickey

If you purchased the machine second hand then whoever sold it to you might just have done a quick Windows reinstall but without setting up all the required drivers etc. afterwards. That'd leave Windows with a load of hardware that it doesn't know how to use.

If you've got Windows XP the click on : Start > Control Panel. Double-click on <System> and then click on Hardware > Device Manager. Do you see yellow question marks anywhere, in particular in the Network Adapters section?

softdancomputer

1394 is firewire port, this isnt what you use.
What network adapters do you have in control panel-device manager?

bonzodog2

Check the Device Manager - right click My Computer,Properties,Hardware tab, click Device Manager button.Expand Network Adapters in the list, what do you see ?

You say it was working but now it isn't. Maybe the ethernet card has just failed.

I take it you have done a complete restart of the PC from cold ?

A cheap alternative would be to get a USB wifi dongle for the desktop.
this one is less than eur10, next day delivery

woolymammoth

sam27 wrote: »

the day i set up the desktop the internet worked ok and i downloaded few programmes like spy bot and cc cleaner. its after this that all went wrong. tried system restore but no good.

tell us exactly what you installed? any firewall software? try removing spybot and some other security, see if it makes a difference. You can also try looking in the device manager to check the network card is installed correctly. If it's not or if it has an error, you can try reinstalling the drivers.

bonzodog2

If its a Dimension 4500, you'll find drivers here: link

coolpix23

OK, I worked for that company's Broadband support.

It's a desktop? Are you trying to connect using a WiFi card in the desktop?

If you're trying to connect with an Ethernet cable it's different.

Patrick

sam27

thanks for replies

have laptop connected wireless to internet.

think i might leave it all together. my sell it on again cause cant be bothered with trying to fix it. would anyone know what it would be worth?? I got it as a freebee

thanks all for your advice.

biko

It's probably something a geek friend can fix in 5 minutes, ask around before you sell it.