Problem seems fixed for now, but I still feel the need of advice for future
occurrences.

 

Setup:  Four computers share one Internet connection, two desktops and two
laptops.  The desktops are hard wired via Ethernet cable to a LinkSys
router, which in turn connects to a LinkSys cable modem.  The laptops are
working with a wireless connection to a Belkin WAP that connects to the
LinkSys router via Ethernet cable.  Three of these machines use XP, and the
fourth, the newest laptop is running Vista.  All use Microsoft Outlook and
IE7.

 

The problem description may be sketchy as so much went on all day, but here
are what I hope are the salient points.  The Vista laptop, which had
connected fine for several days, could not connect today.  To troubleshoot,
I started up my long dormant older laptop and it connected fine.  It
connected so well that I downloaded about 35 updates including IE7, taking
over one hour.  Several reboots were required, and when everything seemed to
be up and running fine, this laptop also lost its connection and could not
be made to reconnect.

 

I ran Windows troubleshooter modules, and it seemed to hang up while
"acquiring a network address."  At the end, I had a strong (five bar) signal
from the Belkin, was connected, but was told I had "limited or no
connectivity."  Neither IE7 nor Outlook could establish a connection.  A
diagnosis message informed me that the problem was that the computer "has
not been assigned a network address."

 

Next, I went to my desktop and accessed the WAP to examine its settings.  I
could see nothing wrong, but changed the channel from 3 to 5 and the
"protected mode" from on to off on the basis of a tip from Belkin.  This
didn't seem to fix anything, but now even my desktop lost its Ethernet
connection!

 

I rebooted both the cable modem and the router and - surprise! - all was
working again, including both laptops.

 

I should mention that I had rebooted the router, cable modem, and WAP at
least twice earlier in this episode.

 

So, I'm left with not knowing what went wrong or how it got fixed, which is
why I feel the need of advice.  This could happen again tomorrow, and with
my luck probably will.  Does anybody have any idea what's going wrong here?

 

Gordon Totty


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