DADDY BOB'S COMPUTER Q & A
 

Questions & Answers for the Week of

July 25, 2010

Q. Yesterday, everything worked OK. This morning my desktop and laptop could not get on line. What could cause this to happen, and what is the best way to correct it?

A. Although this sort of thing should not occur often, it sometimes does and for no apparent reason. What usually causes this is the IP addresses get confused and two devices are trying to use the same one. The first thing I would suggest is that you do NOT call your ISP or equipment manufacturer. They will always assume the problem to be with your computer when it rarely is. If everything worked OK last night and you didn't do anything different this morning, then most assuredly the problem is not with you computers. This is especially true if two of them stopped connecting at the same time.

If you call your ISP, they will probably have you change settings on your computer messing up all your preferrences, and it is doubtful that any of it will correct your problem. At one time, the first thing that ATT would have you do is change your password. Fortunately, they seem to have gotten away from that practice.

In your case, since both your desktop and laptop are not connecting, the problem is most likely with your router, modem or ISP. Before we start, just to be sure, here are a few pictures of these components. Yours may differ, but this should give you an idea of what I am referencing. Wireless routers have antennas, modems do not. Routers usually have 5 Ethernet connections, modems usually only have one.

This is a DSL combination modem/router. The kind currently used by ATT.

This is a DSL modem like one used by ATT.

This is a cable modem similar to what Comcast and others use.

This is a Belkin wireless router, but most look similar.

The first thing to do is and shut down all the computers on your network, and then turn off or unplug the modem and router,  The easiest way to do this if there is no power switch is to just unplug the power wire from the back of them. DO NOT get them mixed up when you plug them back in. After unplugging them wait about 30 seconds and then plug back the modem. It will be the one with the telephone cord or the cable coax cable.

Wait until the modem is fully booted up as indicated by a steady light on the DSL modem and all the proper lights on the cable modem. If the modem doesn't look correct, then the problem could be with it or your ISP. If you have a spare modem give it a try. If not, about all you can do is wait in the hopes it is the ISP and it will be correctly shortly. A call to a close neighbor or friend that uses the same ISP may verify ISP problems.

If the modem looks normal, plug in the router and wait until the lights are lit normally. What is normal depends on the router. On mine the lights are green and steady. On most cable modems they are green and some flashing. Assuming the router is OK, boot up the computers one at a time. Chances are good that this little procedure will fix thing up. It does most of the time. By following this procedure, IP addresses are corrected and reassigned.

However, if the modem looks good but the computers still will not connect you can plug the computer directly into it, bypassing the router. This will check the router.  If that computer connects now, the problem lies in the router.

If none of the above fixes the problem, take the laptop to another location just to satisfy your self that the problem is not with the computers. Unless you have downloaded or installed software, or made changes to the computers, it is highly unlikely that the problem lies with the computers.

If things still don't work and you don't have spar modems and routers, it is time to get help.