Can't get network address

Hello All

Since the month of May this year I have been using a wireless broadband setup with two computers.

a. The modem is a Sitecom ADSL Modem +wireless router.
b. My desktop computer, a really cheap Acer with no network card, connects to the network using a TrendNET USB network adapter.
c. My Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pro 2K notebook connects to the network using a Sitecom PC card adaptor - almost sure but I am using the notebook right now with the adapter plugged in so can't check.

I know that the Fujitsu comes with its own wireless adapter but in the past I have had great difficulty making it work reliably so I chose to stick in a new one.

The problem I am having is this

Till about a month ago both computers connected to the network, got an IP address and worked perfectly. The only flaw was perhaps the fact that the Acer with TrendNET reported a weaker signal strength than the Fujitsu with the Sitecom even though it virtually has a line of site to the modem.

Then a month ago the Acer + TrendNET combo started acting strange. The status icon kept showing two flashing dots with the message "Acquiring network address". I rebooted a couple of times and then realized that desipte the missing address the adapter was in fact working and I could still use the Internet. This puzzled me and I had planned to ask a question here but never got round to it.

Since yesterday evening the Acer + TrendNET seems to have decided that it can no longer live without a network address and refuses to budge. The Fujitsu + Sitecom still works perfectly and reports an IP address of 192.168.0.2.

Just what is going on here? I would much appreciate any help.

sounds like a DHCP problem possibly caused by the wireless speed flapping about and disconecting / reconnecting.

You could set a manual IP address - look at the values given out by DHCP and copy them into the manual settings fields in the TCP/IP properties of the Network connection.

You could set the Acer to 192.168.0.50 to keep it well away from the DHCP range, ideally you should set the router so it doesn't give out the same address as you have on the fixed machine.

Is this something I can do at the Acer end only or will I have to mess about with the modem too? I was too clever for my own good when I set up the modem - can't remember the password I used. So messing about with the modem means resetting it first, something I could well do without.

set it on the PC - if you pick an IP high enough its unliklely to clash with the DHCP

Tried thatm doesn't work. The adaptor finds the network, connects, reports excellent connectivity and then fails to get a network address. Funny thing is the past month this was happening but I still could get on the net. Now I cannot.

if it failed to get a network address then you didn't set it manually, as it wouldn't be trying to get one if you had.

Network connections, select relevant adapter, right mouse to select properties, highlight TCP/IP, press properties button, click "use the following address", etc

OK, some progress there. I opened the Wireless Network Connection dialog, clicked on Change Advanced Settings, selected Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and asked it to use 192.168.0.3. This appeared to work - it now reports that it is connected. I checked with the router using my other computer and find that it now reports two attached devices. The second attached device has the MAC address for my TrendNet adaptor (I am using MAC address filtering).

However, if I open up Thunderbird or Firefox they still report that they cannot connect to the Internet. Are there any other issues lurking here - like DNS?

yes if you are manually setting it you need to put in a default gateway and DNS settings both pointing at the router address.

I suggested "You could set the Acer to 192.168.0.50" to avoid a clash if the DHCP server gave 0ut 0.3 to something.

I got some feedback from Sitecom support. They suggested that the router would always try to give out a network address and that there was probably something on my computer that was blocking this. They suggested disabling the firewall. I use the freebie from Comodo and disabling it works - I am back on the net and writing this.

However, this means that I no longer have a firewall. Also what puzzles me is that my Fujitsu desktop which uses the same firewall (albeit with Windows XP Pro as opposed to Home on this machine) has no such issues.

Any suggestions on what I could do?

In reply to:

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this means that I no longer have a firewall

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You could try enabling Comodo, having a look at the log to see what it's blocking and adjusting your settings to allow that.