Chapter 10. Internet Disconnect

What You’ll Learn

In this chapter, I’ll show you:

• How to connect to a wired home network

• How to connect to a wireless network

• How to use the Network Repair Wizards

• How to repair a dial-up connection

• How to repair your DSL or cable connection

• How to fix your router

• How to work with WEP and WPA

• Hard-core network troubleshooting tricks

If you’re here, it’s because your computer was probably connected before, and now it’s not. You could also be here if the cat knocked the book on the floor along with lunch, and now this page is covered in bean burrito.

Assuming it’s an Internet problem and not a Mexican food problem, I can help. Let’s face it—a computer without Internet access these days is about as useful as a man in a gorilla suit at the zoo. The experience for the end user is just not the same.

So, let’s get some assumptions out of the way and then get into some troubleshooting. Or, if you wear low-crotch pants, let’s get into some troubleshizzling, yo.

Internet Connections 102

Notice here that I didn’t call this section “Internet Connections 101.” That’s because I assume that you know what the Internet is. You also know what a website is. You have communicated by email. And you might have even put up your picture on HotorNot.com just to see whether people 10 years younger than you think you still got it.

So let’s look at some general networking troubleshooting tips in Vista, and then we’ll get to the key procedures on how to troubleshoot each type of Internet connection. Later in this chapter, we’ll deal with wireless connections and some extremely geeky techniques.

Network Troubleshooting for Helmet Wearers

What follows here are some basic network troubleshooting steps. If you are a little bit more experienced than the average mouse jockey, you might want to dig deeper into this chapter for the good stuff; however, don’t dismiss the obvious stuff. That said, let’s look at stupid-proof tips that fix 50% of all Internet connection issues. We’re not proud, are we? Helmets on!

Reboot: It’s Annoying, But It Works

I say this a lot, and people hate me for it, but try a system reboot before you do anything else. When it comes to Windows networking, a reboot can save a lot of tinkering that can cause more problems than they fix.

The reality is Windows networking can simply get jammed up. Click the Windows button, and then click the little right-pointing arrow (or triangle) to the right of the padlock on the bottom of the Start menu; then choose Shut Down (see Figure 10.1).

Figure 10.1. Do a hard reboot on your system. Shut down the system, and then restart from off. It’s simple, quick, and can solve a lot of weird computer problems.

Make sure the system powers down fully, wait a couple of minutes, and then restart it. This hard reboot will reset any operating system networking snafus and refresh communication between your computer and your network gear, often solving any ornery connection problems.

More Rebooting: Restart All Your Network Gear

After your computer is happily restarted, if the network still doesn’t come back online, be sure to play the switch-off-wait-wait-wait-then-switch-on game.

Turn off or power down any network devices that are part of your network. This includes your high-speed modem and your network router (if you have one). Wait 30 seconds to a minute to give the device time to power down and purge any on-board memory and drizzle out any power held by any capacitors inside.

Then, power the devices on again. Have a bit of patience in this process. Hung modems and routers are often the cause of Internet disconnects. Hopefully this will solve your problem. If not, read on.

Check Your Cables

Network cables have a habit of aging and eventually wearing out. The plastic casings can crack and let moisture in. The family rodent can also chew them. I once knew a hamster—called Ringo—that had a taste for speaker wires. My cats like to play with them, too (see Figure 10.2). So, inspect the cables you use, and if you find that a cable is looking a little dowdy or your six-year-old has been using it as a jump rope, consider swapping it out.

Figure 10.2. Cat got your cable? My cat, Biff, likes network cables. Your pets and children might be toying with your network cables, too.

Fix Your NIC

Check to see that your NIC (network interface card) is operational. A visual inspection of the port on the back (see Figure 10.3) will give you a quick idea of whether it is working. Plug in a cable, and if status lights come on and flicker, the NIC is at least not-dead.

Figure 10.3. Inspect your network adapter. This healthy NIC is on the back of a Dell desktop computer.

If there are no lights, you might consider opening the case and removing and reseating the network card. If it appears to be dead, replace it. It’ll cost you $15 or so.

Next, check your Control Panel to see whether the NIC’s driver is configured properly. You can learn more about updating or adding missing drivers on p. 261 in Chapter 9, “Software Troubles,” but here’s a quickie on what to look for:

1. Click the Windows button and type Device Manager in the Search box.

2. Click Continue when the User Access Control bug box appears.

3. Look for the Network Adapters item in the hardware list in the Device Manager and click the plus sign (+) next to it (if necessary) to see the adapters in your system. You should see at least one listed (see Figure 10.4). If there is a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark in it, this shows that there’s a driver or configuration problem.

Figure 10.4. A yellow triangle in the Device Manager is a warning that there’s a driver or configuration problem with your network adapter (shown) or other system device.

4. If none is showing, right-click Network Adapters and choose Scan for Hardware Changes to see whether you can get the system to find a network card.

5. If the item shows a problem, right-click and choose Update Driver Software (see Figure 10.5). Then, either choose to scan the system for a driver or point to where you have downloaded a driver.

Figure 10.5. Right-click on the malfunctioning device to attempt to update the driver.

6. It’s always best to use the driver created by the device’s manufacturer, so visit the adapter maker’s website and see whether you can download the latest driver.

7. In some cases, you’ll have to point to the folder where the driver’s INF file is located with the preceding process. However, some drivers have an executable that will automatically install the driver when you double-click on the EXE file you download from the Internet or run from an install CD.

Use the Network Diagnostics Repair Wizards

Vista has new diagnostic and repair technology built in for common problems that helps you repair your system.

Jaded XP users might scoff at the Repair Wizards because they were never very useful. The ones in Vista are still hit and miss, but they can sometimes can fix or at least identify some problems.

There appear to be two mechanisms that perform independent tests of each other, so try them both:

1. Click the Windows button, Control Panel, Network and Internet, Network and Sharing Center; then, on the left column, click Diagnose and Repair.

2. This routine runs a series of behind-the-scenes tests to see whether it can find a connection snafu. This is subjective, but I think this process is buggy and relatively ineffective. In tests where I simulated problems such as disconnecting cables, modems, or routers, it didn’t always detect the obvious. It’s still worth doing as a first line of defense against network trouble.

The second, more effective routine is network adapter specific. This is the device, such as a network card or wireless adapter, that handles the traffic in and out of the computer. Better to reset it and run a diagnostic of the specific physical connection. To use it:

1. Click the Windows button, Control Panel, Network and Internet, Network and Sharing Center; then, on the left column, click Manage Network Connections.

2. If the network adapter has a big red X next to it, it is either not physically connected to your network or the driver needs updating. Click to select it and then click Diagnose This Connection (see Figure 10.6) at the top of the Network Connections box.

Figure 10.6. In the Network Connections applet, use the Diagnose This Connection option at the top of the screen to fix a misbehaving network adapter.

3. The software will check to see whether Vista’s networking settings and behind-the-scenes software are working properly and offer a solution if it’s found.

4. In a vast majority of the Internet connections problems I caused, it correctly diagnosed or at least detected the problem (see the Caution on this page for more on this).

Remove Connection-Changing Programs

If your connection was working just fine, and then you installed a new application and suddenly it wasn’t, be suspicious. Many applications like to communicate out to the Internet, and some of them can do funky things to your Internet connection in the process of setting themselves up.

Security suites can be particularly guilty offenders, especially if they have privacy filters, website blockers, firewalls, and other filtering technology.

A virus or spyware infection can also bung up your connection. So it’s also worth doing a spyware or virus scan to make sure your system is clean of these nasties.

So, following are three approaches to dealing with software that might be robbing you of your Internet connectivity.

Disable the Windows Firewall Temporarily

Windows has a built-in security gate, a piece of software called a firewall, which blocks some outgoing connections as well as unwanted inbound traffic. Sometimes it gets in the way.

If a program tries to connect to the Internet, the Vista firewall might block the connection. If so, you’ll see a dialog box that requires you to approve the connection. If so, click the “unblock” button to allow the connection. This alert sometimes gets lost behind other Windows, although it should appear on top of them.

If you are running a security suite with a built-in firewall, make sure you turn off the Windows Firewall to avoid conflicts.

Disable the firewall as follows:

1. Click the Windows button, type firewall, and select Windows Firewall from the Start menu.

2. On the left of the Windows Firewall screen, click Turn Windows Firewall on or off.

3. Then, click the Off button on the Windows Firewall Settings dialog box and click OK (see Figure 10.7).

Figure 10.7. Is your Windows Firewall in the way? If you think it might be, turn it off while you’re troubleshooting.

Uninstall Blocking Applications

To uninstall applications that you suspect might be blocking your connection, type Programs in the Search box on the Start menu. Then Click Programs and Features to access a list of installed applications (see Figure 10.8). Then restart and see whether you can clear the problem.

Figure 10.8. Use the Uninstall or Change a Program feature to get rid of potentially problematic programs.

Scan for Viruses and Spyware

Sometimes viruses and spyware infections can block your Internet connection, so be sure to do a scan for viruses with your antivirus program.

Also, scan for spyware with at least two or more antispyware programs, including the built-in Windows Defender. It can be accessed by clicking the Windows button and typing Windows Defender into the Search box. Learn more on p. 392 (in Chapter 12, “Security Troubles”).

Roll Back the Computer

Or much better, roll back the computer. Use the System Restore utility to reset the computer to a time when your network connection was working (maybe yesterday) if you can. This will undo any modifications a software installer or malware has done to your system.

System Restore can be invoked as follows:

1. Click the Windows button, and in the Search box, type System Restore.

2. Click Continue on the User Account Control dialog.

3. The system will recommend the most recent restore point, but you might want to select Choose a Different Restore Point.

4. If so, click that option, then click Next, and the date and time of the restore points on your computer appear in a list (see Figure 10.9). Choose the one closest to the last time your Internet connection was working (the day before is usually the one to choose) and click Next. The system is restored and reboots.

Figure 10.9. Restore your computer to a previous point in time with the System Restore utility. It’s a handy tool to undo difficult-to-diagnose problems.

Broadband Disconnect

If you have a broadband connection—that is, a high-speed Internet connection via a DSL modem (from your phone company)—or a cable Internet connection (through your cable TV provider), there is a specific set of technologies behind your Internet setup that you’ll need to check.

The procedures vary depending on whether you connect your computer directly to your broadband modem or whether it’s connected to a home network router, which in turn is connected to your broadband modem (see Figure 10.10).

Figure 10.10. If you have a broadband connection to the Internet, your setup probably looks like one of these. Knowing which one will help you troubleshoot your connection problem.

So what follows are three sections:

• I can’t connect to the Internet with a cable modem—This section is for people with a computer connected directly to their cable modem, provided by their cable TV company.

• I can’t connect to the Internet via DSL—This section is for people with a computer connected directly to a Digital Subscriber Line modem, provided by a phone company.

• I can’t connect to the Internet via my home router—And finally, this section covers troubleshooting an Internet connection through a home network router that is connected to either a DSL or cable modem.

I Can’t Connect to the Internet with a Cable Modem

Normally, if your computer is already connected to your cable modem, Vista should be able to automatically detect and configure your connection with no user intervention. This simplicity is part of the beauty of cable Internet.

The most common problem with cable connections is either a hardware issue or a problem at the ISP end of things.

Check Your Hardware

Let’s look at the hardware first:

1. Check all hardware connections once again. Make sure the network cable is plugged in from the network adapter in the back or side (in some laptops) of your computer to your cable modem.

2. Check your cable modem to see whether it is powered up.

3. Reboot it, as explained earlier in this chapter.

4. Check the status lights on the modem. Usually, these are green and solid or green and flicking. Slow flashing status lights or red or amber lights on some modems show a problem. This could indicate a network problem at your ISP.

5. Check your NIC. Go back and look at “Fix Your NIC” on p. 302 earlier in this chapter.

6. If you’re like me, you prefer to figure out a problem yourself and avoid calling your ISP’s tech support. However, sometimes it’s worth a call to see whether its network is out. To figure out definitively whether your ISP is having trouble by yourself, use the advanced troubleshooting routines at the end of this chapter on p. 343 (in the section, “Extreme Geek Techniques: Hard-Core Troubleshooting”).

Let Vista Diagnose It

If none of these tips fix the problem, let’s go into the network settings in Vista and restart your network adapter.

An adapter is the physical appliance used to connect from the computer to the outside world either over a wire or wirelessly. It is usually connected to a high-speed modem or router.

1. Click the Windows button, Control Panel, Network and Internet, Network and Sharing Center; then, on the left column, click Manage Network Connections.

2. You will see the network adapters installed on your system. Some have two or three. Think of these as doorways in and out of your computer. It’s possible that one is hard-wired into your motherboard, one is on an add-in card, and if you have wireless functionality, that will be there too.

3. If the network adapter you are currently using has a big red X next to it, either it is not physically connected to your network or the driver needs updating. Click Diagnose This Connection at the top of the Network Connections box (see Figure 10.11).

Figure 10.11. Vista network diagnostics can help you figure out where you went wrong. In this case, it detects a cable that is unplugged.

4. Vista will attempt to figure out the problem. If it doesn’t find a solution, it’ll offer to reset the connection. This is worth doing because Vista will attempt to reset its network software and reacquire IP address information.

Check for Custom Network Settings

If this doesn’t work, you might want to check the network settings for the connection as follows:

1. Go back to step 3 listed previously and instead of clicking Diagnose This Connection, right-click on the adapter and choose Properties.

2. When the User Account Control box opens, click Continue.

3. Next, look for Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click it once to highlight it (see Figure 10.12).

Figure 10.12. Dig deep into your network adapter settings to find the properties for Internet Protocol Version 4.

4. Click the Properties button, and a TCP/IPv4 Properties dialog box with what might look like strange network options will open (see Figure 10.13).

Figure 10.13. If your ISP provided custom IP and DNS settings for your cable Internet account, you specify them in the TCP/IPv4 Properties box.

5. Ensure the standard settings are enabled. The button should be selected next to both Obtain an IP Address Automatically and Obtain DNS Server Address Automatically.

The exception to this rule is if your ISP has provided you with a static IP address, which is rare for most consumer households, but not as rare for some small business connections.

It is worth digging up the documentation from your provider to see whether it gives you specific IP and DNS settings.

1. If you do have those settings, you’ll want to select Use the Following IP Address (see Figure 10.14) and type in the IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway numeric addresses that were provided to you.

Figure 10.14. If your ISP provided a custom IP, gateway, subnet mask, and DNS settings for your cable Internet account, specify them in the TCP/IPv4 Properties box.

2. Click OK when done. Or, cancel out if you haven’t made any changes.

Cable Internet Troubleshooting Summary

Hopefully, one of these steps helped you resolve the problem.

In review, did you try all these steps?

• Check your hardware and reset it all.

• Make sure the disconnect button on the cable modem (if there is one) is not engaged.

• Check your cables.

• Check your NIC and associated driver.

• Use the Vista troubleshooter and reset network settings if suggested.

• Set up ISP-provided IP and DNS settings, if relevant, or reset IP and DNS settings to automatic if someone has been fiddling with them.

I Can’t Connect to the Internet Via DSL

Diagnosing an ornery DSL connection is not quite as simple as fixing a cable Internet issue. DSL connections require the configuration of a dialer, similar to the old dial-up modem connections back in the days when taupe was a hot color for computers.

The difference is DSL modems no longer dial a number; they simply use a digital connection over which they authenticate. That’s geek-talk for: They use a login and password to connect to the DSL service.

Check Your Hardware

Do a hardware check. Follow the network cable (or USB connector) from your computer to the DSL modem and make sure the DSL modem is powered up and the status lights look relatively normal.

Different brands show different status lights, but make sure there are no obvious flashing red lights or warning lights. Because all DSL modems are slightly different, I can’t give you a definitive guide to status lights here, but here’s quick reference for a Speedstream DSL modem (see Figure 10.15), which is quite common. Other brands will have similar status lights:

• Power—Shows the power is on. It’s helpful if this is on.

• Ethernet—Shows a good connection to your computer’s network card via a network cable.

• USB—Shows a good connection to your computer’s USB adapter via a USB cable (if applicable).

• DSL—Flashing when acquiring a DSL connection and solid when it’s connected. Continuous flashing means there is a problem connecting to the phone company’s DSL equipment.

• Activity—Shows data traffic moving across a good connection. Vigorous flickering is a good sign.

Figure 10.15. The status lights on your DSL modem will tell you a lot about your connection. A Speedstream modem is shown booting up.

Also check to see that the phone line from the DSL modem to the wall jack is connected and that it’s not damaged. Swap it out if in doubt.

And finally, and this is a biggie, make sure there is no line filter between the DSL modem and wall jack (see Figure 10.16). In most DSL setups, to remove DSL noise on your telephone handsets, you need to install a filter between the phone and wall jack. You do not, however, want to install a filter between the DSL modem and the wall jack.

Figure 10.16. If there’s a filter on the line your DSL modem is plugged in to, it’s the source of your connection problems.

I have done that before by mistake. It’s easy to do and hard to diagnose the connection problem if you don’t notice it.

Make sure your network card is functional and that the driver is installed for it (see “Fix Your NIC” earlier in this chapter on p. 302).

Check the DSL Dialer

Next up, let’s create a fresh dialer to ensure that you’re connecting correctly through Vista:

1. Click the Windows button, Connect To.

2. When the Connect To a Network window appears, choose Set Up a Connection or Network.

3. When the Choose a Connection Option box appears, click Connect to the Internet (Set Up a Wireless, Broadband, or Dial-up Connection to the Internet).

4. The How Do You Want to Connect window appears. Select Broadband (PPPoE) (see Figure 10.17).

Figure 10.17. PPPoE is the technology used to connect to a DSL line.

5. Next, you need to fill out the information provided by the DSL provider, including username and password (see Figure 10.18).

Figure 10.18. A DSL dialer is similar to an old analog modem dial, except that there’s no phone number to dial.

6. Also, be sure to label your connection with a name in the Connection Name field that makes sense. The default “Broadband Connection” is fine. This will be the label that appears under the connection icon. “DSL” would also be appropriate here. “Ham sandwich” would not.

7. If other people on your computer share the connection, you should also select Allow Other People to Use This Connection. This will allow other people with user accounts on your computer to use the DSL service.

8. Next, choose Connect.

9. A new window will appear that will test your PPPoE Internet connection, and if all goes well, your computer should now be connected to the Internet. If you click Browse the Internet Now, the Windows web browser Internet Explorer opens.

10. If it doesn’t connect, check your user ID and password and the physical connection from your network card to the DSL modem and choose Try Again.

At this point, you should be able to use the Internet, and you can reward yourself with a cheese Danish or, if you’re a low-carb dieter like me, a nice steaming mug of melted butter.

Let Vista Diagnose Your DSL

If that didn’t work, let’s try the built-in troubleshooter. Here’s how:

1. To launch the Diagnose Internet Connection program, click the Windows button, Control Panel, Network and Internet, Network and Sharing Center, look for Diagnose and Repair on the left column of the dialog box.

2. An Identifying the Problem window appears (see Figure 10.19). Vista will attempt to diagnose any issues and offer a solution.

Figure 10.19. The Windows Network Diagnostics tool does not always come up with a definitive answer, but it can be helpful.

Dive a Little Deeper into DSL

If the troubleshooting wizard doesn’t seem to get you anywhere, let’s check some settings a little deeper:

1. Click the Windows button, Control Panel and click on View Network Status and Tasks under the Network and Internet item.

2. In the Network and Sharing Center window, look for the View Status option to the right of Connection under the network connection that is giving you trouble (see Figure 10.20).

Figure 10.20. If your connection is giving you trouble, use the View Status link next to the connection in the Network and Sharing Center to get to its properties or to get to a tool to specifically diagnose that connection.

3. The Local Area Connection Status window will now appear on your screen; click Properties to get to the Internet protocol settings (see Figure 10.21).

Figure 10.21. The Local Area Connection Status box is where you can dig deeper into the status of your connection.

4. Click Continue on the User Account Control challenge.

5. In the Local Area Connection properties window, click once on the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) item to select it, and then click the Properties button.

6. Under most circumstances, the settings should be set to Obtain IP Address Automatically and Obtain DNS Server Address Automatically, unless your Internet service provider has told you otherwise. If it has provided an IP and DNS server, enter those settings and click OK.

7. These settings are usually automatically assigned when you make a PPPoE connection by the ISP, but some DSL providers will specify these settings. If an IP address is assigned, you will have a computer with a fixed IP address, which is a bit of a luxury. Typically, IP addresses are loaned from a pool (called dynamic IP addresses) and can change when you disconnect and reconnect.

8. If you do make changes, such as putting in a static IP address or entering DNS address information, be sure to click OK after making the changes and then attempt to reconnect.

DSL Troubleshooting Review

Hopefully, one of these steps helped you resolve your DSL problem.

To review, did you try all these steps?

• Check your hardware and reset it all.

• Check your cables and make sure no filter is on the data line to the wall jack.

• Check your NIC and associated driver.

• Delete and then create a new DSL dialer.

• Use the Vista troubleshooter and reset network settings if suggested.

• Set ISP-provided IP and DNS settings, if relevant.

I Can’t Connect to the Internet Via My Home Router

Routers, like sheep (see Figure 10.22), can be ornery and at the most inopportune times, such as when you are trying to retrieve your Frisbee from a farmer’s field.

Figure 10.22. Sheep (left, in case you weren’t sure) and a router. Both can be ornery.

So, in this section, I’ll show you some standard troubleshooting routines for your Internet connection through your home network router. I’m going to assume you are connected via a wired connection between your computer (via its network card) and the router.

If your troubles are wireless, switch to a wired connection first to ensure that the Internet is configured and working properly through your router, and then flip to the “I Can’t Connect to a Wireless Network” section later in this chapter to get the kinks out of the wireless connection.

Home networking is a lot easier than it used to be, and certainly Vista has improved the Windows experience with it. I am a bit disappointed that Microsoft did not do more to make its network processes more organized. It’s like cooking with my sister. The end product is great, but getting there is a bit like a hand grenade in the groceries. (I love you anyway, Joanna.)

With Vista, the company has brought Windows up to where it should have been three years ago with home networking, but there’s no use bellyaching about it now, so I’ll shut up before I end up in a tirade and have to go watch Teletubbies to calm down.

Let’s make some assumptions about your setup for this next bit:

• You have a router from D-Link, Belkin, Netgear, Linksys, or any one of the many network router companies that exist, and you either got it from a retail store or your ISP.

• The router is powered up and connected via cable to at least one computer via a network interface card (NIC) of some sort.

• The broadband modem is connected to the router, and it is either DSL or cable (see the Note on this page for exceptions).

OK, still with me? Good. What follows can be a bit grueling, and for some, pit-of-the-stomach frightening. But stick with it—after a while, it will start to make sense. Let’s go router diving.

Check Your Router Setup

I’ve said this in other sections: Check your hardware. Small, goofy mistakes often cause large headaches. This is a little bit harder with routers because there are lots of wires and an extra component in your setup to contend with.

Routers are designed to connect several computers to one broadband connection, so if the computer you are on is not connecting to the Internet through the router, but another computer connected to the same router is connecting, skip ahead to the “Reset Vista’s Network Settings” section later in this chapter.

Here’s the basic skinny on a router’s physical setup that you should double check:

1. Power down and then power up both the router and your broadband modem.

2. Be sure the phone cable (DSL) or cable TV wire (cable Internet) from the wall is plugged in to the broadband modem.

3. Be sure the broadband modem is connected via network cable to the WAN or Internet port on the back on the router (see Figure 10.23). This is set aside from the other network ports, which are usually numbered 1 through 4 (or more).

Figure 10.23. Plugged in to this D-Link router is a cable (yellow) from the broadband modem in the WAN port and a cable in port #1 (blue) that connects a computer to the router.

4. Check to see that another network cable is plugged in to the numbered ports and that the light on the front of the router that corresponds to the port is on. If not, change the cable or try a different numbered port.

5. Be sure the cable plugged in to the number port on the router is plugged in to the network adapter on your Vista computer. Also check the status of your NIC, ensuring it is installed properly and working. See “Fix Your NIC” earlier in this chapter for details on this.

6. For simplicity, unplug all other computers from the router during troubleshooting.

If you’ve been fastidious and checked all these steps and are certain that your hardware is working just fine, that’s really great. Everyone wants a quick fix, and hardware fiddling is never fun. However, a majority of common issues can be fixed this way. If you’re one of the unlucky ones, we have more work to do. Up next are further procedures that, if followed, will likely solve any remaining Internet connection problems through a router.

Get Inside the Router

Let’s go inside the router and look at how your broadband Internet connection is configured. I am going to use a D-Link DI-524 router to show you this process.

All routers have a settings page that can be accessed using a web browser from a computer connected to the router. To access these settings, open your web browser and type in the internal IP address of the router (see Figure 10.24).

Figure 10.24. Type the router’s internal IP address into your web browser to access the router’s settings page.

The IP address shown—192.168.0.1—might not be your router’s address, though if your router is made by D-Link or Netgear, it probably is.

Each brand of router has its own default router internal IP. Look it up in your manual or check out your brand in Table 10.1. I have included the most common brands.

Table 10.1. Router Access Information for Common Brands

Here are three ways you can look up your router’s internal IP address:

1. Click the Windows button and then Network and look for your router icon. If you don’t see any icons, you will have to turn on Network Discovery—it can be flipped on in the Network and Sharing Center in Control Panel. Or, click on the warning across the top of the Network window you are browsing. When the router’s icon appears, right-click on it and choose View Device Webpage. This opens the router’s settings page in your browser and displays the router’s IP address in the URL area. Or, you can right-click and choose Properties, and then the Network Device tab, and look under the Troubleshooting Info box and the IP address heading. If that doesn’t work, try #2.

2. Click the Windows button, and in the Search box type cmd. At the prompt in the command window, type ipconfig /all (see Figure 10.25) and look for the Default Gateway address under the Ethernet adapter heading.

Figure 10.25. The ipconfig /all command is a handy way to get data about your network connections.

3. Go to the section in this chapter called “Traceroute Basics: Tracking Packets Like Kangaroos” and use that tool. The IP on the first hop will be your router’s address.

As in step #1, if you choose View Device Webpage, Vista will try to open the router’s settings page in your web browser for you; however, if this is the first time you are accessing it, you will be prompted to enter a user ID and password for the router.

This login info is in your router’s manual or available in the support area on the router maker’s website. However, it might also be listed in Table 10.1.

Now that you have the IP address and login info on hand, use it to get into the router’s settings menu by typing it into your web browser, as it was a website address.

If the settings page won’t come up, it’s for one of the following reasons:

• The IP address is wrong—remember, it usually starts with 192.168.x.x.

• The login info is wrong.

• Your Vista computer physically is not correctly connected to the router.

• Third-party software (maybe a security application or your firewall) is blocking access.

Configure Your Router’s Broadband Connection

Once inside the router’s settings, you need to take a few key steps to configure your Internet connection. Find your way to the WAN or Internet settings. In the D-Link interface, click the Home tab, and then on the left, click the WAN button. Next, choose the setting that is appropriate for your ISP, as follows.

Cable Internet—Dynamic IP

If you have cable Internet service, a dynamic IP address is the most likely setting you will use.

The ISP shares a pool of IP addresses among its customers. So, the IP address the ISP electronically assigns your router is temporary. You keep it until the router is restarted, and then you might get a different IP address from the address pool.

How to configure it: Typically do nothing here except select it, unless you are directed by your ISP to enter a DNS server address. IP and DNS settings are assigned automatically by the ISP to the router when this setting is engaged (see Figure 10.26).

Figure 10.26. Dynamic IP is the most common ISP setting for cable Internet in a router.

Cable Internet—Static IP

The Static IP setting is used to configure a cable Internet service that assigns you a specific IP address for your account (that you always use) and a specific DNS server at the provider’s end (see Figure 10.27). This setting is sometimes used by WIMAX and other non-DSL broadband providers.

Figure 10.27. A static IP setup is less common but sometimes offered to small businesses or as a premium service to consumers.

How to configure it: Normally, you enter the static IP address given to you, as well as the DNS and the ISP gateway IP addresses.

PPPoE—DSL

If you have DSL, you will configure PPPoE (Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet). Select this option and enter the account username and password assigned by your DSL provider (see Figure 10.28). As a rule, you don’t have to worry about the other stuff unless specifically directed by your ISP.

Figure 10.28. Dynamic PPPoE is the most common protocol used by most DSL providers, and you’ll need a user ID and password from your ISP to use it through a router.

Other Setups

In Europe, you might need to configure PPTP, and in Australia, there are unique settings for a service called Bigpond, which uses something called PPPoA or PPP over ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode). If this is your situation, contact your ISP for these unique settings if you have trouble.

Check the Connection, Then Celebrate

After checking or setting the connection settings outlined previously, click Apply or OK or whatever you need to do to save them. Your router should restart. If not, manually restart it for the new settings to connect. Have patience here, as a router reboot can sometimes take several minutes.

After it appears to be up and running, try opening your web browser to see whether it can connect to the Web. If so, it’s time to celebrate.

Go make a cup of tea, and show off a bit if your spouse or roommate is around. Also, it is appropriate here to dance around the kitchen and sing the “I Am a Geek” song. Lyrics are as follows:

I am connected

The router’s detected

And I am a geek

Isn’t it sweet?

[Pause, gyrate hips, then continue...]

(Chorus)

I am a geek

It took me a week

But I am a geek

(Repeat)

This song can be sung to any tune you like, just make sure you sing it off-key. Extra points if the kids help, by swaying with their arms in the air as if they are worshipping Steve Perry at a Journey concert. Do not give them lighters to flick, as cats and curtains are flammable.

Reset Vista’s Network Settings

If all seems well with your connection, but for some reason Vista refuses to connect, you’ll need to refresh your network settings in Vista. Here’s how:

1. Right-click on the connection icon in the System Tray at the bottom-right side of the screen.

2. Choose Diagnose and Repair. If this doesn’t solve the problem, right-click again and choose Network and Sharing Center.

3. Then, click the View Status link to the right of Connection.

4. In the dialog box for the Local Area Connection, click Diagnose.

5. When offered, choose Reset the Network Adapter (see Figure 10.29) and click Continue on the User Access Control box.

Figure 10.29. When you choose Reset the Network Adapter, the wireless adapter drops its IP address, resets, and acquires a new one.

6. Vista resets the network adapter by dropping communication with your router and then reestablishing it.

To learn how to do this process like a supergeek, check out the section “Reset Your NIC: Secrets of IPConfig,” later in this chapter.

Router Troubleshooting Review

Here’s a quick review of the key troubleshooting routines you should try to get your router working again:

• Check all your connections, including cables and hardware. Restart all components.

• Go into the router and double-check Internet settings.

• Run troubleshooter and reset the adapter in Vista.

• Use the ping technique in “Extreme Geek Techniques” later in this chapter for advanced troubleshooting.

I Can’t Connect to a Wireless Network

I like connecting wirelessly to my home network router with my laptop. It means I can write this book in bed in my jammies. When Wi-Fi is on the fritz, it means that I have to run network cables into the bedroom and into bed with me.

Understandably, most bed partners (spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, Siamese twin) probably agree that network cables in bed aren’t particularly a good idea. If so, let me show you how to troubleshoot your Wi-Fi connection.

First, an assumption. Make sure you can connect with a wire. If you know there is no problem with the Internet connection through the router, it eliminates a whole sock drawer full of procedures.

Second, another assumption. You have a wireless PC card in your laptop or a Wi-Fi adapter is built-in. If your laptop has the Centrino brand on it from Intel, you have built-in Wi-Fi capabilities.

What follows is also relevant to those who have a desktop Vista PC that has a Wi-Fi PCI card installed into the back, although our lawyers here force me to tell you that if you drag your Wi-Fi desktop PC into your marital bed and it causes a divorce, we’re not responsible.

Check the Wireless Adapter

First, your wireless card should be fully functional. To make sure it is, follow these steps:

1. Click the Windows button and type Device Manager.

2. Look for the Network Adapters item in the list; if there is a plus sign (+) next to it, click it so that all the network adapters on the system appear underneath.

3. Inspect the wireless adapter item. If it has a yellow triangle with an exclamation sign in it, this means there is a problem with the adapter’s driver.

4. You’ll need to locate the driver from the manufacturer’s website, download it to your computer, and then install it by right-clicking on the malfunctioning adapter and choosing Update Driver Software. I go into this process in detail on p. 261 (in Chapter 9).

5. If the adapter is missing, click to select the network adapter; then, at the top in the Action menu, select Scan for Hardware Changes (see Figure 10.30), and if your wireless card is older or your machine is aging, click Add Legacy Devices. If the system can’t find it, locate the adapter in either the PC Card slot on the side or in a slot in the back (of a desktop PC) and remove and reseat the wireless adapter.

Figure 10.30. The system can be nudged into locating an undiscovered or newly installed wireless adapter when you choose Scan for Hardware Changes in the Action menu in the Device Manager.

Make Sure the Wireless Radio Is Turned On

This is not about blowing in the wireless adapter’s ear and calling it “my little sugar bum.” What I really mean is that you should make sure that the wireless radio—the transmitter bit on the adapter—is switched on.

Many laptops have a switch that can physically switch the radio on and off. This is a handy tool when you’re on an airplane, as you don’t want the fearsome Wi-Fi radio waves to knock the flight you are on out of the sky.

You might a find a slider or switch on the side, under the lip of the front, or above the keyboard. In some cases, there will be a special Fn key—on ThinkPads, for example—that shifts the F1 to F12 keys into a special function. One of them is usually used to turn the Wi-Fi radio on or off.

Check the Router

It is equally important to turn on the wireless radio in a wireless router. Usually this is on by default (see Figure 10.31). Also, be sure that the SSID or Service Set IDentifier (the name of a wireless network) is set to broadcast. In a D-Link router, find this by clicking the Home tab, and then the Wireless button.

Figure 10.31. In this D-Link router, as with most other brands, there’s a settings page you should check to customize critical wireless settings so that you can connect wirelessly.

Attempt a Connection

The wireless adapter should now appear in the Network Connections. To check this, click the Windows button, Control Panel, Network and Internet, Network and Sharing Center, and then on the left, click Manage Network Connections. If it’s disabled, right-click and choose Enable (see Figure 10.32).

Figure 10.32. Enable the wireless adapter in Network Connections.

It should also appear as a network icon in the bottom-right side of the screen—in the System Tray.

1. Click once on that icon in the System Tray and choose Connect To a Network (see Figure 10.33).

Figure 10.33. Look to the right bottom of the screen for a network connection icon.

2. A list of available networks appears. In the Show pull-down box, choose Wireless and look for a list of wireless access points that are in range. Each network’s SSID is displayed.

3. Ideally you gave your router a unique SSID when you set it up so you can easily identify it. If not, go back into the router’s settings page (I showed you how earlier in the chapter) and customize the SSID so that it’s identifiable among the SSIDs belonging to your neighbors’ routers.

4. After you’ve found your router’s SSID in the list, click on it and choose Connect (see Figure 10.34).

Figure 10.34. Locate your router’s SSID in the list and click Connect.

5. You should now be able to surf wirelessly. Open your web browser and test the connection.

6. If you are prompted to type a security key or passphrase, it means the router you are connecting to is protected by security technology. If so, learn more about this in the section that follows (see Figure 10.35).

Figure 10.35. If the wireless access point is protected with security technology such as WEP or WPA, you will be asked for a passphrase or security key.

Is Wireless Security Shutting You Out?

If you can’t connect to the access point wireless (whether it’s yours or someone else’s), it’s possible the router is protected by one of two Wi-Fi security standards, as well as a third trick called MAC address filtering:

WEP—Wired Equivalency Privacy

WEP is a security setting that requires a series of hexadecimal numbers input on the router and wireless computer. This allows them to communicate securely. It’s a pain to implement, and ultimately, it is not 100% secure. So don’t keep your formula for invisibility corn flakes on your PC because WEP is hackable by clever snoops. That said, it will keep your run-of-the-mill neighborhood kid from snooping on your Wi-Fi transmissions and connecting to your router for his own nefarious skateboard punk purposes.

How to Disable WEP

Get into the router settings again (as I explained earlier) using a wired connection and look for the WEP settings. In a D-Link router, click the Home tab and then the Wireless button. If WEP is engaged, the Security pull-down will be set to WEP. Change it to Disable to turn off WEP (see Figure 10.36), click Apply, and restart the router.

Figure 10.36. Disable WEP security on the Wireless Settings page on a D-Link router.

WPA—Wi-Fi Protected Access

This router technology is much more secure to the point that businesses trust it enough for regular use without fear of business spies sniffing out their secret data. It is apparently crackable, but would require someone with a big old government-sized computer to decode the signal. WPA works by typing a passphrase into both the computer end as well as the router end. It’s as easy to use as typing in, say, “Rick Kughen is the most patient editor in the world” or “Paul French is the best sales rep at Que.”

Those are clearly self serving for me. Take my cue and come up with your own passphrases that will win you brownie points at home with the spouse or family, or at work with the guy who brings in the donuts. One suggestion: “Donut guy has nice socks.”

How to Disable WPA

Jump into the router settings again, as described for WEP previously. If WPA is engaged, the Security pull-down will be set to WPA-PSK (the personal version of WPA) and a passphrase will be set. Change the Security pull-down to Disable to turn off WPA-PSK (see Figure 10.37), click Apply, and restart the router.

Figure 10.37. WPA can be turned off in the Security pull-down on a D-Link router or using a similar setting on other router brands.

MAC Address Filtering

There’s also another security gotcha that might be hindering your ability to connect wirelessly to the router. A MAC address is a unique code that is assigned to each network connecting device. Each network adapter will have one, and so will noncomputer devices that have network capability.

If someone has been tampering with your router, she can shut you out by enabling MAC address filtering on your router. This mechanism is designed to allow only specified MAC addresses to connect wirelessly. So, connect your Vista computer to the router with a network cable and open the router settings in your web browser, as described earlier in this chapter.

How to Disable MAC Address Filtering

Pop once again into your router settings and—for example, in a D-Link router—click the Advanced tab and then the Filters button on the left. Click the MAC filters radio button and make sure that Disabled MAC Filters (see Figure 10.38) is selected. If someone has been tampering with your router, he might have set the filters to allow his computer to connect wirelessly, but block everyone else by MAC address. MAC, or Media Access Control, is a unique number assigned to each network adapter or network-enabled device that is assigned when it is manufactured. It’s kind of like a social security number for network gear.

Figure 10.38. If someone has tampered with your MAC address filtering setting on your router, reset it. Luckily, you can get in via a wired connection if you are shut out wirelessly.

Troubleshooting a Dial-Up Connection

A conventional dial-up modem is fairly easy to troubleshoot. Typically you will need a properly installed modem, a phone number for dial-up access to your ISP, and a user ID and password.

If all these are in place, you should be able to connect. Here’s how to configure dial-up access:

1. Click the Windows button, Connect To, and when the Connect to a Network window appears, click the link Set Up a Connection or Network.

2. Then click Set Up a Dial-up Connection and click Next.

3. Fill in the information required by your ISP, including the dial-up phone number, username, and password (see Figure 10.39). You can also opt to check Show Characters and Remember This Password.

Figure 10.39. Besides entering an access phone number, username, and password, be sure to check Allow Other People to Use This Connection, so the connection will be available to family members, too.

4. Be sure to name the connection, and select the option to Allow Other People to Use This Connection. This is handy because it allows other user accounts (such as your children or your spouse/lovemonkey) on the computer to use the dial-up account, too.

5. Click Connect. This launches the Testing Your Internet Connection window.

6. If all goes well, your computer should now be able to connect to the Internet, so test it to ensure that everything is working.

If there is a problem, use the Diagnose Internet Connection Wizard, as follows. This will help determine whether your Windows firewall, for example, is blocking your connection attempt.

1. To launch the wizard, click the Windows button, Control Panel, Network and Internet, Network and Sharing Center, and then Diagnose Internet Connection.

2. The Identifying the Problem window appears, and Vista will try to come up with a solution.

If your dial-up account settings are good and you have verified them with your ISP, there is a good chance that there’s a hardware problem or driver-related issue if connection problems persist.

Try these:

• Double-check that there is a dial-up modem installed in your computer, and if there is, be sure to reseat it if it’s a card installed in the back of your computer or in a PC Card slot on a laptop. Often, modems are hard-wired into the motherboard, but modern desktop PCs often ship without dial-up modems anymore.

• Update the modem’s driver by acquiring it from the modem maker’s website or from the support area of your computer maker’s website and using the Update Driver function in Device Manager. More on troubleshooting drivers is available on p. 261 (Chapter 9).

• Check the phone cable from the modem to the wall jack and also test to see that the wall jack is also live.

• If you are dialing from a hotel, make sure the dialing sequence is correct. Often, outside line access requires dialing 9 or some other number sequence. You can edit how a modem accesses a phone line by clicking the Dialing Rules link next to the phone number field in the Set Up a Dial-up Connection dialog box.

• Digital PBX phone systems used by many companies don’t support dialing using an analog modem, so you might want to find out whether that jack you are plugging will work with your modem.

Extreme Geek Techniques: Hard-Core Troubleshooting

So far in this chapter, I have shown you the computer equivalent of rubbing ointment on your network boo-boo.

Now, if you are here, you are either morbidly curious about the gurgling innards of Windows Vista networking, or desperate. Both are acceptable places to be. What follows can be pretty hard-core. We’re opening Vista’s rib cage and going to wring out some organs, poke the slimy bits, and surgically repair what the ointment failed to do.

It requires using some network tools built into Vista that you might not know about or normally use.

I always like to think that they are secret tools, like a stash of smoked ham in a vegetarian household. The reality is, most geeks know about these tools. You’re about to know, so I dub thee, Geek.

Reset Your NIC: Secrets of IPConfig

One really useful trick you can use—when the physical connection seems to be in order, but your machine refuses to connect—is to manually reset the network card. If you slide down the page, I’ll show you how to do it the geeky way, where you’ll have lots of control and technical information about the process. This can also be achieved as follows:

1. Click the Windows button, Control Panel, Network and Internet, Network and Sharing Center; then, on the left column, click Manage Network Connections.

2. Right-click the network adapter icon you want to reset, and then click Disable.

3. Right-click the adapter icon again, and then click Enable.

This is an awfully long way around. I am not sure why Microsoft programmers didn’t build in a Reset option, but they must have had their reasons. My guess is that they are used to that kind of functionality. Perhaps they reset the time on their microwave at the office by pulling out the plug and plugging it in again.

A faster, geekier way to do it is to leap into a command-line process. First, you’ll have to turn off the UAC for this. To do this:

1. Click the Windows button, and in the Search box, type msconfig and hit Enter. The System Configuration window opens.

2. Click the Tools tab.

3. Scroll down in the list of tools to Disable UAC and click Launch (see Figure 10.40). A black command window opens, and UAC is magically turned off.

Figure 10.40. Before you use the command window, disable UAC using the System Configuration tool.

4. If you closed the Command window, open it again as follows: Click the Windows button, type cmd into the Search box, and hit Enter. A black command window opens.

5. In the command window, at the prompt (it looks something like c:UsersAndy>) type ipconfig /all (see Figure 10.41), and you’ll see a list of all the network adapters on your system and their related IP and DNS settings. If you have an Ethernet (wired) connection and a wireless adapter, you will probably see both listed. If you have more than one Ethernet connection configured, you’ll see those listed, too.

Figure 10.41. Use the ipconfig /all command to look at the status of your network adapter. More than one will be listed if you have multiple adapters, such as Ethernet and wireless.

6. To reset all the adapters, type this command next: ipconfig /release (see Figure 10.42) and hit Enter. This forces the system to release any IP and network settings on all the adapters.

Figure 10.42. Use the ipconfig /release command to force Vista to drop all IP addresses from any connections.

7. Use the ipconfig /renew command to renew them and hit Enter.

8. The system resets all the network adapters on the system and attempts to reconnect them (see Figure 10.43).

Figure 10.43. Use the ipconfig /renew command to reset your network adapter and have it reacquire a new IP address and network settings.

9. This brute-force approach will often solve the problem of a flaky adapter.

Ping: Are You There Device? It’s Me, User.

One of my favorite extreme troubleshooting techniques for networks in Windows computers (this will work for XP, too) is using the ping tool.

Ping bounces a data packet at a computer, server, or router and asks for a response. If the device being queried is healthy and functional, it will respond. A failed ping suggests there is something wrong with that device’s connectivity to a network.

This technique is generally used for three purposes:

• Checking to see whether you have a connection to your router

• Checking the health of your ISP’s gateway

• Checking the status of a website

Let me show you how to use it to check your router.

Click the Windows button, type cmd in the Search box, and hit Enter. This opens a command interpreter box. For those who remember, this command-line interface looks a lot like DOS in the old days before Windows and still retains a lot of its functionality.

How to Use Ping

To use the ping command, you’ll type a line like this at the prompt:

ping www.cyberwalker.com

This command says to use the ping utility to say hello to the web server at www.cyberwalker.com.

You can also ping a device’s IP number, such as your router’s internal IP address, as follows:

ping 192.168.0.1

When you press Enter after typing this command, ping sends four sequential data packets to the website’s server across the Internet. If the packets reach the web server, it replies to each ping. Ping then reports the time it takes for the round-trip (see Figure 10.44).

Figure 10.44. Use the ping command to check the status of a website, router, or another computer or device on the Internet.

This fun utility is modeled on how a submarine sends out an acoustic ping to judge the distance of underwater objects.

To demonstrate how ping works to your spouse, simply acquire a ping pong ball or stale donut hole (small, firm cherry tomatoes also work), bounce it off her forehead, and see how long it takes for her to yell at you.

Interpreting Ping Results

When you see the ping information for each packet sent, you’ll see that each line says something like this:

Reply from 65.254.250.105: bytes:=32 time=39ms TTL=242

reply from lists the IP address of the target computer.

The bytes value is the size of the data packet sent.

time is the amount of time in milliseconds that the round-trip took for that packet to come back.

ttl is the expiration time on the packet so that it doesn’t keep traveling on the Internet forever.

Practical Uses for Ping

Ping is great to check to see whether you have a good connection to your router or your ISP. If the ping comes back, all is well, and your connection to that device is good. If it doesn’t come back, it means there is a physical connection problem between you and it.

Of the four packets sent, if only a couple come back, you know that the connection is intermittent. Sometimes this is symptomatic of a local flaky cable or loose connection in your home. It also could indicate heavy traffic or an intermittent disruption at your ISP, or beyond on the Internet.

If you are having trouble accessing a particular website, a ping to that site will also tell you whether its server is down.

Traceroute Basics: Tracking Packets Like Kangaroos

So let’s play around a bit with these secret tools. First, we need to open up a command line. Here’s how:

1. Click the Windows button and type cmd in the Search box. A black window opens with a command-line interface.

2. Let’s start with a handy command: tracert, short for traceroute. It is what it says. It traces the ping pong-like route of a data package across the Internet.

At the command line, type the following:

tracert www.yahoo.com

and then hit Enter (see Figure 10.45).

Figure 10.45. Use the tracert command in a command window to see whether a remote computer or server is alive and connected.

The tracert tool then sends a package of data to Yahoo.com and shows the hops the data makes between your computer and the Yahoo server. To an average web browser user, it might seem like Internet traveling data makes one huge hop from a computer to a website—like a direct flight across the U.S. from New York City to Los Angeles.

In reality, the data packet behaves more like a short-haul commuter flight hopping from JFK airport to Washington, D.C., then to Chicago, then Dallas, then Phoenix, maybe a stop in Las Vegas, and then on to LAX airport in Los Angeles. It’s a nondirect route, but luckily less barfy than really flying.

Tracert tracks the Internet hops for you. So, let’s use a sample traceroute I did from my computer to Yahoo.com (see Figure 10.46) to analyze the traffic.

Figure 10.46. When deployed, a traceroute shows you the exact path a data packet takes between you and a device or computer on the Internet.

As you can see, each hop is listed by number. The first hop after leaving my computer, of course, is my home network gateway. That’s 192.168.0.1.

DNS Is Dead

If you do a traceroute and get a message that says “Unable to resolve target system name,” that means that the request could not exit to the Internet to find a DNS server to translate www.yahoo.com into its IP address, which in my example is 216.109.112.135.

To get around this, you can simply issue a tracert command to the specific IP address of the destination, if you know it, or can get it using another computer.

This bypasses the need to do a DNS lookup. In plain language, that means there is no need to call the directory assistance operator (DNS) to get the pizza delivery number (Yahoo’s IP)—just dial it directly. Use the following:

tracert 216.109.112.135

Network Good, ISP Bad

If all you get back is one hop, which shows 192.168.0.1 (see Figure 10.47), or a similar number that starts with 192, the test data packet has gotten as far as your home router and died there because it was unable to move beyond it due to a network problem of some sort.

Figure 10.47. If a traceroute dies after the first hop, there’s a problem with the connection beyond your router, or the first server or router at your ISP.

The diagnosis here would be one of three things:

• Your router is not configured for your ISP.

• Your router is not connected to your DSL or cable modem.

• Your ISP is having connection problems, but between your broadband modem and the first access point outside your home.

At this point, check all the physical connections and make sure that your router is connected to your broadband modem and that it is powered up and connected to the cable through which the Internet comes into your home. Also check to make sure your broadband connection is configured in your router.

If you don’t have a router and your computer is connected directly to your broadband modem, the first hop will be to the ISP’s first point of contact outside your home.

The diagnosis here could be only one thing. The ISP’s access point outside your home is working, but beyond that, something is screwed up. And the solution? Time to call your ISP and ask what’s going on.

If you do use a router, the second traceroute hop would be your first point of contact with the ISP. If the traceroute dies here, you should also call the ISP and say something along the lines of: “Dude, where’s my connection?”

Time to Call the Internet RotoRooter

If you go back to Figure 10.46, you’ll see that hops 3, 4, and 5 are where the packet bounces through your ISP’s infrastructure (in this case, it is a DSL connection through Bell in Toronto).

By hop 6, it’s left the ISP and is heading over Teleglobe Internet equipment in New York state and on to Teleglobe nodes in Virginia (hops 10 and 11), where it then hits Yahoo equipment (hops 12 to 14) when it reaches its final destination.

So if your traceroute flakes out in the ISP hops, you know they are having a problem at their end. Beyond that, there could be problems somewhere out on the Internet. You might even be able to spot where the congestion occurs.

When major worms (network viruses) are released and start to spread, they can clog the Internet. When this happens, it’s interesting to do a tracert command and see what part of the Net is ailing.

Of course, if your traceroute gets all the way to Yahoo but doesn’t hit its final destination, you can guess that Yahoo is experiencing equipment or network problems. If so, try a traceroute to a website at a different location to determine whether it’s just Yahoo or something else is afoot in Internetland.

So, that’s a quick lesson on using an advanced tool to diagnose your network troubles. As you can see, you should be able to tell whether the problem is local to you, is local to your ISP, or is part of a greater problem on the Internet. Being a geek is fun, isn’t it?