Member Avatar for KathiJo59

Hi all!

I hope someone can help me. My computer is showing a network connection but when we try to get into internet explorer it won't let us. It's saying we may not be connected to the internet. When this happened before I did a ipconfig/all to get our IP address and then typed that into connections, but this time it's not working.

Pleas help!

Kathi

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Quick, practical diagnostics for the situation described by (icon shows "connected" but Internet Explorer won't load pages). The goal is to separate three possibilities: (A) this PC's network settings or software, (B) the local router/modem, or (C) an ISP/DNS outage.

Start with simple isolation and hardware checks (matches and suggestions). Determine whether other devices on the same network have working Internet. If all devices are offline, power-cycle the modem first, wait until its "online" lights stabilize, then power-cycle the router. Check that the Ethernet cable clicks in and that link/activity LEDs on both router and PC NIC are lit or blinking. If only this PC is affected, proceed to the local tests below.

Use the Windows network status GUI (Network & Internet settings or Network and Sharing Center → adapter Status → Details) to note the IPv4 address, Default Gateway and DNS servers without running command-line tools. To check whether the problem is name resolution or pure connectivity, run these simple tests from a Command Prompt:

ping <default-gateway-IP>
ping 8.8.8.8
ping google.com

Interpretation: no reply from the gateway = local link/router problem; gateway OK but 8.8.8.8 fails = upstream/ISP problem; IP ping works but name ping fails = DNS issue (browser shows inability to resolve names). 's point about firewalls is relevant — if local pings work but HTTP fails, briefly disable any third‑party firewall/antivirus (or Windows Firewall) to rule out blocking of port 80/443.

If the problem looks local to the PC, reset the network stack and then reboot (run Command Prompt as administrator):

netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset

After reboot, re-check the GUI details and browser proxy settings (Internet Options → Connections → LAN Settings) to ensure no proxy is unexpectedly set. If the router is suspected, try a direct modem-to-PC connection to bypass the router. If multiple devices remain offline after power‑cycling, contact the ISP.

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Member Avatar for Rebel_245

go back into connections and make sure you have the correct ip address if you are using static ip also check gateway and DNS, but, if you are using DHCP then set it to obtain ip automatically also set DNS to obtain automatically
next run winsockfix and see if that helps. you can get winsockfix from here

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winsockxpfix.html

this is assuming you connect directly and not through a router, if you connect through a router try rebooting router if this does not help then try taken the router out of line and connect directly.

Member Avatar for KathiJo59

When I do an ipconfig/all which IP address should be showing as mine. I have no idea what DHS or gateway means, or DHCP. Can you explain a little further? I am totally computer illiterate.

Member Avatar for rwaforums

How do you normally connect to the internet?

Member Avatar for Rebel_245

your IP address will be the one under Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

DHCPis where you obtain your IP address, DNS, and gateway automatically from your internet service provider (ISP), this IP address canges ever so offten.

static IP address is given to you by your ISP when you first get yout internet hooked up, this has to be put in manually and never changes.

the Domain Name System (DNS) associates various sorts of information with so-called domain names; most importantly, it serves as the "phone book" for the Internet: it translates human-readable computer hostnames, e.g. en.wikipedia.org, into the IP addresses that networking equipment needs for delivering information. It also stores other information such as the list of mail exchange servers that accept email for a given domain. In providing a worldwide keyword-based redirection service. this is assocated with static IP address and also is giiven to you by your ISP and is put in manually.

A gateway, is a node that serves as an entrance to another network, and vice-versa. Gateways are most commonly used to transfer data between private networks and the Internet. think of it as a door way going from one room to another. with static ip this will also be given to you by your ISP and put in manually.

I hope this helps explaning this to you, if I can be any further help please let me know.

Member Avatar for Sturm

can you ping any websites? find your ip address, does it change? (I assume ipconfig \all shows your ip address? I currently don't have access to a windows machine) Is it possible that your firewall is blocking port 80?

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