Member Avatar for crxtreme89h

I have a cable internet connection via USB and cable modem. I installed an ethernet card to connect via ethernet. I plug the ethernet cable to my computer and to the cable modem and no internet. Do I need to change the settings on my computer in order to connect to the internet using my new ethernet connection? If so what do I need to do? Thanks in advance!

Damon

  • 3 Contributors
  • 5 Replies
  • 198 Views
  • 1 Day Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by aeinstein

Dani AI

Generated

Useful follow‑up for based on the replies from and — they pointed to the two most common causes, so here are additional checks that were not covered in the thread.

Verify the NIC and its driver in Device Manager (Windows ME). The adapter must appear without error icons; if it shows as an unknown device or has a warning, install the correct driver from the card/vendor. Some newer cards never had stable ME drivers, so confirm the vendor supplies a ME driver build. Also try the card in a different PCI slot if available to rule out a hardware/slot issue.

Isolate the physical layer: confirm the NIC link LED comes on when the cable is plugged in and try a different Ethernet cable or port. Swap the cable with one known good or temporarily connect a laptop/another PC to the same modem jack to prove the modem’s Ethernet port is working. Use a standard straight patch cable for PC-to-modem connections.

Windows ME-specific troubleshooting: run winipcfg to view the adapter’s IP and physical (MAC) address and to perform a release/renew. An address in the 169.254.x.x range means the PC did not get an address from DHCP. If the PC never gets a DHCP address after trying the above, disable or uninstall any ISP-supplied USB networking software or drivers so the OS prefers the new Ethernet adapter. Finally, if the modem still behaves as if tied to the old USB interface, request the ISP to refresh or re-register the modem on their side — they can see the DHCP lease and clear any MAC binding.

If these checks fail, testing the Ethernet card in another machine or testing the modem with another known-working PC will quickly identify whether the problem is the NIC, the cable/modem, or an ISP registration issue.

Recommended Answers

All 5 Replies

Member Avatar for mylogin

there are different ways of doing it, depending on your operating system
most cable providers use DHCP
so make sure the ethernet tcp/ip configuration is set to "obtain IP address automatically"
that's it basically

Member Avatar for crxtreme89h

How would I go about doing that? Do you know how I can get there to change that "step by step"? I took a couple of years of computers in High School but that was before ethernet cards and cable connections were available. ;) I have Windows ME on a Compaq about 3 years old. Thanks for your time!

Damon

Member Avatar for crxtreme89h

OK, tell me if this is the way to do it.

I click Start->Control Panel->Network Connections->

There are 3 choices in Network Connections

Can't remember right off hand and I am at work right now.

However, I click one of the 3, then click Properties->Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)->Properties->

From here I click obtain IP adress automatically? Then click OK?

Thanks again for your time!

Damon

Member Avatar for mylogin

yep

Member Avatar for aeinstein

I have a cable internet connection via USB and cable modem. I installed an ethernet card to connect via ethernet. I plug the ethernet cable to my computer and to the cable modem and no internet. Do I need to change the settings on my computer in order to connect to the internet using my new ethernet connection? If so what do I need to do? Thanks in advance!

Damon

before u go through everything else, try the basics first. most cblmdms are designed to regain a connection if it gets lost if at all possible. one of the mechanismisms (sp?) for doing that is remember the MAC (Media Access Code). if u dont clear the memory on the cblmdm it will still think its supposed to communicate w/ur usb connection & disregard the ethernet (rj45) connection.

1) identify the lights, and what they are doing, on ur cblmdm (cm) that indicate it has a connection to ur isp
2) shutdown pc (not absolutely necessary, but u might as well)
3) unplug cm pwr cord, making sure all lights go off on cm
4) make sure u have only either the usb or (in ur case crxtreme89h) the rj45 cbl connected to cm (if using usb wait to plug into pc until after pc is back up,or as its said, "hot" - but wait for that step; if ur using rj45 then u can plug it in now ("cold") or later when pc is up ("hot"))
5) wait at least a full minute (yes, its debateble that u really need to wait that long... so, u dont HAVE to, but...), then pwr up cm
6) (most important) wait until ur cm has the lights showing (& the way they need to be solid on/blinking/whatever) BEFORE u restart pc, but once theyre achieved go ahead & start ur pc
7) check ur internet connection; if u still cant connect proceed with t/s ur tcp/ip settings/configuration

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.