Member Avatar for pghflwr

Thanks in advance. I have two towers, one Black and one White. A friend gave me an Air Station router by Buffalo that she said would be easy used wired, impossible wireless. Both Black and White have used DSL successfully, but independently. Black is our original computer. Currently I have both computers hooked by ethernet cable to the router, but only Black can get on the internet. I've pinged the router from white, and I've pinged Black from White. I've run the Network Wizard a dozen times. I am willing to reformat White and start from scratch...I have 24 days left to activate her XP anyway...Thanks again

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Dani AI

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A compact troubleshooting sequence to try before reformatting. correctly pointed toward physical-layer checks and is understandably looking for a simple fix. The steps below isolate where the failure is (PC, cable/port, router, or upstream ISP) and are safe to try in order.

Start with the client machine: confirm its IP and DHCP status and force a renew.

ipconfig /all
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew

If the adapter shows an APIPA address (169.254.x.x) it did not get a DHCP lease. Next, verify basic reachability.

ping <router_IP>
ping 8.8.8.8
nslookup example.com

Interpretation: failure to reach the router = cable/port/NIC issue; reach router but not 8.8.8.8 = router/WAN or ISP issue; reach IP but not names = DNS problem.

Check the router next: log into its web admin and inspect the LAN/DHCP client list and the WAN status. Confirm DHCP is enabled and that the nonworking PC appears with a valid lease. If the ISP requires a login (PPPoE/username+password), the router must be configured for that — otherwise only a device that runs the ISP dialer will get the internet session. Also check for MAC filtering, a tiny DHCP pool, or reserved-address rules.

Quick physical and Windows checks: swap the Ethernet cable and try a different router port; reboot modem/router after moving devices (some modems bind the previous MAC); temporarily disable Windows firewall/third-party security; reinstall the NIC driver if Device Manager shows issues. Resetting the router to factory defaults is a reasonable last step if settings are suspected — but make a note of any ISP credentials first.

If these steps don’t find the cause, gather the ipconfig /all output from the problem PC and the router’s WAN/LAN status page and post them — that data usually makes the remaining fault obvious.

Member Avatar for dal4lind

check your cat5 cables you need a crossover cable it sounds like you are using a null cable dal4lind

Member Avatar for pghflwr

(I hope I am replying correctly) I have a crossover cable, still in the box, because it is my understanding that I have to go ethernet port to ethernet port between the towers. Black can get on-line using USB, but he gets ver-r-ry slow. The crossover cable I have is too short, but I have a friend willing to make one for me.

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