Tuesday, March 27, 2012

General Network/Internet Connection Troubleshooting


Network and internet connectivity is a reoccurring problem that comes into our Helpdesk. It quickly become apparent that our techs needed a quick checklist of things they can try to restore connectivity. This list is kind of a shotgun approach to troubleshooting the issue but when time is of the essence compromises must be made. The user doesn't necessarily care why they lost connectivity; they just want it fixed - so be prepared to leave your detective skills unused in these scenarios.


  • Connect wired if user is on  wifi.
  • Ping www.google.com
  • Ipconfig – What is IP? 169.x.x.x means no obtainable IP for network card.
  • Ipconfig /release + ipconfig /renew
  • Ipconfig /flush DNS + ipconfig /registerdns
  • Check for a static IP address configuration under network connections
  • Winsock Fix: netsh winsock reset catalog (winXP)(Reboot)
  • Winsock Fix: netsh winsock reset (Vista/7)(Reboot)
  • netsh int ip reset (reinstalls TCP/IP)
  • Check for proxy server Internet explorer/Firefox settings
  • Check for bogus addons in IE/Firefox/Chrome
  • Check Device manager for (!) on devices under +Network Adapters or x on Network Adapter devices. Right click : Enable if such a device exists. If an exclamation point (or question mark) exists next to the network card try right Click; remove device then scan for new hardware and reinstall
  • Is the wired connection disabled due to a bad power saving setting? Check device manager for this.
  • Is TCP/IP installed? If not install it (Can also try reinstalling it)
  • ping 127.0.0.1 : if so : card is responding and you know hardware isn't bad
  • Try a different Ethernet cable
  • Check for multiple security suites running – these conflict and disrupt internet connection on occasion as well as kill performance
  • Reboot into safe mode
  • Try rolling back to an older restore point using System Restore

This list should either resolve or point you to the exact issue. 

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