Getting to know your network hardware.

All home network equipment follows the 802.x Ethernet standard. Ethernet is a physical and data link layer technology for local area networks (LAN).

A broadband router is a device that connects to your ISP's modem to allow the sharing of connectivity from the modem to one or more PCs on your LAN. It provides the firewall, switching and dynamic addressing to all network attached devices. The router can be wired, or wireless or both.

You can use the router for static (manually configured) or dynamic (DHCP) assigned IP Addresses.

Home routers allow you to:

• share files between computers
• share an Internet connection between computers
• share a printer
• connect your game console or other home entertainment equipment to the Internet

The link below from Microsoft gives a good bit of set up information on XP Home configuration for your home network.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/using/networking/expert/russel_hni.mspx

Here are some basic troubleshooting tips:

Is it plugged in?

Check all your cable connections. Look for activity and status lights on your modem. If your router, switch or Network Interface Card (NIC) link lights are not green, or you see the 'Cable unplugged' message from your PC, the cable may not have seated or it may have failed. Remember in networking green means go! Amber is no connection or some other connection related issue.

Click on the Start button. Select the run command and enter cmd. In the DOS window type ipconfig.

Verify that you have an IP Address and Default Gateway listed. If not there is a problem upstream from your PC.

Log in to your routers setup page and verify the settings. Most ISP settings are for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). If you need to set up the router or have a DHCP issue, you can speed along connections by connecting the ethernet cable from the back of your modem directly in to your PC NIC. Use the ipconfig command and write down the basic information shown above. Reconnect all your cables and go to the configuration page of your router again. Enter the copied IP Address, subnet mask and Default Gateway information.

REMEMBER! The router has two connections to the world. One is to the outside (the Internet) and one is to your inside network. Your inside network can also have configuration issues like above but it will be related to IP in the same way. All PCs on the inside of your router need a static (manually configured) or dynamic (automatically assigned) address.

If you want a more automated network repair process look at: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/expert/russel_diagnostics.mspx

The Network Diagnostic Tool can be a big help if you are feeling overwhelmed by your home network troubles. You must be using Internet Explorer 7 to use this tool!

Sometimes your ISP will reset the connection to your modem.This is supposed to force your home router to request a new IP Address. Because of lag, network errors your poor hardware design, your home router may never get the information it needs to reconnect to the newly assigned IP Address.

Most home routers have a 'Renew DHCP' feature in the set up web page. Often times you need to use the release first and then renew to reconnect. Depending on how busy your connection is, this can take up to thirty seconds before the ISP server and your router complete their communication to establish an new connection. Be patient! User the refresh button on your home routers web page to see if the new address has been assigned yet.

The button is your friend!

If the router appears to be connected, you may have a local connection problem with your PC.

Using the connection status can also provide you with valuable information about the condition of your inside connection.

Try the repair button, as above to see if you can resolve the issue. As you can see the message 'Windows did not detect problems with this connection' message, that means the your PC is communicating with your home router.

Go to START-Network Connections and right click on Local Area Connection, if it is listed as unplugged or disconnected.

Scroll down until you see Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and then click on the Properties button. From the General tab verify that 'Obtain an IP Address automatically' is selected. If not select it, then OK and OK again.

Now try using your browser to verify connectivity.

Hopefully this has corrected your issue. If not it may be time to call your ISP and seek their assistance.

Good Luck!

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