# Dell Inspiron B120 Internet Connection Failure



## Rudy Wynn (Mar 7, 2008)

I have a Dell Inspiron B120 laptop that uses a wireless card and runs on Windows XP Home. I access the internet through a Clearwire modem routed through a Linksys router. Additionally I have another laptop connected directly to the router. Two days ago I noticed my Dell would not connect to the internet although the computer indicated I had an excellent signal and was connected. I received the standard “Unable to connect to the internet at this time” message with several easy fixes – plug in the cord type stuff. I checked the directly connected laptop and it was connected and had no problem at all. 

Last night I contacted Clearwire and we walked through 1.5 hours worth of attempts at resolving the issue. The technician indicated it is an internal internet connection issue within the laptop. According to him this is common in Dell products, and easily repaired with a $40 part. However, he failed to tell me what I need to do, where I might attain this part and other specifics. I will admit I was tired and failed to ask the correct questions at that point – 90 minutes of frustration on the phone is a long time.

Can anyone advise on what I might need to do or a route to resolve the issue? Dell tech support is ridiculous and costly – my warranty expired last month (naturally). Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## onewaylife4all (Mar 6, 2008)

Hello,

First of all, what your computer means when it tells you that you have an excellent signal is not necessarily that you are connected to the Internet, but that the connection from your computer to your wireless router (in this case) is good. Your Internet service in a sense "gives Internet" to your modem, which then "gives Internet" to your router, which you connect to with your computer. So if the connection to your router is good, but you have no Internet service, this can be because the router itself is not receiving Internet from the modem. A way to verify this is by taking the wire that goes from your modem to your router, and plugging it directly into your computer. Then on your computer, you will want to go into your network connections and make sure that your Local Area Connection is "Enabled." You can do this by finding your network connections in Control Panel or by right clicking "My Network Places" and selecting "Properties." During this time, you may also want to disable your wireless Internet connection as well. If you are then able to connect to the Internet, then the problem most likely lies with your router. If not, then the problem is either with the Network controller in your computer, or with the modem/Internet service provider.

Try doing that, and let me know what happens!


Thanks


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

Please supply the following info, *exact make and models* of the equipment please.

What country are you located in.
Name of your ISP (Internet Service Provider).
Make *and* exact model of the broadband modem.
Make *and* exact model of the router (if a separate unit).
_Model numbers can usually be obtained from the label on the device._
Connection type, wired or wireless.
If wireless, encryption used, (none, WEP, WPA, or WPA2)
Make and model of your computer.
Version and patch level of Windows on all affected machines, i.e. XP-Home (or XP-Pro), SP1-SP2, Vista, etc.
The Internet Browser in use, IE, Firefox, Opera, etc.

Also, please give an exact description of your problem symptoms, including the exact text of any error messages. If there are other computers on the same network, are they experiencing the same issue, or do they function normally?




On any affected computer, I'd also like to see this:

Hold the *Windows* key and press *R*, then type *CMD* to open a command prompt:

Type the following commands:

PING 216.109.112.135

PING yahoo.com

NBTSTAT -n

IPCONFIG /ALL

Right click in the command window and choose *Select All*, then hit *Enter*.
Paste the results in a message here.

If you are on a machine with no network connection, use a floppy, USB disk, or a CD-RW disk to transfer a text file with the information to allow pasting it here.


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## Rudy Wynn (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi,
Thanks for the prompt response. We ran the modem directly to both computers, and I was able to connect with the laptop normally wired to the router, but not with the one that is giving me problems. Router and service provider seem to be okay. The Clearwire tech believes it to be internal to the Dell machine - modt likely as you say, the network controller. How do I handle that type of issue? Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

You did remember to turn off power to the modem for 30 seconds or more when you changed the attached computer or device, right?


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## Rudy Wynn (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi John,
Yep, Did power down when changing out devices, 
but no luck.


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

If the NIC is bad, I'd call Dell and see what they want to do about it.


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