# [SOLVED] wireless adapter can't connect to dhcp



## networknewbie99 (Mar 12, 2011)

Last night the power either blinked or had a surge and I lost the internet on both of my computers. After restarting the Hughesnet modem and Netgear WNR3500L router, I now have internet service back on my laptop computer. However, I can't get it to work on my desktop. I have an HP Desktop running Windows XP (actually both computers are XP) using a Netgear Wireless-G USB 2.0 Adapter. Everything worked fine until today. Since then, it seems that the desktop sees the network, but can't connect to the internet. I've looked at a lot of forums and instructions and it sounds to me that the router will not assign the adapter an IP address, but really I have no idea what I'm doing here, so any help is greatly appreciated.
My wireless network connections have aegis protocol and tcp/ip selected, with obtain and ip address and dns server address automatically selected. I've uninstalled the adapter and reinstalled it and even done a system recovery on my computer in hopes to reset it, but nothing has worked. As you can see below I've tried most of the suggestions I've found online to no avail. I've also done the winsock and t something stack commands. 
I also don't know how to access my router b/c it's not connected to a computer. I could access it with my laptop, but I'm not sure how since it was setup with my desktop which required my entire desk to be physically moved at the time. If I need to do this, I'm going to need instructions. 

Thanks for the help.

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

 Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : DESKTOP
 Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
 Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
 IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
 WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

 Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
 Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter
 Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-11-2F-15-BF-F6

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:

 Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
 Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NETGEAR WG111v2 54Mbps Wireless USB
2.0 Adapter #2
 Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 30-46-9A-2A-7F-54
 Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
 Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
 Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.95.126
 Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>ping 127.0.0.1

Pinging 127.0.0.1 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 127.0.0.1:
 Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
 Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>ipconfig /release

Windows IP Configuration

No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection while it has its media di
sconnected.

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

 Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:

 Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
 IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
 Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

C:\Documents and Settings\Owner>ipconfig /renew

Windows IP Configuration

No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection while it has its media di
sconnected.
An error occurred while renewing interface Wireless Network Connection 2 : unabl
e to contact your DHCP server. Request has timed out.


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## etaf (Dec 28, 2008)

*Re: wireless adapter can't connect to dhcp*

lets see an xirrus screen shot from the desktop 

also did the tcp/ip work - or did you get any admin errors ? - see fullset of instructions below 

what firewall do you have on the pc or ever had on pc - like norton or mcafee etc 

can you post back the status of the services - see below


*------------------------------------------------------------------------*
* {run Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector} Download and install*
If you cannot access the internet with this PC, then you will need to copy the program across to the faulty PC

Xirrus: The Leader in High Performance Wi-Fi - Advanced IT Wi-Fi Networking Tools
Direct link to the program is here Xirrus: The Leader in High Performance Wi-Fi - Advanced IT Wi-Fi Networking Tools
Then run and install the program 
if you get an error - You need NET Framework installed for the WiFi Inspector to function.

Run the program 

post a screen shot of the program running - if there are a lot of networks showing can you click on "networks" top lefthand area - so we can see all the network information, and also post which network "Adapter Name" (1st column) is yours on the list 

To post a screen shot of the active window, hold the Alt key and press the PrtScn key. Open the Windows PAINT application and Paste the screen shot. You can then use PAINT to trim to suit, and save it as a JPG format file. 
To upload it to the forum, open the full reply window and use the Manage Attachments button to upload it here.
Full details are here TSG Posting a Screenshot - TSG Library of Knowledge

Note:
For a reliable (or robust as the Xirrus user guide says) wireless connection you need a signal of about -70 dBm or better.
*------------------------------------------------------------------------*

*------------------------------------------------------------------------*

*TCP/IP stack repair options for use with Windows XP with SP2/SP3.*

*S*tart, *R*un, *CMD* to open a command prompt:

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following commands:

_Note: Type only the text in *bold* for the following commands._

Reset TCP/IP stack to installation defaults, type: *netsh int ip reset reset.log*

Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults, type: *netsh winsock reset catalog*

Reboot the machine.

Post back the results here 
rightclick in the box
select all
enter
control key + C key - to copy
then reply here and 
control key + V to paste
*------------------------------------------------------------------------*


*------------------------------------------------------------------------*
*{Services} *
post back the status - started/stopped and automatic/manual
Check your Services are Started on all PCs: 

COM+ Event System (for WZC issues)
Computer Browser
DHCP Client
DNS Client
Network Connections
Network Location Awareness
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
Server
TCP/IP Netbios helper
Wireless Zero Configuration _(XP wireless configurations only_)
WLAN AutoConfig (_Vista wireless configurations only_)
Workstation

_*Note:* You can check the services in Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services._

*All of these services should be started, and their startup type should be automatic (or perhaps manual).*

If a service is not running, open it's properties and check the dependencies. Check each of the dependencies and see which one is preventing the service from running.

Checking the event log is also a good idea here, there may be clues to what is failing.
Start > control panel > administrative tools > event Viewer

*------------------------------------------------------------------------*


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## networknewbie99 (Mar 12, 2011)

*Re: wireless adapter can't connect to dhcp*

Ok, I think I’ve done everything on the list. The window shot of Xirrus is attached. It looks like my connection is only -52, is that bad?
Here is everything else. Thanks for helping me out. I can't really download anything else until later tonight b/c I've almost used up my allotment for the day. Isn't satellite internet great?
I have Norton Security.

Reset TCP/IP stack to installation defaults, type: *netsh int ip reset reset.log*

Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults, type: *netsh winsock reset catalog*


No result after netsh int ip reset.log
Winsock catalog reset successful
(Sorry no screen pic. I restarted before I thought about it.)


COM+ Event System (for WZC issues) started/manual
Computer Browser started/automatic
DHCP Client started/automatic
DNS Client started/automatic
Network Connections started/automatic
Network Location Awareness started/manual
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) started/automatic
Server started/automatic
TCP/IP Netbios helper started/automatic
Wireless Zero Configuration _(__ XP wireless configurations only_) started/automatic
WLAN AutoConfig (_ Vista wireless configurations only_) N/A
Workstation started/automatic
Looking at the event log there are a number of errors:
 I see where I reset the router when I got home yesterday b/c it says it’s lost the connection but then finds it again. A warning message after that says : Your computer was not able to renew its address from the network (from the DCHP server) for the Network Card with network address 30469a2a7f54. The following error occurred: The semaphore timeout period has expired. Your computer will continue to try and obtain an address on its own from the network address (DHCP) server. Then the next warning says The server could not bind to the transport/Device/NetBT)Tcpip_ and then a long number/code. The next warning message is your computer has automatically configured the IP address for the Network Card with network address 30469A2A7F54. The IP address being used is 169.254.95.126. There are also a lot of errors regarding win32, something about finding the time and the time not being synchronized properly. Is that related?


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## networknewbie99 (Mar 12, 2011)

*Re: wireless adapter can't connect to dhcp*

I also just did the connection test in Xirrus and it says:
DNS lookup - no IP address returned - Fail: DNS lookup failure 
Internet Reachable - Fail: No IP available


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## etaf (Dec 28, 2008)

*Re: wireless adapter can't connect to dhcp*

the adapter can at least see the wireless signal
log into the router and remove the wireless security and see if you can connect with no wireless security 

Norton could be blocking - are you paying a subscription to norton 
try switching norton off

try removing the wireless profiles and re enter the password on connection
*------------------------------------------------------------------------*

*How to remove Wireless Profiles*
Removing an existing wireless "profile"
*------------------------------------------------------------------------*


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## networknewbie99 (Mar 12, 2011)

*Re: wireless adapter can't connect to dhcp*

HOw do I turn off the security on the router?

It looks like the router doesn't see the adapter, b/c it's no longer listed in attached devices. The space for it is there, but the only thing it shows is the MAC address for it. 

In the router log, it does say something about "time syncronized with NTP server." It looks successfu, so I'm assuming it means its for the laptop with the working internet. When I looked at the computer's event log there were a lot of errors from W32Time stating "Time Provider NtpClient: An error occurred during DNS lookup of the manually configured peer 'time.windows.com,0x1'. NtpClient will try the DNS lookup again in 120minutes. The error was: A socket operation was attempted to an unreachable host. I don't know what this means, but it sounds like they are related.

I uninstalled the adapter and reinstalled it and it didn't fix the problem. What if I were to uninstall it and delete all of the network settings I have on the desktop and then try to start from scratch again?


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## networknewbie99 (Mar 12, 2011)

*Re: wireless adapter can't connect to dhcp*

I figured out how to turn off the router security and once I did that I could connect to the internet on the desktop that wasn't working, but then I lost the internet on the laptop I was working on. After a few minutes of panic I figured out how to get it back on both computers. I then turned the security back on using the laptop and then lost the internet on the desktop again, so I knew it had something to do with the security settings. Once I figured that out I double checked my password in my router settings and apparently I didn't have it right on my desktop. Once I put the right password in, the internet started right up. I have no idea how the password got changed on the desktop in the first place, but at least now it's fixed. Who would have thought it would have taken this much work to figure out the password wasn't right. Now I feel like a complete idiot. Thanks so much for your time and help. If it weren't for your advice, I never would have figured it out.


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## etaf (Dec 28, 2008)

*Re: wireless adapter can't connect to dhcp*

glad you have it all sorted now, I've seen a couple of issues with passwords just recently which have taken some time to resolve.

You can mark the thread solved - at the top of the post you will see "thread tools" click on the dropdown and select " mark solved "


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