# Specific Realtek NIC XP x64 Router Connection Issue



## evolros (May 23, 2008)

I have a very specific issue that is driving me crazy:

I have a desktop XP x64 machine that refuses to connect to any router. Here's my setup: I have a DSL modem going to a Wireless Router (TrendNet TEW-432BRP). I have this all setup right as I can connect wirelessly successfully to the Internet on a MacBook (32-bit) and I can connect through the router physically with a LAN cable on a 32-bit XP desktop machine.

However, the XP x64 machine will not connect through a wired connection. Using the same cable though I can successfully connect my MacBook (32-bit).

And the crazy thing is that the XP x64 machine can connect if it's connected directly to the DSL modem! I'm stumped.

It's not the cables, it's not the router (unless it's a firmware issue with 64-bit OSes), I've updated the NIC drivers on the XP x64 machine (it's a Realtek RTL8168/8111 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC), it's not the DSL modem.

I can literally take the cable out of the back of the XP x64 machine and plug it into another computer and it works great. When I plug it into the XP x64 machine it says the "I see the LAN, but not the Internet" message. It gets a successful IP in range from the wireless router, it just doesn't connect to the Internet.

I'm stumped. I'm in the process of updating the firmware on the router to see if that does anything.

Thanks.


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

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

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following commands, one at a time, followed by the _*Enter*_ key:

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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## evolros (May 23, 2008)

Thanks for your help:

C:\>nbtstat -n

Local Area Connection:
Node IpAddress: [169.254.16.247] Scope Id: []

NetBIOS Local Name Table

Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
NEWTON-DESKTOP2<00> UNIQUE Registered
NEWTON-DESKTOP2<20> UNIQUE Registered
MSHOME <00> GROUP Registered
MSHOME <1E> GROUP Registered
MSHOME <1D> UNIQUE Registered
..__MSBROWSE__. <01> GROUP Registered

C:\>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : newton-desktop2
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8168/8111 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1A-4D-59-FE-F8
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.16.247
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 169.254.16.247
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

C:\>

I just noticed that the IP address the XP x64 machine is getting, 169.254.16.247 is not within the DHCP range of the Wireless Router.


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## evolros (May 23, 2008)

I also updated the firmware of the TrendNet wireless router. This didn't help.

It's not a conflicting IP address with the wireless router either, as I'm able to simultaneously use a laptop wirelessly and an XP 32-bit desktop (wired into the router). They both can connect to Internet fine.


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## evolros (May 23, 2008)

An update: I had the DNS set to a bad address on the XP x64-bit machine. 

I set it to automatic and the XP x64 machine connected to the Internet, but it was very, very slow and intermittent. So I decided to restart the machine and now it's doing exactly what it did before. It connects to the router but still gives the "Limited or No Connectivity" message. Both the IP address and DNS address are set to automatic. I can still take the ethernet cable out of the back of the machine and plug it into my laptop and the laptop connects fine. When I plugged the cable back into the XP x64 machine, it connected again, but it's very slow and intermittent. The laptop, when it connects off the same cable, is really fast. The XP x64 seems to drop in an out. I did a speed test online and it definitely showed it dropping off an on.

Any ideas? I was thinking it could be the length of the DSL cable, which is probably 30 to 40 feet from the router (goes through the walls of my house) but the laptop connects fine off the same cable.

I did another IPCONFIG /all and its basically the same info as before except the IP Address is now 192.168.1.100 (within the DHCP range of the wireless router) and the Default Gateway, DHCP, and DNS servers are now 192.168.1.1 (the IP address of the wireless router).


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

Well, that's progress, you are connected to the router.

Try these simple tests.

Hold the *Windows* key and press *R*, then type *CMD* (_COMMAND for W98/WME)_ to open a command prompt:

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following commands one at a time, followed by the _*Enter*_ key:

IPCONFIG

PING <computer_IP_address>

PING <default_gateway_address>

PING 216.109.112.135

PING yahoo.com

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

*<computer_IP_address>* - The *IP Address* of your computer, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above.

*<default_gateway_address>* - The IP address of the *Default Gateway*, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above.

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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## evolros (May 23, 2008)

C:\>ipconfig

Windows IP Configuration

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.100
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

C:\>ping 192.168.1.100

Pinging 192.168.1.100 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.1.100: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.100: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.100: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.100: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.100:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

C:\>ping 192.168.1.1

Pinging 192.168.1.1 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=127
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=127
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=127

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 3, Lost = 1 (25% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

C:\>ping 216.109.112.135

Pinging 216.109.112.135 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 216.109.112.135: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=56
Reply from 216.109.112.135: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=56
Reply from 216.109.112.135: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=56
Reply from 216.109.112.135: bytes=32 time=23ms TTL=56

Ping statistics for 216.109.112.135:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 23ms, Maximum = 23ms, Average = 23ms

C:\>ping yahoo.com

Pinging yahoo.com [66.94.234.13] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 66.94.234.13: bytes=32 time=81ms TTL=56
Reply from 66.94.234.13: bytes=32 time=80ms TTL=56
Reply from 66.94.234.13: bytes=32 time=90ms TTL=56
Reply from 66.94.234.13: bytes=32 time=89ms TTL=56

Ping statistics for 66.94.234.13:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 80ms, Maximum = 90ms, Average = 85ms

C:\>

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I'm actually posting this from the XP x64 machine. It connects now, and actually the connection isn't slow, it's just very intermittent. Some web sites are loading really fast and others don't load at all, or load partially and then hang. You can see in the above PINGS that I had a dropout when pinging my gateway.

Could this be the result of cable length and my router? My other laptop connects fine off the cable and the XP x64 machine could always connect straight to the DSL modem fine with this same length of cable. It is about 30 to 50 feet though.

Thanks!


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## evolros (May 23, 2008)

I think I found a solution/work-around:

I decided to try to move the wireless router closer to the XP x64 machine. At the router, I unplugged the 40 foot ethernet cable that was connecting the XP x64 machine to the router, and I plugged this into my DSL modem. (This is a cable that travels through the walls of my house.) Then I moved the wireless router up to where my XP x64 machine is (instead of 40 feet away in the basement). I then took the other end of the 40 foot cable out of my XP x64 machine and plugged it into the WAN of the wireless router, then ran a 3 foot ethernet cable to my XP x64 machine.

Now, things are super-fast on all machines wired and wirelessly connected to the router. So maybe it's some kind of issue with the NIC in the XP x64-bit machine and cable lengths. Maybe the NIC in my laptop is able to pick up a weaker signal or something. That's the only thing that explains it being able to pick up a signal off the 50 ft cable and the XP x64 machine not being able to.

This is kind of annoying because I'd prefer to have the wireless router in the basement with all my other telephony and DSL equipment. But I guess it'll have to do for now, because the XP x64 machine is my workstation that HAS to have a fast Internet connection in order for me to work.

Ross


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

Actually, I'd suspect a mis-wired cable, that's the classic symptom.

CAT5 Cable Wiring Diagram

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN CAT 5, TWISTED-PAIR NETWORK CABLES


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## evolros (May 23, 2008)

Meaning that somewhere between the modem and XP x64 machine there's a cable that has it's wires flipped unevenly? A couple of them are ones that I made from CAT-5 cable.

However I would think the laptop I connect with the same cables would experience the same issue and it always connected fine.

Another forum mentioned that I should try setting the adapter in the XP x64 machine to half-duplex instead of full-duplex. Is there merit to that?


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

Trust me, I'd check the cables first. You can get all sorts of oddball issues if the twisted pairs are not properly matched!


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