# Limited Connectivity Problem and Local Area Connection Network Cable 'Unplugged'



## Chrome-red (May 25, 2011)

First, thanks in advance for any help! Here's what I'm dealing with:
- Sony Vaio laptop model PCG-5J2L with Vista
-Cisco Linksys E2000 router
- Westell DSL modem from ISP (AT&T)
Our home network consists of a desktop PC which is rarely used, my Sony laptop, a Dell laptop & a Sony netbook. Any time I talk about a laptop I mean the Sony. If you want specs on the Dell, please let me know, but I figure I should try to fix one laptop at a time. This is how the network is wired: white cable from phone jack in wall to Westell modem, blue cable from modem to router, ethernet cable from router to back of desktop tower. Both router and modem are plugged into power. 

The trouble began on Friday when I reset the router. Initially I only pushed the button for a second but I didn't see a response so I held the button until the blue lights on the router flashed green. I guess this brought down the network because I had to reintroduce my laptop to the network as if I were installing the router for the first time. I was able to connect to the network and was told I had 'excellent' signnal strength, but any time I tried to open Internet Explorer it would say 'IE cannot display the webpage.' I opened Network Connections and it said that the Network Cable was unplugged for the Local Area Connection when it clearly was. plugged in. I checked all the cables anyway. Finally I found a thread on a forum that spoke about linksys routers and at&t modems that suggested I log on to the router at http://192.168.1.1/index.asp & change the IP address to 192.168.2.1 This seemed to work great- my laptop found the internet and after giving my at&t credentials and changing my password I had internet again.

Then yesterday trouble struck again. My family was working using both laptops and the netbook when the Dell laptop began displaying the 'IE cannot display this webpage' message. My laptop was still working fine when this happened but about 15 minutes later when I tried to use the internet, I got the same message. Both laptops said they WERE connected to the network with excellent strength but limited connectivity and under Network Connections both again displayed that their Network Cables were unplugged. Through all of this, the netbook never experienced any problems whatsoever and is still connected to the internet. The funny thing is that if you check the Network Connections for the netbook, it ALSO says the Network Cable is unplugged & that it is connected to the network via a 802.11 n Wireless LAN Card. Ive tried some basic things like checking that the IP and DNS server addresses are obtained automatically and doing the 'ipconfig/all' under Command. The later only confirms that under Ethernet Adapter Local Area Connection the Media State is Media Disconnected. 

I appreciate any advice provided. I honestly have no clue where to proceed from here. I apologize if my descriptions are very simplistic; This is the first time I've dealt with anything like this. Thanks again!!


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

Are you able to reach the router from any of the PC's? If are still able to log in to the router, then your LAN is still operational. At which point, check the router info/stats and see if still has valid info (such as an IP address from your ISP).

If you can't reach or log in to the router, then there is an issue with the router/switch. The first step would be to power cycle the hardware and test again after it boots.


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## Chrome-red (May 25, 2011)

Only the desktop PC and the Sony netbook are able to access the router. If I try to access the router from either the Sony laptop or the Dell, the internet page reads 'this address is not valid' 

I hope this is what you mean- I logged on to the router and under the Setup tab-->Network Setup-->Router IP-->IP address it reads 192.168.2.1


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

The router IP (192.168.2.1) is the router LAN IP. It should also have an external IP...which is the IP from your ISP.

Are the desktop PC and the Sony able to access the internet during this "outage"? I notice above that the desktop PC is using an ethernet connection. Is the Sony also hardwired or is it using wireless?


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## 2xg (Aug 5, 2009)

Hello,

Let's verify if you have all the network cables and connections plugged in to the proper Ports. From the Modem, the network cable need to be plugged in to the Router's WAN or Internet Port. Your computer needs to be wired to the LAN Port of your router.
Choose a diff LAN Port to see if there's an issue with the Port that you're using.

Power Cycle your devices if above is confirmed. The step-by-step guide shd help you.

Please post an update.


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