Computer Repair Basics - Troubleshooting an Internet Connection That Isn't Working

As people rely on the internet more and more for completing tasks in their daily lives, having a computer that's unable to connect to the internet can be very frustrating. Often the solution is very simple, and the following steps can be used to troubleshoot the problem yourself prior to calling a computer repair technician to troubleshoot it.

Start by locating the DSL or cable modem and/or router. This is the small black or sometimes white box that connects the computer to your internet service provider. If you have a cable modem there will often be 2 boxes: one which is the cable-modem itself, and the other which is the router. DSL subscribers will often have only one. Next-- power off the modem and the router (if there is one) by disconnecting the thin black power cable that is connected to it. After about 30 seconds plug the power back in, wait for a few minutes and then see if the computer's internet connection has been restored.

If the internet connection still isn't work you may want to call your internet service provider to see if they are experiencing an outage in your area. If so you can simply wait for the internet connection to be restored when your internet provider is done working on it. If there is no outage then you will need to continue troubleshooting.

If your internet connection still isn't working then you will need to look at the back of the computer where the network cable plugs in to it. The network cable is a thin cord with what's called an RJ45 jack on the end of it (an RJ45 jack looks like an oversized telephone jack). On the back of the computer where the RJ45 jack on the end of the network cable plugs into the computer there will be what's known as a "link light". The link light is a very small rectangular green or amber-colored light that lights up when it sees a connection. Unplug the network cable from the back of the computer and plug it back in, watching to see if the light goes from off to on again when the cable is plugged back in. If you plug the cable back in and nothing changes then it's possible that you have a bad network cable, which is easily replaced. If you do have a link light on the back of the computer then you know the problem isn't the network cable.

At this point troubleshooting gets more complicated so you will need to make a decision whether to call a computer repair service center and have them send a technician to check out your network, or to continue troubleshooting the problem yourself.

The next step is to open what's called a Command Prompt to see if you can "ping" the router. To open a Command Prompt in Windows XP go to the Start menu and select the "run" item. A small box will then come up asking you to type the name of the program that you want to run. Type "cmd" (without quotes) into the box and then press enter. One Windows 7 or Vista, click on the Start menu and type the letters "cmd" (without quotes) and press enter. A black box with a blinking cursor will then pop up, which is the Command Prompt.

In the Command Prompt window type "ipconfig" (again without quotes) and press enter. The computer's internet configuration will then be displayed on the screen. One of the lines will say "Default Gateway..." followed by a number separated by periods (192.168.1.100 or something similar). The number that you see on the Default Gateway line is the network address of your router. You will then need to type the word "ping" followed by a space and then the numeric Default Gateway address exactly as it appears, and then press enter. For example if my Default Gateway address is displaying as 192.168.1.1 I would type the following into the command prompt window.

ping 192.168.1.1

By pinging the default gateway you are attempting to contact your router and asking it for a response. After pressing enter you will get a series of messages that say either "Reply" or "Timeout". If you are getting Reply messages then it is likely that the problem is with your internet service providers' equipment and they will be responsible for fixing it. If you are getting Timeout messages then there is either a software problem on your PC or your router has gone bad and needs to be replaced.

If at this point your internet connection still isn't working then you may want to contact a computer repair service center and ask them to have a computer network technician look further into the problem.

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