can access lan, but not internet

[minibubba]

I've got a friend a few thousand miles from here that can't get on the internet but can access files on other computers on the same network. He gets a message about not being able to renew his IP address. The other comps on this little home lan can connect to the net just fine. If anyone can give me any tips on how to solve this I would appreciate it.

[Mr.Tweak]

Are the IPs on each system assigned auto through DHCP or manually?

[minibubba]

it's set to auto...they have also said that the only thing that doesn't seem to be working is the tcp/ip..whcih they can't renew and have tried to reinsatll the drivers and set up the netwrk again though winxp's Network Setup Wizard

[Mr.Tweak]

Set all the machines up with manual IP's then it is easier to share the Internet by setting default DNS and gateway and whatever else.

This may assist your friend:

http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=guide&dId=178

[minibubba]

does being connected to a router make any difference?

[Mr.Tweak]

Yes and no - but not really. If you are using a router it would assign an IP to each system to connected to it through DHCP and should share the Internet with little hassle.

The other solution to this is finding out the IP of the router (using ending with .0) and making this your default DNS and gateway for Internet access.

[minibubba]

it's already set up that way...he's comp has been able to connect to the net just fine until very recently..since we talked today, I'm assuming this began today...even played him in ut2003 a few days ago

my point is, something has happend recently to cause this to happen, and i would like to fix it so he can get back to using his comp like normal...he wants to just format and see if that fixes it, but i would prefer to know what's going on

[Mr.Tweak]

Hmm, well that makes me think its either something very simple (check cables) or some very serious (dead hardware).

[minibubba]

cables are all good, well at least I assume so...they said they checked them. If it is hardware, why can he still access the LAN, but not the internet? I would think that if it is his NIC, then he wouldn't be able to get to the LAN either. I did ask him to put in a different NIC to see if that was the problem, but he wont be able to till tomorrow. I doubt it is the router either, since all the other comps (3?) behind it can still though to the internet like they always have. And this brings me back to my original demlima...I've tried just about everything I can think of, but not being there in person is hindering me. It's probably something so simple I'll be laughing at myself later. I really need some ideas here.

[minibubba]

btw, thanks for your help so far

[Mr.Tweak]

Beyond me now, maybe someone else can help...

[Andy]

does he have the gateway ip address set right?

[Mr.Tweak]

You could also try resetting the router back to default settings... you never know!

[minibubba]

It's a few hours earlier over there, so I can't ask until later, but I would assume that his gateway IP is correct, he has wasing the internet just fine a few days ago and has been using this router for over a year. In addition, I wouldn't think that he would be able to access the LAN if he didn't have the gateway IP right. I'll ask them to reset the router to defaults as soon as I talk to them.

[Andy]

the gateway ip is the one the computer uses to get its internet access when its on a LAN