My dell inspiron wont connect to the internet

[Charmander]

Okay, so my computer has been unable to use the internet for about a week. I had to look on troubleshooting and it said
"Your computer appears to be correctly configured but the device or service (www.microsoft.com) is not responding"

for the solution it says
"Contact your work administrator or Internet Service Provider (ISP)"

The other computers in the house are working fine, and i went to my friends house to use the internet there, and i got the same exact error.
This has been going on for about a week, and i want to be able to use the internet.
Anyone know what to do with the error?

 

[Sapphire Dragon]

What version of Windows are you using? Also, what type of internet is it (wireless, DSL, dial-up)?

 

[Charmander]

What version of Windows are you using? Also, what type of internet is it (wireless, DSL, dial-up)?

I am using windows 7 and wireless (time warner cable) internet

 

[Sapphire Dragon]

Unfortunately I'm on XP, so I can only help you with what I know.

First, find the Device Manager and go to the "Wireless Zero" service. Check to see what the status is, and start it if it's stopped/paused/something else. You have to be an administrator on your computer to do this.

You should also check to see if your wireless router's driver is working properly on that computer. You have to get to the Device Manager to do this, and then right click on the router and check its properties.

Hope this helps, and I wish I was on W7 so I could be more specific/sure. ><

 

[Charmander]

Unfortunately I'm on XP, so I can only help you with what I know.

First, find the Device Manager and go to the "Wireless Zero" service. Check to see what the status is, and start it if it's stopped/paused/something else. You have to be an administrator on your computer to do this.
Done,it was not on, turned it on, still no luck
You should also check to see if your wireless router's driver is working properly on that computer. You have to get to the Device Manager to do this, and then right click on the router and check its properties.

There is no "router" in device manager anymore
Hope this helps, and I wish I was on W7 so I could be more specific/sure. ><

Response in orange, still need help

 

[Sapphire Dragon]

Go to Network Connections and make sure your wireless internet is enabled. If your Dell has a wireless switch on it somewhere, make sure it is turned on. Wait a little while to see if it connects. If it doesn't, then restart your computer and see if it works.

 

[Charmander]

Go to Network Connections and make sure your wireless internet is enabled. If your Dell has a wireless switch on it somewhere, make sure it is turned on. Wait a little while to see if it connects. If it doesn't, then restart your computer and see if it works.

none of the above worked, i tried that the first day this happened, its been a week.

 

[Sapphire Dragon]

I'd say try it again one more time. Since you didn't have Wireless Zero enabled then restarting and checking again after you restart to make sure everything is still on would be a good idea. Then if it still doesn't connect:

What ISP do you have, and what brand/type is your router?

 

[Charmander]

I'd say try it again one more time. Since you didn't have Wireless Zero enabled then restarting and checking again after you restart to make sure everything is still on would be a good idea. Then if it still doesn't connect:

What ISP do you have
I have no idea, that may be my problem
and what brand/type is your router?I have a netgear router, it works for the comp im using right now, just not MY laptop >.<

*goes through internet withdrawl symptoms*

 

[Sapphire Dragon]

Yeah, you need to find out what ISP you're using. XP

As for the Netgear router, what's the model of it? (you know, a random combination of letters and numbers that identifies the specific router)

 

[Charmander]

Yeah, you need to find out what ISP you're using. XP

As for the Netgear router, what's the model of it? (you know, a random combination of letters and numbers that identifies the specific router)

What does the/an isp look like? The error said something about an ISP, so that might be it, the problem is the only thing i know about isp s is that it stands for internet service provider

 

[Sapphire Dragon]

It's the company that provides your internet service. It's not a physical thing.

 

[Charmander]

It's the company that provides your internet service. It's not a physical thing.

oh, fail, its time warner cable
nothing was wrong until this week

 

[Sapphire Dragon]

Ah, I see. XD Saw it earlier but I didn't recognize it as an ISP.

There could be a few reasons why your internet still won't connect. One reason is that you might have some kind of virus (likely if you use IE and also go on facebook/myspace). Did you change anything at all on your computer that could have a connection to your internet this week before this started happening?

Also, go through this troubleshooter on their site, it may help you: http://www.timewarnercable.com/Localization/Corporate.ashx?tid=21&linkid=49

 

[Charmander]

Ah, I see. XD Saw it earlier but I didn't recognize it as an ISP.

There could be a few reasons why your internet still won't connect. One reason is that you might have some kind of virus (likely if you use IE and also go on facebook/myspace). Did you change anything at all on your computer that could have a connection to your internet this week before this started happening?

Also, go through this troubleshooter on their site, it may help you: http://www.timewarnercable.com/Localization/Corporate.ashx?tid=21&linkid=49

I use firefox, and never use myspace/facebook
If i have a virus, how can i get rid of it, i cant get a program to delete it (due to my loss of internet)

 

[Sapphire Dragon]

You went through their troubleshooter first, right? Because this next step is pretty long. XD

Restart your computer that doesn't have internet (you will need to) and then follow these steps to get virus protection on your comp:

[collapse=Virus Protection Offline]Do you have a flash drive or a blank CD? Flash drive is preferred, but you can get the program on whatever computer you're using now and transfer it to your computer without internet. You have to move a few specific files first and get all the info you need from your computer you installed it on to the computer you want it on. It's kind of a lengthy process but it's worth it.

I'd recommend getting Spybot Search & Destroy, MalwareBytes, CCleaner, and Ad-Aware to start off.

Spybot: http://fileforum.betanews.com/download/Spybot-Search-Destroy/1043809773/1
MalwareBytes: http://www.filehippo.com/download_malwarebytes_anti_malware/
CCleaner: http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/
Ad-Aware: http://www.filehippo.com/download_ad-aware/

Once you install all of them, go to C:\ Program Files and look for their folder (some might have the company name as the folder, i.e. "Lavasoft" for Ad-Aware's folder) then copy/paste it into your flash drive or burn it to your CD. I know CCleaner only needs the program to work so once you do this, you can run CC immediately. The others require you to get more files first, and they can be found by searching for other folders. You can do this by doing a search for files and folders, and putting in "Spybot", "Lavasoft", "Ad-Aware", and "MalwareBytes" into the search box (not all at once, just one search at a time). Once you've found those files, look at their location. Copy/paste the files into your flash drive and then put them on your other computer, and remember to put them in the SAME location they were in on the computer you installed the program to. This should work.

You can also talk to me on AIM/MSN/ICQ to make this go a lot easier. XD[/collapse]

 

[Zeroxius]

Well, being a g33k mahself, I could potentially help. =D

(This is assuming you have a software-based problem, seeing as your laptop cannot connect to other access points as well as your own.)

If I was in your situation, I would try to remember exactly the things I did on it the day it went kaput, and reverse any changes I can remember making.

If the problem still isn't fixed after that, or I can't remember anything (Which will most likely be the case), then I would proceed to install and run a virus scanner, like SRyu above suggested. Spybot is one of my personal favorites, and I use it all the time to remove viruses from my client's computers. I highly recommend it. Also, Norton is absolutely phenomenal, and is one of my favorites. It has not failed me once, but you have to purchase it to have it remove the infected files. (Don't flame me for loving Norton plz.)

If there is no virus, I would proceed to check my modem/network card's entries in the device manager to make sure the drivers are installed and intact. I would uninstall and then reinstall them just to make sure, even if they are fine. I've had some instances where the drivers reported being up to date, when in fact they were ancient.

After this, if the problem still persists, then I would wipe and reinstall the Windows 7 OS. This has never failed to fix a problem of any sort for me, but it's up to you.

 

[Charmander]

Well, being a g33k mahself, I could potentially help. =D

(This is assuming you have a software-based problem, seeing as your laptop cannot connect to other access points as well as your own.)

If I was in your situation, I would try to remember exactly the things I did on it the day it went kaput, and reverse any changes I can remember making.

If the problem still isn't fixed after that, or I can't remember anything (Which will most likely be the case), then I would proceed to install and run a virus scanner, like SRyu above suggested. Spybot is one of my personal favorites, and I use it all the time to remove viruses from my client's computers. I highly recommend it. Also, Norton is absolutely phenomenal, and is one of my favorites. It has not failed me once, but you have to purchase it to have it remove the infected files. (Don't flame me for loving Norton plz.)

If there is no virus, I would proceed to check my modem/network card's entries in the device manager to make sure the drivers are installed and intact. I would uninstall and then reinstall them just to make sure, even if they are fine. I've had some instances where the drivers reported being up to date, when in fact they were ancient.

After this, if the problem still persists, then I would wipe and reinstall the Windows 7 OS. This has never failed to fix a problem of any sort for me, but it's up to you.

If you wipe/reinstall w7, will it wipe your entire harddrive, or just windows 7?
The comp im on has a download block, so a virus programs gonna be hard to get
I used that one virus scanner that comes with the comp (name still escapes me) I had a virus, i got rid of it, checked internet, only to not be able to connect


EDIT: can you save it to an sd card rather than a cd/flash drive, that could work(maybe)

 

[Sapphire Dragon]

Wiping an OS wipes your entire drive. You need to save all of your things to an external hard drive if you really want to reinstall your OS. Also, your system settings you had will all be erased, and you can't save those (at least not very easily, as far as I know).

You can save it to an SD card, but you're going to need more than one I think. How big is your SD card?

 

[Zeroxius]

If you wipe/reinstall w7, will it wipe your entire harddrive, or just windows 7?
The comp im on has a download block, so a virus programs gonna be hard to get
I used that one virus scanner that comes with the comp (name still escapes me) I had a virus, i got rid of it, checked internet, only to not be able to connect


EDIT: can you save it to an sd card rather than a cd/flash drive, that could work(maybe)

Yeah. It erases all of your files and makes a new operating system, as if you had bought the computer new. Be SURE to save all the files you need before you wipe it, because it's a pain to recover files that have been wiped.

You can save files on an SD card, that's what SD cards were made for. Spybot requires you to have an internet connection to install it, but I know how to get it on your machine without internet if you want to hear.

All the files for Spybot should fit in a 1Gb SD card with no problems. It's not a very large program.

 

[Charmander]

Problem, windows seven came with the computer, meaning i dont have it on a disk. If i delete the os, i would have to buy it -__-
Ideas?

I FIXED IT!

ironicly, it was because the 30-day trial for McCafee came with my computer, so i deleted the files, as the trial was over, and BAM internet!

 

[Sapphire Dragon]

Wow, seriously? XD

Reason #563,378 why you do NOT get antvirus/spyware/malware programs you have to pay for. Lmao.

Glad you got your internet back.

 

[Charmander]

Wow, seriously? XD

Reason #563,378 why you do NOT get antvirus/spyware/malware programs you have to pay for. Lmao.

Glad you got your internet back.

lol
Also, look at the avi i made while secluded from the internet, pretty sweet eh?

 

[Zeroxius]

Well glad you got it fixed! I'm not gonna get into recommending antivirus programs, because I'll just rage all day long.

But glad you got it fixed! =D