Chances are you have had a PC that refused to connect to the Internet or you could reach other services on your local network, such as a network drive, but you couldn’t get to a specific webpage or internet based service. You’re not alone and if you don’t know how to troubleshoot such network connectivity issues, fear not, we will help you.
Whenever you troubleshoot a problem, you want to start from the most likely/possible issue and then move up from there. In this case cords and power switches. If you cannot get on the Internet, check to see if you your computer is connected to your router. If you’re operating wirelessly, check to see if you are connected by checking your network connections in the taskbar. If those are not the issue, check to see the router is on and that it is connected to the Internet (usually indicated by a green globe).
If that does not fix the issue, power cycle your devices. You should do this by unplugging your DSL/Cable Modem, Router and restarting your computer. Wait about 30 seconds before connecting your DSL/Cable modem first and wait for all the blinking lights to become solid. Take notice of the Internet light and make sure that it is getting a connection from your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Once that is done, plug your router in and wait for all the lights to become solid especially the Internet connectivity light. Turn your computer on, clear your cache (Internet Options > Delete > Check the “Temporary internet files and website files” > Click “Delete”) and try to go to any web page. Ten to one chances this will fix your problem.
If this does not work, open a command prompt by going to the command line (Run > cmd) and typing “ipconfig /all” without the quotation marks and clicking enter. If your IP address is begins with 169.254.x.x your computer does not have a valid IP address and you need to get a new one from your router. To do that you type “ipconfig /release” (without the quotation marks), hit enter and once the IP address has been flushed, type “ipconfig /renew” (without quotation marks) to get a new IP address from your router.
If you are connected wirelessly and you still cannot get an internet connection, take an Ethernet cord, plug directly into your router and check if you get a connection. If this fixes the problem, then you have a problem with your wireless settings and those need to be fixed (beyond the scope of this article). If that still does not fix the issue, skip the router and plug directly into your DSL/Cable modem. If this fixes the issue then there is configuration problem or a defective router. If it does not, then there is either an issue with your DLS/Cable modem or ISP which in that case you would need to call your ISP to fix the issue.