I am installing the fourth computer on my wired network, I have had no problems connecting the other three. By all indications, I should have no problems, the compter is reporting that it's connected to the network at 100Mpbs, the amber and green lights on the back of the NIC are on and the green light blinks when attempting to access the Internet, and the router recognizes the computer. My router is a wired Linksys BEFSR41. What could be wrong?

Thanks.

-Jake

Tell us if you use static IP's or let another device provide dhcp.
Tell us the network settings by using the command ipconfig.
Can you access the router via the web based setup? Can you tell if you enabled any mac filters or limits on how many dhcp clients.

Also did you set the router's IP as gateway for the new computer along with dns server?

No static IPs.

ipconfig:
connection-specific dns suffix: [nothing]
autoconfiguration ip address: 169.254.157.103
subnet mask: 255.255.0.0
default gateway: [nothing]

I can't access the router in a browser (typing 192.168.1.1 in the address bar).

When I looked at filtered MAC addresses (i'm not sure of what that means to be honest), i got a list of "mac 1:", "mac 2:", all the way up to "mac 10:", all are set to 0.

How do you check DHCP client limits? this may be what you're asking for:
Number of Address: 50
DHCP Address Range: 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.149

I'm not sure of how to set the router's IP as gateway, perhaps you could instruct me on this?

Thanks for the reply.

Hi, it seems your dhcp server is not working or not online.

try to setup a static ip:

Right-click My Network Places, and then click Properties.

The Network And Dial-Up Connections window appears.

Right-click Local Area Connection, and then click Properties.

The Local Area Connection Properties dialog box appears, displaying the network adapter in use and the network components used in this connection.

Click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then verify that the check box to the left of the entry is selected.

Click Properties.

The Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box appears.

Click Use The Following IP Address.

ip-adress: 192.168.1.150
subnetmask: 255.255.255.0
gateway: 192.168.1.1
dns: 192.168.1.1

confirm all with ok.

now try to access the router on 192.168.1.1
if it doesnt work, it isnt a config problem.

Hey, thanks for the advice. It appears to have worked somewhat... When I pinged another computer on the network there was 50% loss and when it was successful the time was less than 1ms. That is definitely better than it was but I can't ping the computer with other computers and it still can't access the Internet. Thanks again.

If you notice the IP number you have it means that your dhcp server is not working correctly or your network card setup is not pointing to that dhcp server. (tiro stated this) XP provides a way to get an IP to sort of save the day. That is the that 169.x.x.x number.

Look that the settings on the other computers. Since you say they work, they must have some configuration that is different.

As above you can try a 192.166.1.150 /24 in and try it again. Ping is not a real good test. Some installs won't reply to a test if some firewalls are installed. You can use ping if you know it will reply.

169.254.157.103 is a special address that means, "I can't find a DHCP server, help!".

- Scandisk, defrag, and run an up-to-date AVS and a spyware detector on your PC.

- Disable your firewall; you don't need it behind the router and that's usually the problem. If you want the firewall configure it to know the PC is on a LAN and/or knows IP addresses 192.168.0.1 through 192.168.255.255 are "local".

- Go to the command prompt and type

ping 127.0.0.1

This is the loopback address for your NIC and if you get 5 OKs back it's generally good. However make sure you have the right drivers loaded for that NIC. Visit the mfr's website and see if there's a later version to install.

- Check the cable to make sure you're using a straight-through and it's firmly inserted on both ends. Try trading out the cable with another one and see if it starts working.

- Switch LAN ports with another PC on your network. If the problem persists on the old PC, it's not your router. If the problem moves to the other PC you may have a broken router. Reload the firmware (latest version, d/l'd from the mfr website) and re-run your router setup. If it still doesn't work either buy a new router or don't use that port again.

- Go into your router's configuration menu and make sure that the DHCP server is enabled. On you PC set TCP/IP to "Assign IP Address Automatically" and "Use DHCP Server for WINS resolution".

DHCP server is enabled... whether the IP address is assigned automatically or manually it pings 127.0.0.1 fine. I switched the cable with another computer on the LAN and no problems... I tried everything listed here: http://www.techsupportforum.com/archive/index.php/t-67253.html with no success. I've tried three different network interface chipsets (onboard and two PCI cards with onboard disabled). No firewall is on, no anti-virus software.

Any more ideas? Thanks very much for the replies.

"I switched the cable with another computer on the LAN and no problems..."

So when you moved it to another LAN port it worked fine? It's your router. Reload the router's firmware and setup your connection to your gateway again; if that port still doesn't work the router is defective and should be replaced.

I think the router is fine.

The problem is with the new computer. Use ipconfig /all on all computers and see what is different.

I guess your dhcp client could be not starting. See services and see what dhcp and related services say.