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My Windows 7 system is not able to pull an IP from my router's DHCP. This just started a few days ago, and I've done quite a bit of troubleshooting. Here's what I've tried in roughly chronological order:
- Renewing the IP
- Disabling/re-enabling the adapter
- Resetting winsock (
netsh winsock reset
) - Disabling Windows Firewall
- Uninstalling/reinstalling NIC drivers
- Swapping ports on the router with another system on the network that does work
- Re-crimping a connector that appeared to have been slightly damaged
- Swapping cables with another system on the network that does work
- Update: Restarting DHCP and DNS services
- Uninstalling Citrix Receiver (This was the most recently installed app although the problem began a few weeks after installation.)
- Installing a brand new Intel Gigabit NIC
After running through all the software steps and swapping things around with my working Windows 8 system, I determined the problem must be hardware which is why I purchased and installed the new NIC. Now that I've done that, I can only assume the problem must be software although I suppose it's remotely possible my new NIC is defective.
Are there any other troubleshooting steps I can try?
Update: Answering a few questions posed in the comments. I'm not aware of any software installations or configuration changes that took place immediately before the problem. I also tried a system restore to about a week back. It was successful but did not fix the problem.
IPCONFIG
shows a 169.254.x.x IP for my new NIC. The other NIC, as you might guess, says Media disconnected
. :-) I have two other computers on the network: a Windows 8 system on a wire and a Mac on wireless. I'm typing this on the Mac and my Windows 8 system is also working flawlessly. The latter is the computer I swapped cables and ports with when trying to troubleshoot initially.
I have reset the router several times. I just gave it another shot, and everything is as it was before. Win 7 system has a private self-assigned IP. Other systems came back on without a hitch.
I just tried assigning a static IP, but that doesn't seem to work either. I cannot ping the router after assigning the new IP.
Thanks for all your help. Keep 'em coming!
Update 2: I was running a scan with MSSE to see if I had contracted spyware. While the scan was running, I got a message that my video drivers had crashed. I was afraid the problem might be more serious. I tested the PSU with a multimeter and found all the rails are showing good voltage. I'm now thinking the problem might be the motherboard. I guess it could also be some type of OS problem. I'm going to try a live CD next and see what that does. Any tips for testing the motherboard?
Final Update: I wish I could instead post an answer, but the resolution here doesn't really answer anything.
I was attempting to perform the TCP/IP stack reset suggested by @Tom. When I started the computer, everything was working perfectly. I switched back to my original NIC, and that seems to work too. I feel like perhaps my motherboard is failing, but only time will tell.
Thank you all for your help!
1This question appears to be off-topic because it is unanswerable/untestable; OP (re)booted and problem went away. – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 – 2014-12-02T16:56:57.300
1Do you know what caused this? Have you installed any new software or did you configure any thing? – Dave – 2013-09-18T12:20:06.093
@DaveRook Nothing was installed immediately prior to the problem, to my knowledge and no configuration changes were made. We turned the computer on one day, and it was like this. – raddevon – 2013-09-18T12:21:27.393
1What happens if you do
IPCONFIG
andIPCONFIG /ALL
? Do other devices get their IP from the router? – Dave – 2013-09-18T12:42:47.5731The only thing I see you didn't try was hitting the reset button on the router. – Ramhound – 2013-09-18T12:47:35.823
1Not sure Why this hasn't been mentioned yet, can you get access if you assign a static Ip address? – 50-3 – 2013-09-18T13:00:16.563
@DaveRook Updated the question with your answer. – raddevon – 2013-09-18T13:39:49.040
@Ramhound Updated the question with your answer. – raddevon – 2013-09-18T13:40:17.260
@50-3 Updated the question with your answer. – raddevon – 2013-09-18T13:40:47.653
Can you swap the cable you crimped with one that you have on a working system? – Moses – 2013-09-18T13:53:18.010
@Moses Yes, I have that in my list of things I've tried. I've used the cable from the working system with the non-working system. It still can't pull an IP from DHCP. I've also tried the non-working system's cable in the port the working system is connected to with the same result. – raddevon – 2013-09-18T18:14:13.530
1Do you have any free IP addresses? How long is the lease time for addresses? – MDMoore313 – 2013-09-18T18:46:51.310
@MDMoore313 DHCP ranges from .2 to .254, and I'm only using 7 addresses. The lease time is 86400. – raddevon – 2013-09-18T19:30:19.487
1@raddevon have you taken the machine to a different LAN to see if it pulls an address there? – MDMoore313 – 2013-09-18T19:35:00.627
@MDMoore313 I have not tried that. Unfortunately, I don't have a good way to do that right now. I could try that later this week though. Thanks for the suggestion. – raddevon – 2013-09-18T19:50:42.193
1@raddevon do you have an additional router you could setup? or $40 to 'rent' one from your closest tech store? – MDMoore313 – 2013-09-18T19:51:44.283
2Have you tried a live version Linux to see if the problem exists? That will further isolate hardware vs software. – prateek61 – 2013-09-18T20:40:51.143
@prateek61 That's a good call. I will try that. Thank you! – raddevon – 2013-09-18T22:22:58.310