Can you help me diagnose network problem?

[Funkman111]

Hi, I use a pc that is four years old for a lot of gaming and web browsing. Currently I am living with my parents and using their wifi internet. Today I was playing world of tanks when it started stuttering and lagging. I went out and turned the modem off and on again (it has no reset button) I have done this hundreds of times before and it usually fixes the problem.

Well when I came back there was no internet at all on my computer. I restarted 3 further times with the same result. Then I saw my mother using her ipad no problems, so I tried my tablet and found the internet works fine on my tablet.

I experimented with a few things on my computer, and I found that steam loads and updates itself fine, but when it tries to display the steam homepage or steam news pop ups, it displays an error and cant load them. When I try to loggin to World of Tanks, it wont log in and gives me an error.

Clearly there is still some network functionality as Steam was able to update itself, but there is absolutely no internet connectivity.

So does anyone know what the problem is - software or hardware? I suspect I may need to buy a new wifi card, would that likely fix the problem?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Mr.Scott]

If you can receive updates then there is no internet problem. Software issue. Try repairing your OS.

 

[trents]

What does the connection status icon in the taskbar notification area (far right end of task bar) tell you about the connection status? What is it's appearance? Is there a yellow triangle or a line through it? When you hover over it with the mouse pointer what message do you get about the connection?

 

[Funkman111]

The connection status icon is normal, it doesnt have the yellow icon over it or anything.

When I hover my cursor over the icon it says
'Identifying....
Internet Accesss'

 

[NiHaoMike]

Try setting DNS to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 .

 

[trents]

Hi, I use a pc that is four years old for a lot of gaming and web browsing. Currently I am living with my parents and using their wifi internet. Today I was playing world of tanks when it started stuttering and lagging. I went out and turned the modem off and on again (it has no reset button) I have done this hundreds of times before and it usually fixes the problem.

Well when I came back there was no internet at all on my computer. I restarted 3 further times with the same result. Then I saw my mother using her ipad no problems, so I tried my tablet and found the internet works fine on my tablet.

I experimented with a few things on my computer, and I found that steam loads and updates itself fine, but when it tries to display the steam homepage or steam news pop ups, it displays an error and cant load them. When I try to loggin to World of Tanks, it wont log in and gives me an error.

Clearly there is still some network functionality as Steam was able to update itself, but there is absolutely no internet connectivity.

So does anyone know what the problem is - software or hardware? I suspect I may need to buy a new wifi card, would that likely fix the problem?

Thanks for your help.

When this solution has worked for you in the past, were others in the house experiencing connectivity problems at the same time? If so, it suggests to me a problem with the modem/router. It drops the signal. If others were not experiencing connectivity issues at these times then it suggests to me a wifi card or wifi card driver issue with your computer. Dropped connections occasionally are pretty normal but if it happens frequently it indicates failing network hardware or driver issues or possibly excessive radio frequency interference. You may be having more than one thing going on here.

One thing I would certainly try is buying a USB wifi adapter for your computer to see if that solves the problem. They aren't expensive. Here's a good one I've used often: https://www.amazon.com/Panda-300Mbp...839026&sr=8-2&keywords=panda+usb+wifi+adapter