Cant acquire an IP Address - Please Help!

[jdsbellis]

Hi Folks
A customer has a Dell PP04x laptop that wont acquire an ip address from a wired or wireless connection.
They are using an Orange Livebox router and and all I get is the acquiring network address in the bottom right hand corner. This will run for ever and never get an IP address.
I have tried a usb wireless adaptor and another router and it does the same.
Any ideas?
Much appreciated
James

 

[MobileTechie]

I assume you've checked it's set to get eveything from DHCP?

Does it work OK with a static IP?

Have you uninstalled all firewall/network security s/w?

If you've tried all that you could try resetting the IP stack.

 

[B3ng]

Could be an issue with Router, check that it is set to provide DHCP . Factory reset could help as it should do this as a default

EDIT; Re read post, this probally wont help.

 

[ATTech]

10 Years of IT support and that's the best you can do troubleshooting wise?

 

[iptech]

Is this guess the operating system?

*cough* Dell network manager *cough*

 

[Martyn]

Ok I sound like a broken record but it's what I would do so I could see where in the dhcp sequence is failing, use Wireshark and track the wired ethernet port for simplicity. If you've tried another router and usb device then the problem is on the laptop itself. Have you another laptop to try just to prove where the problem lies?

 

[Hercomputers]

Not trying to be funny but if the same thing is happening with another router and wireless adapter, did you check the laptop itself? Device Manager settings for the nic card? Are there any drivers that need to be installed for the router to communicate with the laptop? What OS is on the laptop? XP, Vista, 7?

There are a few other steps you do to troubleshoot this, I'm thinking it's the laptop too.

 

[Xander]

If you're getting the same thing with wired and wireless... it's not the NIC (since that'd be two NICs) but check that they're both not set to expect a wonky IP#.
As suggested above, check the router's settings and reset your network (flush DNS, etc) on the laptop.

Edit: He's right to ask:

10 Years of IT support and that's the best you can do troubleshooting wise?

 

[trapped]

You might want to try running the McAfee and Norton removal tools. They can both cause wacky problems with networking.

 

[jdsbellis]

Thanks for all your ideas.
Laptop is XP and set to get DHCP.
Drivers and device manager fine.
10 years exp in IT, yeah I know I'm rusty. Spent 6 years having guys do this type of thing for me.
Another laptop will connect to original router fine.
It has to be the laptop.
Question is, if I reload Laptop back to factory will this problem end?
Thanks
James

 

[iptech]

Thanks for all your ideas.
Laptop is XP and set to get DHCP.
Drivers and device manager fine.
10 years exp in IT, yeah I know I'm rusty. Spent 6 years having guys do this type of thing for me.
Another laptop will connect to original router fine.
It has to be the laptop.
Question is, if I reload Laptop back to factory will this problem end?
Thanks
James

This is a question from a professional repair technician to fellow repair technician's, right?

Use a boot disk with networking support such as UBCD Win to test if the NIC is working, but has been suggested several times above you're most probably looking at a software issue. To repair this will not require a nuke 'n' pave and should take no more than half-an-hour of billable time.

 

[ekrizon]

factory restore is a cop out my friend. Do not give in.

under TCP/IP in your network card's settings please make sure it is set to auto for ip and dns

Second run norton removal tool (free download) even if you didnt have norton (it fixes some network connection issues)

Third open up command

netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset reset.log
ipconfig /flushdns

reboot and see whats happens

 

[Jake77444]

factory restore is a cop out my friend. Do not give in.

under TCP/IP in your network card's settings please make sure it is set to auto for ip and dns

Second run norton removal tool (free download) even if you didnt have norton (it fixes some network connection issues)

Third open up command

netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset reset.log
ipconfig /flushdns

reboot and see whats happens

Beat me to it. Based on your symptoms this will most likely resolve the issue.....

I'd check for remains of ANY firewall(mainly norton, mcafee and zonealarm) as i've seen this happen with all 3. Then reset the IP stack like ekrizon recommended

Also verify DHCP service is started in services.msc.

Checking drivers/nic is a waste of time imo because its happening on both ethernet/wireless(of course you can't rule it out, just unlikely, safe it for later troubleshooting)

I believe this has been mentioned but have you tried hard coding the ip information?

Do any other devices work on the same network?

 

[jdsbellis]

Thanks for your replies guys.
Basically the DHCP service is not starting automatically.
If I start it manually then all is good.
Thanks
James

 

[MSgherzi]

There's a few options here. One thing I would try is to isolate the problem. As in with any tech issue, isolation is KEY. Get a USB wireless adapter and install it, run it, use it, and see if it causes any issues. If not, it's the PC itself, if it does, then the router is the problem. As other said, try a static IP and see if that works. If it does, DHCP is the problem. If not, you may want to consider getting a different router, factory/hard reset, just set it back up again, check it's server options, etc.

This is stupid, but be sure your within range, as well.

As others have said, firewalls or some other stupid piece of software (Norton and McAfee come to mind) could be causing problems as well.

EDIT: I read your last post, but I'll reply anyway as someone else in the future with a similar problem may read this thread.

 

[Xander]

Thanks for your replies guys.
Basically the DHCP service is not starting automatically.
If I start it manually then all is good.
Thanks
James

So, are you settling for it asking for a static IP?

 

[jdsbellis]

Hi Folks
If I start the dhcp service manually then the laptop will automatically get an ip address from the router.
I don't think a static ip will help if the dhcp service won't automatically start with Windows.
Thanks
James

 

[MobileTechie]

Then trace the cause of the DHCP service not starting. Event logs are you friend as are the dependency lists for services.

 

[Martyn]

Thanks for your replies guys.
Basically the DHCP service is not starting automatically.
If I start it manually then all is good.
Thanks
James

I'm getting a bit confused here Where is the DHCP service not starting on the router? Surely it's not the router? If that is the case, again using Wireshark you would see the DHCPDISCOVER go out from the nic and no DHCPOFFER coming back and know where to look.

 

[MobileTechie]

I assumed he was talking about the DHCP client service on the computer.