[velouria1]

I recently got an new laptop (Acer Aspire 6935G) and ever since getting it I have had problems connecting it to the internet. Most of the time when I turn the laptop on it comes up 'Unidentified Network - Limited Access' but when I go in to device manager and disable and enable my network adapter it seems to work fine. Sometimes this works the minute I do it and other times I have to do it a few times or restart the laptop and try it again before I get any response. Before it connects 'Microsoft 6to4 adaptor' will flash up under Network Adapters on the Device Manager then flash off and everything seems to be in working order.

It orginally came with McAfee and before I realised that disabling and enabling the network adaptor worked I deleted McAfee so the computer is now only working off Windows Firewall (as far as I know) and even with this disabled there is no joy.

The Network Adaptor I'm enabling and disabling is an Atheros AR8121/AR8113/AR8114 PCI-E Ethernet Controller. I'm running Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1.

I feel like I've tried everything and it's so frustrating, I believe it's affecting my download speeds as well as other things. If you could help me it would be greatly appreciated. If there's any other information I need to give let me know and I'll go looking for it. Thanks in advance for any insight you can give.

- Antoinette

[Curly]

Third-party firewalls often are not completely removed when removed with the Add/Remove Programs wizard. Visit the application developer's website for complete manual removal instructions.

It sounds like you are connecting wirelessly. Have you tried disabling wireless encryption? Have you tried using a wired ethernet port?

[velouria1]

I'm currently using a wired ethernet port and don't have wireless internet at home. I've tried disabling the wireless network adaptor but that didn't help either.

[Curly]

Can you describe your network setup? Router make/model and is its firmware up-to-date? Have you tried connecting your computer directly to the modem? Modem make and model? What are their private IP addresses? ISP name? And please post the results of ipconfig /all

[velouria1]

There's an ethernet cable going from computer to a box that connects to an aerial on the roof of the house. The box that it's connected to is called an 'Alvarion'. The internet came with an IP, Gateway, Subnet and DNS which I had to put manually into the TCP/IPv4 properties for the Local Area Connection.

[velouria1]

I should add that the same details where on my last laptop which works perfectly ok when connected to the same box.

[JohnWill]

First off, I'd like to see this.

Hold the Windows key and press R, then type CMD to open a command prompt:

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following command:

Note that there is a space before the /ALL, but there is NOT a space after the / in the following command.

IPCONFIG /ALL

Right click in the command window and choose Select All, then hit Enter to copy the contents to the clipboard.
Paste the results in a message here.

If you are on a machine with no network connection, use a floppy, USB disk, or a CD-RW disk to transfer a text file with the information to allow pasting it here.






Next, here are some changes that might help.

Changes that may help to increase the compatibility of Vista with older networking devices:



Disable the IP Helper service:

1. Hold the Windows key and type R, enter "services.msc" (without the quotes) and press Enter
2. Scroll down to the IP Helper service, right click on it and select Properties
3. In the dropdown box that says "Automatic" or "Manual", set it to Disabled and then click on "Apply"
4. Then click on "Stop" to stop the service from running in the current session
5. Click OK to exit the dialog



Disable IPv6:

1. Hold the Windows key and type R, enter "ncpa.cpl" (without the quotes) and press Enter
2. Right click on each network connection and select "Properties"
3. Remove the checkmark from the box next to "Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)
4. Click OK to exit the dialog

NOTE: You should do this for each network connection.



Disable the DHCP Broadcast Flag:

Link: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/928233

1. Hold the Windows key and type R, enter regedit and press Enter.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
3. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Inter faces\{GUID}
4. In this registry path, click the (GUID) subkey to be updated.
5. If the key DhcpConnForceBroadcastFlag does not exist, use the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD (32-bit) Value. In the New Value #1 box, type DhcpConnForceBroadcastFlag, and then press ENTER. If the key exists, skip this step.
6. Right-click DhcpConnForceBroadcastFlag, and then click Modify.
7. In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
8. Close Registry Editor.

NOTE: You should do this for each and every GUID subkey.
NOTE2: (GUID) is a mnemonic for the individual subkeys, the actual text "GUID" does not appaer.




The only program I'm aware of that currently relies on IPv6 is the new Windows Meeting Space. The first 2 changes will cause that program not to work - but will leave all of your normal (IPv4) connections unaffected. If it causes problems that you can't overcome, simply revert back to the original settings.

[TerryNet]

Here is the McAffee Removal Tool. As Curly said, it's best to run it to make sure no remnant is causing an issue.

Might be good to see if there is an updated driver for the ethernet controller on Acer's web site.

[Curly]

Alvarion is a brand name. What function does it serve? And it is connected to an antenna on your roof?