[dishman249]

I have a new HP laptop with Vista installed (not an upgrade). I can take my laptop wherever and connect to wireless networks with no problems. Lately, I can no longer connect directly to a wireless router or cable modem with an ethernet cable. I keep pulling a 169 address when wired. I have tried a known good cables, different modems...same results. I'm hoping my ethernet port is not bad since my laptop is less than a few months old. Any suggestions on what to try in the meantime? I think I've explored all the easy options.

[Rollin' Rog]

If you right click on the modem icon in the system tray, connected directly by ethernet, and select "diagnose and repair" does it tell you anything?

If you open a command prompt (start > run: cmd and determine your router address by running ipconfig /all can you get a response by pinging it, for example:

ping 192.168.1.1

(yours may be a little different).

Have you tried removing and reinstalling the ethernet drivers?

If removing and reinstalling the ethernet drivers does not resolve things -- it's time to talk to HP about warranty support.

[dishman249]

Thanks, I haven't messed with the drivers, so I'll give that a shot. I have tried going through the command prompt to see what I can see. I haven't seen the modems I've been connected to. I think it may be time to contacty HP, but I thought I see if there were any ideas out there first. Thanks