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DNS Lookup Error/Limited Connectivity

4K views 13 replies 3 participants last post by  TerryNet 
#1 ·
This is my first forum post and I'm not a computer expert by any means, so I hope I'm including all the necessary information.

For the past several months, I've had a spotty wireless connection at home. There were times it worked and times it didn't. Now, it won't work at all. Each time I try to load a page, I get the page could not load because DNS lookup failed. I've tried all of the suggested fixes included in the error message. None worked. I've looked at multiple forums and tried everything from updating my drivers, to purging my cache, to switching wireless routers, to deleting AVG. Nothing has worked.

My wife's computer and tv are both connected wirelessly to same network with no problems, and my computer connection works fine at work. There just seems to be a problem with my computer and the home network. After running the ipconfig /all, it appears to my uninformed mind that the problem is there is no default gateway? Problem occurs when using either Chrome or IE. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Specs:
Dell Inspirion 1545
Vista 64bit
Service Pack 2
Was running AVG (about to reload)
Firewall Disabled
WPA security

ipconfig /all:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : BLC-PC
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Dell Wireless 1397 WLAN Mini-Card
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-22-5F-8E-02-3B
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::4cf2:4a81:ab52:da56%12(Preferred)
Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address. . : 169.254.218.86(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Marvell Yukon 88E8040 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-23-AE-31-73-59
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 6:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.{E41DAA87-253E-494B-80C6-4EDC7F9AA6AD}
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 7:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 02-00-54-55-4E-01
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 11:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.{F98CC25B-C91A-4BF4-A0BE-093F1902DFB5}
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Ping Tests: (unable to complete first test as no gateway noted above)

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6001]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\BLC>ping google.com
Ping request could not find host google.com. Please check the name and try again
.

C:\Users\BLC>ping 209.183.226.152

Pinging 209.183.226.152 with 32 bytes of data:
PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.
PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.
PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.
PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.

Ping statistics for 209.183.226.152:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

C:\Users\BLC>
 
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#2 ·
Make sure you have the latest wireless driver from Dell's web site.

Can you connect successfully by ethernet?

Disable encryption on the router and try to connect. If successful you can probably re-enable encryption and reconnect.

Run these repairs before trying the above procedure with encryption ...

(From a JohnWill post)

TCP/IP stack repair options for use with Vista or 7.

Start - All Programs - Accessories and right click on Command Prompt, select "Run as Administrator" to open a command prompt.

Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults: netsh winsock reset catalog

Reset IPv4 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log

Reset IPv6 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log

Reboot the machine.
 
#6 ·
... and then right back to DNS lookup error.
Because of a lack of connection again, or is it something different now? In case I'm not being clear, the IPv4 address 169.254.x.y (as you showed in your initial post) means that you are not connected--at least not in any meaningful way that allows any communication between computer and router.
 
#8 ·
You may have to do the encryption dance again to regain a connection. (I assume that's what got you going a few days ago.)

Please attach a screen shot of the Networks page of the Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector. Best if you can show this when your wireless connection is working fine and again just after you encounter a problem.
 
#14 ·
It appears to me that the adapter or the router is defective or, given other evidence, this is one of those rare cases of a particular adapter and particular router refusing to play nice together.

I noticed at the very beginning of the signal history in the "not working" screen shot the strength was down in the danger area, maybe was worse than -70 dBm before Xirrus was launched. If the signal strength was really that low (maybe you were moving the laptop) it could explain the disconnect, but normally the adapter would automatically reconnect when the strength improved.
 
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