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Solved: dell inspiron wont stay connected to internet

3K views 14 replies 2 participants last post by  etaf 
#1 ·
My Dell Inspiron Mini 1018 won't connect to the internet. Sometimes it will connect but only for a minute then it disconnects. When I check the connection, it says it is connected but has no internet access. I have Windows 7 starter. I am able to connect other devices to my MiFi so it is not my ISP. Please Help!!
 
#2 ·
What firewall / security suite or anti-virus do you currently have on the PC - or you have ever had on the PC in the past - any trial ware - like Norton, Mcafee , AVG etc

can we see

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ipconfig /all
If you cannot access the internet with this PC, then you will need to paste the results into something like notepad and then copy onto a machine that can access the internet and post the results in a reply here.
Save the file to a USB flash drive or other removable media. Plug it into the working computer with internet access and copy the file and paste here.

We would like to see the results from an ipconfig /all - post back the results in a reply here.

Hold the Windows key and press R, then type CMD then press Enter to open a command prompt box
(A new dialogue box - black with white font, will appear on screen ):

In the command prompt window that opens, 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 > network.txt & network.txt

It will export the results into notepad and then automatically open the notepad and display on your screen.

Now all you need to do is copy and paste those results into a reply here
to do that:
From the notepad menu - choose Edit - Select all
all the text will now be highlighted
Next
From the notepad menu - choose Edit - Copy

Now go back to the forum - goto the reply and then right click in the reply box and paste the results.
The results from the notepad should now appear in the forum reply.
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#3 ·
Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Tara-PC
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8188CE Wireless LAN 802.11n PCI-E NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 1C-65-9D-D4-7D-42
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 5C-26-0A-40-54-63
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Tunnel adapter isatap.{5A1A5FF5-856E-47E1-B065-B3B40957AB75}:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Tunnel adapter isatap.{EE17D929-10FE-410E-94D7-91AB3FDD078F}:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
 
#6 ·
#9 ·
--------------------------------------------------------------
i'm not an expert here - but if you look through the security forum, you will see a lot of recommendations for windows 7

The windows 7 firewall is considered adequate and especially if you are connected behind a router.
Have a read in our "general security" forum and look for the advice from our security gurus.

Several excellent free antivirus programs are available (But you should only ever have 1 on the PC at a time otherwise this can cause issues ).

Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) I personally use and install in the computers that I work on.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/security_essentials/default.aspx

Avast
http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download

AntiVir
http://majorgeeks.com/Avira_AntiVir_Personal_-_FREE_Antivirus_d955.html

EST Nod 32 also gets a lot of very good reviews although it is not free
ESET NOD32
http://www.eset.com/home/

these Two programs are also recommended to be on the PC and can be on with any of the above antivirus programs.

Malwarebytes I personally use and install in the computers that I work on.
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

superantispyware I personally use and install in the computers that I work on.
http://www.superantispyware.com/download.html

--------------------------------------------------------------
 
#11 ·
lets update the driver - can you post the dell service tag number - should be on the pc on a label
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kcs/document?docid=267748

It will connect then disconnect then reconnects again.
does that mean with internet access -
also can you do the following

------------------------------------------------------------------------
ipconfig /all
If you cannot access the internet with this PC, then you will need to paste the results into something like notepad and then copy onto a machine that can access the internet and post the results in a reply here.
Save the file to a USB flash drive or other removable media. Plug it into the working computer with internet access and copy the file and paste here.

We would like to see the results from an ipconfig /all - post back the results in a reply here.

Hold the Windows key and press R, then type CMD then press Enter to open a command prompt box
(A new dialogue box - black with white font, will appear on screen ):

In the command prompt window that opens, 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 > network.txt & network.txt

It will export the results into notepad and then automatically open the notepad and display on your screen.

Now all you need to do is copy and paste those results into a reply here
to do that:
From the notepad menu - choose Edit - Select all
all the text will now be highlighted
Next
From the notepad menu - choose Edit - Copy

Now go back to the forum - goto the reply and then right click in the reply box and paste the results.
The results from the notepad should now appear in the forum reply.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ping Tests
If you cannot access the internet with this PC, then you will need to paste the results into something like notepad and then copy onto a machine that can access the internet and post the results in a reply here.
Save the file to a USB flash drive or other removable media. Plug it into the working computer with internet access and copy the file and paste here.

Start> Run {search bar in Vista/W7}> type CMD to open a command prompt box
(A new dialogue box - black with white font, will appear on screen ):

Type the following command
Ping {then a space and then add the number that is shown against the item labelled "default gateway" shown in the results from the ipconfig /all}
Post back the results in a reply here
right click in the command prompt box
select all
enter
control key + C key - to copy
then reply here and
control key + V to paste

Type the following command
Ping google.com
Post back the results in a reply here
right click in the command prompt box
select all
enter
control key + C key - to copy
then reply here and
control key + V to paste

Type the following command
Ping 209.183.226.152
Post back the results in a reply here
right click in the command prompt box
select all
enter
control key + C key - to copy
then reply here and
control key + V to paste
For your information only
these tests will check various stages of the connection, the first ping test, ping default gateway checks to see if you still have a connection to the router.
The next two Ping google.com & Ping 209.183.226.152 tests the connection to internet. google is to test by name and the ping test using a number is checking that a connection exists without DNS.
these tests then confirm if there is a dns issue on the connection.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Run Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector
Download and install

If you cannot access the internet with this PC, then you will need to copy the program across to the faulty PC
Save the file to a USB flash drive or other removable media. Plug it into the working computer with internet access and copy the file and install the program.
You will now need to take a screen shot and copy that back to the working PC and attach the screen shot in a reply on the forum here.

http://www.xirrus.com/Products/Wi-Fi-Inspector.aspx
Direct link to the program is here http://info.xirrus.com/Wi-FiInspectorConfirmation.html

{If the above link does not work heres another link http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_download/fid,77196-order,4/download.html}

Then run and install the program - on a wireless enabled PC/Laptop
if you get an error - You need will need to have NET Framework installed for the WiFi Inspector to function.

Run the program

A user guide is available here http://www.xirrus.com/cdn/pdf/Xirrus-Wi-Fi-inspectorguide-1-2-1-RevB-6.aspx

post a screen shot of the program running.
if there are a lot of networks showing can you click on "networks" top lefthand area - so we can see all the network information.

post which SSID name is yours, its located in the list, under network "Adapter Name" (1st column)

To post a screen shot of the active window.
1) hold the Alt key and press the PrtScn key. Open the Windows PAINT application (Start> All Programs> Accessories> Paint) and Paste the screen shot. You can then use PAINT to trim to suit, and save it as a JPG format file.
OR
2) if you are using Vista/Windows 7 you can use the "snipping tool" which is found in Start> All programs> Accessories> Snipping Tool

To upload the screen shot to the forum, open the full reply window ("Go Advanced" button) and use the Manage Attachments button to upload it here.
Full details are available here http://library.techguy.org/wiki/TSG_Posting_a_Screenshot

Note:
For a reliable (or robust as the Xirrus user guide says) wireless connection you need a signal of about -70 dBm or better. "A desirable signal level for a robust Wi-Fi connection will be green".
note: the signal level is a negative number, so for example -88 is worst and -40 is better

If you are using the Mac OS then use http://www.istumbler.net/ or
if you want to optimise base station position and signal strength / dead spots use
http://www.chimoosoft.com/products/apgrapher/ which has a graph function to monitor signal
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