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Constantly showing status as 'Acquiring network address'.

ibezi1
Newbie
Posts: 8
Registered: ‎16-01-2008

Constantly showing status as 'Acquiring network address'.

Hello
I have a wireless network (desktop and laptop); using the BT Voyager 2110 Wireless Router, with a BT Voyager 1055 Wireless USB Adapter in the desktop and a BT Voyager 1065 Wireless Laptop Adapter in the laptop.
Until recently, both PC's were connecting to the internet fine.  However, my laptop now does not connect, and continually shows it's status as 'Acquiring network address'.  The desktop connects perfectly, so I know that it's not a problem with my router.
The IP address of my laptop shows as 0.0.0.0. 
I phoned the BT Voyager helpline, however, they were not able to solve the problem.  I have connected my laptop to the router, using the ethernet cable, however, the problem still persists.
I would be very grateful for help and advice.
Thank you
22 REPLIES 22
Not applicable

Re: Constantly showing status as 'Acquiring network address'.

If it were working via a cable, but not via WiFi, I'd have suggested a problem with WiFi authentication.
The fact that it also fails to retrieve an IP from the DHCP service when used on a cable connection suggests an issue with the DHCP service running on the router.
I presume you have tried re-starting the router?
Is your desktop computer assigned addresses by DHCP too, or does it use a fixed address?
ibezi1
Newbie
Posts: 8
Registered: ‎16-01-2008

Re: Constantly showing status as 'Acquiring network address'.

Hello James
I have tried restarting the router, however that didn't work.
The router address is 192.168.1.1
The desktop address always shows as 192.168.1.2, when I did 'ipconfig' on the command prompt.
I'm not sure whether my desktop assigns addresses by DHCP.
How can I check?
James
Grafter
Posts: 21,036
Thanks: 5
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: Constantly showing status as 'Acquiring network address'.

Hi Intensity
When I've had this in the past it's been a case of the wireless side of your router not being able to communicate with the computer itself, meaning that the computer is unable to pick up the connection.
Have you tried repairing the internet connection?  Is your wireless adaptor internal or external?  If it is external, can you uninstall and reionstall the wireless software?
Not applicable

Re: Constantly showing status as 'Acquiring network address'.

If you can post the contents of ipconfig /all up here for both computers, it might lead us in the right direction.
Usually when a WiFi device fails to gain an IP address from an access point, its because it has failed authentication.
802.1x devices authenticate before the connection is actually completely made, although the system will detect/report the connection as 'Connected - its only connected insofar as its trying to authenticate. (In this case its often easier to start configuring the WiFi connection from the start again, keying passwords/passphrases carefully etc)
This seems unlikely though if the laptop fails to gain an IP address when connected via ethernet.
It may be that DHCP isn't used at all though, and the desktop perhaps has a fixed IP, the router isn't issuing DHCP packets and all thats missing is the static address config for the WiFi and Ethernet ports on the notebook.
ipconfig /all (for both machines) should help answer some of the questions.
ibezi1
Newbie
Posts: 8
Registered: ‎16-01-2008

Re: Constantly showing status as 'Acquiring network address'.

Hello James_H
The result of ipconfig /all for the desktop is as follows:
Dhcp Enabled.................... : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled : Yes
IP Address......................... :192.168.1.2
Subnet Mask...................... : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway.................: 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server.......................: 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers........................: 192.168.1.1
The result of ipconfig /all for the laptop is as follows:
Dhcp Enabled..................... : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled  : Yes
IP Address......................... : 0.0.0.0
Subnet Mask...................... : 0.0.0.0
Default Gateway................ : (nothing)
DHCP Server....................... :0.0.0.0

 
notheruser
Grafter
Posts: 139
Registered: ‎08-01-2008

Re: Constantly showing status as 'Acquiring network address'.

Intensity - can you include the output of ipconfig/all for the laptop, to include the bit at the top which should name the adapter? If this is all you've got, it looks as though it is behaving as if it has only one adpater - but since you've got both a wired and a wireless connection, there ought to be two sets of details in here.
The desktop bit shows you that you have DHCP enabled on your router - there ought to be some other information there which I think you've edited out - the "Lease obtained" and "Lease expired" dates/times. Could you include those please - that will give some clue to whether or not your DHCP service is really running on the router or not - it could have got switched off, and your PC will retain its address for quite a while without it. (But new devices will obviously not get an address).
Did you remove the Wireless Adapter from the laptop when you were trying the cabled connection? Did you reboot the laptop? Is the cable you are using definitely ok?
What OS are you using on both devices?
ibezi1
Newbie
Posts: 8
Registered: ‎16-01-2008

Re: Constantly showing status as 'Acquiring network address'.

Hello notheruser
The bit I left out for ipconfig /all for the laptop is as follows:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : (nothing)
Description ............................... : BT Voyager 1065 Laptop Adapter
Physical Address ...................... : 00-11-F5-C2-E1-3F
For the desktop:
Lease Obtained ...................... : 17 January 2008 10:01:37
Lease Expires ......................... : 18 January 2008 10:01:37
When I tried the cable connection I did not remove the wireless adapter from the laptop or reboot the laptop.  I'm sure the cable is ok.  I'm using Windows XP on both devices.
paulby
Grafter
Posts: 1,619
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎26-07-2007

Re: Constantly showing status as 'Acquiring network address'.

Are you sure the connections are both enabled on the laptop?
Go to Control Panel>Network Connections.
Right Click on Local Area Connection and click Enable (disable will show if it's already enabled).
Do the same for the wireless connection.
Also make sure that the wireless radio is turned on!  (Usually one of the function keys or a switch on the laptop)
notheruser
Grafter
Posts: 139
Registered: ‎08-01-2008

Re: Constantly showing status as 'Acquiring network address'.

Quote from: Paul_B
Are you sure the connections are both enabled on the laptop?
Go to Control Panel>Network Connections.
Right Click on Local Area Connection and click Enable (disable will show if it's already enabled).
Do the same for the wireless connection.
Also make sure that the wireless radio is turned on!  (Usually one of the function keys or a switch on the laptop)

Good advice from Paul_B. The ipconfig info suggests that your wired network adapter on the laptop is not switched on - the data you are looking at is only for the wireless card.
The figures indicate that DHCP is working fine on your router.
prichardson
Grafter
Posts: 1,503
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Constantly showing status as 'Acquiring network address'.

I recently started having a problem with my Buffalo wireless adaptor at one or two of my defined WiFi access points.
This seems to occur when I defined a new location in my wireless list that it didn't quite like.
Have you recently access another WiFi point with WAP or WEP security?
If so, this may assist.
You may need to visit the wireless properties for your modem, locate your defined or save known wireless points and remove/delete the problem one.
Rescan and see how you go.
I do remember I reboot was needed between removal and addition in one case. Once it was saved in and had connected normally from the newly defined point, all was well, until I defined a new one again.
ibezi1
Newbie
Posts: 8
Registered: ‎16-01-2008

Re: Constantly showing status as 'Acquiring network address'.

Paul_B and notheruser
The Local Area Connection is enabled; so is the wireless connection.  Also the wireless radio is turned on.  However, the problem is still there.
notheruser
Grafter
Posts: 139
Registered: ‎08-01-2008

Re: Constantly showing status as 'Acquiring network address'.

Can you try removing the wireless adapter from the laptop, connect up the wired connection, reboot, and run IPCONFIG/ALL - you ought to get a DHCP assigned address on the wired interface.
ibezi1
Newbie
Posts: 8
Registered: ‎16-01-2008

Re: Constantly showing status as 'Acquiring network address'.

Hello notheruser
I've just tried this.  However, the problem still persists.
paulby
Grafter
Posts: 1,619
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎26-07-2007

Re: Constantly showing status as 'Acquiring network address'.

Can you make sure that you haven't blocked (by not whitelisting) the laptop's MAC (Physical) addresses in the router? 
This would normally only apply to the wireless connection but can be router dependent.
The quickest way to see if this is the problem is to go to the security section of your router and turn off any whitelisting of attached PCs.
May not be the problem but worth ruling out.