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Strange problem - XP Pro & networking

Cloudmaster
Grafter
Posts: 257
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Strange problem - XP Pro & networking

Hi all,
I have a desktop running XP Pro, whilst I can ping & get a DHCP lease from my router, I can't access its web interface.  I can reach the web interface from my laptop running CentOS so it's not the router (have tried my own plus the Thomson PlusNET have just sent me).
Any clues?
Thanks for looking
23 REPLIES 23
Spider
Grafter
Posts: 1,100
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Strange problem - XP Pro & networking

With my last Linksys router I could only access the web interface using IE not Firefox. So could be a browser issue i.e. are all the settings the same on both desktop and laptop.
Cloudmaster
Grafter
Posts: 257
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Strange problem - XP Pro & networking

Sorry, should have mentioned, this is the case on both IE7 & Firefox
samuria
Grafter
Posts: 1,581
Thanks: 3
Registered: ‎13-04-2007

Re: Strange problem - XP Pro & networking

AV try turning it off if its running javascript av may disable it
Cloudmaster
Grafter
Posts: 257
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Strange problem - XP Pro & networking

I've tried the following so far without success -
Turned off AV & firewall
Thinking it might be a DNS issue (see note below) I added a line to the hosts file to point to the router's IP
Note:  When trying in IE7, I end up at a page inviting me to diagnose connection problems, when running through this it tries to do a DNS lookup for www.microsoft.com. ; Since I don't yet have broadband active (it should go live next Wednesday), there are no DNS servers to query.  Even though I'm trying to get to the router's web interface by IP I'm wondering if the fact that it can't do DNS lookups is causing the problem (even though I'm using an IP, not a hostname).
samuria
Grafter
Posts: 1,581
Thanks: 3
Registered: ‎13-04-2007

Re: Strange problem - XP Pro & networking

Are you using dial up or have used dial up? If so IE is trying to use the dial up account to access the page and is doing a dns lookup to find it bu tit would use the modems interface to try and get to it.
Try looking in tools/internet options and then connections and see were its looking check the lan settings.
If you do from the cmd propmt ipconfig /all are you getting and IP address in the routers range if so what is the default gateway set to?
Cloudmaster
Grafter
Posts: 257
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Strange problem - XP Pro & networking

I've never had a dial-up connection on this PC but did have a VPN connection a while back which I'm sure I removed properly.  The LAN settings seem to be correct & the default gateway is set to the router's IP, also the assigned IP is within the router's DHCP range.
Denzil
Grafter
Posts: 1,733
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Strange problem - XP Pro & networking

Could there be a setting in the router to only allow access from one IP address?
Cloudmaster
Grafter
Posts: 257
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Strange problem - XP Pro & networking

Well my broadband is now up, I'm able to access the internet (& am writing this reply) from my laptop, but still cannot access the router's web interface or the internet from the PC.  The PC does seem to be accessing web sites, but nothing's coming back.
I've been through all the settings on the router & PC & (AFAICT) they are all correct.  I've also tried disconnecting the laptop to see if the router is only supporting one device.
I'm now totally stumped B-(
Denzil
Grafter
Posts: 1,733
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Strange problem - XP Pro & networking

Sorry, what I meant was, could the router be set to allow access to its web interface from only one specific IP address i.e. that of the lappy. Reading your post again, I see you have tried two different routers anyway, so that shouldn't be the issue.
This is looking like a problem with the PC rather than the router. Could, perhaps, be a faulty network card or cable.
With both the lappy and the PC running, can they see each other across the local network?
On the PC, try going to Start - Run, then type "ping 212.159.9.2" (without the quotes). What happens?
7up
Community Veteran
Posts: 15,824
Thanks: 1,579
Fixes: 17
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Strange problem - XP Pro & networking

Sounds most likely that the routers access is restricted. I've heard of this before and it's rather annoying. My current router becomes tempermental and sometimes will only allow me to connect after i've turned it off and on then off again and then back on. Weird but it does the job cheaply and cheerfully...
I need a new signature... i'm bored of the old one!
paulby
Grafter
Posts: 1,619
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎26-07-2007

Re: Strange problem - XP Pro & networking

How are you trying to access the router? Via an URL or via its IP address?
If it's via an URL (e.g. the Thomson routers should be able to be accessed by typing https://dsldevice.net) try using the IP (for the Thomson 585v7 it's https://192.168.1.254 by default).  The Thomson can be fussy and will require https:// at the beginning.
Also make sure that you're only running one firewall on your PC - if your running a third party firewall make sure that the Windows firewall is disabled.  I've seen instances where double firewalling has prevented access to router config screens (and numerous other problems!).  You also need to ensure that your local network is in the "Trusted Zone" (or equivalent dependent upon your firewall) although turning the firewall off should have ruled out firewall issues.
Cloudmaster
Grafter
Posts: 257
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Strange problem - XP Pro & networking

I can ping & tracert external sites by IP or hostname
I've double checked the router's config, access from the internal network is not restricted
I've been trying to access the router by its IP address
Not sure if it'll give any clues, but I've just noticed the following in the router's log (repeated a number of times)
Sending ACK to 192.168.2.2 (PC IP)
paulby
Grafter
Posts: 1,619
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎26-07-2007

Re: Strange problem - XP Pro & networking

What's the IP address of the router you're trying to access?
I'm hoping it's 192.168.2.x   (if 192.168.2.2 is the PC's address).
Your PC and router need to be in the same subnet to talk but, if you've got the PC to obtain an IP automatically then that shouldn't be an issue.
If you open a command prompt and type ipconfig/all what does it say under default gateway against the ethernet adapter you're using?
That *should* be the IP address of the router.
I don't think that this is your issue though if you can connect from another computer.
Cloudmaster
Grafter
Posts: 257
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Strange problem - XP Pro & networking

The router's IP is 192.168.2.1