Hi, We are wireless with 4 computers, all running on XP. About two weeks ago, one of the desktops lost it's connection, the others are running fine. I've tried a few things but nothing is working. I tried to refresh the IP address using a guide from my provider site. When I typed in the CMD and ipconfig/release I did get 0.0.0.0 but when I typed in ipconfig/renew nothing happens. I tried using Microsoft troubleshooting idea and it tells me that the IP is not refreshing. The techs from my provider seem to think that its a network software problem and that I need to contact Microsoft. I'm hoping someone here can tell me or send me something to fix this problem Any ideas would be appreciated.

when you do an ipconfig on the machine what IP address does it show?

When I type in ipconfig /renew and then return, nothing happens

just ipconfig on its own, what address does it show? im thinking it will show a 169.254.x.x but i want to be sure.

When I type just ipconfig itself, this is what shows up

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Connection specific DNS Suffix .:
Autoconfiguration IP Address . . : 169.251.101.152
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . . . :

Ok, this means you are not able to contact a DHCP server to obtain an address, perhaps you are not connected to the wireless network at all.

Have you tried running the wireless network setup wizard on a working machine and transfering the settings over to this one?

Sounds like we might be getting somewhere. No I haven't, not sure how to do this. Is this something you can assist me with?

First, let me point some things out:
"Local Area Connection" ... This is a wired NIC!
Wireless would show up as "Wireless Network Connection".

The IP is NOT an auto-config IP (Unless there was a typo) otherwise it would be 169.254.x.x instead of 169.251.... I'm assuming this was NOT a typo, so I will continue with my recommendations, because If the address really IS 169.251... that means that it was set manually. Follow the directions below to set the NIC to auto-obtain its address again:

***
Right Click "My Network Places" icon > Properties
Right Click your Local Area Connection > Properties
Hightlight "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" > Click Properties button
Select "Obtain an IP address automatically
Select "Obtain DNS server address automatically"
Click Ok
Click Ok

Unplug then re-seat the network cable on both the computer and wall/switch/router... (Step shouldn't be needed, but I like to do it anyways to make sure there is a good connection)

Hopefully this should help. Let us know if you are still having issues with this system

I just assumed you made a typo, but twig is right if it really is 169.251 then it must be static. And i didnt notice it said local area connection so well spotted!

I really feel bad because I did it again just to make sure and yes I had a typo, it should have been 254 and not 251. Please accept my apology as the last thing I want to do is to give improper information therefore making someone go through an unneeded process. Given that, what's next? I do get an icon on the bottom right of the screen saying I'm connected by 0 bytes are being transfered.

can you give your self a static address similar to the others on the network? if the others are for example 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.2 can you give yourself 192.168.1.3 and the exact same subnet mask, default gateway and DNS entries and it should work fine.

you will be able to configure these properties as twig described above

good luck!

I did as you said, but still no go. My laptop static address ends in a 101, so I tried 102, then 2 and 3. I thought this problem was going to be an easy fix. I do have a connection icon and it says I'm connected, but zero bytes being transfered. I tried to disable it, it's not the icon that came with the wireless router, but it won't let me disable, it says it's being used by something else. Do you think there's a chance? Thanks.

It is still unclear as to what the issue is from what you have posted...
You mentioned wireless on the desktop, however, the data that you have provided is for a wired connection.
...IF you DO have a wireless connection, as I mentioned, you should have a listing for it when you do IPCONFIG.
it IS normal for a wireless card to have 0.0.0.0 or 169.256.x.x if the wireless is not setup correctly or the WEP/WPA key is typed and stored incorrectly.

What is your wireless card detected as in Device Manager?

Hmmm, sounds like you have 2 pieces of software trying to manage your wireless connection. One will be the windows software and the other will be a piece of third-party software. If this is the case then do the following:

1) open the third party software and find somewhere in it a tick box that says "use windows wireless Zero configuration" or something similar. This should disable the 3rd party software and enable the windows one.

2)Once that is done find the icon on the right of the taskbar that looks like a computer with radio waves coming out of it and right click "show available wireless networks"

3) You should see your network in there.

If you dont or any of the information i have posted is incorrect then let me know

Thank you

... I stick to my original theory: Connection is wired as per "Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection"
If your network cable is disconnected, or faulty, it will fail over and assign a 169.254.x.x address...

Please confirm that the system has a wireless connection.

Sorry for the delay, I was gone for a few days. And, thanks to you two, twig123 and eyeball, it's up and running. It seems that the only connection I was showing was for the ethernet connection. For some odd reason the wireless connection had disappeared. What I ended up doing was dragging the computer downstairs and physically connecting it to the internet. Once I did that, the computer looked for and found the driver that were missing from the Linksys wireless connection. I appreciate the help, I've learned a lot. Great job.

Glad to hear we were able to help you get it working again!