"Limited Connectivity" on internet.....................driving me MAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[girlandboy]

Right then, I am at my wits end with this.

I am having to use dh's company laptop because mine is having problems. I cannot connect to the internet basically, it seems to "half" connect and just says "local network" or "limited connectivity" when I try to connect. I have tried a few diagnostic things but to no avail. Has anyone managed to overcome this problem. Oh, and I'm on Vista if that's any help.

Needless to say, I can't get onto the internet which is seriously curtailing my mn capabilities.

Bumping, I can't keep using dh's laptop. He's going to want it back sooooooooooooon!

We had this some while ago. After weeks of tweeking, switching on/off etc, the only solution was a new plug wifi thing - been fine since

Can you plug it into the router instead of using wireless just for now?

Does he usually use it at home? maybe he sits nearer the router when he does it. They can be iffy with interference etc.

Also is it connecting to YOUR router or trying to connect to the neighbours one? Sometimes they are setup to use the first one they find. They have names like BTHomeHub etc, but of course all the neighbours could be using the same model.

I got this with my old laptop....is it on vista?

First solution is to reboot your router (say something like your home hub, whatever you connect to wirelessly) - this problem used to happen to me when it wasn't allocating me an IP address (was a sodding vista thing) but once rebooted it would find it (restart your computer too)

Thanks for that.

My wifi is built into the laptop. I daren't start trying to plug new stuff into it yet.

However, it may well come to that I suppose.

yes mine was built in too

in the end I downgraded to XP

I'm telling ya that's what it is

used to drive me INSANE

It is definitely connecting to my router and not a neighbours. And in fact, it does connect, but with "limited connectivity" so it is not enough to get onto the internet.

I've rebooted the router, restarted the laptop (about a million times) but nothing!

Sod it.

I'm going to blame ds. It was fine until he used it yesterday. He used it until the battery ran out and since then it's not worked.

The only thing I've not tried yet is to connect it via the ethernet cable (which it suggests I try!)

I can't find the sodding ethernet cable

Dh thinks it "might be in the attic somewhere".

Now he's been called out to work and won't be back till midnight.

Gah

yes, the limited connectivity probably means it's not being allocated an IP address.

Have you left it charging overnight? that might do the trick

they are a pita these things

did you reset the router or just reboot?

What's the difference between resetting and rebooting? The whole hub was disconnected, left for a while as per instructions, then reconnected and it took itself a while before it's lights were flashing and settled down.

The other laptop (this one I'm using now) connects fine. I think it must be the other laptop at fault.

It's fully charged as well.

When you bring up network connections, can you see quite a few?

We've been having this problem at home and it's because there are quite a lot of houses near us with wireless. I don't quite understand it, but it seems to be when someone new moves in and installs a BT home hub, we then can't get onto our wireless. DP changes the channel that the router works on (told you I didn't quite understand) and that seems to work (until we get another new neighbor of course!)

what type is it (the router)?

i'm sure it is the computer and not the router but sometimes fiddling with the router can make it 'wake up' and find an Ip address.

Is it Vista? because it should have a program that tries to fix the connection? If so, what does it say (might be something to do with your protocol settings)?

(yes, this is where resetting the router can work as it then allocates itself another channel but don't do that yet girlandboy)

Sorry, read that you can connect with the other laptop.

Is one Vista and one XP by any chance?

It's a BT home hub

Yes there are other houses internet connections that pop up as possible connection. However, mine also comes up with the correct code and I click on this one (when I've done it manually) otherwise, it always finds the correct connection itself usually.

It is Vista, and yes I've run the self diagnostic programme, and it just says that there is another problem.

I don't really know enough about it to fiddle much further, I don't want to do more damage.

I shall have to get the ladder out and go into the attic to look for the ethernet cable. It does say that reconnecting with the cable might re-establish the connection, but I thought there may be another way first.

No, both are on Vista.

And in fact there is ye olde pc in dd's room that she uses for typing her homework that can still connect as well. Mind you, this is on Windows ME and is soooooooooooo slow that we don't use this for the internet.

However, I've just cranked it up and that one will connect as well, all be it slowly.

vista is a right royal pita

I gave up with it in the end because I got 'limited connectivity' ALL the time at home

sent it back to IT and got XP back and have never been happier

(techy bods said I had to fix the IP address it was getting allocated from the router because it didn't have a fixed one and vista likes fixed ones so everytime the router tried to allocate it an address, it couldn't pick one up)

good luck with it!

your ds might have fiddled with one of the settings

can you compare the network settings on both laptops?

(don't have vista now but if you look under network connections, you need to look under properties - right click on the wireless network connection and click on properties - then go through each setting and make sure they are the same)

Ah, good idea! Didn't think of that.

Thanks everyone.

1. I will compare the laptops settings.
2. I will check the IP address thingy.
3. I will interrogate ds after school by sitting him on a hard kitchen chair and shining a light on his face.