BleepingComputer.com: Suddenly can't connect to the internet anymore for no apparent reason - Win7

Hello,

My recent Windows 7 reformat is suddenly having trouble connecting to the internet. I want to stress that I didn't make any changes whatsoever between the time it was working and suddenly stopped. I wasn't running anything special, I stepped out of the house for 1 hour, I came back to something new--a black screen with only the mouse there--I tried Ctrl, Alt, Del, no response, so I forced the restart, the computer comes back up with no internet connectivity, and although it's Win7, the help from the OS didn't do the trick. I'm on an old laptop now. If it helps at all, going to Run > cmd > ipconfig /all tells me:
Primary Dns Suffix:
Node Type: Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled: No
WINS Proxy Enabled: No

The computer in question is attached by wire to a router that this laptop shares wirelessly.
Thanks

That stuff you posted from the ipconfig doesn't really tell us anything.

I'd have a look in the event logs. The PC froze for a reason. There should be a event entry in the logs. As with anything that is mysterious in an OS that has the restore feature that is what I would do. Restore it back to before the event happened and see if its working. I know this isn't the greatest solution but you can spend 15 mins to an hour or longer messing with it and maybe not fix it OR spend 5 mins restoring and testing it.

I checked the Event logs, and there are Errors there in the hour that I was out of the house, but I'm not sure which one to concentrate on or what they mean. For example, there's a timeout error while waiting for the BITS service.
As for system restore, the Win7 reformat is too new--about 2 days old--and it looks like system protection was off by default, so I turned it on, but there are no system restore points as of yet.

Something else I don't like: I just restarted my Win7 computer, and the screen is all black with just the mouse pointer there. This now leads me to assume that in that 1 hour I was out, the computer actually rebooted on its own and gave me this same black screen. I don't like this because I just reformatted my entire computer only 3-4 days ago, and only today was able to finally celebrate rebuilding my entire file system and programs just the way I need them, so I think it's too early for strange reboots and inabilities to reach the desktop. Is there anything I can do to whip my Win7 into shape and move on with my life?

Well I'd look in System event logs.

You could try to get the drivers for your network adapter, remove it from Device manager, reboot and install the drivers. Win 7 is fairly good with drivers so you could just remove it from Device manager and reboot, it should have drivers for your adapter. I dunno lol. Try Win7 drivers first and then do the real drivers. Downloaded Vista drivers will work.

This is so weird.. All I'm trying to do is get into my Startup folder to alleviate it of all the programs I have starting up when the computer starts up (until I'm done with this internet issue, which requires many restarts), and every time I do so, Windows explorer freezes, as if it has something against opening my Startup folder. I've restarted a few times, and, believe it or not, it won't even open my Startup folder in *Safe Mode*. I'm sitting here with the computer in question in Safe mode, and the cursor stays with the rotating blue icon after I double-click the Startup shortcut. Safe Mode never gave me problems before. What's going on?

Bad install. I'd format and do fresh install.

You are sure the PC can run Win7?

I just spent 3-4 days setting the computer up, I'm not about to do it again!! None of the other forums suggested such a thing yet.
Yes, it can run Win7. It started up correctly this time, I just need the internet connection.

It is freezing in Safe mode. That is not good. It may boot up just fine now what about tomorrow? the next day? Up to you. Why does it take you 3 - 4 days to install Win7? Took me 45 mins to install it in a Virtual Machine. I am not talking about putting the computer together just install the OS.

Do you have a router? or are you connected to a modem directly?

open a command prompt type netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt hit Enter and reboot the PC and try it. <- this resets your TCP/IP stack

Open a command prompt type ipconfig /all hit Enter - look at the IP addresses. Do they start with 192? or 169? Just need the first number(s). Like if its 192.168.1.100 I just need the 192. I don't need the whole thing <- this will tell me if you have a proper IP.

Remove the network adapter from Device manager and reboot, try it. <- this will make sure the adapter isn't corrupt.

Oh, okay, when you said "format" I read it as "reformat"=) I didn't know "format" referred to a repair installation. I'll try that after these steps you gave me.

I have a router, but the computer in question is attached directly wired.

I did what you said, but when I get to the ipconfig /all stage, I still get the same results as seen in the OP:
Primary Dns Suffix:
Node Type: Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled: No
WINS Proxy Enabled: No

I did the last step and uninstalled the Intel PRO/1000 MT Network adapter from Device Manager and rebooted, then it gave me a message that the driver for it was successfully installed, yet no internet connection.

Now I'll try the repair installation of Win7. I just wonder why I have to do that after only 3-4 days.

The whole black screen frozen thing when you came back tells me there was some sort of system error, a rather serious one. Since you just put the system together, double check that everything is tight. You'll want to do that with your PC turned off and unplugged. Just push on all the connections IDE or Serial, make sure your RAM is seated tight, power connections, etc...

Below is my ipconfig /all results:

C:\>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : tbone
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : Belkin

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Belkin
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Marvell Yukon Gigabit Ethernet 10/10
0/1000Base-T Adapter, Copper RJ-45
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-11-D8-86-33-A0
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.4
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Monday, December 07, 2009 3:52:05 PM

Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, October 17, 1933 9:23:49 AM

None of that shows on yours? That is weird.

No, I only get the "Windows IP Configuration" part, not the bottom part. I used to get the bottom part, such as right before I left the house for an hour.

I've almost never been in the inside of the computer, so I'm not sure what's what or what to press in, but I can give it a go after the Win7 'upgrade' finishes. It looks like it'll take a while so I'm going to let it install overnight.

The Win7 Upgrade (Repair Install) finished, and I managed to get the internet back by Enabling IPv6 in the Device manager and running the Windows network diagnostic, but then the screen turned all black with just the mouse, as happens often. Why does this happen? I used XP for a while, and it never gave me this. What does it mean? I waited for 10min and I finally got an error message over the black screen:
Failure to display security and shut down options
The logon process was unable to display security and logon options when CTRL+ALT+DELETE was pressed. If the operating system does not respond, press ESC or restart the computer by using the power switch.
15min into it, my Winamp which I opened long before finally opened, because the music started playing.
So I hit "OK" to the error message and the black screen went away. It worked, but it took time. Is there a way to prevent the Win7 black screen?

Edit: Also, how do I minimize the frequency of "(Not Responding)"? I have 4GB of RAM, though I'm not sure that matters for this sort of thing. It seems to happen to me more often and much more easily in Win7 than it did in WinXP, and for longer periods of time. Is there anything I should improve in terms of hardware or RAM, or can some sort of software fix be applied?

This post has been edited by andrewset: 08 December 2009 - 12:55 PM

Well now you are moving into issues with the OS or hardware. If you do a google search for "Windows 7 black screen", you'll find alot of people with a similar problem.

When you said it took you 3 - 4 days to set it up I assumed you meant that you built the PC yourself. Why did it take you 3 - 4 days to install Win7?

No, I mean it took me about 3 days to get all the programs set up and the way I like them.

I'm finding out only now that there's more than the black screen.. It also likes to show me nothing but the desktop background and the mouse pointer, as well as often having programs be very slow, freeze, and (Not Responding).