BleepingComputer.com: Wireless Connection via Router - can't connect to Internet using my laptop

Been using my laptop for a while and have been able to get internet connection just fine. All of a sudden the internet connection is gone. I've tried unplugging, turning router off, turning modem off, reconnecting, making sure the laptop is set for automatic IP address and still nothing! I'm no computer whiz and don't know what else to try. Our router is a Linksys WRT54GS model. Can someone please help?

Thank you.

Here is what you want to do.

Access the command prompt and right click if you are on Windows Vista or Windows 7 and choose run as Administrator.

Once you are in the command prompt window type the following.

netstat then press enter, please report back what you see in this window.

Bruce.

You mean from my laptop? And, how do I access the command prompt?

Bruce - ignore my questions, I figured out how to get to the prompt. Here's what I saw when I follows your instructions:

c:\windows\system32>netstat

Active connection
Proto Local address Foreign address State

That's it!

Okay in the command prompt type the following.

ipconfig /all

Then press enter.

Report back what you see.

Bruce.

Whew ... I see A LOT ...here's some of it ...
Windows IP Config
Host Name .... Home
Primary Dns Suffix....
IP Routing Enabled ....: No
WINS Proxy Enabled ....: No

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix ... :
Description .......:Dell Wireless 1397 WLAN Mini-Card
Physical Address ....: 00-22-5F-B2-02-21
DHCP Enabled ......: Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled .....: Yes

It goes onto list Link-local IPv6 Address, Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address, Subnet Mask, and lots of other stuff

Shall I list all of it?

Please follow the directions below and upon finishing let me know the out-come.

Renew the client DHCP lease
The IP address for this computer is the same IP address used by another computer on the network. No user action is required. The DHCP client will attempt to get a new IP address from the DHCP server.
To perform these procedures, you must be a member of the Administrators group, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.
If you do not want to wait for the client to make its automatic renewal attempt, you can manually release and renew the IP address of the client by following these steps:
At the DHCP-enabled client computer, click Start, in Start Search type cmd, and then press ENTER.
Type ipconfig /release, and then press ENTER.
Type ipconfig /renew, and then press ENTER.
Verify
To verify that address conflicts have been resolved:
At the DHCP-enabled client computer, click Start, in Start Search type cmd, and then press ENTER.
To verify a DHCP client lease, type ipconfig /all to view lease-status information.
The output of the ipconfig command should show an IPv4 or IPv6 address marked "preferred."


Bruce

Hi. Just now getting back to this problem.

Here's the message I received after typing ipconfig/renew

An error occurred while renewing interface Wireless Network Connection: unable to contact your DHCP server. Request has timed out: No operation can be performed on Local Area Connectin while it has its media disconnected.

I started over and went to START, COMMAND PROMPT. Don't know if this makes a difference, but we bought the laptop used from a guy. The prompt that comes up is C:\Users\Kelly> When I type netstat, I still get Active connections Proto Local Address Foreign Address State
and then the "kelly" prompt.

Just fyi.