If you can’t connect to the Internet, there can be several reasons. Techniques for discovering the source of this problem can be broken down into a few distinct parts: Internet was working but now it is not, Internet never worked, removed viruses and now I can’t connect to the Internet, and finally, I reinstalled Windows and now I can’t connect to the Internet. Just because you cannot reach the Internet doesn’t necessarily mean there is a problem with your PC. There are other networking devices that can fail or simply lose their settings.

The Internet Was Working But Now It Isn’t

This is probably the most frequent scenario. One day you are surfing the web without a care in the world and the next day you cannot connect to the Internet. If you try different web pages and cannot connect to any of them, you likely probably just need to shut down the computer, unplug the router, then unplug the modem. Let everything sit for a few minutes, them slowly plug them back in reverse order, giving the modem and router a chance to cycle-up before powering on the PC. This is called Power-Cycling and will often fix whatever networking issues you are having.

Internet Never Worked

If you are setting the network up for the first time, you need to make sure your cable modem and router both have green lights with flashing activity. If you have a router, try plugging your PC directly into the modem with an Ethernet cable. By doing this, you eliminate router configuration as a possibility. If you can connect at this point, plug back into the router and make sure of the following: Make sure the router is getting an IP address from the ISP. Make sure you have Clone your PC’s Mac address checked and make sure the router is acting as a DHCP server so it can issue your computer a proper internal IP address.

Removed a Virus And Can No Longer Connect To Internet

Frequently, you will remove a virus and it will break your Internet. This happens because viruses will attach themselves to vital computer system files that, when removed, break your network. You can try programs like WinSockXP Fix to repair it, but chances are you will need to do a repair install using a Windows Install Disk. When you boot to the disk, you will eventually get the option to perform a repair.  With the disk in the drive, go to a command line and type sfc /scannow. This will scan your system files and replace them with good ones from the install disk. If all this fails, you might be forced to do a system recovery or clean install of the Operating System.

Reinstalled Windows And Now Can’t  Connect To The Internet

This usually means you do not have a driver installed for your networking adapter. If you perform a system recovery from a major brand name from dell, HP or Acer, you will probably not experience this. But if you use an upgrade disk and do a clean install of the latest version of Windows, you will then need to obtain the necessary drivers for your particular model. You will need to do this from another computer if you didn’t get the drivers in advance. Manufacturers of your PC, motherboard or network adapter will have drivers available for download.

If you continue to have issues connecting to the Internet, be sure to join our free computer repair forum.

In the age of networking where every device and appliance in the house has an IP address, it is not uncommon to receive a “duplicate IP address found on network” error message. This can occur when you have a static IP address assigned to another computer or device as well as a DHCP server running on the network. For instance, if you set your network printer up with a static IP address, the router might make a mistake and accidentally assign that same IP to a client computer on the network. The problem with this is it will likely result in lack of networking capability for one or even both devices.

It is important to have components like printers assigned a static IP address because new users and computers need to know how to access them during setup. Therefore, to resolve a duplicate IP address problem, a change in the DHCP server needs to happen. A DHCP server will typically be a router. You will need to log-in to your router and change the DHCP range to something outside of the static range you use to manually assign IP addresses.

If you have several printers and computers that use IP address like 192.168.1.2 through 192.168.1.10 then you will need to begin the DHCP range at a safe number like 192.168.1.20 through 192.168.1.254. This way, you can still have a mixture of static IP addresses and DHCP addresses and they will no longer conflict with each other.

If you do not have any networked printers, the easiest way to maintain a home network is to have every computer given an IP address by the router. As your network scales, you will find it is almost impossible to keep machines organized unless you allow the router to do it for you.

If you’re building your own computer or are considering upgrading your existing PC, you need to make sure your power supply is adequate to handle the hardware that will be pulling from it. There are great power supply calculators on the Antec and Thermaltake websites that have virtually every possible configuration you will encounter on a motherboard. This tool will give you a general idea of the size of PSU you’ll need to power your computer. It’s probably a good idea to use that number as a minimum requirement and always get a power supply rated a little higher.

The power supply calculator will give you numerous options from CPU, fans, memory, video cards, hard drives, etc and based on your selection will calculate the amount of wattage necessary for those components.  We ran several different configurations through the calculator and were always below or right at 400 Watts. If you are building a high-end machine for gaming, you might find you need a 500 Watt power supply.

The power supply calculator allows you to print it out, so you can configure several options and have a printed reference to use when buying your parts. Both Antec and Thermaltake are major brand names in the business with a good reputations. If you are building a machine, Antec and Thermaltake are models you should consider.

Thermaltake Power Supply Calculator

Antec Power Supply Calculator

You can easily update your D-Link BIOS  Firmware in a few simple steps. When we think of updating firmware in computers our bowels loosen and beads of sweat form on our brow. The general rule with a PC BIOS update is if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. But in regards to a router, the update procedure is pretty easy as long as you get the correct version of firmware for your model. Upgrading your BIOS firmware will cause cause you to lose any information currently stored in the router. Make sure you have all of your ISP, DNS and other information written down in case you need it later. You will also need to know default passwords for the router, as the password will also be reverted to factory default when the update is complete.

Steps For Updating D-Link Router Firmware

It is critical that you get the exact model and revision number of your router in order to ensure you get the correct firmware. There will be a label somewhere on the router that states all of this information.  Once you have it all written down do the following:

1. Go to the D-Link website and download your Firmware from here.
2. Once you save the firmware to your PC, go to your web browser and type in 192.168.0.1 and hit enter. You will need to login with the router username and password you provided during original setup. If you do not remember it, you can reset the router by depressing the red button on the back of the router. This will set the username to “admin” with a blank password.
3. Click the Tools tab, and then the Firmware link or button off to the side.
4. Click on the Browse button and navigate to the .bin file you downloaded earlier, then click OPEN.
5. Once you click Apply, the firmware will begin updating. The entire process shouldn’t take more than a couple minutes.

You will need to make sure you are on a PC that is physically connected to the router. Otherwise, you will lose your connection when the firmware updates. Once complete, be sure to log in and change the admin password again, restore Wifi security setting and anything else that changed during the upgrade. It is important to keep the router updated, as there may be frequent updates that resolve security issues, or improve router functionality.

Despite what you might think, your HD television needs to be calibrated when you get it out of the box. Sure, it looks wonderful, but it doesn’t look the way it’s supposed to in a theater setup. The goal is to get the deepest blacks and the correct contrast ratio. Chances are, your television or projector is configured too bright. This will cause dark areas to become washed-out, and you will lose detail in areas of the picture. Now, you can spend hundreds to have someone come into your home and do this for you, or you can buy software to run in your DVD or Blu-Ray player that will help calibrate your TV properly. The process only takes around twenty minutes.

Calibration Software For HD Televisions

There are two really good options for calibrating your television or projector. Digital Video Essentials is a commercial grade instruction video that talks about what the various settings are and shows you how to change them. Or, you can go the cheap way and find a THX Certified DVD in your collection and run the setup on that. Buried in the menu is a THX calibration tool that helps you set the important brightness and contrast levels on your television.

You may find right after you finish calibrating your display that it seems too dark. Give it a couple of days and you will realize the amount of detail you have gained in your picture. Your eyes are accustomed to seeing a washed-out image, but you will soon learn to appreciate all the money you put into your home theater.

If you want to learn more about THX calibration, and to buy their special calibration glasses, be sure to visit the THX website for more information. They have a lot of interesting advice on calibration, speaker placement and other facts that will help you get the audio and video of your home theater just right.