# Computer not detecting a network cable, error reads "network cable unplugged"



## Shmandy19 (Jul 14, 2009)

Ok so have a Dell Inspiron laptop that is running on Windows XP and I am unable to connect to the internet. This happened a little over a week ago suddenly and everything that I have tried has been unsuccessful. I connect to the internet through an ethernet cable that plugs directly from the wall to my computer, however I cannot get internet because my computer is telling me that a "Network Cable is Unplugged" when it clearly is still plugged in. I have tried using different cables and in different rooms of my apartment, and yet I still have the same problem. My other roommates are not having any issues so this lead me to believe there is probably a problem with my computer. My computer skills are on a basic general knowledge basis so I have no idea how to begin to attack this problem. Strangely enough, in my attempts to get on the internet, I turned on my wireless connection which displays a full connection in the icon at the bottom of my screen at good or excellent quality, yet when I open firefox or explorer (the browsers I use) I still have no internet. I am not sure if this is an indicator of the same problem I am having or just a separate issues, but I am in desperate need of help. So please if you have any suggestions I would greatly appreciate them.


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## gd6627 (Jul 14, 2009)

here are some things to try :
can another computer connect to the same cable?
try another cable (cat 5 )
open the network connections icon by right clicking in it go to properties.
if the local area connection icon indicates not connected right click on it to enable it


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## gd6627 (Jul 14, 2009)

also make sure your firewall is not blocking your access go in control panel and open the firewall icon.


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## pedroguy (Jan 28, 2001)

Welcome to TSG:
Look at network adapters in device manager>
Let&#8217;s take a look at the status of the network adapters

Device manager:

Hold the Windows key and press R, then type devmgmt.msc

Please respond to all the following steps.
1.	Under Network adapters, please tell me all the devices listed.
2.	Are there any devices under Network adapters that have a red x displayed?
3.	Also, are there any devices anywhere in the Device Manager display with yellow ? or ! displayed?
4.	Adapter status should be &#8220;working properly and enabled&#8221;

Then we can take a look at some other areas.


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## blakcshadow (Nov 25, 2008)

If neither wired nor wireless connections are working, it could be a firewall issue. Try disabling your firewall to see if you are able to connect. Also, be sure you have connected to the wireless connection. _Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Shmandy19 (Jul 14, 2009)

Thank you for your response, I have taken the steps you suggested and hope the information will help you to further understand the problem. 

1. Under Network Adapters there are two devices listed 
- Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller
- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection
2. None of them have a red x displayed
3. No devices in the device manager display contain a yellow ? or !
4. Adapter status says that it is enabled and working properly

Again thank you for your time, I hope this helps. 
- also, I do not believe it is a firewall issue as others are suggesting since that is one of the first things I tried and is always turned off on my computer.


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## pedroguy (Jan 28, 2001)

OK:Sorry to ask you to do this,but we really need to see what the pc sees as it's networking environment.So:
From a Johnwill post on the Networking Forum

Try these simple tests.

Hold the Windows key and press R, then type CMD (COMMAND for W98/WME) to open a command prompt:

In the command prompt window that opens, type the following commands one at a time, followed by the Enter key:

IPCONFIG /ALL

PING <computer_IP_address> For addresses,follow instructions below….

PING <default_gateway_address>

PING <dns_servers>

PING 206.190.60.37

PING www.yahoo.com
Right click in the command window and choose Select All, then hit Enter to copy the contents to the clipboard.
Paste the results in a message here.

<computer_IP_address> - The IP Address of your computer, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above. IPV4 for Vista

<default_gateway_address> - The IP address of the Default Gateway, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above.

<dns_servers> - The IP address of the first (or only) address for DNS Servers, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above.

If you are on a machine with no network connection, use a floppy, USB disk, or a CD-RW disk to transfer a text file with the information to allow pasting it here.
______


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## Shmandy19 (Jul 14, 2009)

Ok I did the steps, it was really no problem I just hope it helps get to the bottom of the issue here. Again thanks for your help, and I hope I did everything correctly, if not let me know.

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Jeremy Gerrard>IPCONFIG/ALL

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : JEREMY
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Cont
roller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-12-3F-F2-18-A6

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network
Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-13-CE-07-4D-C0
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.101
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, July 15, 2009 7:10:58 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Friday, July 17, 2009 7:10:58 PM

C:\Documents and Settings\Jeremy Gerrard>PING 192.168.1.101

Pinging 192.168.1.101 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.1.101: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.101: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.101: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.101: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.101:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Jeremy Gerrard>PING 192.168.1.1

Pinging 192.168.1.1 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=4ms TTL=150
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=150
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=150
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=4ms TTL=150

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 3ms, Maximum = 6ms, Average = 4ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Jeremy Gerrard>PING 192.168.1.1

Pinging 192.168.1.1 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=4ms TTL=150
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=150
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=4ms TTL=150
Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=5ms TTL=150

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 4ms, Maximum = 6ms, Average = 4ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Jeremy Gerrard>PING 206.190.60.37

Pinging 206.190.60.37 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.1.1: Destination net unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.1: Destination net unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.1: Destination net unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.1: Destination net unreachable.

Ping statistics for 206.190.60.37:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Jeremy Gerrard>PING www.yahoo.com
Ping request could not find host www.yahoo.com. Please check the name and try ag
ain.


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## Jason08 (Oct 13, 2008)

The ipconfig is showing a working connection for wireless.


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## blakcshadow (Nov 25, 2008)

Wireless works, but not ethernet... Is a green light coming on when an ethernet cable is plugged in?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Shmandy19 (Jul 14, 2009)

Where the ethernet chord plugs in there is one small green light on the upper left corner (looking at it from the back), however there seems to be an identical light on the other side that does not light up. As for the wireless, like I said all indicators point to a clear connection yet somehow every time I try and use the internet it gives me the address not found and that firefox can't find the server errors, which I attributed to just not having a connection, however I could be mistaken. These are just the same error messages I see when I have no connection


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## pedroguy (Jan 28, 2001)

Let's do 2 things:

Network check list .

Network check list courtesy of Johnwill and Terrynet of the Networking Forum

Here's a networking debug checklist.

Turn off any firewalls for debugging. If the firewall is the problem, you'll have to configure it to allow access to "trusted zone" addresses. Note that some firewalls must be completely uninstalled to stop them from affecting your networking.


A failure to PING is almost always a firewall configuration issue. Any failure to PING needs to be corrected before you go any farther.


For Vista,type in CMD in the Search box after Start.

Check your Services are Started on all PCs: 
&#8226;	Computer Browser
&#8226;	DHCP Client
&#8226;	DNS Client
&#8226;	Network Connections
&#8226;	Network Location Awareness
&#8226;	Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
&#8226;	Server
&#8226;	TCP/IP Netbios helper
&#8226;	Workstation

Note: You can check the services in Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services.

All of these services should be started, and their startup type should be automatic.

.

While the default NetBIOS setting is correct for normal network configurations, it's possible for it to be altered, and it costs nothing to make sure it's correct. NETBIOS over TCP/IP must be enabled for normal network browsing. 

Would not hurt to check your network connections for the following.

To enable netbios over tcpip


Select Start > Settings > Network Connections.
&#8226;	Double-click the Connection icon of the connection you wish to modify to open the Local Area Connection Status window.
&#8226;	Click the Properties button to open the Local Area Connection Properties window.
&#8226;	Click to highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
&#8226;	Click the Properties button to open the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties window.
&#8226;	TCP/IP Properties window, IP Address tab
&#8226;	Select Obtain an IP address automatically.
&#8226;	Select Obtain DNS server address automatically.
&#8226;	Click OK to return to the Local Area Connection Properties window.
&#8226;	Click OK to return to the Network Connections window.
_
Enable NETBIOS over TCP/IP for 2K/XP
1.	Right click the network properties for the connection in question.
2.	Select Properties
3.	Right click your Internet Connection (ex. Local Area Connection)
4.	Select Properties
5.	Make sure Client for Microsoft Networks, and File and Print Sharing for Microsoft Networks are SELECTED.
o	Highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
o	Click Properties
o	Click Advanced
o	Select the WINS Tab Above
o	Make sure Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP is SELECTED
6.	Click OK and Close Network Connections Window.


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## pedroguy (Jan 28, 2001)

OK;Here is the question I should have asked.
You have an ethernet cable from the wall plugged into your pc,but no connectivity.
As noted,you have a "good" wireless connection from somewhere.

Whose network are you connected to ?
Start/My network places/view network connections/ left click on the wireless connection icon(lan connection will probably have a red X through it)/view wireless networks.
What is the name of the connected wireless network ?
And that may be the reason your network pings are not completing.The router/firewall,wherever it happens to be,will not let you traffic to the internet.


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## Shmandy19 (Jul 14, 2009)

The wireless network I am connected to is linksys2 and it says it is an unsecured wireless network. Also, you mentioned that my ethernet cable being plugged in to my computer from the wall, however to clarify it is not a "limited or no connectivity" error but a "network cable unplugged". I was not sure if I made that clear earlier. I also tried to enable NETBIOS over TCP/IP for both connections with no luck. Again thank you for the continued help.


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## blakcshadow (Nov 25, 2008)

in Firefox, try connecting to your router's IP address over the wireless connection. If you can, then its the router, if not, then your wireless card is getting a false connection
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## pedroguy (Jan 28, 2001)

Indications from the ipconfig and pings would seem to show a legit wireless connection to unsecured wireless network, linksys2.I have a linksys router,and that is one of the default id's.
Shmandy,I understood your post.
Disconnect the cable altogether and run another ipconfig.Let's see if it still shows a wireless connection.
The other thing which might be helpful to see would be an ipconfig from one of your friends working pc's,if possible.

And also,confirm that you have done all the checks that I suggested in post #12 and if so:

Reviewing the thread,I am reminded of the old Sherlock Holmes theory.
"Watson,if you have eliminated all the possible solutions,then the impossible must be the solution" 
Or something like that.
So,please follow my instructions above,just to see if we can find something else.
But,
This may be,contrary to what device manager is telling us about the lan adapter working properly,that may not be completely true,and we have seen this in some other instances.


So,let's just try something.
This will be a two step deal.
First,boot up in safe mode with networking.When booted see if you can get onto the internet.We are trying to see if some normal task is getting in the way of internet access.My guess is no,but we need to explore that possibility.

If no joy there:

Go to device manager.Select the lan adapter/driver,Write down the current driver being used and it's location.Then uninstall the driver.
Re boot in normal mode and let's see if we can plug and play this device into seeing a lan connection.

If anyone else has some suggestions,please post'em.I think we have tried to cover all the logical possibilities.


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## blakcshadow (Nov 25, 2008)

Maybe there is some sort of security on the router, allowing a device to connect to the router, but needing approval to access the internet?

As for Sherlock Holmes, isn't it "Once you remove all of the impossibilities, the only thing left, no matter how unlikely, must be the answer" 
_Posted via Mobile Device[/]_


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## pedroguy (Jan 28, 2001)

Yep:That's why I said,"or something like that "
Give me a break.It was getting way past my bedtime here 
And a cable coming out of the wall would seem to indicate an ethernet connection.
And he tried it on working connections,same result.
Think he has snagged someone's unsecured network,perhaps the landlord's and that's what we may be seeing on the ipconfig 's


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## blakcshadow (Nov 25, 2008)

If its from the wall, theres got to be a router/switch, maybe a setting on that?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## pedroguy (Jan 28, 2001)

His room mates have no problem.He does on the same connection.
I don't doubt that the linksys2.1 network is router controller and probably firewalled.
Might be informative,as I noted above to see an ipconfig from one of the working connections.


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