Computer technology: 10 Useful Android Tips And Tricks for you

Computer technology: 10 Useful Android Tips And Tricks for you: Whether you are new to Android and eager to try out every available option you see on the screen, or familiar with the system, including ...

Basic network troubleshooting

Because of the variety of network configurations, operating systems, setup, etc. not all of the below information may apply to your network or operating system.

Note: We cannot assist you with network problems due to an unknown passwords or unknown ISP settings. Since we have no method of verifying or determining this information.

Adapter resources

Verify that the network adapter is properly installed and detected by the computer with no conflicts. If you're using Microsoft Windows check in Device Manager and verify there are no errors and "Network adapters" is present with each network adapter installed in the computer listed, similar to the example on the right.

• How do I get into Windows Device Manager?
• Identifying problems in Windows Device Manager.

If conflicts exist or the network adapter is being detected as an Other device. The network card has not been properly installed in the computer. Try letting Windows re-detect and install the Network card by removing the network adapter and any other conflict devices from Device Manager and then rebooting the computer. If Windows re-detects the card but does not find the drivers, download the network adapter drivers from the computer manufacturer or the network card manufacturer.

• How do I remove a device in Windows Device Manager?
• Listing of network drivers and network card manufacturers.

Verify connections

Wired Network

If this is a wired network, verify that the network cable is properly connected and make sure the LEDs next to the network jack are properly illuminated. For example, a network card with a solid green LED or light usually indicates that the card is either connected or receiving a signal. If the green light is flashing, this is an indication of data being sent or received. In the picture is an example of LAN port with two LED indicators next to the RJ-45 port. With this port, one LED will light up if connected properly and the other will flash when transmitting data.

If there are no lights or the lights are orange or red the card may be bad, not connected properly, or that the card is not receiving a signal from the network. If you are on a small or local network and have the capability of checking a hub, switch, or router verify that the cables are properly connected and that it has power. If after checking the connections the LED indicators appear bad, the network adapter, port, or cable may be defective.

Wireless Network

If you're using a laptop with a wireless network make sure if the laptop has a Wi-Fi button that it is turned on. Many laptops have a Wi-Fi button that allows the wireless network to be turned on and off. In the picture is an example of a Wi-Fi button that is currently enabled.

If the Wi-Fi button is turned on, make sure you're connecting to the correct Wi-Fi hotspot by right-clicking on the Network icon in the Windows notification area and clicking "Connect to a network". Usually, the network with the strongest connection (the most bars) will be your wireless router.

Finally, when connecting to most wireless networks you need to enter the proper SSID (password) in order to connect to the network. If the incorrect SSID has been entered you cannot access the network.

Adapter functionality

Verify that the network card is capable of pinging itself by using the ping command. Windows users can ping the computer from a Windows command line. Unix and Linux users can ping from the shell.

To ping the card or the localhost, type either

ping 127.0.0.1

or

ping localhost

Doing either of the above commands should get replies from the network card. If you receive an error or if the transmission fails the network card is not physically installed into the computer correctly, has the incorrect drivers, or that the card is bad.

Connect to the router

If all of the above steps have been checked and your network has a router, make sure the computer can connect to the router by performing the below commands.

Determine the routers address

Using the ipconfig command (or ifconfig command for Linux) determine the router's address by looking at the Gateway address. Below are the steps for Microsoft Windows users, Linux users can substitute ipconfig for ifconfig.

1. Open the Windows command line.
2. From the command prompt type ipconfig and press enter. This command should give you an output similar to the example below.

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : computerhope.com.
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.103
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

The Default Gateway is the address of your router. Most home routers have a gateway address that starts with 192.168 like the address shown above. Assuming your gateway address is 192.168.1.1 attempt to ping the router to see if it can send and receive information by running the below command.

ping 192.168.1.1

If you get replies back from the router, the connection between your router and computer are good, and you can skip to the next step.

If you do not receive any replies back from the router either the router is not setup properly or your connection between the router and the computer are not correct. Reset your router to make sure it is not a problem with your router by following the steps below.

1. Turn off the power to the computer and leave it off.
2. Unplug the power to your router and cable modem or DSL modem.
3. Leave the power cables disconnected for 10-15 seconds and then plug in your modem and then your router again.
4. Finally, turn on your computer again and repeat this step to see if you can ping your router.

If you're using a wireless network and have followed all the above steps and still are unable to ping the router try turning off the computer again and connect the computer to the router using a cable instead of trying to connect using wireless. If a wire does also not work connect the manufacturer of the router for additional support or replacement.

Firewall

If your computer network utilizes a firewall, make sure all required ports required are open, especially port 80, which is the HTTP port. If possible, disable the firewall software program or disconnect the computer from the firewall to make sure it is not causing the network problems.

Internet is not working

If you're able to ping the router, but are still unable to connect to the Internet, either your router is improperly configured or the ISP is having issues.

Note: Some ISPs such as Comcast require special software be installed. Make sure any software included with your Modem or other hardware has been installed on at least one computer if you are setting up a new Internet connection.

If your Internet has been working but recently stopped working, give it a few minutes to make sure it is not a temporary outage. If after waiting a few minutes, you still have problems and you have not disconnected the power to your router and modem already follow the steps below.

1. Turn off the power to the computer and leave it off.
2. Unplug the power to your router and cable modem or DSL modem.
3. Leave the power cables disconnected for 10-15 seconds and then plug in your modem and then your router again.
4. Finally, turn on your computer again and repeat this step to see if you can ping your router.

If after following the above steps the Internet is still not working, open the Windows command line and run the below command.

ping google.com

Running the above command should get a reply from Google. If you get a reply, this is an indication that the Internet is working, but you may be encountering a problem with the Internet browser you are using to browse the Internet. Try an alternative browser such as Firefox or Chrome.

If you're getting no reply from Google, your router or modem is not reaching the Internet. If you have a router, make sure your router has DHCP enabled and that the WAN or Gateway address is the proper ISP address.

Finally, after verifying all of the above settings if your Internet is still not working we suggest contacting the ISP to make sure it is not a problem on their end and to assist you further with any special configurations that may not be mentioned in this document.

Additional troubleshooting

Another method of determining network issues is to use the tracert command if you are a Windows user or the traceroute command if you are a Linux or Unix variant user. This command gives you an overview of each of the devices (routers) a packet travels (hops) over a network and can give you an idea of where a problem exists in your network or outside of your network.

To use this command you must be at the command line and type one of the below commands depending on your operating system.

tracert google.com

or

traceroute google.com

If run successfully you should begin to see each hop between the computer and network devices. When the connection fails, determine what device is causing the issue by reviewing the traceroute listing.

Missing or lost sound in Windows

Verify software volume control settings

First verify you see a small sound icon or in the Windows notification area (bottom right-hand corner of your screen). If this icon is missing, follow the steps below. If you see this icon skip to next section.

Windows XP

1. Open the Control panel
2. Open the "Sounds and Audio Devices" icon.
3. Verify the "Place volume icon in the taskbar" checkbox is checked. If this option is not available or is grayed out, skip to the next section of this document.
4. If you were able to check this box, click ok and close out of this window and the Control Panel.
5. Double-click the sound icon in the Systray and verify that all the sound volumes are mid-way or higher.

Windows 2000

1. Open the Control panel
2. Open the "Sounds and Multimedia" icon.
3. Verify the "Show volume control on the taskbar" checkbox is checked. If this option is not available or is grayed out, skip to the next section of this document.
4. If you were able to check this box, click ok and close out of this window and the Control Panel.
5. Double-click the sound icon in the Systray and verify that all the sound volumes are mid-way or higher.

Windows 95, 98, or ME

1. Open the Control panel
2. Open the "Multimedia" icon.
3. Check the checkbox for "Show volume control on the taskbar." If this section is grayed out, change the Playback "Preferred device" by clicking the down arrow and changing to an alternate selection. If that is also grayed out, skip to the next section of this document.
4. If you were able to check this box, click ok and close out of this window and the Control Panel.
5. Double-click the sound icon in the Systray and verify that all the sound volumes are mid-way or higher.

Verify the installed driver settings

1. Open the Windows Device Manager
2. Verify there are no conflicts or errors listed anywhere in Device Manager. If conflicts exist skip down to conflicts section.
3. Verify no "Other devices" are listed. If other devices are listed skip down to other devices section.
4. Verify that your "Sound, video and game controllers" category is listed, if not skip down to the missing sound card section.
5. If no conflicts or other devices are listed and your sound card is listed with no conflicts, skip to the next section.

Conflicts section

If conflicts exists with your sound card or other devices installed in your computer it is likely that either the drivers are not properly installed for that device or the sound card or other devices are conflicting. If you open the properties of the device that is conflicting and view the properties, additional details about the conflict can be found. Additional information about error codes as well as help with Device Manager can be found on our Device Manager section.

If you are unable to locate additional information about your issue or are unable to resolve the issue, follow the steps below.

1. Under Sound, Video and game controllers highlight each device and press the delete key to remove the device.
2. Reboot the computer.
3. As the computer is booting the system will detect the sound card and any of it's devices and re-install those devices. If prompted for a location of drivers, try pointing it to your sound card CD or your Windows CD. If this does not work or is unable to locate the proper files, you need to get the latest sound drivers from your sound card manufacturer.

Other devices section

If Other devices are listed, these could be the sound card or another conflicting device. If any other devices are listed it is recommended you remove those devices, reboot the computer and let Windows redetect the devices.

If this does not work, determine what device is not being detected and resolve that issue first.

Missing sound card section.

If you are missing the "Sound, video and game controllers" category in Device Manager, it is likely that the sound card drivers are not installed properly, sound card has been disabled, sound card is bad, or no sound card is available in the computer. First, verify no conflicts or other devices are present in the Device Manager; if these are present it is likely they are the sound card or devices causing the sound card not to be detected. Second, verify that the computer has a sound card and that the sound card is enabled on the computer.

If this is an on-board sound card you can verify that it is enabled in CMOS setup.

If you have no adapters or cannot click the down arrow to select the correct adapter, close out of this Window. In Control Panel double-click the System icon, click the Device Manager tab within Device Manager and ensure there are no yellow ! or red X.

If you have either of these on any of your sound devices, remove everything under Sound Video game controllers and reboot the computer. If after rebooting the computer you still have the same conflicts, double-click on the conflicting device and refer to our Device Manager error code section giving you additional information on the error code you are experiencing.

Verify speaker connections

Verify the speakers settings and speakers are not at fault by running through computer speaker troubleshooting.

Sound card drivers

If you have followed the above recommendations and you are still unable to get the sound card to work, in Device Manager remove all sound video and game controllers and reboot the computer. This should cause Windows to reinstall all missing drivers and often can correct corrupt drivers. If this does not work after rebooting the computer download and install the latest sound card drivers from the computer or sound card manufacturer. A listing of sound card drivers can be found on our sound card driver page.

Defective hardware

Finally, if all of the above recommendations do not resolve your issue it is likely that either the sound card is physically bad or that the operating system is severely corrupt. We recommend you contact the manufacturer of the sound card or computer for a replacement or additional recommendations.