Technical puzzle
A few weeks ago, Nephew's computer -- wired via the router -- stopped spewing forth the internet. My laptop -- wirelessly doing the deed via the same router -- was fine.
By the time it occurred to me to see if my computer would connect via the wired connection (granted, after Aranhe told me to -- my brain had wandered off that day, or something) his PC found the internet again about six hours after the problem started and all was once more well in our little piece of the WWW.
The logical thing would be to replace the cable.
But here's what's happening, and I confess to being quite mystified.
Cable box is connected to the router. The router sends out a happy wireless signal.
Connecting his PC to same router...no connection for his PC, my wireless signal is still happy.
Connecting my laptop to the router via cable makes my laptop unhappy, cause it can't find the internet and is lonely.
The cable that runs from the cable box to the router and from the router to his PC are both Cat 5e. I confess to being confused by the differences between patch cables and cross over cables. I know one is just for connecting a PC to another PC (not a router) but can't ever remember which is which.
(And side rant? I tried to do a Google search on the different types of cables and the entire first page was links to shopping sites where I could buy said cables. And Google asked me if I wanted to see more shopping sites, or only shopping sites. I refuse to believe all the useful tutorial sites have vanished from the internet and so consider this an Epic Fail on Google's part. End rant.)
Anyway, I tried connecting my laptop directly to the cable box, skipping the router completely. Nope. The internet is still Lost.
I rebooted, reset, restarted and murmured pleadingly to all the equipment -- both PCs, the cable box and the router.
So I reconnected things -- ran a cable from the cable box to the router and from the router to nephew's PC.
Not only is my laptop once more walking hand in hand with the internet...his suddenly is, too.
Something is going on here, (possibly my great and mighty ignorance of networking) and even though we're currently sorted, since it seems likely to happen again I thought I'd see if anyone here can figure out how a wireless connection can work when the wired one doesn't, even when different cables are tried. I need to check my storage unit to see if I have a spare cable before he buys a new one, but want to make sure I get the right kind.
(I was prepared to assume the problem was his PC, since, IMO, it's Dying A Painful Death, but since mine wouldn't work when connected via the cable, either, that seems to lessen the possibility it's just his PC. Unless my laptop is rebelling in solidarity or something.)
(And yes, my laptop is connecting to our wireless network, not a neighbor's unsecured network.)
Anyone got any ideas?
By the time it occurred to me to see if my computer would connect via the wired connection (granted, after Aranhe told me to -- my brain had wandered off that day, or something) his PC found the internet again about six hours after the problem started and all was once more well in our little piece of the WWW.
The logical thing would be to replace the cable.
But here's what's happening, and I confess to being quite mystified.
Cable box is connected to the router. The router sends out a happy wireless signal.
Connecting his PC to same router...no connection for his PC, my wireless signal is still happy.
Connecting my laptop to the router via cable makes my laptop unhappy, cause it can't find the internet and is lonely.
The cable that runs from the cable box to the router and from the router to his PC are both Cat 5e. I confess to being confused by the differences between patch cables and cross over cables. I know one is just for connecting a PC to another PC (not a router) but can't ever remember which is which.
(And side rant? I tried to do a Google search on the different types of cables and the entire first page was links to shopping sites where I could buy said cables. And Google asked me if I wanted to see more shopping sites, or only shopping sites. I refuse to believe all the useful tutorial sites have vanished from the internet and so consider this an Epic Fail on Google's part. End rant.)
Anyway, I tried connecting my laptop directly to the cable box, skipping the router completely. Nope. The internet is still Lost.
I rebooted, reset, restarted and murmured pleadingly to all the equipment -- both PCs, the cable box and the router.
So I reconnected things -- ran a cable from the cable box to the router and from the router to nephew's PC.
Not only is my laptop once more walking hand in hand with the internet...his suddenly is, too.
Something is going on here, (possibly my great and mighty ignorance of networking) and even though we're currently sorted, since it seems likely to happen again I thought I'd see if anyone here can figure out how a wireless connection can work when the wired one doesn't, even when different cables are tried. I need to check my storage unit to see if I have a spare cable before he buys a new one, but want to make sure I get the right kind.
(I was prepared to assume the problem was his PC, since, IMO, it's Dying A Painful Death, but since mine wouldn't work when connected via the cable, either, that seems to lessen the possibility it's just his PC. Unless my laptop is rebelling in solidarity or something.)
(And yes, my laptop is connecting to our wireless network, not a neighbor's unsecured network.)
Anyone got any ideas?