I can connect to the internet wirelessly, however, when I attempt to connect with only the ethernet cable, I only get an unidentified network, with no net access. Also, I'm not sure how it may be related to this, but I cannot maintain a solid connection while playing World of Warcraft. I was able to maintain good connection weeks ago, when hardwired (issues with d/c wirelessly, but solid w/ ethernet) but now I can hardly stay connected. Can anyone help me fix the unidentified network and maybe my connection with WoW? Please if you explain something, explain it fully, as I am not well-versed in computer tech. Thanks to anyone who takes the time to assist me, I really appreciate it!

Hi Countrieman, If you are troubleshooting the connection it would be good to find out if your other computers are connecting properly over the wired connection. If you connect a diferent laptop/desktop to the same ethernet cable and the problem is replicated then it is likely to be the cable or the router. If the new connection works perfectly under the same conditions then it may be your computer that has the problem. If you think it is your computer that has the issue you may have to narrow it down to hardware or software problems. This can be done a number of ways but let me know how you get on and if needs be I will try to guide you through it. CathalCathal O'Brien BSc, PgDip, PhD www.techsmart.ie

Hi Countrieman, If you are troubleshooting the connection it would be good to find out if your other computers are connecting properly over the wired connection. If you connect a diferent laptop/desktop to the same ethernet cable and the problem is replicated then it is likely to be the cable or the router. If the new connection works perfectly under the same conditions then it may be your computer that has the problem. If you think it is your computer that has the issue you may have to narrow it down to hardware or software problems. This can be done a number of ways but let me know how you get on and if needs be I will try to guide you through it. Also, this has been discused in a previous post which seems to deal wth a lot of the issues and troubleshooting link here Cathal Cathal O'Brien BSc, PgDip, PhD www.techsmart.ie

I just connected the cord to another laptop and it worked fine (still a no go on my laptop), and the desktop works fine wired. I will check out the link you provided to see if I can run that down any. thanks. -Countrieman

Ok. I followed one of the steps in that link, rebooting in safe mode with networking, and it worked fine. What does this mean and where do i go from here? The other link said temporarily uninstall my firewall and anti-virus, but why would these all of a sudden start interfering?-Countrieman

Hi, I have found this issue has occured in the past with some antivirus software. I uninstalled it and the connection opened up again. I am not sure what exactly caused it to lock up and start blocking traffic but it did. When I reinstalled it I found it had sorted itself out. The other thing to remember is that it may not be the antivirus necessarily but one of the other applications that doesn't run in safe mode. If you have recently installed any other software it may be causing the problem to occur either directly or by interfering with your firewall. Hope that helps, let us know how you get on, Cathal Cathal O'Brien BSc, PgDip, PhD www.techsmart.ie

I use Avira free antivirus and have for quite some time with no problems, also to the best of my knowledge i have not installed any new software recently. An update though - not previously mentioned - I am connecting through a Linksys 5-Port 10/100 Workgroup Switch that connects to the router. When I bypass the switch, I have internet, also when i was in safe mode i had a connection through the switch. But on top of that, I have the exact same switch in my dorm room (was at home) and I am having the exact same issues (no connection through the switch, but no problem when bypassing. Is there really a chance that both exact same switches are both bad, or more that something on my computer is conflicting with both switches?-Countrieman

Hi, If you were previously getting a wired connection through both hubs in two seperate locations and you are now unable to connect through either (I have read that right?) then a single point of failure is more probable than a double identical failure which points back at your laptop. Because your laptop is connecting through the router then it is likely that it is taking issue with the switch, and because it connected properly in safe mode it is most likely to be a software issue. This maybe a changed security setting which is why they would recommend that you uninstall your antivirus check your connection and then reinstall. In the past though I have found an enthernet connection error occurred with my antivirus and it was blocking random ports and basically acting up. However, the antivirus itself was not functioning so when I tried to run updates or virus scan it started to misbehave. If you are reluctant to uninstall your antivirus temporarily (as I gather from the previous post) then you might want to first check that your antivirus is working properly. It's not the toughest thing to do and I have previously written a quick check tutorial on my website http://techsmart.ie/faqs/antivirus_check.html . If you check it and it appears to be working then you might want to check the settings and make sure that they are not blocking any type of connection. Then if you can not identify anything there I would recommend that you try to uninstall, check your connection and then reinstall as necessary. If you need any more help, let us know, CathalCathal O'Brien BSc, PgDip, PhD www.techsmart.ie

Hi Countrieman, Any update on this? Are you up and running again? CathalCathal O'Brien BSc, PgDip, PhD . TechSmart Computer Repair

Well, I believe the problem has been discovered. I took my computer to the IT guys on my campus, and, when they wired it in, i happened to move the cord, just playing, but my gf realized that when i did, it cut the connection. So it lead to me playing with the cord, and being able to connect, and unconnect from wired internet... the guys looked at it, and one of the pins is incredibly bent up, which we think might be the only problem. Do you think GeekSquad at BestBuy would be able to fix the pin in-store? or would this be something they have to send my computer off for?-Countrieman

Hi Countireman, Glad to hear you have gotten to the root of the problem. You can bring it to a tech support company alright. Sometimes the pins may just need to be realigned and that should see you right, or it is more seriously damaged it may need to be sent to a workshop for repairs. Either way they will be able to inform you in store. The other option would be to get another LAN card for your laptop be it PC Card or USB and use that for your wired connections. Just evaluate your decisions in the context of the quotation your are given when you bring it in. Good luck with it. CathalCathal O'Brien BSc, PgDip, PhD . TechSmart Computer Repair