Beth,
This is probably outside the scope of the Web4Lib list but
since I know
the pain of networking troubleshooting, here's a few things
to try:
1) Check your network configuration on the problem PCs
The easiest way to do this:
Start - Run - type in 'cmd' (no quotes) and press enter
You'll then see a dos-style command box.
Type in: ipconfig /all
That should list the computer IP and DNS Server address.
Confirm that the
correct addresses are showing. Compare it against a working
computer to be
sure. When "I can't connect to the Internet" isn't
due to a hardware
problem, it's usually caused by a problem with the network
settings, like
the DNS server.
2) Confirm network connectivity
You want to check that your computers can actually get
beyond your
firewall. From the same command box, type:
ping www.yahoo.com
You should see something like:
W:amutch>ping www.yahoo.com
Pinging www.yahoo-ht2.akadns.net [69.147.114.210] with 32
bytes of data:
Reply from 69.147.114.210: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=51
Reply from 69.147.114.210: bytes=32 time=166ms TTL=51
Reply from 69.147.114.210: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=51
Reply from 69.147.114.210: bytes=32 time=159ms TTL=51
Ping statistics for 69.147.114.210:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 158ms, Maximum = 167ms, Average = 162ms
If you see this, you know you have at least basic
connectivity established
[some firewalls block this traffic so if the site times out,
try it on a
working computer].
If you get "host unreachable", that's likely due
to a physical problem
like a bad cable or switch. If you get "unable to
resolve host" or
something similar, the problem is that your computer can't
talk to the DNS
server. Double-check the DNS settings.
3) Establish browser connectivity
If you can reach Yahoo using a Ping, your browser settings
might have been
changed (malware/spyware can cause this). Open up your
browser and check
to see that proxy settings haven't been set or changed (does
all your
traffic run through the content filter?). In Internet
Explorer, it's
located here:
Tools - Internet Options - Connections - LAN Settings -
Proxy Server
Again, compare them against a working computer. If they've
been changed,
change them back and see if that gets you going. If you use
Public Web
Browser or a similar browser replacement, the settings are
determined by
IE. If you use Firefox, it has similar settings in the
options/preferences.
I would start with your staff computer as you'll have less
variables do
deal with in troubleshooting. Also, changing network
settings will require
Administrator permissions so log in with an
Administrator-level user
account.
A couple other items to try:
a) Change the port that the staff PC is plugged into.
b) Change the network cable connecting the staff computer to
the network
These probably won't make a difference but sometimes the
problem can be as
easily resolved as this. I can't guarantee that any of the
above will fix
the problem but it will help narrow down the scope of the
problem and at
least address basic networking problems.
Also, while it seems like the problems are related and they
may very well
be, don't assume that's the case. Sometimes it's just
coincidence that
computers start acting up at the same time. You want to
avoid overlooking
solutions just because it doesn't necessarily fit your
assumptions.
Good luck!
Andrew Mutch
Library Systems Technician
Waterford Township Public Library
Waterford, MI
>
> I'm having a problem over here and I can't figure out
what's going on.
> Recently we got in six new PCs, set them up and put
them out for the
> public.
> We have had no problems with them until now. Around
the same time we got
> in
> a new one for a staff member. We also have four
"old" PCs that were set
> up
> with security so they'll only access the library
catalog over the
> internet.
>
> These computers are unable to access the internet as of
this morning.
>
> They are on the network, can see other computers on the
network, they just
> can't get to the internet. The staff computer has a
172.16.2.X address,
> the
> public ones are all 172.16.3.x. Other PCs in both ip
ranges can access
> the
> internet with no problem.
>
> The staff computer is plugged into a different switch
than the public
> computers. Other computers on both of those switches
are not having a
> problem.
>
> While all of the public computers are secured with
Microsoft Shared
> computer
> toolkit, the staff computer is not. While the six new
public computers
> and
> the one staff computer are the same Dell model, and
arrived at the same
> time, the four catalog computers are older ones.
>
> I cannot figure out what they have in common, or why
they are unable to
> access the net. Can you think of anything to check? I
have looked at the
> firewall, but no changes have been made recently, and I
also looked at the
> content filter, but again, no changes lately.
>
> Thanks for any help you can offer.
>
> Beth DeGeer
> Assistant Director
> Bartlesville Public Library
> 600 S. Johnstone, Bartlesville, OK 74003
> (918) 338-4164 bdegeer bartlesville.lib.ok.us
> http://www.bartles
ville.lib.ok.us/
>
> _______________________________________________
> Web4lib mailing list
> Web4libwebjunction.org
> http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/
>
_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4libwebjunction.org
http://lists.we
bjunction.org/web4lib/
|
