Laptop won't connect

50Twuncle

My laptop has, this morning, for no reason - refused to connect to the internet
It errors with "Wi-Fi doesn’t have valid IP configuration on Windows 10"
I have worked my way through every option in :
http://windowsreport.com/wi-fi-valid-ip-configuration-windows-10/
With no success
I have even resorted to a System Restore - but that failed
What else can I try ?

austonic

Have you tried with more than one access point?

50Twuncle

austonic wrote: »

Have you tried with more than one access point?

I only have one access point !


I have rebooted the router and, in any case - it connects on other devices as normal
I will try via cable now !

50Twuncle

and yes it connects wired

50Twuncle

I have tried resetting the ip address but TT lease you a specific address for a few months so that failed as well...
Could it be a Windows update that has caused the issue?
I can see me having to rebuild my laptop again !!!
This is annoying.

50Twuncle

Any help please !!

austonic

50Twuncle wrote: »

I have tried resetting the ip address but TT lease you a specific address for a few months so that failed as well...
Could it be a Windows update that has caused the issue?
I can see me having to rebuild my laptop again !!!
This is annoying.

A Windows update can cause connectivity problems. So can Anti-virus/firewall software (especially after Windows updates) - make sure these are fully disabled when problem solving.

I need to check a few things here, Sorry if I simplify too much stuff you already know.

Usually, two (or more) IP (internet protocol) addresses are in use for an internet connection:

Firstly, the external internet address, which is the IP address the outside world sees when you connect to an internet service (web site, etc).

Secondly, the internal IP address, which is the IP address devices on your side of the router/modem use to connect to your internet service provider (ISP).

As you usually have more than one device connecting to internet services (or to each other in your property), each device needs its own IP address, thus the devices will be assigned (manually or automatically) "local" IP addresses but when they talk to the services on the internet, those services will see the external IP address.

There is a shortage of IPv4 (x.x.x.x) internet addresses, so ISPs typically assign external IP addresses on a dynamic basis. However, if you want to run services yourself, such as hosting a web site in your home/office, you can pay an ISP for a "fixed IP address". I'm guessing this is what you meant by leasing an address from TalkTalk. There is usually little need to have a fixed external IP address these days.

There are a number of IP address ranges reserved for local (internal) use, these are not routed over the internet. These are listed in a document called RFC1918. Inside you house/office, you should be using IP addresses that start 10,x,x,x or 192.168.x.x for example. You can manually set the local IP address of each device in your house to such local addresses, including the internal side of the Modem/Router. Each device must have a unique IP address. Usually though, your Modem/Router/WAP (Wifi Access Point) is set to use something called DHCP, which allocates the local IP addresses automatically (and sets the gateway address - the address the Modem/Router is set to, which is how to route stuff to the internet).

You can check your modem/router settings and also the network connections on other devices (your smartphone, a PS4, an XBOX, etc) to see how this is setup. You say everything is working other than your Windows laptop.

As your Windows laptop is working on an ethernet (rather than WiFi connection), it clearly shows that there is either a hardware fault in the wifi component of your laptop or a configuration problem. (I am assuming when you said cabled, you meant ethernet rather than USB - if USB, then that complicates things.)

Windows can be very tricky on connectivity at times. Please let me know if the above makes some sense, and how things are setup. Also, what version of Windows are you running and what laptop? (Some laptops have manufacturer utilities that override Microsoft Windows settings for the configuration of the wifi network settings.)

You might also want to try live booting from a CD/USB stick another operating system (e.g. Ubuntu) and see if that can connect to the internet using the WiFi connection - no need to install anything on your computer - this would eliminate a hardware error.

Have you also checked the hardware configuration of your laptop to make sure that WiFi has not been disabled? (Usually you get into the setup screen when you start your laptop from cold boot and press a special key, usually flashed on the screen, such as F8 or Esc to halt the normal boot process before Windows starts).

austonic

It might be worth you sharing your laptops network configuration information on here (replace anything you want to keep private) with XXXX.

Use the ipconfig /all command

50Twuncle

Rebuilt and back to normal now !!
Still have no idea what happened

50Twuncle

I think that I had the MS Win 10 update flaw that prevents internet access (https://www.snipca.com/22899)
fixed by MS with, yet another update !!

esuhl

Sometimes the DHCP server on the router fails and incorrectly assigns the same local IP address to two devices. If you turn off attached devices, turn the router off then on again, and then turn on your devices, the DHCP server should re-allocate IP addresses appropriately.

Just in case it happens again...

Although, as you say, there was also a Windows 10 bug that caused similar behaviour.