Unable to Connect to Intraweb Following Reformat

DepotDepot The ModFather Join Date: 2002-11-09 Member: 7956Members
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">Comcast couldn't help either</div>Following a reformat on my main PC yesterday I was unable to connect to the internet. This seems to be a normal issue following reformat, but Comcast is usually able to fix it in a few minutes.

Not so yesterday - spen an hour on the phone with them to no avail. LAN driver is installed, and it's configured to get the IP automatically. Cable connection to this PC (my spare) verifies we have a valid ISP signal.

Any clues? HELP! <img src="http://www.nsmod.org/forums/style_emoticons/default/hairpull.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" />
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Comments

  • SpoogeSpooge Thunderbolt missile in your cheerios Join Date: 2002-01-25 Member: 67Members
    If you're on XP, have you tried the Network Connection Wizard?
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  • DepotDepot The ModFather Join Date: 2002-11-09 Member: 7956Members
    *sigh*... I decided to run through my router, so I could work on both PCs at once, so I power-cycled the modem, router, and PC and while they were all off I hooked up the ethernet cables etc.

    Turned everything back on (in order) and miraculously had connection on both PCs now. Last night we bypassed the router and had the modem going directly to the affected PC - nothing.


    Go figure... but anyway this issue has resolved itself. Somehow.
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  • RobRob Unknown Enemy Join Date: 2002-01-24 Member: 25Members, NS1 Playtester
    edited October 2008
    Might be a problem with your modem not liking your main PC's MAC address.

    Or the modem requires a cross-over cable to direct connect to a PC. That's unlikely these days, though.
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  • XythXyth Avatar Join Date: 2003-11-04 Member: 22312Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1691303:date=Oct 24 2008, 07:46 AM:name=Rob)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rob @ Oct 24 2008, 07:46 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1691303"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Might be a problem with your modem not liking your main PC's MAC address.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    This one. My grandparents suffered from the same problem when they replaced their computer. Apparently the modem linked itself to the MAC address of their computer and wouldn't work unless it saw that one on the network. We were able to fix it eventually just by resetting it with the new computer plugged in.
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  • SkulkBaitSkulkBait Join Date: 2003-02-11 Member: 13423Members
    I doubt it was the cable. Routers are non-switches (except for the switchports in the back of home routers, obviously) so they'd use the same cable as the PC would. MAC addresses (unless altered by the OS) are part of the NIC hardware and wouldn't have changed from a reformat.

    My bet is that comcast uses PPPoE and it simply wasn't configured on your system, so no connection. Your router still has its configuration from before the format, so when you put it back in place it handles the PPPoE just fine.
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  • SnappyCrunchSnappyCrunch Join Date: 2004-08-03 Member: 30328Members, Constellation
    What I've learned in my years as a PC support tech is that Comcast "marries" a modem to the MAC address of the PC or router connected to it. I assume it's a fraud prevention thing. If you call Comcast tech support to get them to "divorce" the modem, sometimes you get someone who knows what they're doing, but most often you get someone who has no idea what you're talking about. I've even had techs tell me it wasn't possible! Keep talking, ask for level 2, and you'll eventually get to someone who can do it.

    Alternately, you can unplug your modem for about 45 minutes. That usually does the trick too.
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  • DepotDepot The ModFather Join Date: 2002-11-09 Member: 7956Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1691303:date=Oct 24 2008, 07:46 AM:name=Rob)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rob @ Oct 24 2008, 07:46 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1691303"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Might be a problem with your modem not liking your main PC's MAC address.

    [...]<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    <!--quoteo(post=1691517:date=Oct 27 2008, 12:42 AM:name=SnappyCrunch)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SnappyCrunch @ Oct 27 2008, 12:42 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1691517"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->What I've learned in my years as a PC support tech is that Comcast "marries" a modem to the MAC address of the PC or router connected to it. I assume it's a fraud prevention thing. If you call Comcast tech support to get them to "divorce" the modem, sometimes you get someone who knows what they're doing, but most often you get someone who has no idea what you're talking about. I've even had techs tell me it wasn't possible! Keep talking, ask for level 2, and you'll eventually get to someone who can do it.

    Alternately, you can unplug your modem for about 45 minutes. That usually does the trick too.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    This very well could have been the issue. I asked for level 2 support after spending an hour on the phone, but they had gone home for the day.

    I don't think I unplugged the cable modem for that long, but the issue resolved itself overnight.
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  • KungFuDiscoMonkeyKungFuDiscoMonkey Creator of ns_altair 日本福岡県 Join Date: 2003-03-15 Member: 14555Members, NS1 Playtester, Reinforced - Onos
    <!--quoteo(post=1691517:date=Oct 26 2008, 09:42 PM:name=SnappyCrunch)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SnappyCrunch @ Oct 26 2008, 09:42 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1691517"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->What I've learned in my years as a PC support tech is that Comcast "marries" a modem to the MAC address of the PC or router connected to it. I assume it's a fraud prevention thing. If you call Comcast tech support to get them to "divorce" the modem, sometimes you get someone who knows what they're doing, but most often you get someone who has no idea what you're talking about. I've even had techs tell me it wasn't possible! Keep talking, ask for level 2, and you'll eventually get to someone who can do it.

    Alternately, you can unplug your modem for about 45 minutes. That usually does the trick too.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    I've noticed that with other modems as well. I usually fixed it by powering off the modem for a bit and letting it reboot. If you plug it into a router then you don't generally have problems because you can connect computers to the router.
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