HP laptop will not obtain an IP address

[mcmurphy12]

Two days ago, I took my personal laptop off of standy by and tried to connect to my home wireless network. It connected, but I did not get any Internet access. I tried restarting my computer, nothing. I tried resetting my router, nothing. I tried resetting my hub, nothing. Three other computers connect to this network regularly (my dad's, my school laptop, and my sister's laptop) and they have not had any trouble. My Xbox can also connects with no problems. I have reset my TCP/IP and still nothing. I have tried connecting to the router by hardwire and that also does not work. Does anybody have any suggestions?

 

[Dhakos]

If it connects to the network but not to the internet, try making sure the gateway IP is correct. I've always manually configured my TCP/IP connection IPs, and unless you have the correct gateway IP, the computer doesnt know where to get internet from. (The gateway IP will be the IP of your router)
If you need help manually configuring your IPs, let me know, otherwise, good luck

 

[mcmurphy12]

Okay, I've tried setting things up manually, but it still doesn't connect to the internet. Could you give me the steps on how to do it just in case I didn't do it right?

 

[Dhakos]

Sure, it'll be slightly different depending on your operating system how to get there, but in vista you would go to the Network and Sharing Center, View the Status of your connection, Click properties, highlight "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)", and finally click properties again to bring you to the IP screen.

I've attached a screenshot of what mine looks like.
The top one "IP Address", is the address for your computer. Your network will have the same first 3 numbers for all it's devices (192.168.11 for me) but the last number is unique to each device. As long as this number is unique, it shouldnt matter what you set it as. If you don't know the first 3 numbers of your network IP, your routers default IP address will be printed on the router itself somewhere, if not, in its manual.

"Subnet Mask": 255.255.255.0 this should be the same for you.

"Default gateway": The IP address of the device that the internet comes through, in most cases your router, and in most cases again; the last number in the IP will be 1; because this is what manufacturers set it as by default.

"Preferred DNS Server" (Dynamic Name Server): This will be the IP of your router again.

Make sure you close all these options before seeing if it works, because your laptop won't connect while they're open. Again, try this with the laptop being hardwired as well if it still doesnt work, good luck

 

[mcmurphy12]

I still cannot connect. I have tried multiple times and have verified the information is correct. Now, I am having hard drive issues with the computer so I am thinking about giving up. I just built my first computer anyway.

 

[Dhakos]

Hard Drive issues and a non connecting internet, sounds silly, but have you tried reformatting the HD and reinstalling the OS? if that doesn't fix your two problems then it sounds like its hardware troubles... which isn't good news

 

[mcmurphy12]

So, if I format the hard drive, how do I reinstall windows. Do I need a disc?

 

[mcmurphy12]

Nevermind, I figured it out. But, I had to take my HD out of my laptop and put it into my new computer to format it. I kept on getting an "access denied" error message on my laptop. It was like I was locked out of my hard drive even with level elevated to administrator.

 

[mcmurphy12]

I formatted my HD and reinstalled windows and now I am having no issues with connecting to the Internet. But, how do I activate Windows? Was I supposed to get some info before I formatted?

 

[Arris]

I formatted my HD and reinstalled windows and now I am having no issues with connecting to the Internet. But, how do I activate Windows? Was I supposed to get some info before I formatted?

Check the bottom of the laptop. If it came pre-installed with the operating system there is usually a white label from Microsoft on the bottom of the machine with the "CD key" for the installed OS. Use this to activate your windows install on the laptop.

 

[Dhakos]

No, dont worry what you need to activate windows is your 25 digit activation key. On your laptop somewhere (possibly under the battery) will be a little label, stating your operating system, and the 25 digit activation code. Get to the activation window, (most likely there will be an icon on the toolbar that will take you there) and enter your 25 digit activation code. Windows will automatically activate itself over the internet and that should be that

(for future, hearing about your format troubles, when you install windows there will be a format option, it'll do it before reinstalling the operating system)

Glad to hear your laptop is now working fine otherwise

 

[mcmurphy12]

This is not related to my computer, but is there anyway you can get the product key anywhere else. My dad's laptop is having malware/adware issues and I can't seem to solve them. Since he has no important files, I was just going to format and reinstall windows, but the sticker that has his product key has rubbed off.

 

[Dhakos]

Hmm that may be a bit difficult, but I'll see what I can find, what operating system does he have? With XP and below it seems like its just a case of looking up a certain key containing your product number, but I'm not sure about vista and above yet.

 

[Dhakos]

Aha, this looks very good, I just used it on my vista computer, worked a treat (Scanned and virus free). This program simply reads your registry to find the product keys of your OS and any installed applications (such as office etc)

http://www.detector-pro.com/2009/02/windows-tip-how-to-find-out-your.html

or a direct link to the file if you want:
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/files/keyfinder.2.0.beta.2.5.zip

Extract, run the finder and you'll get a simple window stating your product key

 

[mcmurphy12]

I didn't work with Windows 7, but I found one that does. Thanks for all your help!

 

[Dhakos]

No problem