Unable to connect via LAN

[Insomnicat7]

Hi,

Only had my Vaio AR51M for a couple of weeks but I am unable to connect to my router using an Ethernet cable. Used to work when I first had it but only connects via the wireless route. I have tried to run the diagnose features and other help but to no avail. Each time it suggests connecting the cable but it is connected and does work with my old laptop. I did notice when reinstalling the drive the LAN light did flicker a few times on the router but Vista is adamant that it’s not connected. This is driving me nuts that I even resorted to a fully restore to the original factory settings but still no change. Help….

TIA, Dave

[Thalamus.]

Hi Dave,

welcome to Club Vaio..

Have you checked that the ethernet cable is connected into the Network port and not the modem port.?

Have you checked that the ethernet cable is not damaged in any way.?

Have you checked that the ethernet port is enabled.?

You can do this via Control Panel, Network and Internet, Network Connections..

[Insomnicat7]

The cable is brand new (Cat6) and works fine with the other laptop. This is the bit that is confusing me, it used to work and then one day it refused to connect when I inserted the cable link to the modem. I was going the configure the router via the cable as they always keep disconnecting the wireless part when updating. When I do connect the cable nothing happens on the network icon in the systray. When I re-enable the Local Area Connection I can see the router LAN port light flicker for a second but then nothing. I tried uninstalling the driver and getting it to scan for new hardware. It installs the driver but fails to recognise the cable when inserted into the port.

I have a feeling that vista is blocking the port. I did have to reset the IPV4 to obtain the IP as it had set a static IP. I suspect most of this is down to my lack of experience with vista and have found there are so many controls in place that I would normally take for granted, such as releasing the IP address in CMD which vista keeps telling me I don’t have sufficient access (account is setup as admin). I also tried the Vaio test program but that came back reporting no problems. I really am lost within the world of vista and am sorely tempted to install XP.