Can't access beyond the LAN

[nh39]

hi,
we have a small network with 1 win 2003 server and 6 win xp pro pc, all in 1 domain. the pc's have no problem accessing the server and network printers. however, a couple of them cannot access the internet. if we remove these pc's from the domain and re-join, they would work for a week or two and stop working, again. any suggestion is greatly appreciated.
thank you

 

[stduc]

Sound like they are loosing their default gateway setting for some reason.

When they are working - record the settings reported by the command ipconfig/all (use ipconfig/all > myfile.txt) and again when they are not working. If that doesn't give you a clue, paste the two results in this thread.

 

[ncotton]

im guessing you have your DNS set up for 1 week leases. you have an assignment error for your DNS by the sounds of it. Increase your lease periods to 30 days.

Hope this Helps.

Neil J Cotton
njc Information Systems
Systems Consultant

 

[vdinenna]

Make sure no other PC is trying to become the master browser. Look for browser errors in the Event logs.

Do all the PC have an A record on the server's DNS?

Is the default gateway dispensed thru DHCP server or manually?

 

[nh39]

hi all,

thank you very much for replying. i'll do both stduc's and neil's suggestions, and post follow-ups. vdinenna, dns and default gateway are through dhcp. i'll find out tomorrow whether it's the actual server or the router that is providing dhcp service. it very likely is the router, since the server was added to the network while the router has been already doing it.

another thing i was notified today is that the wireless signal has become very weak and disconnected intermittently for no (obvious) reason. the router is in the basement to provide wireless connection to 1 pc in the basement, 1 in upper level and 2 laptops. is it something in the building? i have a cheaper and older wireless router home and it goes through 3 levels with no problem.

thank you, again, for your help!

 

[ncotton]

can depend on the build of the building, the material/density/thickness and other interference. Flurencent lighrting causes mass interference also. You need to get a wireless access point, relatively cheap, and put it in the middle of the source and the furthest host. These act as repeaters to amplify the signal,

Hope this Helps.

Neil J Cotton
njc Information Systems
Systems Consultant

 

[TheLad]

Also ensure you have the correct subnet mask for your network, as well as the default gateway

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[ncotton]

he must have the correct subnet, otherwise they wouldn't work at all

Hope this Helps.

Neil J Cotton
njc Information Systems
Systems Consultant

 

[stduc]

My initial guess would be that somewhere near is another wireless device - most probably a wireless router that is using the same or a close channel. This wasn't there before. I would try changing the channel the router uses and see if it makes a difference.

In theory they are supposed to do this automatically - finding the best channel to use but in my experience they tend to choose (by themselves) a channel that is still too close.

Since the old router works - you can most likely rule out a source of wireless noise being the issue.

 

[TheLad]

Neil

I hate to disagree slightly but when I started at one company, they were experiencing server drop outs with one server and this was caused by an incorrect subnet mask set on that server. The fix was to change the subnet mask to the correct format for the network and the drop outs ceased.

Whilst it wasn't evident all of the time, it was an oversight by the person who configured the server at the time.

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