Two nearly identical machines - 1 connects fine, 1 doesn't - HELP :-)

I have two MS-home boxes with the same wireless card in each. One's
older than the other and used to connect fine until about the time I
put the new one on (not certain there's a connection there, maybe just
other circumstances). The newest one quickly connects with everything
set for 'obtain automatically'. The older machine (MS-home also),
seems to take quite a while in 'acquiring IP' mode and that's where I
believe the problem is. Is there a reason why if one is set for
'obtain automatically' that the other wouldn't do the same with the
same op sys, NIC, etc.

I've tried different settings for our network and DNS for our ISP to
preset the TCP/IP properties that sometimes work but the puzzle is
always different - what worked one time won't work this time (I keep
good records on what worked each time). Once the machine IS on, it
works fine until there's a power outage, reboot, etc. It's a real
drag considering the newer 'twin', comes right up onto the network
just fine everytime (again, everything set to 'auto obtain' on the new
but won't work on the older machine [though it used to]). On the
troublesome machine, the little antenna in the system tray shows a
strong signal to our router and the little 'monitor' image indicates
it's connected but no Internet. Anyway, thanks for any ideas...

John

jcage@lycos.com

Posting the results of ipconfig /all on both computers may help.

--
Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
http://www.HowToNetworking.com
<> wrote in message
news:061b222f-6fe2-4398-8ee0-...
>I have two MS-home boxes with the same wireless card in each. One's
> older than the other and used to connect fine until about the time I
> put the new one on (not certain there's a connection there, maybe just
> other circumstances). The newest one quickly connects with everything
> set for 'obtain automatically'. The older machine (MS-home also),
> seems to take quite a while in 'acquiring IP' mode and that's where I
> believe the problem is. Is there a reason why if one is set for
> 'obtain automatically' that the other wouldn't do the same with the
> same op sys, NIC, etc.
>
> I've tried different settings for our network and DNS for our ISP to
> preset the TCP/IP properties that sometimes work but the puzzle is
> always different - what worked one time won't work this time (I keep
> good records on what worked each time). Once the machine IS on, it
> works fine until there's a power outage, reboot, etc. It's a real
> drag considering the newer 'twin', comes right up onto the network
> just fine everytime (again, everything set to 'auto obtain' on the new
> but won't work on the older machine [though it used to]). On the
> troublesome machine, the little antenna in the system tray shows a
> strong signal to our router and the little 'monitor' image indicates
> it's connected but no Internet. Anyway, thanks for any ideas...
>
> John

Robert L. \(MS-MVP\)