Network assistance please

I do volunteer work at my kids school helping with the computers. I don't have any problem fixing the pc's but bigger networks are not my strong point only knowing the basics. I built a pc for one of the classes and successfully connected it to the network and internet in the lab upstairs running off one netgear switch. I then take it downstairs to the class room and hook it up, nothing. The downstairs is running off a different switch. I have traced the cables and know where everything is. I do have a psiber lan tool and can send a signal from the patch panel to the pc. With all the cables hooked up I get both link lights on the switch blinking very slowly. The switch this is running off of is a netgear prosafe 24 port 10/100. All cable is cat5. Any help would be appreciated. If anymore information is needed please ask.

 

Are you using DHCP on the network? The first thing I'd check is is it getting a valid IP address. You probably know this but from a command prompt:

IPCONFIG /all

If you have a 169.x.x.x number then it is not getting an IP.

Try releasing and renewing:

IPCONFIG /release

then

IPCONFIG /renew

If it still won't give you a valid address then you have a connectivity issue.

I'm not familiar with your switch but usually a "link" light is steady when you have a connection. If it is set up to be managed then it is possible that the network administrator has disabled the ports. It is also possible that the DHCP server will only assign addresses to a "registered" NIC. The lab may not be blocked, for a number of reasons.

 

Thanks for the reply

You may very well be right. The lab is open for the kids to use and there are only a few terminals downstairs. I did ipconfig and it's not getting an IP address at all. I don't think its a connectivity issue because I have a tool that I plugged into that pc's port on the patch panel and am getting a signal at the pc so that port in the switch may be blocked. I will have to look into the setup a little more.

 

Do an IPCONFIG on a working PC in the area where you are connecting this system, as well as one in the lab. Are they in the same subnet? (ie, assuming the subnet mask is 255.255.255.0, the IP's should have the same first three numbers, with only the last being different, such as 192.168.5.2 and 192.168.5.4).

If the PC's are in different subnets, it's likely that the lab's subnet uses DHCP whereas the other areas subnet is all static IP's. If that is the case, you should probably defer to the network administrator (assuming there is one). This software (click here) can help you see what's on the LAN. I use it frequently.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm going to look more into the entire network structure tomorrow and see what I can find.