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Windows Vista On-Campus Ethernet Configuration

The following guide is designed to help troubleshoot all on-campus Ethernet connections under Windows Vista.

NOTE:  In order to perform these steps, you must have Administrator privileges on your Windows Vista computer. 

Check LAN Settings

STEP 1: Go to Start -> Network

          

STEP 2: Click Network and Sharing Center

          

STEP 3: Click Manage network connections.

          

STEP 4: Right click Local Area Connection and verify it is enabled. If it is enabled, click Properties.

          

STEP 5: Click Configure.

          

STEP 6: Click the Advanced. There should be a "Property" box on the left-hand side.

Select "Speed & Duplex", "Link Speed", "Media Type", "Connection Type", or the similar box on the left-hand side. This name can vary by adapter manufacturer, so each computer will be different.

          

Once the proper box is selected, change the selection in the right-hand drop down list.

  • For dorm connections, change it to 10Base-T Full Duplex, 10Mbps Full Duplex, 10M_FULL, 10 Mb Full or similar.
  • For any other on-campus connections, change it to 100Base-T Full Duplex, 100Mbps Full Duplex, 100M_FULL or similar.

This will also vary based on manufacturer. This box normally reads "AutoSelect" or "AutoSense" when first selected. Once this has been set, click OK. If you changed the setting, try accessing the Internet again (by accessing the Web, etc.) to see if that fixed the problem.

STEP 7: Right-click Local Area Connection again and click Properties.

          

STEP 8: Click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) 4 (TCP/IPv4), then click Properties.

          

STEP 9: Verify the options shown below are selected, then click the Advanced button.

  • Obtain an IP address automatically
  • Obtain DNS server address automatically

          

STEP 10: Verify that DHCP is enabled and the Interface metric: 1. 

          

STEP 11: Verify the following checkboxes.

          

STEP 12: Ensure the NetBIOS setting is default.

          

STEP 13: If all those settings are correct, click OK until you are back at the Network Connections control panel. Close these windows until you are back at the Desktop. If you changed any settings, try connecting to the Internet again (by accessing the Web, etc.) to see if that fixed the problem. If it didn't fix the problem, we can try Releasing and Renewing the DHCP lease if the connection still isn't working.

Release/Renew IP Address

STEP 1: Go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories.

STEP 2: Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.

          

STEP 3: Type ipconfig at the Command Prompt. 

          

STEP 4: Next, type ipconfig /release *Con* at the Command Prompt, as show below

          

This will release the current IP, if there is one.

STEP 5: Now, type ipconfig /renew at the Command Prompt, as shown below.

          

STEP 6: This will grab a new IP address. Try connecting to the Internet again (by accessing the Web, etc.) to see if release/renew fixed the problem.

Check QoS Setting

If the Release/Renew is not successful, the computer may be experiencing problems renewing this way.

STEP 1: Go back to the network connection properties screen. Find out what the QoS packet scheduler is set at.

STEP 2: If it is enabled (checked), try disabling it.

STEP 3: Go back into the network card properties to the Advanced tab. There will, in many cases, be a setting that is something along the lines of "802.1p support" or "802.1p scheduler". Highlight this option and make sure the field to the right reads Disabled, as in the screenshot below.