How to fix a simple failure to connect to the Internet
Another issue about the order of starting up your Windows computer and other computing devices is about a failed Internet connection. There’s a cause and cure for this which is so common it’s the first thing your ISP (Internet Service Provider) tech support staff will ask you to try.
To understand this common “quick fix”, you need a bit of background. These days, many computing devices are “intelligent” – that is, they contain a small computer. This is true of your DSL or cable modem and your routers or hubs. And the job they do of connecting you to the Internet is more complicated than you might think.
In the past, these devices were dumb and all Internet connection settings had to be manually set in Windows by a networking expert. But today’s intelligent networking devices do all that for you automatically – if you stay out of the way. But if you turn on your computing equipment in the wrong way you can interfere with the connection process being done by these smart devices.
Think of your computing devices as a chain, starting at your wall plug and ending at your computer. Here’s how it works (simplified):
- At startup, your DSL or cable modem consults its memory for the address and “phones home” to your ISPs server computer – somewhere out there on the Internet. It identifies itself (for security purposes) and then asks how it should go about connecting. Then it connects up and tests that connection.
- Then the next device in line, let’s say it’s a Vonage VOIP (Voice-Over-Internet) telephone router, is started. It asks your DSL or cable modem how it should connect to the Internet. The modem sends it the instructions which it got from your ISP. The router then sets itself up and tests its connection.
- Now the next device in line (let’s say it’s your computer) is started and asks the router how to connect to the Internet. The router sends it the instructions it got from the modem, which the modem got from your ISP’s server. Each of these steps takes a little time, so each has to happen AFTER the previous step is complete.
Now you see the correct fix for an occasional common Internet disconnection. You turn off all your computing devices (some don’t have power switches, so you have to disconnect their power cables). Then you check each physical cable connection (in case some cable came loose), turn each one on (starting at the wall plug) and wait for it to complete its startup process, before turning on the next device. They all have time to ‘talk to each other” and can setup a good connection.
Most of these devices will have LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes) or other displays to tell you when they are done with their startup. But if in doubt, just wait 1 minute for each.
Please feel free to comment below.
‘Til next time – happy computing!
_jim coe
Tags: cable modem, computer boot, computer cold boot, DSL modem, failed Internet connection, internet connection, Windows
