What is the matter?
You have problems accessing web sites on the internet.
What should I do?
The following things are necessary to access web sites on the internet. Check each till the problem is solved. (Click on each for more information)
- Your computer needs to be physically connected to a source of internet, either wired or wireless.
If you are connected wired, identify the 'Local Area Connection' icon in the System Tray (see image). Double-clicking on it will bring up the window 'Local Area Connection', which should say 'Connected'.
If you are connected wireless, identify the 'Wireless Connection' icon in the System Tray (see image). Double-clicking on it will bring up the window 'Wireless Connection', which should say 'Connected'. Go to this page to solve wireless connection problems.
- Your computer needs to have received a correct internet address (IP address)
Your computer should have received an internet address (IP address) from your local network or from an Internet Service Provider. To check this:
Click Start > Run > type 'cmd' (without quotation marks) ... a new window opens > type 'ipconfig/all' (without quotation marks) > check if an IP-address number is stated under 'Local Area Connection' (if you connect wired) or under 'Wireless Area Connection'.
There may be an incorrect setting of the IP-address, read this page how to solve it.
- Textual internet addresses (e.g. 'www.google.com') have to be correctly translated into a number (e.g. 209.85.129.147) for the web site to be found.
To diagnose if there is a problem with this, try this:
- type the address: '209.85.129.147' (without quotation marks) in the address bar of the browser.
This should bring up Google. If it does, it means the connection with the internet is O.K. - Now type 'www.google.com' (without quotation marks) in the address bar of the browser. If this fails (and the first test passed), this means the textual name is not translated to the number.
Read this page how to solve it.
- type the address: '209.85.129.147' (without quotation marks) in the address bar of the browser.
Background
Internet connection problems can have many causes. This page lists a number of them and links to pages describing solutions.