There are a number of checks you can make yourself if having difficulty accessing the network
1. Is the light on the back of the network card on?
Most network cards have lights on them indicating that they are communicating with the network, if these lights are not on when the computer is switched on then it is likely that the network card is faulty or not fitted correctly. Also, check that the network cable is attached to the RIGHT-HAND wall socket. The network card is indentified by the slot into which you put the ethernet cable to connect to the network.
2. Can you make contact with other machines on the network?
The helpdesk may ask you to try pinging another, pinging a computer just involves sending a very small message asking the other computer to respond.
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Click on the Start button, All Programs, Accessories and select Command Prompt. You will get a black box with white text appear on the screen. |
3. Can you use your computer in other rooms?
If your computer does not work in your own room, see if it can connect elsewhere. Also, check whether another computer works in your room. This will help to show if it is a problem with your computer or the network point.
4. Has the pc been set to obtain an IP address automatically?
The University system is automatic - it will give your computer an IP address as well as the details of the gateway, subnet mask and DNS servers.
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Click Start, and then open your Control Panel. Click Network and Sharing Center, Change adapter settings; you may then see a number of network connections, including a LAN or High-Speed Internet connection. Right click on this icon and go into Properties. Highlight Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IP) and click on Properties. Under the General tab, select, Obtain IP address automatically and Obtain DNS server address automatically. Click Ok to apply the setting. |
5. Has the browser been set correctly?
We do not use a Proxy Server at the UEA, this setting must be disabled.
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Open Internet Explorer. Click Tools on the menu bar. Open Internet options... Select the Connections tab, and then click LAN Settings. Ensure that the tick box beside Use a proxy server for your LAN (These settings will apply to your dial-up or VPN connections) does not have a tick in it. Click Ok to apply the setting. |
6. Is the firewall interfering?
If you have a Firewall and this is enabled, it's possible this could be inhibiting your connection. You can allow website exceptions to your Firewall, by adding the website as a Trusted Site.
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Open Internet Explorer. Click Tools on the menu bar. Open Internet Options... Select the Security tab Highlight Trusted Sites before clicking Sites..., this will bring up a new box. In add this Web site to the zone: box, type *.uea.ac.uk (use Shift+8 to type the *icon) Click Add to add this website as a Trusted Site. Please ensure the Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone tick box is not ticked. |
7. What is the MAC address of your network card?
If you are having problems connecting to the network, one of the first checks that the helpdesk will make is to see if your card has been registered correctly, to do this they will need the MAC address of your network card. (This is a unique identifying number that all network cards have, in the format 00:05:5D:06:EA:94)
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For Windows machines Click on the Start button, All Programs, Accessories and select Command Prompt you will get a black box with white text appear on the screen. Type in ipconfig /all The Ethernet address of your card is the one labelled Physical Address, you should note this down along with the IP Address entry. For Mac running OS X Open System Preferences, found in the Applications folder on your hard disk. Click on the Network control panel. Your Ethernet address is under the TCP/IP tab, and will look something like 00:05:5D:06:EA:94 |
8. My computer is reporting an IP address conflict.
This is caused by another network user incorrectly configuring their equipment (computers should be set to obtain their IP details from DHCP). Please report this to the helpdesk. They will need to know the MAC (or hardware) address of your computer and of the conflicting computer. To obtain your own MAC address see Step 7. To obtain the MAC of the other computer:
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Click on the Start button, Control Panel, Administrative Tools and select Event Viewer Under the Windows Logs tree, select System and look for an entry with TCPIP as the source and double-click to view the details. Note the conflicting address, and date and time of the entry. |
