Comcast XFINITY → Connect Problems

I am having connection problems with Comcast. A technician came out and fixed the problem the first time, but they came back as soon as I rebooted the computer. I have XP (cable modem SB4100 directly connected) and have tried release/renew my address, but it just times out. Also, I can't reach the modem diagnostic page either. Anyone have suggestions??

Which lights on your modem are lit?

all of them ... the ready light is solid ... the activity light blinks every now and again also ... i just got Comcast about a month and a half ago, and everything was fine out of the box ... i started having problems two weeks ago ...

Are you getting a valid IP address? Or are you getting a 169.x.x.x? If you've getting a valid IP, can you ping the modem's IP? (192.168.100.1)

Also, are you using a NIC, or USB?

I am using a NIC ... yes, i'm getting a 169.x.x.x IP ... and I can't ping the modem either ... what's goin on here?

Try removing the coax from the modem, then power cycle the modem....give the modem about 10 seconds to reboot, then see if you can pull an IP directly from the modem. (It should be 192.168.100.x). If that works, then your computer and modem are working fine; if you don't pull an IP, then I'd guess it's probably the NIC.

You might also try disabling some of your startup programs; I've run into problems before where a particular application was preventing DHCP from working. Just click Start>>>Run>>>type MSCONFIG, click OK....then click on the startup tab, and uncheck anything that isn't absolutely vital to the operation of the computer. (Which means uncheck just about everything.)

Incidentally, when you do ipconfig/renew, do you get an error, or does it simply time out?

thanx! i'll try tonight and report ...

Good stuff, Joe

said by applesplatter:

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I am using a NIC ... yes, i'm getting a 169.x.x.x IP ... and I can't ping the modem either ... what's goin on here?

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can be one of three things.. USUALLY (not discounting the oddball M$ screwup)

if cablejoe's release/renew and msconfig suggestions does not solve the problem, then you are probably looking at, a bad ethernet card, a bad ethernet cable, or a bad ethernet port on the modem.

some other things to try.. Windows XP makes it a bit easier.. what happens when you unplug the ethernet cable? you should see a message in the lower right corner saying a network cable was unplugged.. if you do not get that message then we're looking at a hardware issue.

check the properties and status for the network connection in the Control Panel -> Network Connections, (right click on the device the modem connects to) . you can also try the repair option and or disable then enable the device.

last check the system hardware config to make sure there is no problem with the NIC or drivers.

hope this helps

Oh, one other thing you might try, if none of the other suggestions have worked....

Try moving the NIC to a different PCI slot; I've seen a few computers that had a slot that would detect the card, but the card just wouldn't work.

This is actually a pretty rare problem, but when I do see it, it's usually a Dell computer. I've also seen one instance where the slot was causing very poor speeds (12-16 KBps).I spent an hour swapping cards and tweaking. As a last resort, I stuck the original NIC in a different slot, and PRESTO!....180 KBps. Go figure.

Sometimes ya gotta swap'm six... sometimes seven times for it to work, give or take six or seven.

Mike

i removed the coax and power cycled the modem ... did the MSCONFIG thing also ... i seemed to get a real IP this time (68.x.x.x) ... but, i still couldn't get anywhere except the modem's config page (192.168.100.1) ... as a result, i resorted to tech support and they have to send a tech out next week .. argh!