Fixing the “Notwork”

Usually the first clue you have that you are on the “Notwork” is that Internet Explorer will give you an error message, and ask you if you would like help to correct it.  You should always say yes, because hey, I once actually had it work.  When it doesn’t work it will ask you if you want more help.  If you say yes it will helpfully give you two options, both of which require a working network.  Thank you, Microsoft.

At this point many people run out of options and contact their internet provider.  There is actually a pretty straightforward procedure you can follow that may fix things.  However, if you are using dial-up, the things you can try before contacting your internet provider are limited to disconnecting and reconnecting, and if that doesn’t work, rebooting.  Given that you don’t have dial-up, let’s see how we can possibly fix the problem ourselves.

Try Resetting Your Networking

This is straightforward, but does require you to use the command prompt.  Since many people have never used it, and may not even know it exists, I’ll walk you through this.

1. At the start menu type in cmd.exe and hit Enter.  This will bring up a black window with white type that says something like c:\users\YourLoginName.
2. Put the cursor in the screen and type in “ipconfig/release”, without the quotes, and hit Enter.  This will give you a lot of scrolling output similar to the below:

Now close the black window, open your favorite browser, and see if you can connect.  Often these two simple steps will fix the problem of the “Notwork.” and turn it back into the “Network.”

Try Resetting Your Communication Hardware Chain

If the above didn’t work, the problem may not be with your computer; it could be in your broadband modem or your wireless router, if you have one.

1. Find the piece of hardware connected to your wall.  It’s your broadband router.  Unplug it from the wall for a few seconds, and then plug it back in.  Wait until all the lights settle down before proceeding further.
2. If you have a wireless router, the broadband will plug into it.  Unplug it from the wall for a few seconds and plug it back in.  Wait until all the lights settle down before proceeding further.
3. Now go back to the “Try Resetting Your Networking.”

The Dreaded Reboot Your Computer

The chances are, if the above didn’t work, this won’t either, but you have no choice but to try it.  Sorry, but it’s the troubleshooting step of last resort. 

What If Rebooting Didn’t Work Either

Well, it’s time for tech support.  It’s always possible the problem isn’t on your side at all, but a network problem with your internet provider, or perhaps a hardware problem.  If you were a networking guru there are a few other things you might have tried, like ping and tracert.  Below is an example of each, in case you are curious. But frankly, even if you found a problem using them, the problem would be on your internet provider’s side, and you still couldn’t do anything about it but contact tech support, and the support person you talked to would probably not be one familiar with ping and tracert output anyway.

Ping Example

 Tracert Example

Summing Up

You can often turn the “Notwork” back into a “Network,” without needing to reboot, or calling tech support, if you know just a few networking tricks.  Also, if you do need to call tech support, you can have some confidence the problem is either a hardware problem or a problem on your internet provider’s side.  At the very least, you have just taken the first step toward becoming more networking savvy yourself, and can now drop “ipconfig” into a conversation to impress your friends.