View Full Version : Windows Guru Help Required
Mr Speirs
28-01-14, 12:25 PM
Spent a while googling but due to the mountains of threads with the same search words I haven't got anywhere close to finding a solution.
Here's the scenario:
At work I have a macbook running both os x and bootcamp (Windows Vista).
99% of the time I run on OS X but there are some programmes I need to use which only run on windows.
The problem is when I switch over to windows it causes the internet in the building to die. I.e. the router disappears from everyone's available networks and the internet ceases to work.
If I switch back to OS X the router becomes available and internet works again.
This in my opinion can only be a software issue as the hardware works fine on OS X.
So what inside windows can cause a router to disappear? and what can I change inside windows to stop it happening?
Is there a way to permanently disable wifi in windows but keep the ethernet connections as I don't need the internet on windows.
Ta
Do you have an internet sharing feature enabled on one of the client OSs?
Mr Speirs
28-01-14, 12:46 PM
Qua?
There isn't any shared features as my windows cant run side by side of os x. Its essentially its own computer. Boots up from its own partition and takes control of the hardware itself.
The only reason I'd even mention OS X is takes the hardware out of the equation as I know that works. I'm certain it's a windows software issue but I have no idea when it comes to windows.
disable wifi adapter by disabling in control panel device manager newtork adapter.
Have you had a look at parallels desktop for running windows in mac osx? In co herence mode it works seemlessly and you get to use both osx and windows on one desktop.
Dont know about the windows router problem
Mr Speirs
28-01-14, 01:21 PM
disable wifi adapter by disabling in control panel device manager newtork adapter.
Have you had a look at parallels desktop for running windows in mac osx? In co herence mode it works seemlessly and you get to use both osx and windows on one desktop.
Dont know about the windows router problem
My new laptop is working on parallels however my old work one has been running in bootcamp since 2007 and as I use it rarely doesn't warrant the fee for parallels.
Qua?
There isn't any shared features as my windows cant run side by side of os x. Its essentially its own computer. Boots up from its own partition and takes control of the hardware itself.
The only reason I'd even mention OS X is takes the hardware out of the equation as I know that works. I'm certain it's a windows software issue but I have no idea when it comes to windows.
I was talking about the Windows 'Internet Sharing' feature. It may be advertising itself on your network when active.
Do you know anything about how your Windows client networking is configured? It may be set-up with a static IP address that could be already used on your network.
Are you able to reach the internet from your Windows OS? If so happy to take a quick look at the config if you wish.
Amadeus
28-01-14, 01:32 PM
First thing I'd look at would be whether you have an IP address clash.
Ideally the Windows machine should be getting an IP address automatically (DHCP). Identify the IP address of the router/gateway (ipconfig will show you that, or ifconfig on non-Windows) and ensure that the Windows machine isn't using that address as it's IP address (changing to automatic may not help if the DHCP scope has been badly defined).
You've not said much about your router either. If you're in a small environment it may be more of a home router with different features to a business-class router.
atassiedevil
28-01-14, 01:52 PM
I would suspect at some point internet connection sharing has been enabled in your windows instance.
As this tends to use the ip address 192.168.0.1 this would be my first suspicion.
As most routers also use that....You can imagine what happens when this address is duplicated on the network.
In Windows, from a command prompt do ipconfig/all.
See if this address exists. If it does, there is your problem.
Failing that come back to me and there are other things i can talk you through to resolve.
timwilky
28-01-14, 02:04 PM
I would also look at the mac address. some routers have the clone mac feature, so possible your internet router has a copy.
Spank86
28-01-14, 04:37 PM
So what inside windows can cause a router to disappear? and what can I change inside windows to stop it happening?
Is there a way to permanently disable wifi in windows but keep the ethernet connections as I don't need the internet on windows.
Ta
You should be able to disable the wifi adaptor in the settings.
either go into the device manager and locate it there, or disable it under network connections (assuming it still shows).
Very odd problem if you're saying that suddenly no other machines can see the router, are we talking machines looking at it over wifi or over LAN? If the latter then I concurr with what everyone else is saying, some routers will go into a kind of bridge mode if connected to something else with the same IP address, Seen it happen with two BT home hubs.
I had something weird like this quite a while ago so details are hazy but....
In XP (possibly W8 too) if you go into network explorer you will see the router as a device. I disconnected it thinking I was disconnecting myself from it but instead it killed the router. Can't remember if it rebooted itself or if I had to manually reset it.
Worth seeing if you can recreate the symptoms for the rest of the office via network explorer so at least you know the trigger even if not the cause.
atassiedevil
28-01-14, 05:04 PM
it's quite possible with UPNP network devices to disable them remotely. My money is still on some kind of network sharing going on though
Have you installed the Server App in OSX? By Default it turns on DNS server functionality.
Maybe even running a DHCP Server?
Not convinced it's the answer, but it's worth checking.
Also - could you clarify what you mean by 'the router disappears' (apologies for any misquote)?
As mentioned elsewhere ipconfig /all from command prompt on all machines is a good place to start. If you want the same information from the Mac you can either go into System Preferences, Network, select the adapter and click Advanced, or open Terminal and type ifconfig.
Weird. I've been a lurking member of this forum for a while, but it's taken a tech question to make me post!
Chris
Fordward
29-01-14, 11:35 PM
Look for an ip address conflict first. Run a command prompt and use ipconfig /all to see all your network adaptors (both physical and virtual) and the assigned IP's and look for one the same as the router. I'm not sure how bootcamp works, but some hypervisors also create a virtual adaptor on the host (your macbook) in order to share connectivity with the virtual machines. It could be the fact you are starting bootcamp that is causing an IP conflict, rather than anything within the Vista virtual machine itself.
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Fordward
29-01-14, 11:44 PM
PS: corporate network admins tend to use something at the top of an IP range to address routers and firewalls, ie x.x.x.254 or 253, it tends to be home broadband (adsl) type routers that use 192.168.0.1. Corporate networks also often use a larger subnet, ie: 10.x.x.x or 172.16.x.x
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Offer still stands for me to remote in and take a look at the client. Very difficult to sort it out blind.
Fordward
31-01-14, 10:21 AM
Have you found it Chris?
Mr Speirs
31-01-14, 01:18 PM
sorry chaps. Havent been able to try yet as I've been mad busy. Might get a chance this afternoon once everyone has gone as it's a bit diruptive when people are trying to work :)
To clarify. When my windows boots up the router disappears from the list of available networks, it's as if someone has pulled the power out of the back of the router.
yep, this is why we think an IP address conflict may be the cause. If your Windows client rocks up on the network with the same address as the router, then to all intents the router is no longer visible to the rest of the network.
Mr Speirs
31-01-14, 04:49 PM
Managed to solve it by disabling the wireless bit of the network in the device manager.
Obviously theres probably an issue but for now disabling the wireless portion worked.
Spank86
31-01-14, 06:48 PM
sorry chaps. Havent been able to try yet as I've been mad busy. Might get a chance this afternoon once everyone has gone as it's a bit diruptive when people are trying to work :)
To clarify. When my windows boots up the router disappears from the list of available networks, it's as if someone has pulled the power out of the back of the router.
In which case disabling the network adaptor ought to be a workaround and changing a few settings a permanent fix.
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