Hi Andrea, good question.
All of us at one point or another have encountered some form of connectivity issues and trust our service porividers to sometime hide the fact that the line is down and not inform us unless we ask.
I myself have faced that numemrous times with my service provider.
But getting back to your question,
If you know your computer is doing fine and there is nothing wrong with the network card on your system then it is time to look at your modem/router/wireless router depending on what you have set up at home. ;D
This could be a daunting task for a newbie but here are some simple steps to follow.
1. If you are using a cable to connect be sure it is securely fastened to the ports that are available at the back of the router, simple but it has been known to happen ad some people have paid me money just for a mere push to connect the cable properly unfortunately.....
2. Take out your router/modem documentation, hopefully you still have it, if not visit the website of the brand of your router/modem and download the quick guide to it. With this in hand take a look at the led lights that are located infront of the router/modem and check to see if they are blinking correctly or if they are accidentally turned off by mistake.
3. If the led lights are not blinking as they should then you know that your router/modem is the culprit if not carry on to the next step.
4. Check to see the main modem, if you are a starhub customer has power and see if the led lights are blinking the way they should too. If not then you have your problem identified.
5. Sometimes it is just as easy as rebooting the devices, start by shutting down your computer, the modem/router/wireless device and then your modem from starhub if you are a starhub customer. Then switch them back on in the opposite sequence but be sure to give at least 30 secs for each device to boot up properly before tunring on the next device on the list.
6. If all of this does not help you then the final step is to call your service provider and ask them what in the world is going on especially if the modem that they gave you does not have the necessary lights blinking the right way.
7. Bear in mind that they will ask you to do the exact same thing that I have listed above before saying it is their fault and they will send someone down but if you have done the steps that are mentioned above you can confidently tell them the information that they need and the suport call will usually end faster.
8. one point to take note off is never troubleshoot your network with your wireless laptop if you can, you did the right thing by plugging in a cable between your router and your computer Andrea as wireless devices can be a bit trickier and a lot more variables are involved in troubleshooting wireless connectivity.
Let me know if this gives you a clearer picture, if not let me know what modem you are using and I will post some screen shots for you on what lights need to be blinking for you to have connection.
Cheers
Faizul
