Can't Connect to Internet via Ethernet Now on Laptop - Used to Work

ArchiMark said:

Thank you for your latest input. Very much appreciate it!

Yes, connected to a very large network and it is very secure for variety of reasons. By large I mean many different locations across multiple states in US.

I do have a group of IT people that work in office space not far from where I am located. Was hoping to avoid discussing things with them if possible, as they probably are not too happy with my using the network at times with my own laptop.

Just strange that this problem started now after it was OK for a long time. Maybe IT changed some security settings?

Exactly what comes to mind when you said no gateway was filled in... and why I put that there in bold :) It is not only restricting policy, you know. It could be a point of major risk involved...

Just to be clear.. I'm not an IT professional...

Its possible that they could be setting a restricting policy. It may be set up to reject a connection to any device with an unrecognized MAC address which would by why the router or DHCP server isnt handing an address out to your laptop. The only way to correct this would be to contact a network admin and see if they can add your device to the recognized list or would reject it all together. If they have that kind of security in place, there is probably a good reason for it and they wouldnt allow you to bring your own device.

Where I work we have two seperate wireless networks. We have one for office and IT personnel to connect to, then we have a guest network that doesnt have any access to the network resources that are provided to the main network. Personal devices are not to be connected to the main network for security reasons. Maybe the company you work for has something similar.

The only way to solve this issue is to contact your network administrator, prove to them that it is essential to the business to allow your system to access the companies private network, they will then set up access for you.

I would be careful though as un-sanctioned use of company resources can often be classed as a serious breech of company rules and I have known of occasions where it has led to instant dismissal of staff members doing so in secure premises

ArchiMark said:

Andre, ArezalE, Nigel,

THANK YOU ALL for all your helpful input and comments.

Understand your points....

Again, to be clear, I had been connecting my own laptops to the network up until recently and it worked OK. IT guys knew about it.

I was not connecting into the company network per se. I was using it to connect to a few limited places on internet.

So, what seemed strange to me is why it stopped working all of a sudden.

Also, as mentioned earlier, when I connected another laptop running Arch Linux to this LAN port, it connected to internet OK. No problems nor need to configure anything.

Thanks.

Mark

Mark, could be just local access point or switch run out of available DHCP slots, or needs resetting (even the best equipment needs it sometimes).

You'll see this morning, but your IT admin should be aware of it too...