Troubleshooting & Resetting Network Connections

There are many ways to “reset” network settings on a Windows machine. Below are just a few things
you can try to reset settings related to network services. If one method does not fix your problem, try
another as there may be multiple things prohibiting your use of the Internet.

Table of Contents
Contents
Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................... 1
Basic Troubleshooting ................................................................................................................................... 2

Windows 7 .................................................................................................................................................... 3
IP Addresses .............................................................................................................................................. 3
Renewing an IP Address on a Local Workstation.................................................................................. 3
Renewing an IP Address on a Remote Workstation ............................................................................. 5
Network Adapters ..................................................................................................................................... 6
DNS Cache ................................................................................................................................................. 9
TCP/IP Stack ............................................................................................................................................ 10

Windows 10 ................................................................................................................................................ 11
IP Addresses ............................................................................................................................................ 11
Renewing an IP Address on a Local Workstation................................................................................ 11
Renewing an IP Address on a Remote Workstation ........................................................................... 13
Network Adapters ................................................................................................................................... 14
DNS Cache ............................................................................................................................................... 16
TCP/IP Stack ............................................................................................................................................ 17

1
Basic Troubleshooting
Here is a list if troubleshooting steps to check before undergoing more technical and advanced steps.
After each step, be sure to check if the connection issue has been solved. If none of these steps yield
network access, move forward to the more technical suggestions below.

1. If you are connecting using an Ethernet cable, try unplugging the cable plugging it back in after
15 seconds.
2. If you are connected wirelessly, try disconnecting from your current Wi-Fi network and re-
joining it.
3. Have you registered your devices? UWNet requires each device to be registered in order to
access the network.
4. Make sure your network adapters are enabled. This document shows you how to check for that
below.
5. Try rebooting your computer
6. Do you have viruses prohibiting your use of the internet? Try running a virus scan with an
application like Malwarebytes or AVAST Antivirus.
7. If you connect to a router either wired or wirelessly, make sure that it is connected to the wall
jack.
8. Routers need to be registered with UWNet in order to use them.
9. If you are using an Ethernet cable, make sure that that cable is not faulty by testing your
connection with another wall jack. Or by testing the same jack with a different cable.

2
Windows 7
IP Addresses
Renewing an IP Address on a Local Workstation
This is common when users call in and complain that they cannot access the Internet. It is easily
diagnosable by the small yellow triangle in the task bar on the network connection icon.

1. Open a new window in Command Prompt

a. You can do this by going to the Start Menu and searching for “cmd”. This should yield a
search result for “cmd.exe”. Launch the executable.

i.
2. From the Command Prompt window, enter the following command: ipconfig /release

a.
b. Then press Enter
i. This will disconnect you from the Internet

3
 ii.

c. Then in the same window, run the following command: ipconfig /renew

i.
Your computer will receive a new IP address from the network. This commonly solves most connectivity
issues.

An IP address is analogous to a passport, it gives your computer permission to access the Internet after
its identity is confirmed by the network.

You’ll notice that now you have a connection to the Internet and the network status symbol in the
taskbar has been updated.

4
Renewing an IP Address on a Remote Workstation
The process for renewing an IP Address on a remote workstation is similar to on a local workstation,
however you need to prepare everything before releasing the old IP Address since it will disconnect you
from the remote session. Follow the steps below to help a remote user renew their IP Address.

1. Use Remote Assistance to connect to the user who is having trouble connecting to the Internet.
a. *Note if this is a user that has a laptop, they need to be connected to our network via a
wired connection for you to use remote assistance.
2. On the remote workstation, open two Command Prompt Windows side-by-side

a.

3. In the right window, type ipconfig /renew but do not press Enter yet
4. In the left window, type ipconfig /release but do not press Enter yet
5. Inform the remote user that you will be disconnected after pressing Enter in the left Command
Prompt window.
6. Instruct the user to wait until the process in the left command prompt window finishes, then
click on the right command prompt window to bring it to active focus. Then they will need to
press Enter and wait for that process to complete.
7. After the command prompt window process completes execution, the remote user can close
both windows.
8. Have the user attempt to browse to a website to confirm that they have Internet access.
9. If the user is able to access the Internet, then this process is complete.

5
Network Adapters
1. Open the Network and Sharing Center by going through Control Panel  Network and Sharing
Center

a.
b. Optionally, you can open the Network and Sharing Center by searching for it from the
Windows Start Menu

i.

6
2. From the left action pane, click Change adapter settings

a.
3. In this window you will be able to view all of the computer’s network adapters. This includes both
Ethernet and Wireless adapters (if available). Depending on the issue you are troubleshooting,
choose the appropriate adapter.
a. Local Area Connection  Ethernet Adapter
b. Wireless Network Connection  Wi-Fi Adapter

i.
4. Disable the adapter that is having issues with connectivity by right-clicking on the adapter and then
clicking Disable

a.

7
5. Re-enable the adapter you disabled in the previous step by double-clicking it.
a. You can also re-enable it by right clicking on the adapter icon and selecting Enable.
6. Once the adapter has been re-enabled, open a web browser and navigate to a website to test if
Internet connectivity has been restored.
7. If you can access the Internet, then this process is complete.

8
DNS Cache
The DNS resolver acts as a translator between the names of website and their respective IP Addresses.
For example, www.google.com = 172.217.8.206 . By removing the record that has all the names cached,
the computer can re-establish connections to websites by resolving the translation between URL and IP
Address and re-caching this information.

1. Open a new window in Command Prompt

a. You can do this by going to the Start Menu and searching for “cmd”. This should yield a
search result for “cmd.exe”. Launch the executable.

i.
2. In the Command Prompt Window, type the following command and press Enter:
ipconfig /flushdns

a.
3. After the process finishes executing, you are complete.

9
TCP/IP Stack
The TCP/IP stack is what your computer uses to communicate between your device and incoming data.

1. Open a new window in Command Prompt

a. You can do this by going to the Start Menu and searching for “cmd”. This should yield a
search result for “cmd.exe”. Launch the executable.

i.
2. In the Command Prompt window type the following command and press Enter
a. netsh int up reset
3. After you hit Enter, some text will appear and may look similar to the image below.

a.
4. When the command prompt finishes processing, enter the following command and press Enter
a. For a wired connection
i. netsh int ip set address name=”Local Area Connection” dhcp
b. For a wireless connection
i. netsh int ip set address name=”Wireless Network Connection” dhcp

5. These commands enable DHCP to run through the specified adapter(s). You have completed this
process.
*NOTE: If your adapters are NOT named the same as the above, simply replace the string of text between the
quotation marks in the command with the EXACT name as your adapter’s e.g. I have an adapter named Generic
Adapter, therefore, the command I will type is:

netsh int ip set address name=”Generic Adapter” dhcp

10
Windows 10
IP Addresses
Renewing an IP Address on a Local Workstation
This is common when users call in and complain that they cannot access the Internet. It is easily
diagnosable by the small yellow triangle in the task bar on the network connection icon.

1. Open a new window in Command Prompt

a. You can do this by going to the Start Menu and searching for “cmd”. This should yield a
search result for “Command Prompt (Desktop app)”. Launch the application.

b.
2. From the Command Prompt window, enter the following command: ipconfig /release

a.

11
 b. Then press Enter
i. This will disconnect you from the Internet

ii.
c. Then in the same window, run the following command: ipconfig /renew

i.
3. Your computer will receive a new IP address from the network. This commonly solves most
connectivity issues.

An IP address is analogous to a passport, it gives your computer permission to access the Internet after
its identity is confirmed by the network.

You’ll notice that now you have a connection to the Internet and the network status symbol in the
taskbar has been updated.

12
Renewing an IP Address on a Remote Workstation
The process for renewing an IP Address on a remote workstation is similar to on a local workstation,
however you need to prepare everything before releasing the old IP Address since it will disconnect you
from the remote session. Follow the steps below to help a remote user renew their IP Address.

1. Use Remote Assistance to connect to the user who is having trouble connecting to the Internet.
a. *Note if this is a user that has a laptop, they need to be connected to our network via a
wired connection for you to use remote assistance.
2. On the remote workstation, open two Command Prompt Windows side-by-side

a.

3. In the right window, type ipconfig /renew but do not press Enter yet
4. In the left window, type ipconfig /release but do not press Enter yet
5. Inform the remote user that you will be disconnected after pressing Enter in the left Command
Prompt window.
6. Instruct the user to wait until the process in the left command prompt window finishes, then
click on the right command prompt window to bring it to active focus. Then they will need to
press Enter and wait for that process to complete.
7. After the command prompt window process completes execution, the remote user can close
both windows.
8. Have the user attempt to browse to a website to confirm that they have Internet access.
9. If the user is able to access the Internet, then this process is complete.

13
Network Adapters
1. Open the Network and Sharing Center by going through Control Panel  Network and Sharing
Center

2. From the left action pane, click Change adapter settings

3. In this window you will be able to view all of the computer’s network adapters. This includes both
Ethernet and Wireless adapters (if available). Depending on the issue you are troubleshooting,
choose the appropriate adapter.
a. Local Area Connection  Ethernet Adapter
b. Wireless Network Connection  Wi-Fi Adapter

14
4. Disable the adapter that is having issues with connectivity by right-clicking on the adapter and then
clicking Disable

5. Re-enable the adapter you disabled in the previous step by double-clicking it.
a. You can also re-enable it by right clicking on the adapter icon and selecting Enable.
6. Once the adapter has been re-enabled, open a web browser and navigate to a website to test if
Internet connectivity has been restored.
7. If you can access the Internet, then this process is complete.

15
DNS Cache
The DNS resolver acts as a translator between the names of website and their respective IP Addresses.
For example, www.google.com = 172.217.8.206 . By removing the record that has all the names cached,
the computer can re-establish connections to websites by resolving the translation between URL and IP
Address and re-caching this information.

1. Open a new window in Command Prompt

a. You can do this by going to the Start Menu and searching for “cmd”. This should yield a
search result for “Command Prompt (Desktop app)”. Launch the application.

b.
2. In the Command Prompt Window, type the following command and press Enter:
ipconfig /flushdns

a.
3. After the process finishes executing, you are complete.

16
TCP/IP Stack
The TCP/IP stack is what your computer uses to communicate between your device and incoming data.

1. Open a new window in Command Prompt

a. You can do this by going to the Start Menu and searching for “cmd”. This should yield a
search result for “Command Prompt (Desktop app)”. Launch the application.

b.
2. In the Command Prompt window type the following command and press Enter
a. netsh int up reset
3. After you hit Enter, some text will appear and may look similar to the image below.

a.

17
 4. When the command prompt finishes processing, enter the following command and press Enter
a. For a wired connection
i. netsh int ip set address name=”Local Area Connection” dhcp
b. For a wireless connection
i. netsh int ip set address name=”Wireless Network Connection” dhcp

5. These commands enable DHCP to run through the specified adapter(s). You have completed this
process.
*NOTE: If your adapters are NOT named the same as the above, simply replace the string of text between the
quotation marks in the command with the EXACT name as your adapter’s e.g. I have an adapter named Generic
Adapter, therefore, the command I will type is:

netsh int ip set address name=”Generic Adapter” dhcp

18