TESTING THE WIRELESS
NETWORK INTERFACE CARD
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-check-network-interface-card-nic-status-usi.html
• Wireless Network Interface Card
• device that adds wireless connectivity to
a laptop or desktop computer
• wireless adapter that plugs into a PCI slot
WIRELESS NIC
• a loopback address: non-routable IP address that is
defined as referring to the “local” computer.
• In other words, 127.0.0.1 is any computer you happen
to be sitting in front of right now.
• The local machine is defined as “localhost”, which
gives it an IP address of 127.0.0.1
• This is considered a “loopback” address because the
information sent to it is routed back to the local
machine.
127.0.0.1 & LOCAL HOST
• Ipconfig is a command line utility available on
all versions of Microsoft Windows. It is
designed to be run from the Windows
command prompt. Also, it allows you to get
the IP address information of a Windows
computer.
• Ping (Packet InterNet Groper) is a utility is
commonly used to check for network errors.
IPCONFIG and PING COMMAND
• In the above example, we access the Windows command
line to use the ping command. Then we ping
"computerhope.com" and get 4 responses from the server. If
the ping does not reach its destination due to an error or
because it is being blocked, the sending computer
encounters a request timed out error or shows no received
packets.
• Domain Name System
• convert naming to IP address as well as reverse
• Analogy: it serves as the phonebook for the internet by
translating human-friendly computer hostnames into IP
addresses
• Example:
Domain name: www.example.com translates to the address
93.184.216.119 (IPv4)
DNS
STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURE
1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Open the Device Manager.
> In Windows 7, choose Hardware and Sound
> Choose the Device Manager link beneath the
Devices and Printers heading.
3. Expand the Network Adapters item to view all network
adapters installed on your PC.
4. Double click the Network
Adapter entry to display your
PC’s network adapter’s
Properties dialog box.
The General tab in the
Properties dialog box lists the
device status. Any problems
detected by Windows appear
in that message box.
Otherwise, the message reads
“This device is working
properly”
5. Click the Resources
tab in the Properties
dialog box.
6. Check the Conflicting
Device list.
You should see no
conflicts listed. If not,
the source of the
conflicts must be
resolved. Generally, it
would mean removing
whatever other device is
conflicting with the NIC
or reconfiguring the
device.
7. Click OK to close
the Properties dialog
box.
8. Close the Device
Manager window as
well as the Control
Panel .
Problem: bad NIC
Solution:
First to view the suggestions listed in the Properties dialog box.
When those suggestions aren’t helpful, one alternative is to use
another NIC.
If you have a NIC on an expansion card, simply remove the old
expansion card and install a new one.
When the NIC is on the motherboard, your alternative is simply to
install a second NIC as an expansion card.