won't connect

[davemw858]

hi there,
i have a small home network setup with 2 computers connected through a linksys befsr41 router and everything works fine. however i just purchased a new laptop and it simply will not connect. i have a connection icon in the system tray says im connected at 100 mbps but when i start the browser all it says is page is not available offline. i have tried to release/renew the ip but no help. also i have noticed something different in the network properties which does not exist in my other computers. my other computers simply have the new connection wizard, network setup wizard, and my lan connection. the new one has something called a network bridge and my lan connection is somehow associated with this bridge as it is labeled as enabled and bridged. im wondering if i have to change any of this so it will work on my type of network. can someone please help me get this thing connected? thx
dave

[YeOldeStonecat]

I'd unbridge it. Should only have Local Area Connection in your network properties.

[Fyodor]

just a dummy hub. Swtiches/bridges can be trouble if you don't know how they work. The problem is there is a lot of hardware out there that isn't advertised well. Get a h-u-b. Good luck.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Fyodor, his router has a built in 10/100 switch on the LAN side. He doesn't need to downgrade to a hub, he already has a built in switch. The "bridge" he's talking about is a software function within Windows XP, not a physical device on his network.

[davemw858]

turned out it was very simple. my router has to be told how many computers are connected to it. went in router configuration and there was a setting for number of dhcp users. stupid thing. who'd o' thunk? anyway after that was able to release/renew ip on new computer. all is well yippee!!