If you have a dsl connection, or a cable connection, you might run into some issues when setting up your computer.  Therefore, it is a good idea to have a general understanding of how to troubleshoot your internet connection for DSL or Cable Service. 

Your computer is called a host, your service provider will give you the DNS IP address, and you get your login and password. That is all what you have from your ISP. Sometimes, your internet connection fails, and you want to find out the problem.

You may be able to fix it, or at least get some information about the problem to advise your isp for help. You will start by accessing the command prompt by going in sequence to:  Start menu, program, accessories, then command prompt.
A window will open where you type commands from the prompt. At the command prompt, you type: IPCONFIG. This command will give you the active network connection on your computer. Here is an example:

PPP adapter Copy:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 68.239.158.45

Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255

Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 68.239.158.45

Keep in mind that you can add an option to this command, in order to get more detailed information about your connection. Here is the output, when I ran the same command with the "all" option.

Ipconfig /ALL

PPP adapter Copy:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Description . . . . . . . . . . . : WAN (PPP/SLIP) Interface

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-53-45-00-00-00

Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No

IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 68.239.158.45

Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255

Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 68.239.158.45

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 151.198.0.39 151.197.0.39 NetBIOS over TCP/IP. . . . . . . . : Disabled

Remember that the output includes the physical address of the network interface card installed in my computer. In addition, you see the DNS IP addresses.   It is also good to note that one of the common problems among internet users is testing their internet connection to pinpoint the exact problem. There are a large number of internet users who use DSL, and cable modem service.

When setting everything up, make sure that you realize that you set us your connection the way your ISP instruct you to. You service is not ready, your hardware in not connected properly, or your ISP is having problems.

Whatever the cause of the problem maybe, there are some diagnostic tools you can use in Windows XP, in order to identify the problem. If you are not exact in your diagnostic, you will get a good idea at least.

The information travels over the internet to your computer through your ISP service. This is done through a High speed modem then to a network card installed in your computer.