Internet only working if I connect to my work vpn network?

rlee

Gawd
Joined
Jan 30, 2003
Messages
596
I have a strange situation here.

I have a work laptop which has VPN software for connecting to my work vpn. If I connect to the VPN, I can surf the internet, etc. If I disconnect from the VPN, I cannot hit any websites. If I try to ping like google.com, it would hang. Once connected to my work VPN, I can ping google

I recently just moved to this apartment. At my previous location, I would be able to surf the internet with or without being connected to my work VPN.

Any ideas why I can only get a connection with my work vpn connected?

Also my roommate has no issues with the internet, he doesn't connect to any type of VPN.
 
Go to control panel

Network connections

right click on your network card and select properties

Scroll down to Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and double click it.

Is Obtain DNS server address automatically checked?
 
Assuming you have Windows 7, follow these steps to see if you've got a static IP:

Assuming that you’re in the Category view, you should navigate to the Control Panel, choose Network and Internet, and then click Network and Sharing Center. Click the Local Area Connection hyperlink. From the Local Area Connection Status window, click the Details button to see your existing connection details. This is where you will see if its static or dynamic.


D'OH. Okay, I guess I should have hit refresh before posting, as I was away for too long and therefore assumed the incorrect OS. Looks like powertower already set you straight.
 
Last edited:
Follow directions listed above. Kinda sounds like you have your works' DNS servers manually configured on your NIC. If "obtain automatically" is not checked, check it and click okay a few times and see what happends.
 
You could have a funky situation where your VPN software makes a route on your system to send ALL traffic through the VPN, not just certain stuff like file sharing. Happens if whoever set the VPN up was being lazy or incompetent.

If it's not DNS, open a command prompt and do "route print" and paste the output here.
 
my DNS is set to auto. also my vpn is just a simple software install, no setup required. and as i said before, it worked fine at my previous location, that is, internet worked fine connected and not connected to the work vpn.

route print with or without connected to vpn?
 
Your routers DNS is probably misconfigured. What model do you have? Who set it up?

If you click start - run and type "cmd"

type "ipconfig /all" and copy paste it into the forum

You could also try "ping 209.85.225.105" and see what happens. If you connecting to your works vpn than something is working ok.
 
Last edited:
Your routers DNS is probably misconfigured. What model do you have? Who set it up?

If you click start - run and type "cmd"

type "ipconfig /all" and copy paste it into the forum

You could also try "ping 209.85.225.105" and see what happens. If you connecting to your works vpn than something is working ok.

the apartment lease holder probably set it up, but my friend's laptop works perfectly fine. my ps3 works perfectly fine and my iphone browsing works fine, so i'm assuming it is something on my laptop that is causing the issue

here's my ipconfig when my vpn isn't connected:

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>ipconfig /all

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : westell.com
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 11a/b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Expres
s Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-16-CF-7B-04-86
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.1.5
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.1.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, July 07, 2010 4:13:07 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, July 07, 2010 8:13:07 PM

Ethernet adapter VMware Network Adapter VMnet8:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VMware Virtual Ethernet Adapter for
VMnet8
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-50-56-C0-00-08
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.83.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

Ethernet adapter VMware Network Adapter VMnet1:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VMware Virtual Ethernet Adapter for
VMnet1
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-50-56-C0-00-01
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.174.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/1000 PL Network Connect
ion
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-15-58-7B-03-2F

and route print:

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>route print
===========================================================================
Interface List
0x1 ........................... MS TCP Loopback interface
0x2 ...00 16 cf 7b 04 86 ...... 11a/b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Express Adapter -
Wireless Intermediate Driver
0x3 ...00 50 56 c0 00 08 ...... VMware Virtual Ethernet Adapter for VMnet8
0x4 ...00 50 56 c0 00 01 ...... VMware Virtual Ethernet Adapter for VMnet1
0x5 ...00 15 58 7b 03 2f ...... Intel(R) PRO/1000 PL Network Connection - AGN Fi
lter Interface
===========================================================================
===========================================================================
Active Routes:
Network Destination Netmask Gateway Interface Metric
0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 10.0.1.1 10.0.1.5 25
10.0.1.0 255.255.255.0 10.0.1.5 10.0.1.5 25
10.0.1.5 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 25
10.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 10.0.1.5 10.0.1.5 25
66.220.146.11 255.255.255.255 10.0.1.1 10.0.1.5 25
66.220.153.19 255.255.255.255 10.0.1.1 10.0.1.5 25
127.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1
169.254.0.0 255.255.0.0 192.168.174.1 192.168.174.1 20
192.168.83.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.83.1 192.168.83.1 20
192.168.83.1 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 20
192.168.83.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.83.1 192.168.83.1 20
192.168.174.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.174.1 192.168.174.1 20
192.168.174.1 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 20
192.168.174.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.174.1 192.168.174.1 20
209.170.117.184 255.255.255.255 10.0.1.1 10.0.1.5 25
216.200.123.41 255.255.255.255 10.0.1.1 10.0.1.5 25
224.0.0.0 240.0.0.0 10.0.1.5 10.0.1.5 25
224.0.0.0 240.0.0.0 192.168.83.1 192.168.83.1 20
224.0.0.0 240.0.0.0 192.168.174.1 192.168.174.1 20
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 10.0.1.5 10.0.1.5 1
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 10.0.1.5 5 1
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.83.1 192.168.83.1 1
255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.174.1 192.168.174.1 1
Default Gateway: 10.0.1.1
===========================================================================
Persistent Routes:
None

and about pinging, something interesting i just noticed. i could not ping google.com, but i was able to ping 74.125.95.104, which is the IP for google.com. something wrong with my laptop's DNS settings??
 
Well, your routes are fine. It's a DNS issue somewhere not on your computer. Probably the router.
 
well, try setting static DNS of 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220 and see if that helps. If it does then there is a goofy DNS issue with your computer.
 
well, try setting static DNS of 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220 and see if that helps. If it does then there is a goofy DNS issue with your computer.

yes that worked! i'm not connected to my work vpn right now and i'm posting this.

hmmm now what? is it bad to leave my dns like this?
 
No, not bad really. You just might have problems with your laptop logging in when you take it to the office. I would suggest setting forwarders on your router to those IPs and then set your DNS back to dynamic, see what happens.
 
i don't really want to mess with the router since it is not my place though
 
OK I got it. Check your proxy!

Tools - Internet Options - Connections - Lan Settings

Make sure automagically detect proxy settings is checked and nothing else. Adobe download manager is notorious for screwing up proxys through updates.

If not PM me we can get er goin.
 
yes that worked! i'm not connected to my work vpn right now and i'm posting this.

hmmm now what? is it bad to leave my dns like this?

ugh, looks like this solution doesn't work also. it seems that my dns settings get reset to "auto" after sometime, either a restart/sleep wake/reconnect vpn, one of those, not sure which yet, not consistent.
 
Back
Top