If you have a network connection which is not working properly, you can use a few tools to help diagnose what the problem is.
Most of the tools in this section require use of the Terminal, which you can open by pressing → → .
ifconfig is intended to allow you to change the settings of your network connections, but can also be used to list information about the current connection.
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Press → → to open a Terminal
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Type
ifconfig eth1in the Terminal and press Return, replacing eth1 with the name of your network interface if it is different.-
inet addr gives the current IP address of the connection
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HWaddr gives the MAC address of your network device
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A good way of checking if a connection is working correctly is to ping another computer on the network or the Internet.
To check if you are connected to the Internet:
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Press → →
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Select the Ping tab
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Type
82.211.81.158into the Network address box and then press -
After a while, a graph should appear. Look at the number for Successful packets under Transmission Statistics
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100% successful packets - Your computer should have a good connection to the Internet
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Less than 100% successful - Your computer probably has a poor connection to the Internet or a poor wireless signal
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0% successful packets - Your computer has a very bad connection, or is connected to an access point or router which is not connected to the Internet
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If you get an error message which says The address '82.211.81.158' cannot be found, then there is no connection.
If the address is found then try the next stage.
A good way of checking if a connection is working correctly is to ping another computer on the network or the Internet.
To check if you are connected to the Internet:
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Press → →
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Select the Ping tab
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Type
ubuntu.cominto the Network address box and then press -
After a while, a graph should appear. Look at the number for Successful packets under Transmission Statistics
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100% successful packets - Your computer should have a good connection to the Internet
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Less than 100% successful - Your computer probably has a poor connection to the Internet or a poor wireless signal
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0% successful packets - Your computer has a very bad connection, or is connected to an access point or router which is not connected to the Internet
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If you get an error message which says The address 'ubuntu.com' cannot be found, then you cannot reach a DNS server.
