Part of the issue may be that it's 11 years old

sorry i miss understood you posting on the old dell

So did the paid staff give you a bill laying out what they did for you? This is not meant to pick fault, more an attempt to pin point something they may have overlooked.

used his Ethernet cable and it made a connection

at home using your cable will not connect.

could be your cable

If I understand correctly then this looks like it is two or three completely different problems that all happened around the same time.

1. The Toshiba had a bad battery connection that the computer guy found and fixed (giving him the benefit of the doubt).

2. Then Windows wouldn't shut the computer down so you had to do it manually. This could be caused by a corrupt file or any number of "techie" software errors within Windows. Perhaps the computer guy found and fixed the problem because it appears to have worked properly when you took it back to him the second time and it connected o.k.

If the shutdown problem happens again then try using System Restore. Hopefully you will find an earlier restore point that gets it working normally again.

3. You can't connect to the internet. Does your ethernet cable have an intermittent fault? Did the AT&T technician use your ethernet cable when he made a successful connection or did he use his own cable? When you had problems connecting the Dell did you have to wriggle the ethernet cable before it would connect or was it just a case of having to change the computer settings? Can you try using a different cable? If the cable is o.k. then perhaps the Toshiba ethernet socket is faulty. Have a look in the socket hole and see if the little springy contact wires are all parallel and sticking down the same amount i.e. they look like they will all make a good contact with the plug on the cable.

I hope that gives you a starting point. Good luck!

Colin

Obwist, no, I didn't have to pay. Since this was my first laptop, I splurged and paid for an extended warranty. I did watch him get on line back where they work. But, I'm not sure if he went to AT&T or their own ISP.

Canibus, the AT&T tech did look at the Ethernet inside and outdoors. Said he couldn't see anything wrong.

bee4mee, the computer tech said he went to the battery first before attempting anything else and it booted. He said because it booted, which it wouldn't do after it froze, he didn't look for anything else and did'nt go into the innards of the computer. The AT&T guy used my cable. No, I don't have to wiggle the Ethernet cable. I didn't have any problems with connecting to the Dell except it being 11-years-old and slo-o-o-w. I haven't changed any computer settings on either computer. Too scared to do anything at this point. I will look at the Ethernet box and look at the springy things. I don't think it is the cable because it's working to get me online with the Dell.

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.

What model Toshiba is it???? IE Satellite A100 etc???
If it was running for a period of time (like an hour) then froze, it could be a heat issue (Dirt/hair clogging up the heatsink/processor or your fans). I assume you use the laptop on a desk or other hard surface.
If this problem is recent, you could try doing a system restore to a date before this issue developed.
Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Restore

Also, what Operating system are you using WinXP, Vista or other???? Are all your MS updates up to date

When you boot up to your desktop and click ie icon to go online; exactly what happens at this point? Do you get a message of any kind, an hourglass maybe, indicating an attempt to connect?
Not that I could advise in either case but it may help the other responders.

The OP says Vista.

I also have a Toshiba Laptop... I found out the hard way there is a little button on the left side....if it is on there will be an amber light.. it has to be on for you to be online...it is so easy to shut off just by handling it...Not sure if this is your problem but thought I would just state my experience.. Hope this helps..

I had a Toshiba with a similar problem. It would heat up and shut down or internet connection would go down. Finally found solution to the problem on the internet. These Toshiba Satellites seem to have a faulty eletrical connection inside and we found a detailed fix it instructions. We had a friend who is great at taking things apart and putting them back together open the laptop and resolder(sp) the connection that fixed the problem. It happened again and he pulled the connection to the outside which was recommended so that the cord no longer pulled on the weak connection. Another fellow he works with had the same problem on a Toshiba someone donated to him and he fixed that also. There was also a heating problem in that the fans underneath would collect lint and stop operating. Good luck. I might add, putting the Toshiba back together is not easy at all, this friend is highly experienced with electrical equipment.

Genes, my computer is a Toshiba Satellite 215 and, yes I have Vista. It did have a heat problem but was cleaned by the computer guy when I went in last week. All MS update are to date except for any that might have tried to come in since last week

Gringo, I get a Error Message 6815 - "Broadband network connection could not be established on you computer because the remote server is not responding".

fiddledeedee, I don't have the amber button on the left side, unfortunately. I thought when I first read your reply that it would solve my problem! ;o)

Terrapots, do you remember where you got the instruction for the heat problem? Toshiba tech support?

I have just tried to run System Restore and got a message both times that "System Restore did not complete successfully. Your computer's system files and settings were not changed.

Details:

An unspecified error occurred during System Restore."

Do y'all think I should reinstall Vista and it would help with both internet and System Restore problems?

Thanks again for trying to help.

There must be a letter in front of the 215. Was it an L perchance???

Have you tried a simple power-cycle on all of the network equipment? What that means is, with the laptop connected to the modem or router via ethernet cable, turn off (unplug) the power to the modem, router and shut down the laptop. Now power then up in the following order. Plug in the modem and wait for the 'online' or 'internet' light to stop blinking (indicating that it has established a connection). Next plug in the router, if you have one and wait a couple minutes for it to get the connection from the modem. Lastly turn on your laptop. It's worth a shot and way easier than reloading or recovering the operating system.

Do y'all think I should reinstall Vista and it would help with bot
Since you seem to be getting nowhere fast at getting this resolved, yes, I would reinstall Vista.

Will you be doing it yourself, or will the warranty folks be walking you through it?

In the past, whenever I had 'issues' that could not be resolved, Dell helped me reformat the hardrive, and that always took care of the problem.

Sue

Did you make restore DVDs when you first got it or was there restore disks included with the laptop. If the disks were included or if you made them, put the first disk in the laptop and reboot ie; Hit Start button and right along the bottom of the box that opens there is an arrow facing to the right. Click on that and select "Restart". Then just follow the instructions/prompts. Note: This will put the laptop back in the original configuration as when you took it out of the box. All programs/changes you have made since you bought it will have to be re-installed as well as all the MS updates etc

I agree with Sue and Gene, if you are having all these issues then returning to factory defaults gets you a squeaky clean computer. Be sure to save any important/needed data first or it will vanish

I now have a squeaky clean computer that will not get me on the computer!

This last weekend, I hooked it up to my brothr's modem. He has AT&T,too. It got me to the old AT&T home page and no further.

This might be a stupid question but, at this time, I don't care. Is there a difference between LAN and WAN connections? I found (which didn't realize I had) Connectivity Doctor on the computer which says I use LAN and it was disconnected. When I get on the net with the Dell it says I connected with a WAN. Could this have any bearing on my problem?

I really appreciate your input in this crazy situation.

Genes, my computer is a Satellite A215

Big difference between LAN and WAN. If you have cable hookup, LAN (Local Area Network) is the one you want connected. If you are using a wireless router and the laptop is some distance from the router, the WAN (Wide Area Network) would be the one you want.
Also, make sure you re-install your Anti virus program and ensure it is updated regularily

Some random "general" thoughts (you may be beyond these by now):

Start up in "safe mode with networking" and see if you can connect. This might avoid some conflict that may be occurring all your other programs are opening in normal mode.

Alternatively, if you if have something running in the taskbar that searches for a wireless signal, right-click on it and close it if it's not needed. There could be a conflict as that app keeps searching for signals.

Another idea is to open msconfig (Start-Run, and type "msconfig", etc.) and uncheck some of the unnecessary bloat in the "start-up" tab. This must be done carefully, so be sure to make notes of your changes, in case you have to undo some of the changes.

Also, I didn't notice if your laptop has it's RAM maxed out. You should have as much as it will hold.

Finally, how about doing a "disk clean-up", followed by a defrag?

BTW, I'm curious about your 11 yr old Dell. Do you ever clear out the temp files, etc? If not, I would definitely run Disk clean-up on that, followed by defrag (which will take hours if you haven't done it in a while). I'll bet with some file clean-up you could get that thing up to speed for general internet use. (And if your desktop is full of icons, move or get rid of some of them.)

Is it running Windows 98? That should be more than enough for basic use.

One more thing, I found that Firefox 3.x was too bloated for our older computers at the time. There are versions of 2.x out there that you could install.

The old desktop has nothing to do with the OP's original question other than to let everyone know that the OP was able to get online with the 11 yr old desktop and as for a "clean up", you will notice in her second last reply that the OP has done a restore using the restore cds so there should not be any junk files etc

Yup, I read all that, which is why I prefaced with "general thoughts". While theirs may be clean after the install, maybe it can help others.

And while the old desktop is not the main issue, this person seems to need some alternatives until it's fixed - just trying to help a little.

Genes, I have been using the same Ethernet with both computers. I don't have a router and use the laptop on the desk where the Dell is. Seems odd that one computer, using the same Ethernet, says LAN and the other says WAN. What would you suggest?

homebound, I used the restore CDs on the laptop and not the Dell. I do need to do a lot of work on the Dell but, at this time since it is getting online, I am hesitant to do anything to it.

Thanks for y'all input, again.

Go to Start>select Control Panel in right hand area of opened box. Select Network and Sharing center. In the box that opens up, Under Tasks in the top left select "Set up a connection or Network" Select "Connect to the internet Set up a wireless, broadband etc " follow directions

Should have mentioned, make sure you have the ethernet cable hooked up when you do it.

Genes. I have tried numerous times to set up a connection as you described and that didn't work either. The AT&T Tech just left and he says, as the other one did, that when I took it to the computer, they must have did something. He hooked his up using my Ethernet and it went right through.

I'm going to the computer place and talked to them again tonight.

Thanks again.

This is a shot in the dark. Do you use the sleep feature or Hibernation??? If so, its possible, that the NIC chip is going to sleep and not waking up. I found this with a Google search.
Go to Start>Control Panel>Network Adapters. Click on the x beside network adapters to open it up. You should have two choices 1 being an ethernet and the other wireless.
Right click on the ethernet and select properties.
Go to Power Management tab & check "Allow windows to turn this off to save power." Then after Sleep or Hibernation, Windows knows to wake the card.

The only other suggestion I might be able to offer, is to uninstall the driver and try another one for that model from Toshiba

Genes, no, I don't use hibernation or sleep or stand by.

Let me run this thought through y'all. About the time the computer decided it didn't want to do internet, we had Comcast to come out to check why we got nothing but tiles. While he was here, he took note that we have five TV's and was using several splitters. He unhooked/uninstalled one of the tvs and it got rid of the tiles.

Could the splitters have anything to do with this problem? What is such a riddle to me is, why does one computer work on the Ethernet and the other one will not? Hmmmmmm?

I've had another AT&T technician back to the house and he found nothing and I took it back to the computer guy and they, again, found nothing. The AT&T guy did suggest hooking up a router and using that. What's the general thought on that idea?

Hello, I'm not an expert in trouble shooting issues but what I can perceived from reading your issues, I think you really need a router since you have five televisions working. I think it somehow affect your internet connection. Thanks.

Splitters create more outlets but do degrade the signal. So we can presume your internet signal is via the same cable? Then take the computer right back to the first possible connection after the cable enters the house. Remove all the others temporarily at the same point so there is no signal sharing or degradation. If the signal is good you probably have your answer.

I believe you can buy powered splitters which boost the signal but as I am not much interested in television these could be out of date these days. We had one many years ago.