Internet connection issues, where is my default gateway?

[efflandt]

From that it appears that he is either not connected to a network, or one that is not giving him an automatic IP address. The 169... IP is one that Windows automatically assigns to the interface when it has no IP address, and therefore, no Default Gateway or nameserver(s).

Are you sure that the network cable is securely connected on both ends and not damaged? Or maybe there is some incompatibility between his gigabit nic and an older router, although, if it was working before, that should not be an issue. So the first thing I would try is a different ethernet cable.

Years ago I had a couple of 10/100 ethernet cards that had trouble auto negotiating speed with an old router at times, resulting in 25% or more packet loss, even though the router was capable of 100baseT. Those cards worked fine if forced back to 10baseT (full-duplex worked).