I turned on my computer this morning and had no internet connection but my modem box looked fine. I tried the troubleshooter and it said I had no valid IP Address or something like that and some stuff about my adapter (which I've long thought was a problem when I was having those BSOD's). Anyway, I plugged my ethernet cable into a different slot on the modem box and I'm okay - for the time being at least. Any thoughts on this issue?

I do have one crazy thought of my own. I ticked the AT&T Chat line off a few weeks ago. I tried to use it again yesterday and they apparently disconnected from me. Then this. I think AT&T hates me!

Heck, I KNOW AT&T hates me! They have the worst customer service ever.

Anyway, you did exactly the right thing. You have an ethernet "controller" on your motherboard. That is the port that you connect your ethernet cable to. To see if there are any issues with the ethernet on your computer, you can check the Device Manager by right clicking on the white Windows icon.

It looks fine in Device Manager but maybe because it is working now. I tried to find it before (when I had no connection) and couldn't remember where to look. I'm just wondering if I'll have a connection tomorrow or if shutting down my computer is going to do something.

What is their Chat line anyway? Is it a somebody or just AI or what? I still have no phone because I don't want to call. I thought I might be able to get help from the chat line but...

From my experience, you start out with AI which sorts out what you need. At that point, you are referred to a human customer service rep.