LinkSys Issues

I have a WRK54G Linksys router that's hooked up to my parents PC so I can use my laptop (Which has no problems as far as connecting goes) in my room to leach off their internet connection.

Problem is, whenever the PC gets restarted, or just has general issues (which it tends to do...but that's another issue) it confuses the hell out of the router. Most of the time I just reset it, re-install it, re-start the computer, do a rain dance...anything I can think of. But this time I just can't get it to do anything. When it's completely hooked up, the PC realizes it's hooked up the internet, but it doesn't "act" like it does. When I check the status of the connection, either packets are being sent and not recieved, or they're not being sent at all. When I used the Linksys website to reinstall the router, it claims that the router can't be detected. I'm at my wits end of how to fix it. I also tried renewing it under the command prompt, but it says access denied or some such BS. When I checked ipconfig/all it says the following:

Node type: Hybrid
IP routing enabled: No (Does this mattter?)
WINS Proxy enabled: No

Ethernet adapter home:
addresses ect....

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated...

 

I also forgot to mention that when I try to access the internet on the PC when the router is hooked up, it won't get past "Aquiring network address"

 

Many problems with routers & their built-in dhcp servers can be resolved with firmware updates. Problems with dhcp are what gives you that 'aquiring network address...' symptom.

Any easy work-around is just to setup static IP addresses on your computers. It's something I would recommend you do anyways, incase you are ever interested in hosting internet games, having remote access to your home computer, hosting your own webpages, etc.

Let us know if you need help with these items (router firmware / static IPs),

-K

edit: Also, whenever you power cycle your router, be sure to power cycle your modem as well. Actually the steps I give over the phone usually are: power cycle modem 1st, wait for POST and 'cable' or 'internet' light to go solid, then power cycle the router, wait for its POST, restart computers.

 

Re: LinkSys Issues (Still problems)

Thank you so much for responding, that little bit helped more than hours with tech support. I tried to enter a static IP based on the numbers that tech support gave me, and it instantly got past "aquiring network address" to "connected". But now I still can't use the web. When I check status, it shows that part about packets sent and packets recieved, and I noticed neither of those numbers are shifting as they usually do when the connection is working properly.

I also downloaded the firmware from the webpage (could they hide it any better?) but I don't know how to "install it". I tried to open it but it's a .bin file and my comp doesn't know how to open it. And when I open the other thing I downloaded it wants a server, password, file ,none of which I have (Or if I do, I don't know it).

So again thank you for the help, but I'm still slightly short of victory....

 

How do I power cycle the modem? Just unplug it?

 

Yeah, power cycle = unplug, wait 5sec, replug. Sounds like you have a util that'll update the firmware for you, some routers have a 'page' in their admin tools to update the firmware.

In your util:

Server = your default gateway (Start->Run->cmd, ipconfig, record DG)
password = the password used to get into your router (probably 'admin' unless you changed it)
file = location of that .bin you downloaded, there is probably a 'Browse' or '...' button.

GL & let us know,

-K

p.s. POST = Power On Self Test, when all the lights flash, and usually a red diag light or something is on for a sec.

 

Oh yeah, and dont update firmware if you're in a lightning storm lol. A power failure will possibly destroy the router.

-K

 

K, tried that and it said it was unable to connect to the server....

 

And I restarted the modem, and that just confused the hell out of the computer, and I couldn't get an internet connection even WITHOUT the router...I restarted it again and did a ton of begging so now I have that connection again at least

 

Are you using 'Linksys Easy Connect' to setup your router?

I'm looking for a users guide for that model, to find exact firmware update procedures.

-K

 

I believe it's called "Netconnect" but they have two different links that lead to the same program, so I'm sure they labled it differently or similar.

Thank you so much for the help. I actually get it to connect to the server, I think, but it started on "Erasing flash" and it was stuck there for over 4 hours, and I didn't see any progress bar so I assumed it was stuck and shut it down.

 

Ok what we need to do is figure out what kind of static ip your isp gave you. Start->Run->cmd, ipconfig, post the results. Hopefully will start with 192.

-K

 

I'm currently not using the static IP cause I still couldn't access the net with the router, but here's what it says when the PC is connected directly to the cable modem

Connection Specific DNS suffix: rochester.rr.com
IP address: 69.204.75.168
Subnetmask: 255.255.240.0
Default gateway: 69.204.64.1

 

Oops, maybe have an admin edit that post for you, thats your public ip.

Ok that explains why the firmware update wasnt working. Put your router back in place. Restart you pc or do a 'ipconfig /release' and 'ipconfig /renew' at the command prompt. Your new address will probably be 192.168.1.100 or something, and your DG should be 192.168.1.1. Once your ip address and DG are in the 192 scope, try the firmware update again and see if it works. You might have to reset the router, there should be a small recessed button, hold the button down until the diag or power light flashes.

-K

 

Marry me?

It's working. I did the config and got the address that you mentioned, (192 one) The firmware upgraded fine, but the router still wasn't working. Reset it, still wasn't working. Turned the option to automatically detect my IP, unhooked the router, went to the LinkSys website and downloaded the installation software, hooked the router back up, renewed the IP again so it was set for the router (with the 192 thingy), and this time the installation could detect it and thigs are WORKING! I still have to make sure the wireless card on th laptop will get a signal, but that's never been a problem before. Thank you SO much. But just for future reference, what exactly is the DG and all that?

Thanks again

 

Hehe, too late on the marriage thingy, lol.

Anyone wanna help me explain tcpip? Or just fill in anything I miss, or dont make clear. Each device that connects directly to the internet must have a unique identifier, we use 'IP addresses' in the format of xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx. Each set of X's is considered an octet and the address is made up of 4 octets. Each octet can be either a network id or node id. The subnet mask determines which octets are which. Ex. IP of 192.168.1.100 with a SM of 255.255.255.0 means that its network id 192.168.1 and the node id is 100. An ip of 10.1.0.1 w/SM of 255.0.0.0 means network id of 10 and node id of 1.0.1. Subnetting IP networks can get very complex and I'm not going to get into the full details of binary math and how you calculate SMs, or different classes of IP addresses.

The greatest thing about tcp/ip when it was developed is that it's a routable protocol stack. This means that networks with different network ids can still talk to each other, by using a gateway. The gateway is connected to both networks, and a request made of a different network id than your own will automatically be sent to your Default Gateway (DG) which will route it to the other network.

Your router has 2 network interfaces, each with their own ip/sm/dg. One is connected directly to the internet and given a public IP address (the 69.204.x.x number, and connected to your cable modem) SM & DG from your isp. This is the unique ID on the internet. The 2nd interface is the 192.168.1.1 and is set manually or has a default setting from the factory, and is on your own private network. Since your router sits on both the public network scope(internet) and your private network scope(home pcs) it acts as your gateway. Any request made of a network other than 192.168.1.x is going to be sent to your gateway to be routed to the correct network. Try pinging msn or something and youll see their public ip address, obviously in a different network id than you (Start->run->cmd, ping www.msn.com). The reason you can connect to www.msn.com with a web browser is because TCP/IP is a routable protocol stack and you have an IP Gateway.

I'm sure I just bored you to death, and that your offer is now hastily withdrawn, lol. I'm just glad we got you working again.

-K

 

Well I hate to crush the joy but it's doing it AGAIN. And I didn't even restart anything this time. I tried the ipconfig/release and renew, but when I try to renew it says it can't contact the DHCP (DCHP?) server or something like that. I know the router is at least partially working because I can get a signal upstairs on my laptop, but it can't access the internet either. Is it a defect in the router that it's just doing this again all of the sudden? And is there a quick way to fix it or do I have to go through all that again?