Posted on 06/01/2008 8:33:05 PM PDT by TheMom
This afternoon my husband set up a computer for the kids. Once everything was set up, he checked to make sure all computers were connected to the net via the router. All looked great!
Then one of the kids downloaded some type of crap that has caused our internet connection to be kaput. I contacted our internet provider – after testing they determined that the problem was not within the cable box. (Each computer can connect to the internet if hooked up directly to the cable box). They gave me the customer service number to the router company ~ the gal said they could check to see if it was a router problem. The customer service lady for Linksys said that since our router is about eight years old it was out of warranty, but for a mere $32.95 they could have a tech check out the problem. (After a few colorful words from my husband) We went out and purchased a new router for $25.00.
The problem still exist. (I have not yet recontacted the router company.)
Each individual system can connect to the internet via the cable box. When all systems are connected to the router, there is no internet connection.
We have tried the basic turn it off, turn it on again ~ with no luck.
Does anyone have a clue how to fix this problem?
This is making about as much sense to me as if you had started trying to talk about timing problems when someone couldn't unlock their car door, and then, when I said that didn't make sense, you replied by explaining that it happens all the time that different cars use different tire sizes.
I have this feeling that the two of us were not meant to communicate successfully tonight. Take care.
yeah, right over by the quaduture framistat
Thank you.
From my personal viewpoint, that's a tremendous load off my mind.
≤}B^)
Ping - again
Here my take if you care to listen....
Apple is a company who is totally guilty of doing all the nefarious consumer ripoffs that Microsoft is constantly and falsely accused of doing.
The Apple culture is one that locks the user into a contract....unwritten........that forces said user to get most if not all of the services that Apple offers in a perpetual way.
The said users are not only comfortable with this arrangement, they defend it like junkies.
The whole thing is very worrisome to me. I have witnessed all sort of business models in all kinds of products, and only twice have I see this sort of emotion conveyed by users of a service or product in defense of the company.
The only other one was AMWAY.
Do what you feel like doing, cuz it's a free country and you can spend you money anyway you please. But don't try to get me hooked on your passions, because I very much don't like proprietary product/service schemes, and avoid them like the plaque and book clubs.
Let me try that again
For the troubleshooting, first determine if any workstations are able to "talk" to the router itself. Start by shutting down all the computers. Then boot one, and only one computer. Once it's running (assuming that it's a Windows computer) determine the IP address and the default gateway. On Windows, click on the [START] button, go to RUN and type "CMD" (without the quotes) and hit enter. This will open a black command prompt screen. Type in "IPCONFIG" (without the quotes) and hit the enter key. You will get a bunch of text. Make a note of the IP Address and the Default Gateway. On a Linksys router, it should be something like 192.168.1.x, where the "x" is some number. The default gateway should be 192.168.1.1.
If the IP Address starts with the number 169, that means that your computer isn't able to get an IP address from the router.
Next, type in "ping 192.168.1.1 [ENTER]" what you're looking for are four "reply from 192.168.1.1" lines. If you get "Request timed out" messages, this means that your computer is not able to talk to the Linksys router, which means that the problem is between the computer and the Linksys router
However it's all a moot point, because the new "Thingie" won't respond like a router would. Pretty much all the instructions I gave you will fail at this point because the "thingie" you're using is a switch, not a router. However, you might try plugging in the old "thingie."
Be very careful when you plug in the cables... On a switch, where they plug in doesn't matter, but it DOES matter for a router. If you look carefully at the old "thingie," you should see that 4 of the ports are numbered 1 through 4, and another is labeled either WAN or Internet. However, in some cases, they're not labeled at all, and you'll see that 1 port is sort of set aside from the other 4. Anyway, that 1 port, is what should be connected to the cable modem. Power down the cable modem and the linksys for at least 5 minutes (no I'm not kidding), and then power them back on. Then try following the instructions above.
Mark
FUD
I really have not had any problems with Comcast customer service (which is very rare these days). The few times I have had to contact them, my problems have been solved ~ granted it takes a while, but they don’t mind chatting about whatever while working out the problem.
Pinging myself and my husband for future reference.
Maybe that is why it cost $25.00! Tomorrow I will take the switch back & replace it with a router. We have had a Linksys router for eight years and have never had a problem.
I thought we were talking about a wireless...My bad....
The trouble shooting is a bit different as there is no security to deal with.
I very much doubt that lime wire did anything to stall a Ethernet connection. very unlikely indeed.
The switch she bought is for work groupings, and not for home networks, so that needs to go. What she is likely using, is a older lynksys router that she needs to put back into service. On reboot, the router and computers should reconfig themselves and if not, there is a cable or hardware issue that can be identified with some simple switching of cables.
I haven't had a problem with that (using Linksys).
Right now we have (2) W2k Pro machines, (1) XP Home machine, (1) XP Pro machine, (1)Vista home machine and (1) Ubuntu Linux machine running fine on a router and switch.
For the most part, it was "plug and play".
Off subject but if you think MAC OS computer users are junkies, you should see some tool users when it comes to snap-on or Mac tools.
We did contact Linksys . . . since out router was at least eight year old, they would not help unless we spent $32.95 for tech support. We would rather spend twice that much to get a new router.
I'm a bit late to the game here, so my apologies if I have repeated other posters' comments.
Did you make sure that the actual network hardware is hooked up properly, i.e. router (sometimes called a "gateway") to cable modem, Ethernet switch to router? I'm assuming you have a router, switch, and cable modem (or DSL modem, if you use DSL). Sometimes the router and switch can be integrated into a single device. If you only have a switch and a cable modem, things won't work, as you probably have only one IP address from the Internet Service Provider.
Each individual system can connect to the internet via the cable box. When all systems are connected to the router, there is no internet connection.
It sounds like the problem is with one of the PCs, not the router.
Take all of the PCs off the network, either by physically disconnecting the wires or simply deactivating the connection in the operating system. Then, bring them back up one by one until the connection stops "working" (odds will be good that you have found the problematic system).
For future: I strongly recommend that FReepers do not run with administrative (or root) privileges, regardless of the operating system. And, as for Windows, hiding Internet Explorer from the user and replacing it with Firefox will solve the majority of problems. That, and, using the Windows Firewall and an anti-virus program such as Eset or AVG.
A few more notes: you might want to consider for your child's computer is a product called DeepFreeze that resets the operating system on reboot. And, using Limewire to download unauthorized copies of copyrighted media (such as music and movies) is a no-no and a big liability, given the ongoing shenanigans with the RIAA and MPAA.
Gonna give the reset button a try tomorrow - after everyone has left the building!
Yeah... Most of it I could read, though I doubt it will lead to a solution. The bold sentence about ethernet addresses starting with 169 was Greek to me too.
Hi "TheMom." Just ignore the following paragraph. I'll get back to you in just a sec...
It's a Microsoft thing... APIPA - automatic private IP address. When a Windows computer is set to receive an IP address dynamically from a DHCP server, but for some reason no server is available, the interface will automagically assign an address like 169.xxx.yyy.zzz. If you ever see such an address, you know that the DHCP client can't get an IP address.
OK, back to TheMom. Every device on a network needs an address that uniquely identifies it. That address is called an IP address. But it can be a pain to manually assign a unique address to every computer on your network: It's easier to just set up a server to hand out unique addresses when your computer boots. This "server" is called a DHCP server (a server is something that provides a "service." Complicated huh? Although we talk about servers like they're computers, they can actually be a program running on your router as well. A Linksys router has such a server running on it. The service is called "DHCP," and the server is a program called a DHCP server that runs on the linksys router.) ANYWAY, if your computer can't get a unique address from a DHCP server, the computer will "make up" what it hopes is a unique address, and that address will look like 169.xxx.yyy.zzz, where xxx, yyy, and zzz will be numbers between 0 and 255. But the key is that first number. When you see a 169 there, you've got problems.
Mark
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.