I have a D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless Router that suddenly lost all
settings. It appears to have reset itself to the defaults.

I had my personal laptop (HP) connected to the router wirelessly as
well as a work laptop (Dell). Because my company was recently
acquired, over the weekend I added another laptop (HP) to the wireless
network. All run Windows XP Pro.

All was well for a day or so until yesterday when suddenly (literally
between walking away for a few moments then returning) the wireless
network I had set up disappeared. All the router settings were gone
including any reference to that network and the machines that had been
attached to it, firewall rules, etc.

I recreated the wireless network and so far everything is fine but I
would like to avoid this happening again. Can simply adding a new
machine to the network cause the router to lose its settings or was
that likely just coincidence?

Any ideas?

On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:10:29 -0800, Jed
<zyzygy@plenipôtentiary.com.invalid> wrote:

>I have a D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless Router that suddenly lost all
>settings. It appears to have reset itself to the defaults.
>
>I had my personal laptop (HP) connected to the router wirelessly as
>well as a work laptop (Dell). Because my company was recently
>acquired, over the weekend I added another laptop (HP) to the wireless
>network. All run Windows XP Pro.
>
>All was well for a day or so until yesterday when suddenly (literally
>between walking away for a few moments then returning) the wireless
>network I had set up disappeared. All the router settings were gone
>including any reference to that network and the machines that had been
>attached to it, firewall rules, etc.
>
>I recreated the wireless network and so far everything is fine but I
>would like to avoid this happening again. Can simply adding a new
>machine to the network cause the router to lose its settings or was
>that likely just coincidence?
>
>Any ideas?

Adding a new system should not change or cause loss of any
settings on the router.

If it weren't a business environment I'd say the router is
faulty, perhaps even all of that model (you could research
this to find out if it's worth your time to get it
RMA-replaced through D-Link, or if your time=money is better
spent buying something else instead).

Nothing should cause loss of the settings, except holding in
the reset button. Maybe logging in, if there were a "reset
defaults" kind of setting that might do it as well, but not
by accident or any configuration change of the network
connected to it.

Since it is a business environment, might there be a chance
someone is meddling with the router? Especially if you
hadn't changed the default settings like password, or the
general public has access to it?

If the warranty is up you might also crack it open to see if
there are any vented capacitors, as consumer grade passively
cooled routers tend to run on the warm to hot side and this
does stress the caps a bit.

On 2007-12-12, Jed <zyzygy@plenipôtentiary.com.invalid> wrote:
> I have a D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless Router that suddenly lost all
> settings. It appears to have reset itself to the defaults.
>
> I had my personal laptop (HP) connected to the router wirelessly
> as well as a work laptop (Dell). Because my company was recently
> acquired, over the weekend I added another laptop (HP) to the
> wireless network. All run Windows XP Pro.
>
> All was well for a day or so until yesterday when suddenly
> (literally between walking away for a few moments then returning)
> the wireless network I had set up disappeared. All the router
> settings were gone including any reference to that network and the
> machines that had been attached to it, firewall rules, etc.
>
> I recreated the wireless network and so far everything is fine but
> I would like to avoid this happening again. Can simply adding a
> new machine to the network cause the router to lose its settings
> or was that likely just coincidence?
>
> Any ideas?

I've been using a DGL-4300 for a couple years now, and while I've
never experienced this myself I've heard others complain that this
router in particular tends to lose its settings during power outages
or fluctuations. Is it possible that a power surge or brownout led
to this, or would you definitely have noticed it if that were the
case?

I'd suggest updating the router to the latest firmware if you
haven't already, in case this is a software issue. If it happens
again after that, try plugging the router into the nearest UPS.

In any event, simply adding a new machine to the router's ACL should
not cause this to happen.

Good luck,
Mark

--
Mark Shroyer
http://markshroyer.com/contact/

This does not surprise me after the experience I had with a D-Link DI524 router. It did not lose its settings but it would often lock up when connecting or disconnecting wireless PCs. A replacement they sent me did the same thing. The solution was to switch to a Buffalo router.

Jed wrote:
>
> I have a D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless Router that suddenly lost all
> settings. It appears to have reset itself to the defaults.
>
> I had my personal laptop (HP) connected to the router wirelessly as
> well as a work laptop (Dell). Because my company was recently
> acquired, over the weekend I added another laptop (HP) to the wireless
> network. All run Windows XP Pro.
>
> All was well for a day or so until yesterday when suddenly (literally
> between walking away for a few moments then returning) the wireless
> network I had set up disappeared. All the router settings were gone
> including any reference to that network and the machines that had been
> attached to it, firewall rules, etc.
>
> I recreated the wireless network and so far everything is fine but I
> would like to avoid this happening again. Can simply adding a new
> machine to the network cause the router to lose its settings or was
> that likely just coincidence?
>
> Any ideas?

--
Mike Walsh

"Jed" <zyzygy@plenipôtentiary.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> I have a D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless Router that suddenly lost all
> settings. It appears to have reset itself to the defaults.
>
> I had my personal laptop (HP) connected to the router wirelessly as
> well as a work laptop (Dell). Because my company was recently
> acquired, over the weekend I added another laptop (HP) to the wireless
> network. All run Windows XP Pro.
>
> All was well for a day or so until yesterday when suddenly (literally
> between walking away for a few moments then returning) the wireless
> network I had set up disappeared. All the router settings were gone
> including any reference to that network and the machines that had been
> attached to it, firewall rules, etc.
>
> I recreated the wireless network and so far everything is fine but I
> would like to avoid this happening again. Can simply adding a new
> machine to the network cause the router to lose its settings or was
> that likely just coincidence?
>
> Any ideas?
>


Zapped by static electricity

On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 22:51:48 -0500, kony <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:10:29 -0800, Jed
><zyzygy@plenipôtentiary.com.invalid> wrote:
>
>>I have a D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless Router that suddenly lost all
>>settings. It appears to have reset itself to the defaults.

[...]

>>Any ideas?
>
>Adding a new system should not change or cause loss of any
>settings on the router.
>
>If it weren't a business environment I'd say the router is
>faulty, perhaps even all of that model (you could research
>this to find out if it's worth your time to get it
>RMA-replaced through D-Link, or if your time=money is better
>spent buying something else instead).
>
>Nothing should cause loss of the settings, except holding in
>the reset button. Maybe logging in, if there were a "reset
>defaults" kind of setting that might do it as well, but not
>by accident or any configuration change of the network
>connected to it.
>
>Since it is a business environment, might there be a chance
>someone is meddling with the router? Especially if you
>hadn't changed the default settings like password, or the
>general public has access to it?
>
>If the warranty is up you might also crack it open to see if
>there are any vented capacitors, as consumer grade passively
>cooled routers tend to run on the warm to hot side and this
>does stress the caps a bit.

Thanks to all for the tips.

However, since I am now using this router in a "mission critical"
(i.e. work) situation, perhaps its time to replace it with a more rock
solid piece of equipment. Any recommendations?

On 2007-12-13, Jed <zyzygy@plenipôtentiary.com.invalid> wrote:
> On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 22:51:48 -0500, kony <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:10:29 -0800, Jed
>><zyzygy@plenipôtentiary.com.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> I have a D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless Router that suddenly lost all
>>> settings. It appears to have reset itself to the defaults.
>
> [...]
>
> Thanks to all for the tips.
>
> However, since I am now using this router in a "mission critical"
> (i.e. work) situation, perhaps its time to replace it with a more
> rock solid piece of equipment. Any recommendations?

I'd wager that if you're running the latest firmware from D-Link,
you probably won't see the phenomenon again for the life of the
router. Why worry about it unless it actually proves to be a
recurring issue? All of these crappy consumer-oriented routers have
their occasional quirks.

On the other hand, if reliability is *really* important to you but
you aren't willing to upgrade to enterprise-class hardware, you
should consider getting a router that can run DD-WRT:

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php...ported_routers

Aside from the initial setup, DD-WRT is just as easy to use as any
other web-based router GUI; but underneath the GUI is a reliable
Linux operating system, none of this flaky VxWorks stuff. It's
probably the next best thing to having your own OpenBSD box for a
router

Rumor has it that some Buffalo routers will soon be shipping with
DD-WRT as the default firmware, though I haven't heard anything
about this in the last few weeks -- maybe there was some legal
holdup? In any event, most of the latest Buffalo routers *can* run
DD-WRT, I believe, whether or not they ship with it by default.

--
Mark Shroyer
http://markshroyer.com/contact/

On Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:55:14 -0800, Jed
<zyzygy@plenipôtentiary.com.invalid> wrote:

>On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 22:51:48 -0500, kony <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:10:29 -0800, Jed
>><zyzygy@plenipôtentiary.com.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>>I have a D-Link DGL-4300 Wireless Router that suddenly lost all
>>>settings. It appears to have reset itself to the defaults.
>
>[...]
>
>>>Any ideas?
>>
>>Adding a new system should not change or cause loss of any
>>settings on the router.
>>
>>If it weren't a business environment I'd say the router is
>>faulty, perhaps even all of that model (you could research
>>this to find out if it's worth your time to get it
>>RMA-replaced through D-Link, or if your time=money is better
>>spent buying something else instead).
>>
>>Nothing should cause loss of the settings, except holding in
>>the reset button. Maybe logging in, if there were a "reset
>>defaults" kind of setting that might do it as well, but not
>>by accident or any configuration change of the network
>>connected to it.
>>
>>Since it is a business environment, might there be a chance
>>someone is meddling with the router? Especially if you
>>hadn't changed the default settings like password, or the
>>general public has access to it?
>>
>>If the warranty is up you might also crack it open to see if
>>there are any vented capacitors, as consumer grade passively
>>cooled routers tend to run on the warm to hot side and this
>>does stress the caps a bit.
>
>Thanks to all for the tips.
>
>However, since I am now using this router in a "mission critical"
>(i.e. work) situation, perhaps its time to replace it with a more rock
>solid piece of equipment. Any recommendations?


My favorite router is a Buffalo WHR-HP-54G, running DD-WRT.

If I were buying new today, I'd have to start over doing all
kinds of research on the latest models, and would probably
go for an 11n supportive model from a major manufacturer
like Linksys, for better firmware support, and would also
seek one that can run DD-WRT.

Even then, (and I suppose it's a compulsion or maybe just
curiosity) I tend to crack open new gear ignoring the
warranty and checking a few things like the brand of
capacitors and their operating temp, whether the network
processor has a heatsink on it (then putting one on if it
does not, with thermal epoxy), and putting a few addt'l
holes in the casing so it has better ventilation.

IIRC, the 'sink I used on WHR-HP-54G came off some old Asus
motherboard and fits like a glove after cutting a hole in
the side of the case for it.
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/5923/whrhpg54ks2.jpg

You can spend a lot more for a Cisco, etc, but these days if
the performance of a 100Mb ethernet router is sufficient,
there aren't a lot of reasons to go with something more
expensive, the problem you're seeing with the D-Link is
unusual.

On Thu, 13 Dec 2007 13:45:05 -0500, Mark Shroyer
<usenet-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:


>Rumor has it that some Buffalo routers will soon be shipping with
>DD-WRT as the default firmware, though I haven't heard anything
>about this in the last few weeks -- maybe there was some legal
>holdup? In any event, most of the latest Buffalo routers *can* run
>DD-WRT, I believe, whether or not they ship with it by default.

Thanks to you and Kony for the recs. I checked out the Buffalo
offerings but found that their wireless routers have temporarily been
withdrawn from the US market due to some FCC ruling and litigation
(according to the Buffalo website). I couldn't even find a supplier
who claimed to have them still in stock.

I settled on the Linksys WRT54GL which is Open Source, based on Linux,
and can be flashed with DD-WRT. I may look at a Buffalo later, but for
now, the reviews of the Linksys make it appear to be a pretty decent
alternative for 60 bucks.

On Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:28:16 -0800, Jed
<zyzygy@plenipôtentiary.com.invalid> wrote:

>On Thu, 13 Dec 2007 13:45:05 -0500, Mark Shroyer
><usenet-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>
>>Rumor has it that some Buffalo routers will soon be shipping with
>>DD-WRT as the default firmware, though I haven't heard anything
>>about this in the last few weeks -- maybe there was some legal
>>holdup? In any event, most of the latest Buffalo routers *can* run
>>DD-WRT, I believe, whether or not they ship with it by default.
>
>Thanks to you and Kony for the recs. I checked out the Buffalo
>offerings but found that their wireless routers have temporarily been
>withdrawn from the US market due to some FCC ruling and litigation
>(according to the Buffalo website). I couldn't even find a supplier
>who claimed to have them still in stock.
>
>I settled on the Linksys WRT54GL which is Open Source, based on Linux,
>and can be flashed with DD-WRT. I may look at a Buffalo later, but for
>now, the reviews of the Linksys make it appear to be a pretty decent
>alternative for 60 bucks.
>

Yes it is a good alternative, quite similar to the Buffalo
in most ways... even more so once either or both are running
DD-WRT.