Linksys 4 port router

[Cleo Patra]

Is there a trick to getting this thing to work?

I make sure I have a connection with my broadband modem.
I then connect the cable from the modem to the wan port of the router.
Then I connect another cable from one of the router's numbered ports to
the PC. Nothing..

I have tried shutting down the computer, removing the power supply from
the modem and the router, waiting a few minutes and powering the
computer back up. Nothing..

I have gone to the Linksys site where I find there is an upgrade for
Windows XP firmware but when I tried to install it I get a box saying it
can't connect to the server.

I am using the CD that came with the router. Should I toss it and try
to set up a network using 192.168.1.1 ?

I am exasperated and have run out of ideas. Can someone please help me?

Cleo

 

[John E. Carty]

Is there a trick to getting this thing to work?

I make sure I have a connection with my broadband modem.
I then connect the cable from the modem to the wan port of the router.
Then I connect another cable from one of the router's numbered ports to
the PC. Nothing..

I have tried shutting down the computer, removing the power supply from
the modem and the router, waiting a few minutes and powering the
computer back up. Nothing..

I have gone to the Linksys site where I find there is an upgrade for
Windows XP firmware but when I tried to install it I get a box saying it
can't connect to the server.

I am using the CD that came with the router. Should I toss it and try
to set up a network using 192.168.1.1 ?

I am exasperated and have run out of ideas. Can someone please help me?

Cleo

Try powering down the computer, router, and cable modem. Power up the cable
modem first and wait for the connection light to stop flashing. Then turn on
the router followed by the computer. See if you then have a connection

 

[Phrederik]

Is there a trick to getting this thing to work?

I make sure I have a connection with my broadband modem.
I then connect the cable from the modem to the wan port of the router.
Then I connect another cable from one of the router's numbered ports to
the PC. Nothing..

I have tried shutting down the computer, removing the power supply from
the modem and the router, waiting a few minutes and powering the
computer back up. Nothing..

I have gone to the Linksys site where I find there is an upgrade for
Windows XP firmware but when I tried to install it I get a box saying it
can't connect to the server.

I am using the CD that came with the router. Should I toss it and try
to set up a network using 192.168.1.1 ?

I am exasperated and have run out of ideas. Can someone please help me?

What doesn't work?

Do you get an IP?

Can you ping the router's IP (should be a .1 IP)

Does router get an IP from modem?

Do you get the proper lights on your modem/router/PC when the cables are all
connected?

 

[Loan Shark]

You need to setup the Router by accessing the Web based setup. Connect the
Router as you did before to the DSL/Cable modem. Connect a PC to the
Router. Open up your internet explorer and type in the IP address of your
router.

You then need to go into the screen for setting up your WAN connection
settings. Once you've done that, you should get a connection for all your
computers.

 

[Cleo Patra]

Try powering down the computer, router, and cable modem. Power up the cable
modem first and wait for the connection light to stop flashing. Then turn on
the router followed by the computer. See if you then have a connection

See? There /was/ a trick to it! That worked, thank you!
After doing what you said I got back into Windows and used the CD that
came with the router. It said I was connected to the internet and then
it showed my my MAC address and the name of my computer and told me
"Congradulations! Your router is set up." That was nice.

However, I was surfing for awhile and all of a sudden lost the
connection and had to plug my modem back into the ethernet port
to get back here. I'm wondering now if my router is broken.

Cleo

 

[Cleo Patra]

What doesn't work?

We are talking about a router.

Do you get an IP?

No. I get that I am not connected to the internet.

Can you ping the router's IP (should be a .1 IP)

What the heck is a .1 IP?

Does router get an IP from modem?

Isn't that the same question you asked above? Still no.

Do you get the proper lights on your modem/router/PC when the cables are all
connected?

Yes

 

[Cleo Patra]

You need to setup the Router by accessing the Web based setup. Connect the
Router as you did before to the DSL/Cable modem. Connect a PC to the
Router. Open up your internet explorer and type in the IP address of your
router.

You then need to go into the screen for setting up your WAN connection
settings. Once you've done that, you should get a connection for all your
computers.

"The connection was refused when trying to contact 192.168.1.1"
The CD I've got does all that (above) once I get a connection to the
internet. That's the hang up. I can't get a connection to the
internet. The red light on the router in the wan colum starts going on
and XP tells me I have a cable unplugged. I don't.

I've been at this for hours. I give up. Thanks for trying to help.

 

[MyndPhlyp]

See? There /was/ a trick to it! That worked, thank you!
After doing what you said I got back into Windows and used the CD that
came with the router. It said I was connected to the internet and then
it showed my my MAC address and the name of my computer and told me
"Congradulations! Your router is set up." That was nice.

However, I was surfing for awhile and all of a sudden lost the
connection and had to plug my modem back into the ethernet port
to get back here. I'm wondering now if my router is broken.

Cleo

Linksys has been known to ship DOA units, but don't be in too much of a
hurry to suspect the router. Most of their problems are centered around the
power supply, and some of their problems involve a less than perfect board.
The newer firmware seems to also have some problems, but it might be only in
upgrade situations.

(see also for more Linksys gurus)

The key to remember is that the default setup utilizes DHCP from the router
to assign IP addresses to the workstations. If the router gets powered off
or reset, the DHCP address assignments are lost. As a result, workstations
on the LAN may get duplicated IP addresses and cause "unpredictable"
results.

By powering on the router before powering the workstations, you assure the
assigned IP addresses are unique.

A better solution would be to permanently assign IP addresses to your LAN
devices. This way, it doesn't matter if the router reboots. (The down side
is that you will also have to permanently assign DNS server addresses which
may change from time to time as your ISP sees fit.)

Losing the connection might be more ISP-related or workstation-related than
router-related.

If the connection options on the Setup page are set identical to those you
previously used on your workstation, everything should be as they always
were.

If you used PPPoE to connect prior to installing the Linksys router, be sure
to tear out the PPPoE DUN from your workstation - it will cause problems
down the road. Also, be sure to change your Internet Explorer (and other
Internet application) connection settings to use the LAN rather than a
dial-up-networking path. For all intents and purposes, the only device that
communicates with the Internet is now the Linksys router and all devices on
the LAN are talking plain ol' Ethernet.

If you are considering using the content filtering (the Blocked URL Contents
section of the Firewall page) option of the Linksys, don't. It causes more
problems than it solves. But the time of use filtering might be of some use.

 

[Art Leonard]

Lo, What part of the directions did you have trouble with? Sounds like
you are flailing in the dark. It is a bit more than a plug and play deal.
You have to set up the system to work as a whole. Don't try to install some
additional firmware until you have the thing working as it should. If you
follow the directions that came with the device you should be ok. If you
know how to set up your own network that is probably your best shot. I have
found that the setup cds don't do the job the way I like. Get the directions
for the router and the modem and read them.

Good Luck
Art Leonard

 

[John E. Carty]

See? There /was/ a trick to it! That worked, thank you!
After doing what you said I got back into Windows and used the CD that
came with the router. It said I was connected to the internet and then
it showed my my MAC address and the name of my computer and told me
"Congradulations! Your router is set up." That was nice.

However, I was surfing for awhile and all of a sudden lost the
connection and had to plug my modem back into the ethernet port
to get back here. I'm wondering now if my router is broken.

Cleo

Try upgrading the firmware now that you're online. Once in a while you may
get bumped from your ISP and just need to do an ipconfig release/renew or
reboot your computer to restore the connection

Start | Run cmd and click OK.
ipconfig /release {hit enter}
ipconfig /renew {hit enter}
exit {hit enter}

 

[Cleo Patra]

Linksys has been known to ship DOA units, but don't be in too much of a
hurry to suspect the router. Most of their problems are centered around the
power supply, and some of their problems involve a less than perfect board.
The newer firmware seems to also have some problems, but it might be only in
upgrade situations.

My router is UP and running!

(see also news:comp.security.firewalls for more Linksys gurus)

I thought the router was in itself a firewall, no? I will definitely
check out that group.

The key to remember is that the default setup utilizes DHCP from the router
to assign IP addresses to the workstations. If the router gets powered off
or reset, the DHCP address assignments are lost. As a result, workstations
on the LAN may get duplicated IP addresses and cause "unpredictable"
results.

By powering on the router before powering the workstations, you assure the
assigned IP addresses are unique.

A better solution would be to permanently assign IP addresses to your LAN
devices. This way, it doesn't matter if the router reboots. (The down side
is that you will also have to permanently assign DNS server addresses which
may change from time to time as your ISP sees fit.)

Losing the connection might be more ISP-related or workstation-related than
router-related.

Good point. I was too hasty in thinking the fault was with my router.

If the connection options on the Setup page are set identical to those you
previously used on your workstation, everything should be as they always
were.

If you used PPPoE to connect prior to installing the Linksys router, be sure
to tear out the PPPoE DUN from your workstation - it will cause problems
down the road. Also, be sure to change your Internet Explorer (and other
Internet application) connection settings to use the LAN rather than a
dial-up-networking path. For all intents and purposes, the only device that
communicates with the Internet is now the Linksys router and all devices on
the LAN are talking plain ol' Ethernet.

If you are considering using the content filtering (the Blocked URL Contents
section of the Firewall page) option of the Linksys, don't. It causes more
problems than it solves. But the time of use filtering might be of some use.

Thanks for the tip. And thank you ALL for the help! I had given up but
decided to try one more time after seeing some of you sincerely trying
to help me. That one-more-time, and the information I got here got my
router working. You all have a great day! I know I will.

<insert smiley face here>

Cleo