Got a router question/problem

[Tripper11]

So lately, I have been having to reboot my router. What happens is, I will be cruising a long, then suddenly a page won't load. I go and unplug it ofr 30 sec and plug it back in and everything works fine and is as fast as ever.
I talked to comcast and they did the usual stuff and found their equipment was working fine. The tech person there said I might want to update the firmware for my router.
I did switch from an XP to a Vista machine, but everything had been running fine until a few weekes ago.
It's a minor annoyance more than anything.

I am using a Linksys Wireless G

[Hokie]

1. Where is your router located?

SOHO (small home and office) routers are notorious for running hot and locking up. If your router is in a cabinet or your modem is on top of it that could be a problem.

Updating the firmware is pretty easy and is a good thing to do anyway. It is worth a try.

[Tripper11]

7. It's located on a book shelf

I did have something on top of it...but perhaps with the warmer weather it started getting warmer itself. I've moved the item and will see how it goes now.
Our house is only 1300 sq feet, and the router is literally 8 feet away from my desktop, on the other side of the room.

[Gore1FL]

2. If you are going to upgrade firmware

consider flashing it with DD-WRT instead of Linksys.

it gives you much more control over your hardware.

http://lifehacker.com/software/router/hack-attack-turn-your-60-router-into-a-600-router-178132.php

[Tripper11]

8. I stumbled on this link awhile agoi, and asked about it on another site

No replies. So I assume it's solid info?
I was thinking about just buying a new router, but if this thing works, then why should I?

[Gore1FL]

11. I use it.

And have been happy with it. Just make sure you follow their instructions tot he letter to aoid turning your router into a brick.

It even allows you to up your transmit power levels.

[Tripper11]

12. Thanks Gore1FL

The way I got it figured...I'll try it, if I brick it, I'll buy a new one.

By the way, any thoughts on these? I want to stay with Linksys, for now anyway,


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8741356&type=product&id=1202648529060

[Gore1FL]

13. I don't know the details, but it looks OK.

You won;t get the high throughput, though, unless your PC has a wireless card that can handle it.

Edited to add: if you are just doing internet surfing you are probably maxed past your connection speed anyways.

If you use this to hub several wireless computers together, updating the wireless cards in each of them would improve that connection speed by about 250%.

[Tripper11]

14. $60 router to $600 router question Gore1FL

As I'm printing and preparing to attempt this endeavour I noticed that the firmware upgrade links seem to be quite ambiguous, at least for me...can you show me which or what I need to download?

The generic DD-WRT v23 SP1 mini firmware version located here.* http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv3/dd-wrt/downloads.html
The generic DD-WRT v23 SP1 standard firmware version located here.* http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv3/dd-wrt/downloads.html


Thanks for your help on this...it's much appreciated!

[Gore1FL]

15. it depends

what is the version number of your linksys wireless G? It should be somewhere on a label, probably on the bottom.

[Tripper11]

16. It's version 6 n/t

[Gore1FL]

18. Just in case...

I replied to another of your posts which might at this point be off your "My DU" page. Scroll down from here for info and links.

[Gore1FL]

17. Here you go!

Unfortunately the WRT-54G v6 (Which is what I think you have-verify it is WRT-54G) only has 2MB of flash memory. You won't be able to get the full bells and whistles, but it should still give you more functionality that the linksys provided version.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/down.php?path=downloads%2Fv24%2FBroadcom%2FLinksys%2FWRT54G_v6%2FVXWorks+Killer+WRT54Gv5%2Cv6/

Use the Prep, then the Killer.

Notice also there is a file in that directory called MD5SUMS if you download that and go here to download the MD5SUMMER, you can check your files (once you unzip them) to make sure you have a good copy. (I never haven't, but I have always checked).

Any questions, just ask--and let me know how it turns out for you.

One other hint: When in doubt wait a full five minutes before you reset or turn off the router in this process--and wait at least one minute before you turn it back on. I don't know why this is useful, but I've seen swear by it in the forums.

[Tripper11]

19. Thanks gore1FL

I will let you know how it works out.
I plan on taking a crack at it sometime tomorrow....

[Gore1FL]

20. Make sure you are WIRED to your router when you do it!

Flashing over wireless is a bad thing.

I just remembered to mention that, but I think it was in the first link from a few days ago.

[Tripper11]

21. Yes yes yes!!!!

That is the one thing that seems to be repeated over and over.

I will use our laptop and do the work that way.

[Gore1FL]

22. It's a good idea to print to docs too!

though you could hook up directly to your modem if you need to.

[Gore1FL]

23. And Use Internet Explorer!!!!!

fr some reason firefox doesn't work well when flashing the bios.

[Tripper11]

24. Gotcha!!! thank you!

[Tripper11]

25. Uh ohhhh...link issue

when I click on the links to save the files to my desktop, I;m getting the "Web Page Cannot be found"

[Gore1FL]

26. try it this way:

Go here:

http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/down.php

click on V24

The click on Broadcom

Then click on Linksys

Then click on WRT54G_v6

Then click on VXWorks Killer WRT54Gv5,v6

(Don't do this yet until you see that I edited this post to verify I gave you the right path!!)


ON EDIT: That should work for you--- MAKE SURE YOU PICK WRT54G and NOT WRT54GS -- It is easy to click the wrong link when the difference is an S in the middle!!!

[Tripper11]

27. Thanks so much for all your help....

Will have a go.

[Gore1FL]

28. Don't thank me until it works!!!

This will give you an improved router, or a high-tech brick!

[Tripper11]

29. Got the high tech brick! Ugh!

So, I don't know what I did..whether it was my impatience, missing a step...but I bricked the son-of-a-bitch!

Oh well...it was worth a shot.

I had upgraded the firmware properly from linksys, and it seemd to be going great, so I decided to go for it....fuck!

Oh well...ran out and bought a new Netgear Rangemax...got that sorted out and am back online....

Any tips on Netgear? :-)

Seriously Gore1FL..you were a great help and I appreciate it. You win some, you lose some. I lost..I knew what I was trying to do and understood the risks, you did what you could and I thank you for that.

[Gore1FL]

30. you can't get into it at all?

If you can you could re-flash it.

That sucks though.

[Tripper11]

31. No...ugh!

[Gore1FL]

32. I know you have a replacement

but try doing the reset where you hold the button in, unplug it with the button still held, and the leave it unplugged for a minute, hold in the button again and plug it back in--keeping the reset button pressed for about a minute.

For some reason that sometimes de bricks it.

[Tripper11]

33. Sounds good..thank you! eom

[elocs]

3. This is timely since I just started to have problems with my router.

I have a D-link 604 and it has just stopped. I have tried unplugging it for up to 15 minutes, but nothing. Inputting the D-Link IP address and running the Wizard has not helped. I just got cable internet and I got this D-Link from a friend and it is so old that D-Link no longer supports it.

Any good basic router recommendations?

[Hokie]

4. Did it work and then die?

Some cable modems require that you perform a "clone MAC address" in the router setup. When you do this the router fools the modem by sending it the MAC address of the PC you are using instead of its own MAC address. Do this from the same PC that you can connect direct to the cable modem and get on the Internet. Make sure the modem is connected to the WAN port and the PC is connected to one of the 4 LAN ports. If you can run the wizard then the router is responding. It sounds like an issue between the cable modem and the router. I used to have cable but I am on DSL now. I think I had to use the clone MAC address function when I had a cable modem. I used a D-Link 604 before I set up a wireless LAN.

[elocs]

5. I had to go through all of the steps at the D-Link faqs to set up all over again.

Then I had to restart my computer (a Mac mini) and it worked. It's going to get kind of annoying if I have to do this every couple of weeks or so.

I still have been unable to get my older pc using Windows ME hooked up through the broadband modem much less through the router. It was so easy to get it on my Mac that the cable guy who came to install it was surprised. We had been trying to figure out what to do when the modem was connected to the mini when we realized it was already online and running.

[Gore1FL]

6. I amnot familiar with that model, but...

you should be able to saver the configuration to your hard drive. If you do end up needing to configure it again, reloading it from a file is much easier than reconfiguring it manually.

[Hokie]

9. Yes, you can do that on the DI-604

There is an option on one of the setup pages to save the configuration in a .cfg file.

[Hokie]

10. Does Windows ME have a network setup wizard?

I know XP does. The key thing things when using a router are to set it to "obtain an IP address automatically" and "this computer connects tot he Internet through a residential gateway". I am paraphrasing but it goes something like that. When the computer boots up the router will assign the PC a network address like 192.168.0.100 (depends on the router brand). The other setting tells the PC how to connect to the Internet. You can also set these by right clicking on the network icon and selecting properties.