Wireless worked, now doesn't!

[lmdok]

Hope someone can help. This is my first post, and I am not very computer-literate. My desktop (WindowsXP) is connected to a modem, and I have a Linsys WRT150N wireless router hooked up to it for my kids' computers. A few days ago everything worked fine, then anytime any of us tried to get on the internet, we got "Page cannot be displayed". After 5 hours on the phone with my internet provider's tech service, I've got my internet back. However, the wireless is not working. If I reconnect the router to my computer, I don't have the internet. If I don't connect it, I have 2 teenagers without the internet (a fate worse than death if you're between 13 and 20)!! I have tried a few things, but I really don't know computers that well, and I have no idea how to get it working again. Any help would be appreciated, and assume I know nothing when you're answering. I promise I won't be offended if you keep the answers in the simplest terms. Thanks.

[JMT21]

did you have to reset the router?

[lmdok]

Yes, I reset the router & tried 3 different modems before I got the internet back. Though the tech service got my internet working, he was unable to help with the router because "they are not networking specialists". He did say something about resetting the ppoe in the router, but when I tried to follow his instructions (after hanging up the phone), the information he gave me didn't match what I was reading on the screen.

[belfasteddie]

Do you know if the wireless is seeing the net? Try and view available networks.( right click on the network icon in the tray) If you can and it does see other networks then you have to re enter your password and WEP or WAP.
If you imagine the net as the out side world and your inside your house with the front door locked. The password and the Wep/WAP equate to your front door key. You need the key to open the door. Your password and wep/wap should be in your the original letter from your ISP.

[lmdok]

Did I mention I was computer illiterate? Right now the router is not hooked up to anything, because if I do, I lose the internet. Which computer should I check the available networks on - mine (wired), or one of the others (previously wireless)? When all this was going on, the other desktop (wireless) showed LAN network, no internet connectivity. On my computer (wired) it shows LAN network as well, status connected.

[grue155]

A couple of questions,

From your description, it seems to have things connected in this sequence:

Internet --- modem --- desktop --- router --//-- kids

Is this correct?

If this is correct, then what kind of modem do you have? Usually the modem plugs into the router, but there are some modems where that isn't possible.

[lmdok]

I have a Lynx 320 modem. The DSL is plugged into the phone line, the ethernet (yellow) was plugged from the modem into the router (Linksys WRT150N), from the router's Internet (blue) slot, it was plugged into the computer. This worked great for over a year with another desktop & a laptop running wirelessly, but now doesn't!! If I hook up the router at all, I lose all internet connections. At the moment, we're taking the modem from computer to computer as needed! Thanks.

[johnwill]

The following procedure should get you a connection with any broadband modem that is configured to use DHCP for the router connection, such as cable modems, and many DSL modems. If you require PPPoE configuration for the DSL modem, that will have to be configured to match the ISP requirements.

Note that the wireless encryption and channel selection will have to be done after the basic wired connection is established, the first step is to get wired connections working.

• Reset the router to factory defaults by holding the reset button down for 15 seconds with power on.
• Turn off everything, the modem, router, computer.
• Connect the modem to the router's WAN/Internet port.
• Connect the computer to one of the router's LAN/Network ports.
• Turn on the modem, wait for a steady connect light.
• Turn on the router, wait for two minutes.
• Boot the computer.

When the computer is completely booted, let's see this.

Hold the Windows key and press R, then type CMD (COMMAND for W98/WME) to open a command prompt:

NOTE: For the items below in red surrounded with < >, see comments below for the actual information content, they are value substitutions from the previous command output!

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following commands one at a time, followed by the Enter key:

IPCONFIG /ALL

PING <computer_IP_address>

PING <default_gateway_address>

PING <dns_servers>

PING 206.190.60.37

PING yahoo.com

Right click in the command window and choose Select All, then hit Enter to copy the contents to the clipboard.
Paste the results in a message here.

<computer_IP_address> - The IP Address of your computer, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above.

<default_gateway_address> - The IP address of the Default Gateway, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above.

<dns_servers> - The IP address of the first (or only) address for DNS Servers, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above.

If you are on a machine with no network connection, use a floppy, USB disk, or a CD-RW disk to transfer a text file with the information to allow pasting it here.

[grue155]

The DSL is plugged into the phone line, the ethernet (yellow) was plugged from the modem into the router (Linksys WRT150N), from the router's Internet (blue) slot, it was plugged into the computer.

If I read that correctly, you've got the port order reversed.

It should be like this:

Internet
|
modem
|
| (router blue port)
Linksys router
| (one of the 4 yellow ports)
|
desktop

The Linksys router has a builtin hub, allowing wired connection for up to 4 machines. I'm matching the colors up in the user guide for the WRT150N that's available from linksys.com, in case your router is using some different color coding for the ports.

[lmdok]

Sorry it's taken me so long to respond. And yes, all wires are hooked up correctly - checked the manual to be sure.
When the router and modem are hooked up:
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator>ipconfig/all
Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : ********
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Eth
ernet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-16-17-32-39-D1
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.100
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 67.55.0.11
66.49.220.95
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator>ping192.168.1.100
'ping192.168.1.100' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator>ping192.168.1.1
'ping192.168.1.1' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator>ping67.55.0.11
'ping67.55.0.11' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator>ping66.99.220.95
'ping66.99.220.95' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator>ping206.190.60.37
'ping206.190.60.37' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator>ping yahoo.com
Ping request could not find host yahoo.com. Please check the name and try again.
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator>

When it is just the modem hooked up:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator>ipconfig/all
Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : *******
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Eth
ernet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-16-17-32-39-D1
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.100
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 67.55.0.11
66.49.220.95
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator>ping 192.168.1.100
Pinging 192.168.1.100 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.100: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.100: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.100: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.100: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Ping statistics for 192.168.1.100:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator>ping 192.168.1.1
Pinging 192.168.1.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Ping statistics for 192.168.1.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator>ping 67.55.0.11
Pinging 67.55.0.11 with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 67.55.0.11:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator>ping 66.99.220.95
Pinging 66.99.220.95 with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Ping statistics for 66.99.220.95:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator>ping 206.190.60.37
Pinging 206.190.60.37 with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Ping statistics for 206.190.60.37:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator>ping yahoo.com
Ping request could not find host yahoo.com. Please check the name and try again.
C:\Documents and Settings\HP_Administrator>

When I disconnect the wireless, the internet works. When they are both hooked up (correctly), I get page can not be found. Thanks for all help so far, and all help yet to come!

[ngrome]

Well, you said when you hook up the router, it doesn't work. And you said you reset the router. You also said you had DSL. Usually, don't you have to log into DSL service with a username and password? If that be the case, you have to go into the configuration page of your router to the PPoE settings and fill in the username and password so the router with pass authentication through your DSL modem and all your connected (wireless and wired) devices to your router.

[johnwill]

Originally Posted by ngrome

Well, you said when you hook up the router, it doesn't work. And you said you reset the router. You also said you had DSL. Usually, don't you have to log into DSL service with a username and password? If that be the case, you have to go into the configuration page of your router to the PPoE settings and fill in the username and password so the router with pass authentication through your DSL modem and all your connected (wireless and wired) devices to your router.

Yep, which I think I covered in the reset procedure.

If you require PPPoE configuration for the DSL modem, that will have to be configured to match the ISP requirements.

[grue155]

It looks like you need to change the IP addressing on the PC. Your ipconfig is showing this:

Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Eth
ernet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-16-17-32-39-D1
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.100
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 67.55.0.11
66.49.220.95

When you're connected to straight to the modem, your IP address 192.168.1.100 isn't accessible on the Internet. The 192.168.x.x address range is a private address space, and only works behind routers. You'll have to have dynamic address assignment (DHCP) enabled when connecting to the modem, and not thru the router. Then your ISP can give a working IP address when you "make the connection" to the Internet.

The ipconfig settings look reasonable when you're wired to the router, assuming the router is running at its defaults. The Linksys manual says the WRT150N default address is 192.168.1.1, which is your gateway address in the ipconfig.

[lmdok]

When you're connected to straight to the modem, your IP address 192.168.1.100 isn't accessible on the Internet. The 192.168.x.x address range is a private address space, and only works behind routers.

When I'm connected to the modem, the internet works. We've been unplugging the modem & carrying computer to computer, depending on who needs it. It is only when I connect the router that I lose ALL internet access. I'm about to give up - the router is still under warranty, & I think I'll return it to the store. Still can't figure out how one day everything works, next day, no wireless!! Thanks again for everyone's help. Bless you all.

[lmdok]

Well, after weeks and about 15 hours on the phone with my ISP and Linksys, I've got the router (new one, WRT160N) hooked up to my desktop & the internet works, and the laptop has wireless internet access. The problem now is the second desktop. My son has Windows 7 installed, and the "techs" at Linksys have not been trained & can't help me. We can see the network, but it has limited connectivity & he can't access the internet. He has a Dlink DWA130. We have had to change security settings, reset the router endlessly, laptop is using Mozilla since IE doesn't work, changed IP address, and countless other things. Now, we need to get the other desktop online - any suggestions from all you helpful geniuses??

[johnwill]

Is he running the 32 bit version or the 64 bit version of Windows 7? Driver issues are common for the 64 bit version, I'm fighting with that issue now.

Have you tried a wired connection from the Windows 7 machine? That should work right out of the box.

FWIW, I have a couple of USB wireless adapters, and both of them were recognized immediately when I plugged them into the Windows 7 machine.

[lmdok]

Not sure which version he is running, but we were told that there are no drivers available for Windows 7. Ended up changing the security code from WPA to WEP, and now everything works!! Thanks again to everyone who tried to help. You all are amazing.

[johnwill]

FWIW, Windows 7 seems pretty decent at fooling drivers into thinking it's Vista or XP if you run in compatibility mode during the install. I had to do that with a couple of printers here to get them working.