Netgear Switch not working with Linksys Router

[ostrow]

Hi. I have a home network system that has been working great for years. Until recently.

The equipment:
3 computers running XP SP2
1 computer running W2K Pro
1 printer
Linksys BEFSR41 router
Netgear FS605 switch

Ok, so the deal is this. I have two computers connected directly to one of the ports on the 4-port router. They work perfectly fine.

The printer also works fine on one of the ports.

But the wife works at home with 2 computers. She needs to connect both to the internet. So we got a switch for her two ethernet connections. Worked fine for 8 moths, then, with no changes, limited or no connectivity. Figured the switch died and bought a Netgear.

Worked for a week then limited or no connectivity.

Fiddled with Netgear phone support. Set fixed IP and DNS settings. Worked a week then limited or no connectivity.

Contacted Linksys. They had no clue why it would do that. Reset the router to factory settings. Plugged in the switch. Limited or no connectivity.

Now, this router has an Uplink port. Linksys said the switch had to go through that. Previously it had been on port 4, where it worked sometimes. But on the Uplink port, it NEVER works. I replugged the switch to port 4 so I could type in here.

Help???

[johnwill]

Well, if it's not a bad cable, and connecting the same computer directly to the router solves the issue, the switch has failed. You may have power grounding issues that is killing them...

[ostrow]

Thanks, John.

I don't think that's it. Although Linksys says that the switch has to be plugged into the uplink port to work, it never works there. It works sporadically through one of the regular ports. Then it, mysteriously, stops working with that "limited or no connectivity" alert.

So, the switch works intermittently. It never works the way Linksys says it should -- through the "uplink" port.

But if it were fried, it wouldn't work at all. Right?

[johnwill]

This is true. It sounds like an environmental issue with the power or grounding. Since it happens with more than one switch, I don't know where else to turn.