[discotronic]

I did a search but couldn't find anything like this.

Here is my setup:

17" iMac G5 1.8GHz
768MB RAM
OSX 10.3.7
Netgear MR814v2 with latest firmware

iBook 300MHz with Airport
Windows XP/Linux PC


I haven't been able to access usps.com for about 3 days now. This is only happening while I am hooked up through the router. When I unhook my systems and run an ethernet cable from my systems to the cable modem I don't have a problem. I can access the site. I have used Safari, Firefox, and IE on my Macs. Firefox and IE on my PC.

I have reset the router and cable modem. Made sure the firmware is up to date. Turned off my firewall programs. Pulled what little hair I have left out

Does anyone think it is time for a new router? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[ghporter]

It's possible that there are some minor settings in the router that need a bit of a nudge. IIRC, the 814 has been problematic for some people in some ways. Anyway, what kind of problem do you have with www.usps.com? Does it time out, fail to find the site, or something else?

And does Netgear say anything about known issues with this model-and with the firmware version you're running?

[discotronic]

Originally posted by ghporter:
It's possible that there are some minor settings in the router that need a bit of a nudge. IIRC, the 814 has been problematic for some people in some ways. Anyway, what kind of problem do you have with www.usps.com? Does it time out, fail to find the site, or something else?

And does Netgear say anything about known issues with this model-and with the firmware version you're running?

It just times out after about 10 minutes. I searched through the Netgear site but didn't find anything concerning my problem. I reset the router back to the factory default and set it up from scratch. Unfortunately that didn't help. Any suggestions?

[ghporter]

First off, I should have mentioned something to begin with. Try turning off your cable modem and your router, and let them sit for at least one minute (time it-it's important). During this time, the microcomputers within both the modem and the router will completely power down and lose any temporary values in RAM-that's critical. Turn off any computer connected to the router, too.

Now turn on the modem-only the modem-and let it go through whatever start up cycle it has. After another timed minute, turn on the router. Let the router cycle up, and wait for another timed minute. Here's what happens at this point: the modem will look for whatever is attached to it, and set up the ethernet connection. At the same time, the router will have purged any odd values stored in buffers, and will be ready for a fresh connection.

What may have happened is that either the modem or the router has experienced a memory leak-just random data that never gets purged from memory, but still uses up some storage space. This leak may have corrupted some space needed somehow to bring up sites like USPS.com. The fresh start approach gives you the best opportunity to get everything working like it should without a lot of trouble.

What made me remember this was a full review of your original post. Cable modems authenticate the user by checking the hardware address (called a MAC address, nothing to do with Macs) to make sure it's an authorized device. How does it know what's authorized? It's what's connected when it powers up, or the first item connected to it after it powers up. While you don't have the primary symptom of an authentication problem-not connecting at all-it got me started thinking about your setup. Give it a try, and see what happens.

[discotronic]

Originally posted by ghporter:
First off, I should have mentioned something to begin with. Try turning off your cable modem and your router, and let them sit for at least one minute (time it-it's important). During this time, the microcomputers within both the modem and the router will completely power down and lose any temporary values in RAM-that's critical. Turn off any computer connected to the router, too.

Now turn on the modem-only the modem-and let it go through whatever start up cycle it has. After another timed minute, turn on the router. Let the router cycle up, and wait for another timed minute. Here's what happens at this point: the modem will look for whatever is attached to it, and set up the ethernet connection. At the same time, the router will have purged any odd values stored in buffers, and will be ready for a fresh connection.

What may have happened is that either the modem or the router has experienced a memory leak-just random data that never gets purged from memory, but still uses up some storage space. This leak may have corrupted some space needed somehow to bring up sites like USPS.com. The fresh start approach gives you the best opportunity to get everything working like it should without a lot of trouble.

What made me remember this was a full review of your original post. Cable modems authenticate the user by checking the hardware address (called a MAC address, nothing to do with Macs) to make sure it's an authorized device. How does it know what's authorized? It's what's connected when it powers up, or the first item connected to it after it powers up. While you don't have the primary symptom of an authentication problem-not connecting at all-it got me started thinking about your setup. Give it a try, and see what happens.

Thanks for your help. I took the steps you suggested but unfortunately it didn't work. I think the router has seen the last of it's working days. Safari started to not work at all even though for some reason Firefox didn't have any problems. I went ahead and bought a new router. I picked up a D-Link DI-524 from Best Buy. It was on sale for $59.99 with an additional $40 in rebates. $20 for a wireless G router isn't bad at all. Thanks again for your help

[Big Mac]

My Netgear MR814v2 has been very reliable for me. No problems here.