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louh · Jul 15, 2004, 05:02 PM

I took a day of vacation to try and figure this out and have not yet been successful. I have a brand new BEFSR41 v.3 Linsys Cable/DSL router. My old Version 2 bit the dust - I think. The computer that I use and an ibook that is normally not connected to the router still show on the router as indicated by the green LED lights going on. Both of these computers 'see' each other in the Network and both are able to get on the Internet.

I have two other computers that have the same software and settings as the working two but for some reason they are not able to connect to the router. No green LED light - no internet connection. I switched cables and have determined that all cables are working. I am at a loss. ALL Settings on ALL computers are the same except the iBook does not have the latest security update from Apple.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I need to do to get the other two computers to show up on the router and my LAN?

Totally at a loss and bummed out that I now have one less vacation day and I haven't solved this problem.

Lou

ghporter · Jul 17, 2004, 08:01 AM

I think you've gone through the basic steps and can be satisfied that you've done everything you can with what you have. The next step seems to be to return the new router and get it replaced. This can obviously be a big problem if you got it through the mail...

Me, I'm paranoid about connectivity, so I actually have a spare router-a Siemens SpeedStream 2604 that I got at a REALLY good price: $8.75 after rebate! The usual price for some routers is less than $40, so it's not a bad investment at all. The point here is that you can do two things here: 1) get your Linksys replaced or your money back and start looking for another, full-feature router AND 2) get an inexpensive router at OfficeMax to handle your traffic until your primary router problems are resolved.

DO NOT let someone tell you that "it has to be your computers." You have gone through ALL the appropriate troubleshooting steps here (most people forget about messing with the cables!), so the next step is to change out the router. You should at least get a replacement router, if not a refund. This is also a good time to gage how well the vendor that sold the thing to you handles customer service. If they give you grief, dump 'em! They have not figured out that a sale is a long-term thing, and you don't need them.

But that's all in the future. Contact the vendor and see how quickly they can get you a replacement, then work from there.

Good luck.

f1000 · Jul 25, 2004, 05:33 PM

Originally posted by louh:
I have two other computers that have the same software and settings as the working two but for some reason they are not able to connect to the router. No green LED light - no internet connection. I switched cables and have determined that all cables are working. I am at a loss. ALL Settings on ALL computers are the same except the iBook does not have the latest security update from Apple.

Whatever it was that destroyed your old router (lightning/power surge) may have damaged the NIC's in two of your computers as well. Use your working iBook to directly ping each of the questionable computers via an Ethernet patch cable.

louh · Nov 27, 2004, 07:18 AM

Originally posted by f1000:
Whatever it was that destroyed your old router (lightning/power surge) may have damaged the NIC's in two of your computers as well. Use your working iBook to directly ping each of the questionable computers via an Ethernet patch cable.

Sorry for the way late response to your suggestion. Also, I,m not much up on pinging so I have a couple of question. Is a patch cable different from the Ethernet cable that goes from my computer to the modem or is it the same thing? Do I then Directly connnect this cable from the working iBook to the computer in question?

ghporter · Nov 28, 2004, 03:45 PM

A patch cable IS an ethernet cable with RJ45 plugs on either end. It's called a patch cable to differentiate it from the cable that you may find in hard installations; the cable is either CAT5 or CAT6, but it is strung in long runs and terminated in patch blocks-which are interconnected using shorter cables with RJ45s on them.

I think iBooks all come with autosensing network cards, so you can probably connect them both together with a standard cable.

As for pinging; open a terminal session and type "ping" (without the quotes), followed by the IP address of the other computer. On that computer (the one you think is not working, and assuming it's a Mac), open System Preferences and then Network and then click on the TCP/IP button to locate the machine's IP. It will be in the form 123.123.123.123. With a Linksys router, it should be something like 192.168.1.???.

This is where I think you'll find the problem. If the IP shows as something like 169.???.???.???, it means that the machine didn't receive a requested IP from the router, or its settings need to be reentered. It may also be that the non-working computers either have (as F1000 indicated) dead network cards, or network cards that need to be somehow reset. I can't give you any more instruction than that, since I don't know what kind of computers they are.

louh · Dec 5, 2004, 10:42 AM

Originally posted by GHPorter:
As for pinging; open a terminal session and type "ping" (without the quotes), followed by the IP address of the other computer. On that computer (the one you think is not working, and assuming it's a Mac), open System Preferences and then Network and then click on the TCP/IP button to locate the machine's IP. It will be in the form 123.123.123.123. With a Linksys router, it should be something like 192.168.1.???.

This is where I think you'll find the problem. If the IP shows as something like 169.???.???.???, it means that the machine didn't receive a requested IP from the router, or its settings need to be reentered. It may also be that the non-working computers either have (as F1000 indicated) dead network cards, or network cards that need to be somehow reset. I can't give you any more instruction than that, since I don't know what kind of computers they are.

Here's why I think it's the computer(s) and not the hub or my setup. When I go to Preferences>Network the screen showing both the internal modem and the Built-in Ethernet displays the following message on the non-working computers: "The cable for Built-in Ethernet is not plugged in. So I don't even have an oppotyunity to 'see' my IP address on these non-working computers.

If I unplug the ethernet cable from either of the non-working computers and plug into one of the working computers the router light turns on and everything works properly. So it's not the router or the cable but something in these computers (probably the ethernet card(s). This is too bad because these computers are an iMac and a Cube, which means replacement of the logic board (an expensive fix). Do you agree? Should or can I take one of these ethernet cables and link one of the working computers with a non-working one and try to ping the non working computer. I guess I am worried about doing damage to the working computer by hooking the two computers together via the ethernet ports. Will this do any damage?

Again sorry for the delay in my reply. The two non working computers are the ones my kids use and are not my primary ones and I'm busy trying to keep up with other things. By the way, everything else on the two non working computers is fine. I haven't tried the internal modem setup and really don't want to go there.

Thanks for your help,
Lou

macaddict0001 · Dec 5, 2004, 01:30 PM

You could connect the two non working computers, this would require both to be working but its a start, plugging them together shouldn't cause damage.