[jtbowden]

Need some help/advice. My roommate wanted to do wireless so I suggested a linksys 4-port router/wireless B. So we hooked it up and it works great most of the time.

However, about once every 24 hours, usually after I wake up my PB 17, the router won't let any traffic through. Can't get to web pages or even the config page. I have to manually unplug and replug it.

I am the only computer running right now. No one else is on the network and it is WEP protected.

Any ideas?

[ghporter]

It's not the router; most likely it's your PowerBook that's the problem, specifically the AirPort card in it. AirPort cards have a problem with the computer going to sleep-they don't always reconnect automatically or even at all. It may be firmware related, but I haven't had the opportunity to play with a number of cards with different levels of firmware, so I can't say for certain.

You could do several things to overcome this issue. You could manually disconnect and then reconnect, which should work. You could disconnect before you put the machine to sleep, so you won't be expecting a connection when you wake it up. You could even (shudder!) turn the computer off when you're not using it. Remember how when you turn it on, it will automatically reconnect? Waking up and turning on are different processes, so you don't always reconnect automatically.

[starman]

No, it's the router. This started happening to me about a month ago. Things were perfect for about 2 years until recently. Now about once a week I have to do the same thing.

Mike

[ghporter]

Originally posted by starman:
No, it's the router. This started happening to me about a month ago. Things were perfect for about 2 years until recently. Now about once a week I have to do the same thing.

Mike

You're having a different problem than the original poster. Have you looked for an update to the firmware on your router? This is the sort of thing that Linksys works at fixing with their firmware updates, and it may be nothing more than a fix to match the current version of AirPort software and firmware you're running.

You don't say which version of Linksys wireless router you're using, but there are firmware updates for the BEFW11S4, versions 2, 3, and 4 available-since February for the V2 and V3, and since mid-April for the V4. You also don't mention your ISP, so I'll mention that there have been some longstanding problems with such providers as AOL that have been addressed.

N.B.: Don't update the firmware unless there's a reason to-if the site doesn't show that your problem has been addresses, don't bother. You can screw up your router with a firmware update, so don't do it if you don't need to.

[starman]

Originally posted by GHPorter:
You're having a different problem than the original poster. Have you looked for an update to the firmware on your router? This is the sort of thing that Linksys works at fixing with their firmware updates, and it may be nothing more than a fix to match the current version of AirPort software and firmware you're running.

You don't say which version of Linksys wireless router you're using, but there are firmware updates for the BEFW11S4, versions 2, 3, and 4 available-since February for the V2 and V3, and since mid-April for the V4. You also don't mention your ISP, so I'll mention that there have been some longstanding problems with such providers as AOL that have been addressed.

N.B.: Don't update the firmware unless there's a reason to-if the site doesn't show that your problem has been addresses, don't bother. You can screw up your router with a firmware update, so don't do it if you don't need to.

Uh, I'm NOT having a different problem from the original poster. Hell, I never even said anything specific ABOUT my problem except I have to do the same thing.

So, err, huh?

And yes, firmware's updated. No, I didn't "screw it up".

Mike

[ghporter]

You said that you had no problem for a couple of years-the original post seemed to say that they'd set up their network and had problems immediately.

And I didn't even suggest that you had messed up your firmware. I said that updating firmware can have bad consequences-and there are folks that don't take the proper precautions and do mess up their routers.

The thing to keep in mind is that stuff usually doesn't just happen, there's almost always a cause that can be found. One possibility is that your computer and your router aren't talking with each other the way they used to, which is usually caused by updates to operating systems or firmware that change a setting or protocol. Another possibility is that your router is failing, but since it's out of warranty, it's worth the time to rule out software and firmware problems before worrying about troubleshooting the hardware.

[starman]

Originally posted by GHPorter:
You said that you had no problem for a couple of years-the original post seemed to say that they'd set up their network and had problems immediately.

Where did he say "immediately", or even imply it?

Need some help/advice. My roommate wanted to do wireless so I suggested a linksys 4-port router/wireless B. So we hooked it up and it works great most of the time.

However, about once every 24 hours, usually after I wake up my PB 17, the router won't let any traffic through. Can't get to web pages or even the config page. I have to manually unplug and replug it.

I am the only computer running right now. No one else is on the network and it is WEP protected.

Any ideas?

I don't see any temporal indication anywhere in that message in terms of how long they've had that problem.

Hence, I don't know WTF you're talking about.

Mike

[ghporter]

The wording in jtboweden's post gave me the distinct impression that a) they just hooked everything up and b) they noticed that they can't get to the configuration page of their router about every 24 hours. Note that the post mentions specifically that they noticed a distinct correlation between the PowerBook sleeping and losing the connection.

Your post specifically stated that a) you've had the router without problems for about 2 years, b) you only recently started having a problem, and c) you need to reset/power cycle your router about every week, rather than every 24 hours, and you did not mention a correlation with a computer going to sleep.

The broad differences between what you said and what jtbowden said gave me the impression that there were two different problems going on-a known issue with sleeping computers not reconnecting for jtbowden, and a possible hardware issue for you. I appologize if my reasoning is not as transparent as you'd like, or if it is indeed faulty, either in the assumptions I made from what I read, or in my conclusions. In over two decades of troubleshooting electronics, I have built a very good relationship with my hunches, and I rely on them to bridge from symptom to cause. I have been wrong in the past, and will again be wrong in the future. However, my batting average is very good, so I will continue to use the same reasoning that has served me well for all these years.

[jtbowden]

Errr, uh...

So, anyway... I have narrowed down the problem to when my powerbook wakes up. The router stays alive when I put my powerbook to sleep, but when it wakes up, anyone that is on the network loses access. So, I guess the problem is how the Powerbook handles reconnection. It tries obviously and mangles the network in the process.

Any other ideas or suggestions?

[ghporter]

Everything I've seen about this sleep problem says that it only happens when the computer is connected. If you manually disconnect from the network before putting the computer to sleep, then manually connect when it wakes up, there isn't a problem.

I had a similar problem with a PCMCIA wireless card and a PC laptop. The card had power management options that let me turn off power saving, and that solved the problem. Unfortunately I haven't found anything like that in Apple's software. Of course, if anyone else has broader knowledge of the deep, dark recesses of Admin Utility (or maybe a configuration file that needs to be hacked), I'd love to hear about it.