Wireless problem

[Donegeal]

I have a linksys wireless broadband router. I have it connected to a cable modem. At home, this thing works great. My desktop is connected directly and two laptops connect wirelessly. No problems. It is an unsecure network (I'm not really worried. No one in my neighborhood even has a real concept of what the internet is muchless how to hack into unsecure wireless networks...). No software was needed and I never even got the "new hardware detected" deal. I plugged it in, hooked it up and it started to work.

This isn't the problem (and no, you can't have those 30 seconds back. They're mine and I'm keepin'um!!!)

The problem comes when I tried to take my router to my cousins house. I did the exact same things when hooking it up. No software, just going to leave it unsecure. However, when I plugged the router into the system, for some reason his computer would no longer connect, even when it was hooked up directly (ie internet out of cable modem and into router via wire. Wire then comes out of router and into computer.). It's as if the router breaks the connection completely. I thought that maybe I had broken it when I took it over there, but when I returned it home, it worked just fine. Anybody out there know what it is I'm doing wrong (regarding this wireless problem Che, not anything else)?

[Blake]

So uh what do you plan to do with my 30 seconds?

My guess would be it is the modem. It's my understanding that *most* modems (and especially cheaper ones) don't like routers.

edit: Humm. Disregard maybe. The wireless router probably should be okay s'long as the modem is plugged into the WAN port.

[Q Classic]

depends on the router/modem setup. It could be login issues to the internet, if the router is required to connect to the servers first; it could be that the router doesn't do dhcp, and the address subnets were different from his and yours... it could be a lot of things.

It could also be that the ones got stuck in a wiring kink, too.

[Urban Ranger]

When you mean your cousin's computer couldn't cinnect, was that to the switch/router box or to the Net? If you couldn't connect to the switch/router, you couldn't connect to the Net, sure. But if you could connect to the switch/router you may not be able to get through.

[pchang]

Computer to Modem is typically a straight through cable. Modem to Router sometimes requires a cross over cable. This was probably the mismatch.

[Donegeal]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
When you mean your cousin's computer couldn't cinnect, was that to the switch/router box or to the Net? If you couldn't connect to the switch/router, you couldn't connect to the Net, sure. But if you could connect to the switch/router you may not be able to get through.

It was unable to connect to the net. The really funny thing about it was the fact that all the lights on the front of his modem worked just fine (same with the lights on the router too). Power, Receive, Send and Online were all steady. Activity was flashing, but thats what its susposed to do.

Originally posted by pchang
Computer to Modem is typically a straight through cable. Modem to Router sometimes requires a cross over cable. This was probably the mismatch.

You got me on this one. I have never heard of a 'cross over cable'. What is it and where would I get one?

[pchang]

Straight Through cable 8 wires

1 - 1
2 - 2
3 - 3
4 - 4
5 - 5
6 - 6
7 - 7
8 - 8

Crossover cable 8 wires

1 - 3
2 - 6
3 - 1
4 - 4
5 - 5
6 - 2
7 - 7
8 - 8

You can buy them at any store that sells network cables (e.g. Radio Shack)

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Donegeal
It was unable to connect to the net. The really funny thing about it was the fact that all the lights on the front of his modem worked just fine (same with the lights on the router too). Power, Receive, Send and Online were all steady. Activity was flashing, but thats what its susposed to do.

Okay, I am assuming you can ping the switch/router fine. In this case the usual problem is you forgot to change the login setting of your switch/router box. I didn't see you mention this in the OP, so that's my first guess.

[Donegeal]

Bingo.

Appearantly, when I hooked it up to my home computer, the router automaticly sets itself to my home IP address.


All I have to do is press the 'reset' button!


Thanks guys.

[PeteH]

If his cable modem is typically connected directly to a pc, you may need to power off the cable modem before connecting to the router as well, many will only release an ip to 1 mac address at a time, and so when you swap to another pc (or router in this case) the modem dneeds to be cycled so it will release an ip to the new device properly