Problem with linksys router

marvin2000 · Post by **marvin2000** » Fri May 31, 2002 7:20 am

I bought a linksys router(befsr41) to hook my laptop and PC to one cable modem. I got the laptop working great but I can't get an indicator light when I plug my PC in the router from my NIC. I use comcast cable and I'm running win98se Thanks in advance for your help. also ive tried diferent cables and i disablled zonealarm but still nothing

BaLa · Post by **BaLa** » Fri May 31, 2002 11:05 am

is the NIC seated correctly
or do you know for sure if it works or not...
that would be the first 2 things I'd check

(since yuo said you already checked cable)

marvin2000 · Post by **marvin2000** » Fri May 31, 2002 11:35 am

Yes it should be seated correctly because my PC's NIC works with cable modem it just doesnt indicate on the router. Thanks a lot for the reply

mccoffee · Post by **mccoffee** » Sat Jun 01, 2002 12:42 am

make sure you don't have the pc in the uplink port. try reistalling the nic remove the card throught control panel and resetup and have windows plug and pray it.

MasterPcWiz · Post by **MasterPcWiz** » Sat Jun 01, 2002 2:26 am

try this a friend had same problem we had to rename is computer name ..when it was TCI Broadband it was (123456-a) we had to name the other computer (123456-b) you can try that also make sure you put your Domain name right if you have the new Mediacom broadband the Host name must be emty i hope is will help you

zxc47 · Post by **zxc47** » Sat Jun 01, 2002 10:25 am

I don't know what computer you have , But if you have a motherboard with a built in nic you may want to look in your bio's set up to see if it is disable, also try moveing the cable to another
port on the router.you can't use the port next to the uplink port

reader · Post by **reader** » Sat Jun 01, 2002 12:51 pm

Just a thought...

Which patch cable are you using to connect your router to your NIC card?

Some DSL/Cable modems connect using a "turnaround" cable and others use a "straight thru" cable.

The BEFSR41 uses a "straight thru" to make the router --> NIC connection. If you picked up a "left over" cable from your modem kit, that might be the problem!

BaLa · Post by **BaLa** » Sat Jun 01, 2002 3:00 pm

hmm.....

another thing you could try is a different port on the linky....

marvin2000 · Post by **marvin2000** » Sun Jun 02, 2002 9:27 am

no luck yet thanks for your help though

MasterPcWiz · Post by **MasterPcWiz** » Mon Jun 03, 2002 1:07 am

have you made sure the setup is right in the linksys setup screens ?

marvin2000 · Post by **marvin2000** » Mon Jun 03, 2002 9:05 am

can't get that far PC doesnt sense router, no light

MasterPcWiz · Post by **MasterPcWiz** » Mon Jun 03, 2002 10:12 am

it could be a bad nic card ??

marvin2000 · Post by **marvin2000** » Mon Jun 03, 2002 10:36 am

but it works with my modem fine

MasterPcWiz · Post by **MasterPcWiz** » Mon Jun 03, 2002 12:28 pm

when you bypass the router and go just to pc from cale modem dose it work

marvin2000 · Post by **marvin2000** » Mon Jun 03, 2002 1:16 pm

yes cable works great and i get a light on the NIC, its driving me crazy

MasterPcWiz · Post by **MasterPcWiz** » Mon Jun 03, 2002 1:49 pm

then your router setup is not configerd right
go though the setup step by step in the setup there is a spot DHCP put (2) there were you can tell router how many computer there are on your network if you have 2 the check 2 -(remember)- all changes in setup you must reboot puter

marvin2000 · Post by **marvin2000** » Mon Jun 03, 2002 2:32 pm

I think it maybe set for 50 but i'll check when I get home thanks

cyberskye · Post by **cyberskye** » Mon Jun 03, 2002 4:28 pm

DHCP settings will not affect the physical link - your indicator light. You can mix and match DHCP and static addresses on the same LAN - I have done this with that same router before without problems.

In general, if you have swapped cables out already (using one that you know is good) then you are left with a bad port on the router or a bad NIC. You can test this by swapping the cables between your laptop and PC (neither should use the WAN port - that is for the modem). If your laptop can still connect, then you probably have a bad NIC. If your desktop can now connect but your laptop cannot, you probably have a bad port on the switch.

Sounds like you have verified the NIC is ok - have you tried running it into a different port on the switch?

Skye

Just to clarify some previous posts in this thread...

you can't use the port next to the uplink port

You certainly can. The WAN port is the equiv of hardwired uplink port on your router. You can have all ports occupied without issues - you should use only straight-thru cables for this configuration.

marvin2000 · Post by **marvin2000** » Mon Jun 03, 2002 5:50 pm

Ok i noticed that after the PC has been off for a while and i plug the NIC into linky turn pc on I get a light, then when my optical mouse(not usb) light comes on linky's light goes off. Does this make an sense?

mccoffee · Post by **mccoffee** » Mon Jun 03, 2002 6:09 pm

what duplex you have on the nic goto my computer control panel network see if you got the nick of full dupelx and or auto try changing those around and then see what you get.

marvin2000 · Post by **marvin2000** » Mon Jun 03, 2002 6:41 pm

can't find the settings your talking about?

cyberskye · Post by **cyberskye** » Mon Jun 03, 2002 7:11 pm

In W98 I think that you have to run "winipcfg" from a command prompt - but I could be wrong. It has been a while.

Skye

mccoffee · Post by **mccoffee** » Mon Jun 03, 2002 8:13 pm

right here 1. Right click My Computer - properties - device manager, click the + beside Network Adapters and choose your NIC from the list. Right click on it and select properties - advanced tab, look for a setting called "duplex mode","link speed" or "media type" highlight it and change the value on the right to "10baseT", "10mbs half duplex" or "10mbs" - NOT FULL DUPLEX MODE, then select OK.

marvin2000 · Post by **marvin2000** » Mon Jun 03, 2002 9:55 pm

theres no advanced tab

MasterPcWiz · Post by **MasterPcWiz** » Mon Jun 03, 2002 9:59 pm

have you updated the firmware .in the router setup there is a adv. option should be a red tab at the end in router setup i still think it has to do with settings not right

cyberskye · Post by **cyberskye** » Tue Jun 04, 2002 12:09 pm

have you updated the firmware .in the router setup there is a adv. option should be a red tab at the end in router setup i still think it has to do with settings not right

Sorry, but the link LED not lighting on his NIC really can't have anything to do with this router's configuration. Where do you set the duplex mode or turn ports on or off in the router config? You are comparing two different layers.

Skye

marvin2000 · Post by **marvin2000** » Tue Jun 04, 2002 1:17 pm

like i said it comes on then goes off when optical mouse intiates during startup very weird I want to try to set up mouse usb maybe this will work but i only get light after computers been off for a while

Scott · Post by **Scott** » Tue Jun 04, 2002 1:55 pm

Seems to me if your computer works directly with the modem, bypassing the router, then you have established that the NIC is fine and the CAT-5 cable should be fine, provided it is a straight-thru cable. So I am wondering about a few things...

1. Does your ISP use a dynamic IP system or static IP system? I ask this to make sure you are not using a public IP address on the computer while it is behind the router, you should definitely be using a private static address or DHCP, or combination of the two, that router supports it just fine.

2. Since the laptop works just fine behind the router, have you tried plugging the laptop into every LAN port on the router? This would tell you if you had a bad port on the router or not.. if it works on all ports, router is fine, if not then you know which port is bad.

3. Have you compared the network settings between the laptop and the desktop computer? They should be the same, with the exception of computer name, provided you are using DHCP from the router. If you are assigning private static addresses, of course the IP address would differ slightly, one would be 192.168.1.20, the other would be 192.168.1.21, for example. Check the router install guide, I think that router uses a specific range for static IP addresses. Just DO NOT use 192.168.1.1 for any of the computers, that address belongs to the router.

4. If you are using DHCP, you can leave the default settings alone on the router. This should start the addressing at 192.168.1.100.

5. How about posting some info from the winipcfg outputs so we can see how you are set-up? Some info from the router set-up pages would be helpful also, just do not post your IP address on here.

Scott · Post by **Scott** » Tue Jun 04, 2002 2:06 pm

Also, to clarify a little more..
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skye

Just to clarify some previous posts in this thread...

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
you can't use the port next to the uplink port
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You certainly can. The WAN port is the equiv of hardwired uplink port on your router. You can have all ports occupied without issues - you should use only straight-thru cables for this configuration
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can only use the port next to the uplink port if you are NOT using the uplink port. Port 1 and the UPLINK port have shared internal wiring.

So, unless you are connecting another device with the UPLINK port, you should be able to use the port next to it just fine.

In fact, with only two computers, you should not have anything in the UPLINK port.

cyberskye · Post by **cyberskye** » Tue Jun 04, 2002 11:40 pm

In fact, with only two computers, you should not have anything in the UPLINK port

Yes he should - the cable modem

The "uplink port" on this router is the WAN port. All ports on the Linky can be used at the same time (WAN + all 4 LAN ports). If he were using a straight switch (not a switch/router combo) uplinked to the router then you are correct in that the uplink will consume two ports on the switch. In this case it is a non-issue.

W98 has very few diagnostic tools that are worth anything. That makes troubleshooting issues like this rather difficult.

Try comparing the IRQ for your mouse and your NIC. You may want to move your NIC to a free IRQ. Not sure that will fix your problem but may be worth a shot.

skye

reader · Post by **reader** » Wed Jun 05, 2002 5:53 am

CyberSkye, what WERE you thinking??!!?? ;-)

There is already a WAN port on the BEFSR41 that takes the cable modem connection. The Uplink port is at the other end.

I have been (painfully) following this thread.

Marvin2000, it's time to start over with this project. There is a possibility you have a defective router.

At this point, it's impossible to tell what you may have "tweaked" in your network/router settings. That's why I suggest you just wipe it all clean and start over again.

1. Update the firmware. There's something very ODD here if you do not see the "Advanced" tab. No, you don't NEED it to do the setup, but it should be THERE. Just download the firmware and follow the directions. I guess you'll have to use the laptop for this. It will wipe out all previous settings, but that's exactly what you want to do at this point.

http://www.linksys.com/download/default.asp

2. Uninstall the network, then reboot and reinstall the network on each machine. See if you can link the two computers together with a turnaround cable and make a network connection between them. ONE unique network/workgroup name...TWO unique computer names. If you can, when you are asked if you want to create a NETSETUP.EXE disk, do it. Use the disk to configure the other computer. (I can't remember if 98SE does this.)

Once you can get a network NOT connected to the internet, we know the two machines and NICs can communicate with the settings. Switch off the machines and disconnect the turnaround cable...carefully putting it out of reach for the next sequence. You don't need it anymore...you don't WANT it anymore. (Return it to Home Depot or wherever you got it, later!)

Connect your cable modem to the router WAN port and plug your machines into switchports 1 and 2 using straight-thru cables.

3. With just two computers, you should be able to run with the Linky's default settings...making sure you choose DHCP to manage your addresses.

4. Follow the quick setup guide for the Linksys. I think only one computer is on when you do the initial setup, then you turn on the second box and use the browser to configure the second one. All you are really looking to do is:

a.) From the (default) SETUP TAB -- Enter your MAC address (it should already be there as 192.168.1.1 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 NOTE: You don't have to list your HOST NAME or DOMAIN NAME for most services. Leave that blank.

b.) Enter your username and password and select your type of service

c.) Click on "Apply" and wait for the "successful" message, then click on the DHCP tab.

d.) The latest firmware upgrade has the DNS settings on the DHCP page. You enter your DNS server addresses there after you select "Enable" for DHCP Server. The address range should already show it begins at 192.168.1.100

Even though you only have two computers, it's fine to leave it at "50"

marvin2000 · Post by **marvin2000** » Wed Jun 05, 2002 6:59 am

it still doesnt show my pc connected with a light on the router

marvin2000 · Post by **marvin2000** » Wed Jun 05, 2002 11:25 am

OK i changed the settings in advanced for my NIC I get all lights but the middle one the FULL/COL any ideas?

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Wed Jun 05, 2002 2:19 pm

Two computers, you say the laptop works fine, but your PC doesn't...when connected to the router. But the PC works fine when connected right to the modem.

By chance, why type of NIC do you have in your PC? It really does sound like a compatiblity issue between your particular NIC, and the built in switch of the Linksys router.

I agree with Cyberskye in that since your router is working with the laptop, and your PC isn't getting a linklight between it's NIC and the routers switch port....you're completely wasting your time looking at various settings and firmware versions...since those have absolutely no relation to obtaining a link light. You need to connect to the switch and get a link light before you even need to worry about getting to the router. MAC assignment, DHCP settings, firmware versions, anything to do with the Web Admin page of the router have nothing to do with getting a link light.

So...back to the NIC in your PC, we know it works since you can plug it into your cable modem directly and it works. We know your laptop works in the router, so we know the router and at least the port that your laptop plugs into works....so take the patch cable that your laptop is using, leave it's router end plugged in, unplug it from the laptop, and plug that into the NIC of your PC....anything?

There are indeed some compatibility issues between hardware....believe it or not, not all NIC's work with all hubs/switches.....auto-negotiation doesn't always work. In those cases, if your NIC has good enough drivers where you can adjust various settings, try adjust those, like instead of auto-sense the speed of 10/100, try manually setting it to 10. And instead of auto-sensing duplex, etc...try manually lowering it. Often times that will solve your link problem.

If all else fails, can you get another NIC?

marvin2000 · Post by **marvin2000** » Wed Jun 05, 2002 2:41 pm

yep that what i did i changed it from auto sense to(i tried everysetting) but only a few gave me the two lights but not the middle one the FULL/COL light NIC=Kingston etherx PCI fast ethernet adapter. Thanks everyone for your help it must be a setting somewhere

cyberskye · Post by **cyberskye** » Wed Jun 05, 2002 3:27 pm

CyberSkye, what WERE you thinking??!!?? ;-)

I had that router. Daisy-chained into a nexland and then into a netopia. Never saw/used an uplink. I used the WAN port for that. Set the device to pass through. everything worked just fine.

Edit - just looked up in the doco - there is indeed a uplink port - my bad.

You can use the config I did, bit it is probably cleaner (though uses more ports) to daisychain using the uplink port.

I am just glad to be rid of that beast

Not very comcast-friendly. Of course, I no longer am at the mercy of comcast...

Apologies to Snuf!

Skye

Scott · Post by **Scott** » Thu Jun 06, 2002 7:45 am

No problem.

I have the router too, and was starting to thinking my vision was really messed up or I couldn't read or something

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Problem with linksys router

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