Computer Router question.

keithdog · 11-30-10, 06:56 PM

I know about as much about computers as the Cubs know about winning the World Series.

So here is the question. We just bought our first wireless router about a month back. We had a guy hook it up who is very knowlegable about such things as were not. We bought a Linksys E3000 Dual Band 2.4 & 5 GHz. Got it up and running and all was fine at first. The only items it is running is the X Box system and my sons laptop. The problem is that we often will loose internet connection for no apparant reason. Tonight I got home, son is playing his xbox in his bedroom on line and I switched user on my main computer. As soon as I did, the xbox lost it's internet connection. Not sure if there is a conection there but it seemed suspicious to me. Anyways, a guy I work with is like a computer guru. He told me the first thing we did wrong was buying a router made by Linksys. He said that consumer reports put them at the bottom in reliabilty and customer satisfaction. And he told me before he bought his router, he checked out some computer forums online and found everyone complaining about thier Linksys routers because they were also loosing internet connection. He said he has a Netgear router and it has never lost connection with the internet. He recommends returning ours in exchange for a Netgear model. I know there are some pretty savy computer guys in here so I thought I would run this by you guys and see what you think about all this? Thanks for any suggestions or comments!!!

MallenManson · 11-30-10, 07:17 PM

Not much real help here Keith, but I do have a netgear router and don't have any problems with it

MississippiBoy · 11-30-10, 07:21 PM

We have a Linksys wireless router that was given to us by some friends. I haven't had any problems out of it once I got it set up, which was maybe 6-8 months ago.
I tell you all that just to say I have no idea, but I learned that you can go here for FAQ's and support. You can even click on the Live Chat button on the right to chat online with a consumer support tech. Your unit is still under warranty, so this should be free for you. They were going to make me pay for chat support when I was trying to set mine up since it was out of warranty when our friends gave it to us. You'll need some numbers off of your unit to tell the tech, so have it where you can see them.
Good luck...you don't have to know exactly what you're doing, just follow instructions exactly and you'll be fine.

keithdog · 11-30-10, 07:39 PM

Thanks MB for the info

66KingFisher · 11-30-10, 08:48 PM

For what its worth, I also have a Linksys router that was given to me by my fishin buddy Ron....He is a computer programer that works from home....He rely's on being connected to the internet at all times for his work, and all his equipment is Linksys, and he highly recommended them to me....I've had no issues from the unit he gave me over the past 18 months or so.

I don't know if Linksys his quality control issues or not, but they have always been a major player in that marketplace.....I dunno.....I hope you get you issues worked out.

Tavery5 · 11-30-10, 09:34 PM

Keith, computers were a big part of my life in the past, I owned my own network consulting business and have a MCSE and an MCSA, I am also a Novell certified systems administrator. While I have not kept these certifications current, I do have some experience in this area. I would ask you to verify one thing before deciding that it is in fact your router that is causing the problem.

If your system is a cable modem based system, make sure that your modem is not dropping the connection. A router is kinda like a switchboard, moving info from address to address, your modem is what actually negoiates and holds the connection with your ISP. IMHO the Netgear vs Linksys debate is allot like the Shimano vs Abu debate, they both have their merits.

Kevin · 11-30-10, 10:01 PM

Keith... sounds like an IP conflict. I'm assuming your router is set to automatically assign IP addresses to each machine (unless you've specifically setup a static IP for one or more of your machines... which is generally not the case for home users).

Basically your router is assigning the same IP address to two machines on your network. Since there can only be one machine with a particular IP address, one of the machines/computers will drop the connection (until you either renew it's IP lease or restart the router).

So here is the likely cause of your IP conflict:
Most of the time that stuff happens because of computers going in and out of hibernate or sleep modes. When a PC hibernates/sleeps, often a router will see it as going 'offline' and will release that IP address and make it available. Then your son gets on his XBOX and the router assigns the xbox that IP address it just released from your PC. Then you go to get back on your PC, and your PC doesn't know any different since waking up and since the router doesn't recognize it, it won't be connected to the network.

Solution:
Couple things... easiest way on PC is to go to 'START'->'Run..." and type cmd
Then type in one of the following:
ipconfig /renew
- or -
ipconfig /flushdns

Usually one of these will work.

On a mac you just go to system preferences and 'Network' and then click on 'DHCP' tab and click 'renew IP lease'.

A lot of these IP Conflit problems are caused by mobile devices using the network (ie. cell phones, iPads, netbooks, laptops, etc).

Some cheapo or old routers only are capable of handing out a set amount of IP's... but a good one will allow much more without stumbling.

I have seen this very thing happen with one brand router and swapped in a newer model and all worked fine.

I may be way off... but this is my guess.

MallenManson · 11-30-10, 10:07 PM

Sounds logical, Kevin. I'll have to keep that in mind for any possible issues myself.
My laptop, my renter's laptop and my nephews next door all run off my router.
No problems currently but you never know.

Abbeysdad · 12-01-10, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keithdog

The only items it is running is the X Box system and my sons laptop. The problem is that we often will loose internet connection for no apparant reason. Tonight I got home, son is playing his xbox in his bedroom on line and I switched user on my main computer. As soon as I did, the xbox lost it's internet connection.

You may need to re-examine how your home network is setup - it sounds like just maybe, you're set so that your internet connetion is through your main computer - when you switched users (logged off) internet connections were lost.
....just a thought.

keithdog · 12-01-10, 12:27 AM

Hey guys, thanks a ton for all this usefull info. It sounds like I have a few things to check out thanks to you all. I'm going to show this to my son and have him read this all too as I'm unfamiliar with some of what your telling me. I don't know what an IP or ISp is, lol. But I do know a few things, enough that with my son we should be able to get it figured out. The internet to the main computor is never lost. It's only the xbox and laptop that loose connection. And it's not all the time, just a couple times a day usually, although it happened a half dozen times last night. That was unusual though. Anyways, thanks again!!!

cassidyta · 12-01-10, 11:48 AM

Everyone here has pretty much nailed it. I suspect that Kevin might be the closest to the answer with an IP conflict.
Are any of the devices on your network new since the router was installed?
We can also try to set up the xbox and primary computers to having a reserved IP. This means that they system will only give out a specific IP to a specific device.

nmanley · 12-01-10, 11:51 AM

Kevin's got it right but I went from Linksys to Netgear 3700 dual band and couldn't be happier.

keithdog · 12-01-10, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cassidyta

Everyone here has pretty much nailed it. I suspect that Kevin might be the closest to the answer with an IP conflict.
Are any of the devices on your network new since the router was installed?
We can also try to set up the xbox and primary computers to having a reserved IP. This means that they system will only give out a specific IP to a specific device.

The router is the latest addition. Nothings been added since then.

carolina-rig-01 · 12-02-10, 02:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keithdog

I know about as much about computers as the Cubs know about winning the World Series.

No help here but as a life long die hard Cardinals fan I just had to let you know that I thought this was down right funny

keithdog · 12-02-10, 07:50 AM

HAHAHAHA, well C Rig, not sure if you remember but I'm a life long Cards fan too, lol. LOVE to poke at the Cubs, hahaha

carolina-rig-01 · 12-02-10, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keithdog

HAHAHAHA, well C Rig, not sure if you remember but I'm a life long Cards fan too, lol. LOVE to poke at the Cubs, hahaha

Same here, I hate the Cubbies.

doc · 12-02-10, 11:15 AM

IT adminstrator here,

Basically kevin nailed it, Ip address conflict, that router should handle a handfull of devices no problem my guess would be that either the PC or the Xbox is set to have a static ip address, the router is then assigning the first available ip address to your other device which just happens to match the static ip address. (just a guess, but from my experience that is your problem)

Solution.

Either assign the other device the next available static ip

or remove the static ip in the device and enable dhcp, wich will cause your router to assign that device another ip address so it will not conflict with any other device.

If the problem is 1 device is set to a static ip, replacing the router will not be a sure fire fix.

cassidyta · 12-02-10, 12:52 PM

The only other thought that I have would be if your neighbors are using your wireless. I have seen this in my neck of the woods where 1/10th of an acre is a big yard. You may want to check and see what devices the router shows connected.

Tavery5 · 12-02-10, 02:30 PM

Keith, this all may sound complicated but it is actually easy once you start. There is an easy way to tell if you are using a static ip address (one that is manually input during setup) or using DHCP this uses the router to assign the ip address on the fly. If you go to START and then select RUN, you should get a small box for your input, in this box type COMMAND. This will open a window and give you a DOS prompt. Type IPCONFIG /ALL. This should give you a screen full of information, look through that info and you will see a heading that says DHCP ENABLE , it will either say yes or no.
If this is set to NO, we will then need to help you do one of two things, either set your computer to use DHCP, or configure your router to reserve the Static IP. If it says YES, perform this same action on your sons laptop. If these are both OK, we will need to look at the XBOX and make sure it is set to obtain its IP address automatically as well. These steps should resolve any IP address conflicts that may be occuring.

11-30-10, 06:56 PM	#1
keithdog BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: IN Posts: 8,308	Computer Router question. I know about as much about computers as the Cubs know about winning the World Series. So here is the question. We just bought our first wireless router about a month back. We had a guy hook it up who is very knowlegable about such things as were not. We bought a Linksys E3000 Dual Band 2.4 & 5 GHz. Got it up and running and all was fine at first. The only items it is running is the X Box system and my sons laptop. The problem is that we often will loose internet connection for no apparant reason. Tonight I got home, son is playing his xbox in his bedroom on line and I switched user on my main computer. As soon as I did, the xbox lost it's internet connection. Not sure if there is a conection there but it seemed suspicious to me. Anyways, a guy I work with is like a computer guru. He told me the first thing we did wrong was buying a router made by Linksys. He said that consumer reports put them at the bottom in reliabilty and customer satisfaction. And he told me before he bought his router, he checked out some computer forums online and found everyone complaining about thier Linksys routers because they were also loosing internet connection. He said he has a Netgear router and it has never lost connection with the internet. He recommends returning ours in exchange for a Netgear model. I know there are some pretty savy computer guys in here so I thought I would run this by you guys and see what you think about all this? Thanks for any suggestions or comments!!!

11-30-10, 07:17 PM	#2
MallenManson BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Beulah, Michigan Posts: 6,431	Not much real help here Keith, but I do have a netgear router and don't have any problems with it __________________ Bass fear me. Women pepperspray me.....

11-30-10, 07:21 PM	#3
MississippiBoy BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: May 2007 Location: Ridgeland MS Posts: 3,923	We have a Linksys wireless router that was given to us by some friends. I haven't had any problems out of it once I got it set up, which was maybe 6-8 months ago. I tell you all that just to say I have no idea, but I learned that you can go here for FAQ's and support. You can even click on the Live Chat button on the right to chat online with a consumer support tech. Your unit is still under warranty, so this should be free for you. They were going to make me pay for chat support when I was trying to set mine up since it was out of warranty when our friends gave it to us. You'll need some numbers off of your unit to tell the tech, so have it where you can see them. Good luck...you don't have to know exactly what you're doing, just follow instructions exactly and you'll be fine. __________________ I smell smoke, and I hear sirens. Do you think that's a problem?

11-30-10, 08:48 PM	#5
66KingFisher BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Mena,Arkansas Posts: 1,327	For what its worth, I also have a Linksys router that was given to me by my fishin buddy Ron....He is a computer programer that works from home....He rely's on being connected to the internet at all times for his work, and all his equipment is Linksys, and he highly recommended them to me....I've had no issues from the unit he gave me over the past 18 months or so. I don't know if Linksys his quality control issues or not, but they have always been a major player in that marketplace.....I dunno.....I hope you get you issues worked out. __________________ In memory of lost fishin buddy's, Ricky Shealy, Keith Hale, Zooker Dickerson.

11-30-10, 10:01 PM	#7
Kevin Administrator Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 651	Keith... sounds like an IP conflict. I'm assuming your router is set to automatically assign IP addresses to each machine (unless you've specifically setup a static IP for one or more of your machines... which is generally not the case for home users). Basically your router is assigning the same IP address to two machines on your network. Since there can only be one machine with a particular IP address, one of the machines/computers will drop the connection (until you either renew it's IP lease or restart the router). So here is the likely cause of your IP conflict: Most of the time that stuff happens because of computers going in and out of hibernate or sleep modes. When a PC hibernates/sleeps, often a router will see it as going 'offline' and will release that IP address and make it available. Then your son gets on his XBOX and the router assigns the xbox that IP address it just released from your PC. Then you go to get back on your PC, and your PC doesn't know any different since waking up and since the router doesn't recognize it, it won't be connected to the network. Solution: Couple things... easiest way on PC is to go to 'START'->'Run..." and type cmd Then type in one of the following: ipconfig /renew - or - ipconfig /flushdns Usually one of these will work. On a mac you just go to system preferences and 'Network' and then click on 'DHCP' tab and click 'renew IP lease'. A lot of these IP Conflit problems are caused by mobile devices using the network (ie. cell phones, iPads, netbooks, laptops, etc). Some cheapo or old routers only are capable of handing out a set amount of IP's... but a good one will allow much more without stumbling. I have seen this very thing happen with one brand router and swapped in a newer model and all worked fine. I may be way off... but this is my guess. __________________ Kevin Scarselli

11-30-10, 07:39 PM	#4
keithdog BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: IN Posts: 8,308	Thanks MB for the info

11-30-10, 09:34 PM	#6
Tavery5 BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Wichita, KS Posts: 2,427	Keith, computers were a big part of my life in the past, I owned my own network consulting business and have a MCSE and an MCSA, I am also a Novell certified systems administrator. While I have not kept these certifications current, I do have some experience in this area. I would ask you to verify one thing before deciding that it is in fact your router that is causing the problem. If your system is a cable modem based system, make sure that your modem is not dropping the connection. A router is kinda like a switchboard, moving info from address to address, your modem is what actually negoiates and holds the connection with your ISP. IMHO the Netgear vs Linksys debate is allot like the Shimano vs Abu debate, they both have their merits.

11-30-10, 10:07 PM	#8
MallenManson BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Beulah, Michigan Posts: 6,431	Sounds logical, Kevin. I'll have to keep that in mind for any possible issues myself. My laptop, my renter's laptop and my nephews next door all run off my router. No problems currently but you never know. __________________ Bass fear me. Women pepperspray me.....

12-01-10, 12:27 AM	#10
keithdog BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: IN Posts: 8,308	Hey guys, thanks a ton for all this usefull info. It sounds like I have a few things to check out thanks to you all. I'm going to show this to my son and have him read this all too as I'm unfamiliar with some of what your telling me. I don't know what an IP or ISp is, lol. But I do know a few things, enough that with my son we should be able to get it figured out. The internet to the main computor is never lost. It's only the xbox and laptop that loose connection. And it's not all the time, just a couple times a day usually, although it happened a half dozen times last night. That was unusual though. Anyways, thanks again!!!

12-01-10, 11:48 AM	#11
cassidyta BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 2,928	Everyone here has pretty much nailed it. I suspect that Kevin might be the closest to the answer with an IP conflict. Are any of the devices on your network new since the router was installed? We can also try to set up the xbox and primary computers to having a reserved IP. This means that they system will only give out a specific IP to a specific device. __________________ If you have ever wondered if you should retie, the answer is yes.

12-01-10, 11:51 AM	#12
nmanley BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Daleville, AL Posts: 265	Kevin's got it right but I went from Linksys to Netgear 3700 dual band and couldn't be happier. __________________ 2015 Triton 18 TRX, Evinrude 200HP

12-02-10, 07:50 AM	#15
keithdog BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: IN Posts: 8,308	HAHAHAHA, well C Rig, not sure if you remember but I'm a life long Cards fan too, lol. LOVE to poke at the Cubs, hahaha

12-02-10, 11:15 AM	#17
doc BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,134	IT adminstrator here, Basically kevin nailed it, Ip address conflict, that router should handle a handfull of devices no problem my guess would be that either the PC or the Xbox is set to have a static ip address, the router is then assigning the first available ip address to your other device which just happens to match the static ip address. (just a guess, but from my experience that is your problem) Solution. Either assign the other device the next available static ip or remove the static ip in the device and enable dhcp, wich will cause your router to assign that device another ip address so it will not conflict with any other device. If the problem is 1 device is set to a static ip, replacing the router will not be a sure fire fix.

12-02-10, 12:52 PM	#18
cassidyta BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 2,928	The only other thought that I have would be if your neighbors are using your wireless. I have seen this in my neck of the woods where 1/10th of an acre is a big yard. You may want to check and see what devices the router shows connected. __________________ If you have ever wondered if you should retie, the answer is yes.

12-02-10, 02:30 PM	#19
Tavery5 BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Wichita, KS Posts: 2,427	Keith, this all may sound complicated but it is actually easy once you start. There is an easy way to tell if you are using a static ip address (one that is manually input during setup) or using DHCP this uses the router to assign the ip address on the fly. If you go to START and then select RUN, you should get a small box for your input, in this box type COMMAND. This will open a window and give you a DOS prompt. Type IPCONFIG /ALL. This should give you a screen full of information, look through that info and you will see a heading that says DHCP ENABLE , it will either say yes or no. If this is set to NO, we will then need to help you do one of two things, either set your computer to use DHCP, or configure your router to reserve the Static IP. If it says YES, perform this same action on your sons laptop. If these are both OK, we will need to look at the XBOX and make sure it is set to obtain its IP address automatically as well. These steps should resolve any IP address conflicts that may be occuring.

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