Im having trouble with my router.?

Question

Im having trouble with my router. Im trying to connect to the internet with a Linksys WRT54G v.5 Router. Only two computers are connecting one is a Windows Xp Home Edition and the other Xp Media Center I have a wireless card in the Home Edition so the router is connecting directly to the Media Center with a network cable. But it says "Limited or no Connectivity" when I try to connect, linksys support isn't very helpful though. Basically I want to have both computers connected to the Internet and I have been trying to fix this for 1 1/2 years. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

Member since: January 26, 2007
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It would help to know if you connect via cable or DSL, but let's see what we can do...

It sounds like your computers are talking fine to the router, and that it is a problem between the router and the modem and/or internet. Let's confirm this though. From each computer, do the following:

1) Open a command prompt by clicking Start > Run and typ cmd, then click OK or press Enter.

2) At the command prompt, type "ping 192.168.1.1" without the quotes and press enter. 192.168.1.1 is the default IP address for Linksys routers. You should see a line that reads something like "Pinging 192.168.1.1 with 32 bytes of data:", followed by 4 lines that read "Reply from 192.168.1.1 ...". If you get these for replies, then that computer is talking to the router.

3) If you get four "Destination host unreachable" messages, then that computer isn't even talking to the router. If this is the case, you might want to email me for more tests, as listing them here might get lengthy.

Assuming that you've successfully Ping'd the router from both computers, then the problem lies somewhere from the router outward to the internet. Next, let's troubleshoot the router.

From the PC that has a wired connection to the router, open Internet Explorer and in the address bar, type 192.168.1.1 and press Enter. This should open up a login window for your router. Assuming you haven't changed the username or password, leave the username field blank and enter a password of "admin" minus the quotes. If this doesn't work, try "admin" as the username and "password" for the password, or "admin" for both fields. Once you get into the router, you need to verify a few settings. Here's where it matters what type of broadband you're using.

As soon as you're logged into the Linksys router application, look for a Status button and click it to see if the router is getting an IP address from the modem. The router's IP address should be listed under the heading "Internet IP Address", and it can be just about anything, but it will be formatted similar to the one I mentioned above. 192.168.1.1 is a private IP address for your router, but it will also have an Internet IP Address--one that is seen by the rest of the Internet. Mine, for example, is 71.190.45.220. If you see all zeros (as in 0.0.0.0), then your router isn't getting any information from the modem. Look for and press the DHCP Release button, followed by DHCP Renew. Ideally, your router info will be populated with new IP addresses from the modem.

If you're still not getting an IP Address, then let's check the settings for your high-speed connection. Look through the buttons at the top of the window for either "Setup" or "Configuration". Specifically, I'm looking for a field marked "Internet Connection Type". If you're connecting via cable, then the type should be set to "DHCP" or "Automatic" or something similar. If you're connecting via DSL, then the type should be set to PPPOE. The DHCP/Automatic connection for cable requires no username and password. If you have PPPOE, you'll have to enter the username and password provided by your ISP. Check these to verify that the Internet Connection Type matches your actual connection type. Enter the correct username & password if your connection type is PPPOE.

Once you have verified these settings, go back to where you found the "Status" field/tab and click the DHCP Release and DHCP Renew buttons again. Check to see if you're getting IP Addresses yet.

If you're STILL not getting any Internet connection, then my guess is the problem is with your modem and/or its settings. Here's where it gets even trickier. At this point, I would disconnect the router from the modem, and connect your PC directly into the modem. Try connecting to the Internet that way. If you can connect at this point, then I'd say there are some settings inside your modem that you need to change. The most likely scenario is that you have a PPPOE connection, and that the settings are stored inside the modem. The best thing to do if you have a DSL modem and a router, is to use the modem simply as a "bridge"--to pass the internet connection through on to the router, and let the router handle your login information. It's possible that your modem stores your username and password, and because your router may also be trying to store your DSL username and password, a conflict occurs.

You might want to print out these steps, and try them first. If anything along the way solves your problem, please let us know. If, after trying these steps, you still don't have an Internet connection, let me know and we can figure out what to try next.

You also might want to contact your ISP if these steps don't work. Linksys won't be able to help, especially if your 2 PCs are talking to the router and the problem is somewhere in the modem. It used to be that ISPs wouldn't offer any help if you use a router, but that seems to have changed. I guess they figured out that many, many people have more than one PC at home and are using a router.

Good luck!

Answer 2

It would help to know if you connect via cable or DSL, but let's see what we can do...

It sounds like your computers are talking fine to the router, and that it is a problem between the router and the modem and/or internet. Let's confirm this though. From each computer, do the following:

1) Open a command prompt by clicking Start > Run and typ cmd, then click OK or press Enter.

2) At the command prompt, type "ping 192.168.1.1" without the quotes and press enter. 192.168.1.1 is the default IP address for Linksys routers. You should see a line that reads something like "Pinging 192.168.1.1 with 32 bytes of data:", followed by 4 lines that read "Reply from 192.168.1.1 ...". If you get these for replies, then that computer is talking to the router.

3) If you get four "Destination host unreachable" messages, then that computer isn't even talking to the router. If this is the case, you might want to email me for more tests, as listing them here might get lengthy.

Assuming that you've successfully Ping'd the router from both computers, then the problem lies somewhere from the router outward to the internet. Next, let's troubleshoot the router.

From the PC that has a wired connection to the router, open Internet Explorer and in the address bar, type 192.168.1.1 and press Enter. This should open up a login window for your router. Assuming you haven't changed the username or password, leave the username field blank and enter a password of "admin" minus the quotes. If this doesn't work, try "admin" as the username and "password" for the password, or "admin" for both fields. Once you get into the router, you need to verify a few settings. Here's where it matters what type of broadband you're using.

As soon as you're logged into the Linksys router application, look for a Status button and click it to see if the router is getting an IP address from the modem. The router's IP address should be listed under the heading "Internet IP Address", and it can be just about anything, but it will be formatted similar to the one I mentioned above. 192.168.1.1 is a private IP address for your router, but it will also have an Internet IP Address--one that is seen by the rest of the Internet. Mine, for example, is 71.190.45.220. If you see all zeros (as in 0.0.0.0), then your router isn't getting any information from the modem. Look for and press the DHCP Release button, followed by DHCP Renew. Ideally, your router info will be populated with new IP addresses from the modem.

If you're still not getting an IP Address, then let's check the settings for your high-speed connection. Look through the buttons at the top of the window for either "Setup" or "Configuration". Specifically, I'm looking for a field marked "Internet Connection Type". If you're connecting via cable, then the type should be set to "DHCP" or "Automatic" or something similar. If you're connecting via DSL, then the type should be set to PPPOE. The DHCP/Automatic connection for cable requires no username and password. If you have PPPOE, you'll have to enter the username and password provided by your ISP. Check these to verify that the Internet Connection Type matches your actual connection type. Enter the correct username & password if your connection type is PPPOE.

Once you have verified these settings, go back to where you found the "Status" field/tab and click the DHCP Release and DHCP Renew buttons again. Check to see if you're getting IP Addresses yet.

If you're STILL not getting any Internet connection, then my guess is the problem is with your modem and/or its settings. Here's where it gets even trickier. At this point, I would disconnect the router from the modem, and connect your PC directly into the modem. Try connecting to the Internet that way. If you can connect at this point, then I'd say there are some settings inside your modem that you need to change. The most likely scenario is that you have a PPPOE connection, and that the settings are stored inside the modem. The best thing to do if you have a DSL modem and a router, is to use the modem simply as a "bridge"--to pass the internet connection through on to the router, and let the router handle your login information. It's possible that your modem stores your username and password, and because your router may also be trying to store your DSL username and password, a conflict occurs.

You might want to print out these steps, and try them first. If anything along the way solves your problem, please let us know. If, after trying these steps, you still don't have an Internet connection, let me know and we can figure out what to try next.

You also might want to contact your ISP if these steps don't work. Linksys won't be able to help, especially if your 2 PCs are talking to the router and the problem is somewhere in the modem. It used to be that ISPs wouldn't offer any help if you use a router, but that seems to have changed. I guess they figured out that many, many people have more than one PC at home and are using a router.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Try manually set the ip addresses for your computer, gateway and DNS.