Get LAN working again!

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BevanChu

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#73564 15-Dec-2010 23:43

LAN is not my strong point so bear with me. I have a wireless router and I want to set this up. I've done this before but this was like a few years ago and now I can't remember. What happened is that whenever I connected to the router, connection kept disconnecting and reconnecting and the wireless didn't work at all. At the moment my modem is connected directly to my PC. Can someone help me with this problem

Thanks

timmmay

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#418015 16-Dec-2010 10:41

Most wireless routers are also wired switches. Step one is to get it working as a switch.

Before we can give really good advice please tell us:
- The broadband service (eg ADSL from Xtra)
- The modem brand and model
- The wireless router brand and model
- The OS

The general steps are to get the router working as a wired router, then setting up wireless. The devil's in the details, but it's generally pretty easy unless something's faulty, much easier than 5 years ago anyway.

BevanChu

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#418305 16-Dec-2010 23:17

timmmay: Most wireless routers are also wired switches. Step one is to get it working as a switch.

Before we can give really good advice please tell us:
- The broadband service (eg ADSL from Xtra)
- The modem brand and model
- The wireless router brand and model
- The OS

The general steps are to get the router working as a wired router, then setting up wireless. The devil's in the details, but it's generally pretty easy unless something's faulty, much easier than 5 years ago anyway.

Currently my server is xNet and I have Windows 7. I have a
Vodafone SmartAX MT882 ADSL2+ Modem
and

Asus WL-520GC Wireless Router

timmmay

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#418343 17-Dec-2010 08:15

It should be pretty easy. Plug the wireless router into the modem, plug the computer into the wireless router, and make sure it works over wires. If it does use the web browser based setup menu of the router to configure wireless.

That router can take dd-wrt, so if the software is crap you can always replace the firmware.

webwat

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#418459 17-Dec-2010 11:41

You said the modem keeps disconnecting... Is it dropping the ADSL connection? Have you tested that its not caused by broken/missing filters etc?

Or is it losing the wireless connection only? If it works fine with wired connections then you might need to move the wireless to a more central point and run a longer cable from there to the modem.

Time to find a new industry!

BevanChu

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#419482 20-Dec-2010 15:49

timmmay: It should be pretty easy. Plug the wireless router into the modem, plug the computer into the wireless router, and make sure it works over wires. If it does use the web browser based setup menu of the router to configure wireless.

That router can take dd-wrt, so if the software is crap you can always replace the firmware.

I finally got the router wired up with connection, now I have problem with my wireless connection.

And also can you tell what is the best solution for me to get a LAN connection from the router to another two rooms down?

timmmay

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#419521 20-Dec-2010 16:32

It's a bit hard to help with so little information. Please describe your problem, what you've done, etc.

Generally you put the router beside the modem, then run a cable to anything in reach. Anything else runs off wireless.

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BevanChu

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#419558 20-Dec-2010 17:16

timmmay: It's a bit hard to help with so little information. Please describe your problem, what you've done, etc.

Generally you put the router beside the modem, then run a cable to anything in reach. Anything else runs off wireless.

I just connected my modem to the router but interestingly in one of the LAN slots; not WAN. Then off another LAN slot, cable into the desktop. I changed my IP address from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.254 and set a password on the http link.

On my laptop, I found a wireless connection and the name of this is default. I don't recall having default as the name so I don't know if it is a neighbours or if its mine. I tried my password(s) to connect and no luck. At the moment, I am assuming that this is a neighbours but that means wireless is not detecting. That's the situation at the moment.

timmmay

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#419606 20-Dec-2010 18:32

The router can probably route wherever you put the cables, but i'd probably plug the modem into port that's by itself.

I'd turn on DCHP on your PC, at least to start with. That will at least confirm it's working as a switch.

Once that's done (undo it if it stuffs anything) go to a dos prompt and type

tracert 8.8.8.8

The first line will have the IP of your router, it's probably "192.168.1.1" (no quotes). Type that into your web browser then you can start configuring the router. Name the router if it gives you the option, just because you can. Go into the wireless section and give the wireless access point a unique name, and leave SSID broadcast turned on to start with. Go into wireless security and turn on "WPA2 personal", and give it a pass phrase that's easy enough to remember but not obvious. If you lose it you can reset it easily. You'll probably have to hit save/apply after each screen. which can take a minute or so.

Once that's done put the laptop near the wireless router, or within range. See if the name turns up, and if so type in your pass phrase.

You can turn off SSID broadcast if you like, but there's no real gain if you have WPA2 turned on, no-one can use your internet without the password anyway. With my iPod once you've connected once it can reconnect again even if SSID broadcast is turned off.

If that doesn't work let me know what step you get up to, and what problem you have.

BevanChu

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#419623 20-Dec-2010 18:57

timmmay: If that doesn't work let me know what step you get up to, and what problem you have.

I've managed to do everything and my laptop is connected to the router but my problem is no internet

timmmay

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#419627 20-Dec-2010 19:03

Do you have internet on the main PC? Can you ping your PC from your laptop or vice versa?

I'd try plugging the modem into the WAN port.

BevanChu

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#419646 20-Dec-2010 19:38

timmmay: Do you have internet on the main PC? Can you ping your PC from your laptop or vice versa?

I'd try plugging the modem into the WAN port.

I did have internet on my main PC. But I tried plugging the modem into WAN: that didn't work and when I tried plugging modem back into one of the LAN's, that didn't work.

I do remember that when connecting to the http://192... , it said that it was disconnected because of the cable but since there was internet at the time, I ignored it. When I did that troubleshooting problems on Network and Sharing Center, this came up "The connection between your access point, router, in cable modem and the Internet is broken

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timmmay

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#419659 20-Dec-2010 19:59

So, ignoring wireless for a minute, can you can the internet working with the modem plugged into the switch on the wireless router? If so can you get to the web gui for the router?

BevanChu

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#419667 20-Dec-2010 20:14

timmmay: So, ignoring wireless for a minute, can you can the internet working with the modem plugged into the switch on the wireless router? If so can you get to the web gui for the router?

timmmay

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#419683 20-Dec-2010 20:39

Ok I think you need someone who understands networking to install it for you. It's not hard but you need to understand the basics of networking to get this working.

freitasm

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#419730 20-Dec-2010 22:33

As suggested, I'd look for someone who understands a bit more of networking and could visit and configure things for you. In the long run this would save a lot of headaches.

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