Linksys router troubles

mbtiru

Hello.

I currently share a cable internet subscription with another housemate using a Linksys BEFSR41 version 3.0 router. I have been using it for several months without problem.

Today, I installed the Bittorent client Utorrent and was told that I needed to forward the Utorrent port for maximum use. To this effect, I set up a static IP address and then went into my Linksys administration panel to set up port forwarding (as described on portforward.com). While trying to troubleshoot why the port forwarding was not working, I found that I had no Internet of any kind, including the ability to access the Linksys administration panel.

If I disconnect myself from the router and plug my cable modem directly into my computer, the Internet works fine. However if I connect the modem to the router, and the router to the computer, I lose all Internet access; again, including the ability to even access the router administration.

I'm not sure exactly what the last change I made before the problem occured was (sorry ), and since I can't actually check the admin panel, I can't see (or fix) what I may have done to cause the router not to work.

The steps I'm taking when connecting the router as are follows:

1) Unplug all cords from the router as well as the network cable from my computer
2) Plug in the power cord for my router
3) Connect my network cable from the back of my computer to the Internet port on my router
4) Connect the second network cable first to the back of my computer, then to port 1 on the router
5) Confirm that the "Power", "1", and "Internet" LEDs are lit
6) Attempt to access the router administration at 192.168.1.1 (default) and 192.168.2.10 (address used when it was last working)

I also tried using the Linksys EasyLink Advisor program. It greets me with a "Network setup wizard", asks me for a wireless network name (even though it's not a wireless modem...), asks me to choose my router from a list of Linksys models, then walks me through the same six steps above. Then it displays a progress bar and says it's detecting my router. This may go on for a couple of minutes before it briefly claims to configure the router, before then bringing me to a page where it says the following:

"Router Not Supported

EasyLink Advisor is designed to set up Linksys networking products.

If you have an older Linksys product or non-Linksys router, then use the installation utility that was included with the product."

Problem is, I got the router off a former housemate who left it behind after their computer got bricked. I don't have any installation software to go with it.

I guess I'm looking for a way to be able to at least be able to access the router administration so I can get it back to working. It would be wonderful if I could get port forwarding set up along the way, but that's really a secondary objective.

I'm not sure that it makes any difference, but I'm running Windows XP Home Edition with SP2 installed. I'm also running Avast! Anti-Virus and Comodo Firewall Pro, though I tried disabling those once the problems started to no effect.

Any suggestions at all would be ineffably appreciated.

brandotheninjamaster

i noticed you said that you implemented a static IP address. Have you changed your option back to "obtain ip addresses automatically?"

Ruckus

What static address did you use and what subnet mask is being used on the router and your desktop.

mbtiru

Yes, after the Internet went down originally I tried going back to the default, automatic IP selection. Sadly it didn't seem to affect anything regarding the router. Also, I made a mistake in the error the router provided, and have updated the post accordingly (if that helps any).

I used the static IP address of 192.168.2.139. The subnet mask is 255.255.255.0.

PirateJon

You can try setting your pc to a different fixed IP (192.168.2.184 or something) and connecting to the router, but that's only if you hosed the config for just your IP (the .139). You probably are going to have to nuke it from orbit.

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Linksys/Common/VisitorWrapper&c=L_Product_C2&cid=1122062340941&childpagename=US/Layout

If you are experiencing extreme problems with the Router and have tried all other
troubleshooting measures, press and hold in the Reset button for 30 seconds. This will restore
the factory defaults and clear all of the Router’s settings, such as port forwarding or a new
password.

Then redo the config. If you don't have the ISP settings, you may have to call them.

DrFrylock

It may help to disconnect all devices from power and boot them in order from the wall to the computer. So, unplug everything (don't use the power button on, e.g., a cable modem, since this just puts it in a holding pattern without causing it to reboot). Plug in the modem and let it sync up. Then, plug in the router. Then, boot the computer.

Check the router status page to make sure it's getting an IP. If you have a DSL modem, you may need to make sure your username/password for PPPoE are in there so it can authenticate.

Also, your PC and router have to be on the same subnet (1st 3 octets in the IP address). So, if your router is on 192.168.1.1, you can't have your PC on 192.168.2.139. It has to be 192.168.1.x, where 254 >= x >= 2. Avoid the 100-150 range for a static IP since that's generally where the modem will hand out DHCP addresses.

mbtiru

PirateJon wrote: »

You can try setting your pc to a different fixed IP (192.168.2.184 or something) and connecting to the router, but that's only if you hosed the config for just your IP (the .139). You probably are going to have to nuke it from orbit.

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Linksys/Common/VisitorWrapper&c=L_Product_C2&cid=1122062340941&childpagename=US/Layout

If you are experiencing extreme problems with the Router and have tried all other
troubleshooting measures, press and hold in the Reset button for 30 seconds. This will restore
the factory defaults and clear all of the Router’s settings, such as port forwarding or a new
password.

Then redo the config. If you don't have the ISP settings, you may have to call them.

Oddly, now that I'm no longer connected to the router I can't seem to use a static IP, at least not by the instructions used beforehand.

I've tried the reset button technique twice to no effect. I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong, since there seems to be no visual or aural indicators anything has happened (the power LED doesn't even go off, though I don't know if it's supposed to). I still have the same problem of not being able to even pull up the Linksys admin panel.

DrFrylock wrote: »

It may help to disconnect all devices from power and boot them in order from the wall to the computer. So, unplug everything (don't use the power button on, e.g., a cable modem, since this just puts it in a holding pattern without causing it to reboot). Plug in the modem and let it sync up. Then, plug in the router. Then, boot the computer.

No luck here either, I'm afraid.

DrFrylock wrote: »

Check the router status page to make sure it's getting an IP. If you have a DSL modem, you may need to make sure your username/password for PPPoE are in there so it can authenticate.

I'm not sure what you mean by the router status page, but if you mean accessing it via the internal IP, I can't get to that page right now.

DrFrylock wrote: »

Also, your PC and router have to be on the same subnet (1st 3 octets in the IP address). So, if your router is on 192.168.1.1, you can't have your PC on 192.168.2.139. It has to be 192.168.1.x, where 254 >= x >= 2. Avoid the 100-150 range for a static IP since that's generally where the modem will hand out DHCP addresses.

The working router IP was 192.168.2.10, but I tried 192.168.1.1 out of desperation after countless sites listed it as the default for most Linksys routers. Didn't seem to work any better than the IP I was using, though.

Thank you to everyone who has offered advice so far. I appreciate it mightily.