Hardware: wireless network router - Netgear WGR614v7
Wireless card adapter: SMC2635W

Well we hooked up the router so that the laptop can connect wireless whilst the PC is wired....
We followed the instructions from the installation cd and everything seemed to be in order.... The laptop picked up the internet without an issue and the PC's connection is fine too....
Here is the issue....
We loose internet connection at least 3-4 times day.... We need to reboot the computers to establish a connection again or turn off the modem, router wait for 15 seconds and then turn everything back on and we find that works too....
Please be kind as i am new to all of this.....
I either get a LIMITED OR NO CONNECTIVITY message(with excellent signal) on the laptop OR it says 'connected' with excellent signal but im still unable to connect....
The pc just wont connect. Sometimes it's 'acquiring a network address' or when i open up the internet browser it cant find the server...
I am with Bigpond ADSL...

Before i go and uninstall everything and probably do more damage what do i need to be looking at?
All hardware has the latest drivers etc... All hardware is new....

Have i confused you all?.....

Any advice would be great.... Thanks for taking the time....
Cheers!

essjay1976 writes...

Have i confused you all?....

Some maybe. Are you saying your disconnections occur at the same time with the PC as the laptop? If so, disregard the laptop and your wireless connection for the moment. When the PC 'disconnects', you need to know what this means, are you losing sync? is the router or the modem rebooting?

How long do these episodes last without rebooting? seconds, hours, permanently? What modem do you have? Do you have the same problem when you connect the modem to the PC (no router)?

Ok....

The modem is through Bigpond and its a speedstream 4200...

Sometimes id have issues before i hooked up the whole wireless thing but rebooting or just waiting would fix everything....
It seems to be after i put the Router in the equation that its become all of the time.... what happens is my partner will be on the net on the PC and i will be on the net with the laptop.... He all of a sudden he will loose connection and then so will i.... He'll have to reboot the computer but most of the time it will be a reboot of the router and the modem that fixes it.... I've always just rebooted both at the same time....
This is the only thing that will fix it... i've left it for half hour and still no luck so i go ahead and reboot the modem etc....
To answer your question about directly connecting to the modem? yes i have had issues before but not like this... usually bigponds answer was a reboot of the modem (reset) and going through all of that....
I do not know what you mean by loosing sync... sorry!!
When the pc looses connection the modem does not reboot just stays as is....
Im so confused..... im sure im confusing you too.... apologies...

Well tonight My pc was connected without an issue but my laptop with the wireless card didn't want to connect and then i had the dreaded limited or no connectivity...
The error was the server didn't assign a network address or something....
I saw the link to the limited or no connectivity problems others have had but in all honesty its all another language to me...
If some one could take the time and explain to me properly what could be going on and how i can fix it that would be great...
I know my way around the puter but new to the wireless networking and understanding servers and everything that comes with it....
Thanks in advance.... hopefully someone can help me here...

ess x

essjay1976 writes...

I do not know what you mean by loosing sync
For a start, when you loose the connection, have a look at the 'dsl' light on the 4200.
You will need to be able to tell the differnce between steady blinking and sporadic blinking.
If you turn the modem off and back on again you can watch what happens to get a feel for the different stages of the connection.

The ethernet cable from the 4200 connects to what port on the router?

Can you get to the router configuration screen?
Can you also get to the 4200's configuration screen?
Are your login username and password in the router or in the modem?

hi there.... thanks for your reply....

the modem is connected to port 1 on the router (there a 4 available 'wired' ports).
I have also tried different ports....

I have been able to get into both pages modem/router...
I do not need the username/password for the modem but need the username/password for the router page... make sense?..

It's just very strange that one minute i have a connection and then i don't....

If no one is on the pc and im on the laptop (wireless)and i loose connectivity i just restart the laptop and that fixes it... sometimes only after a few minutes it happens again or i can have a good connection like i do now and have been on the net for hours....

I thought about interference and i cant think of anything major.... cordless phone i'm certain does not work on a similar frequency and the other network in the neighborhood is on a different chanel.... I'm on 11 and they are on 6... Even using the microwave doesn't interfere... tested that one LOL!!!!...
trying not to sound dumb here but i'm thinking of everything...

Any help would be great....

thanks in advance x

essjay1976 writes...

the modem is connected to port 1 on the router (there a 4 available 'wired' ports).
I have also tried different ports....

no no no... the modem is supposed to be connected to the WAN / Internet port on The Netgear WGR614v7, not one of the 4 LAN port..

leave the username/password on the modem, it will connect to the internet on your behalf and then connect to your Netgear.

Your Netgear should be setup to act as DHCP server and both your Laptop and PC should be getting their ip from the Netgear DHCP.

ATM both the netgear and your modem are serving the same role and might get the LAN very confused..

hopes this helps

essjay1976 writes...

the modem is connected to port 1 on the router
The problem is most likely that you have two DHCP servers operating on your LAN.
If you have a look at /forum-replies.cfm?t=933757
Your setup is closest to WAN bypass mode, so you could follow that thread - in which you will disable the DHCP server in the Netgear router.

You could also have a look at bridge mode - but there would be a little more configuration to do.

[edit]
I believe if you follow what BSArtist is suggesting, you will end up with the third mode - routing through two routers.
I would discourage use of this mode as it can make some things hard to do, and some impossible.

[edit 2]
If you do want to look at bridge mode, Pete has done another tutorial on how to do it on the 4200 at /forum-replies.cfm?t=926694

GeoffC writes...

I believe if you follow what BSArtist is suggesting, you will end up with the third mode - routing through two routers.
I would discourage use of this mode as it can make some things hard to do, and some impossible.

you are spot on Geoff.. sorry I wasn't thinking straight at that hour in the morning, my bad :-p. I normally pinhole or DMZ everything from the modem to the fix ip address of the WAN port of the Netgear router. The early Speedtouch are a pain to configure port forwarding etc so I opt for this solution. I don't know about Speedstream modems. Sometime I find it cheaper and quicker just to go and get a modem / router / wireless All-in-One unit...

As Geoff has rightly suggested, just disable the DHCP server in the Netgear router and use it as a pure switch/wireless Access Point.

so for the OP I would just do as GeoffC suggested, leave the Speedtouch modem connected in the LAN port 1 of the Netgear router and disable the DHCP function on the Netgear router. good luck.

I have said the wrong thing.... about the modem being in port one... i did mean the WAN port... sorry.

My set up is this....

Ehternet cable from PC to Router (no 1. of 4 available ports)
Ehternet cable from Speedstream 4200 to Router in WAN port.
Laptop has the SMC wireless card...

This was how i was told to set it all up and the installation software for the router also explained to do the same thing...

you guys are are wonderful with your information. Thankyou so much but considering i am new to all of this... What is it exactly that i need to do? Funnily enough i haven't had any issues today but thats not to say i wont either later this evening or tomorrow....

Let's start again then.

Open a command prompt (Start, Accessories) and type in
ipconfig /all
ping www.google.com.au
ping 150.101.98.220
and post the results from each computer.

Do it now, while everything is working so you know what should happen.
When you have the problem do it again, and see what is different.

Well for the moment here is the ipconfig for the 'wired' PC and the 'wireless' Laptop whilst all running good.

*PC (wired)*

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\User>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : FAMILY
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : vic.bigpond.net.au

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 'WIRED':

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : vic.bigpond.net.au
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 3Com EtherLink XL 10/100 PCI TX NIC
(3C905B-TX)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-10-5A-A9-91-64
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.2
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, 11 May 2008 1:39:38 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, 12 May 2008 1:39:38 PM

C:\Documents and Settings\User>ping 150.101.98.220

Pinging 150.101.98.220 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 150.101.98.220: bytes=32 time=26ms TTL=51
Reply from 150.101.98.220: bytes=32 time=26ms TTL=51
Reply from 150.101.98.220: bytes=32 time=26ms TTL=51
Reply from 150.101.98.220: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=51

Ping statistics for 150.101.98.220:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 26ms, Maximum = 28ms, Average = 26ms

*LAPTOP (wireless)*

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>ipconfig­ /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : LAPTOP
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Wireless:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : SMC2635W 11Mbps Wireless Cardbus Ada
pter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-04-E2-84-86-8A
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.3
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, May 11, 2008 11:51:52 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, May 12, 2008 8:55:41 PM

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>ping 150.101.98.220

Pinging 150.101.98.220 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 150.101.98.220: bytes=32 time=29ms TTL=51
Reply from 150.101.98.220: bytes=32 time=27ms TTL=51
Reply from 150.101.98.220: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=51
Reply from 150.101.98.220: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=51

Ping statistics for 150.101.98.220:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 27ms, Maximum = 29ms, Average = 28ms

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>

Well as i was about to shut down the laptop last night the 'limited or no connectivity' came up.
I did a iconfig /all and a pinged google and this is what i have....

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>ipconfig­ /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : LAPTOP
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Wireless:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : SMC2635W 11Mbps Wireless Cardbus Ada
pter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-04-E2-84-86-8A
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.165.115
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 169.254.165.115

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>ping 150.101.98.220

Pinging 150.101.98.220 with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 150.101.98.220:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

This shows that your laptop cannot get an IP from the routers DHCP server, caused by a number of possible problems, the most likely one being a wireless link failure. What would be good to know is whether the wired PC was having problems at the time the wireless connected laptop was having "limited conenctivity".

The strange thing is at times both the wired and the wireless will have this problem at the same time or it's only the laptop.... recently more so its only the laptop that is loosing connectivity... When this happened to the laptop last night i went straight to the PC and it connected fine so the prob was only with the connection to the laptop... When i shut the laptop down and restarted last night it got its connection back...
Not to repeat myself but this is a random thing that happens... I have a connection for hours or minutes....
Thanks again for looking at this....

Another post.... ARGHHHH!!!!

Well this evening the PC didnt want to connect....
I will explain what i did to finally get on....
*ipconfig / release and renew (without success)
*right clicking repair button (without success)
* rebooted modem via the powerpoint waiting for 15 secs (without success)
* rebooted router and modem together.... What happened after this is i had the icon with it saying 'aquiring network address' this took forever without anything happening.. I then went into Network connections and clicked on properties and then just clicked ok without changing anything. then it came up with 'connected' and i was able to get on without a problem....

I'm am so frustrated with this and i have no idea what i should do to fix it.... Sorry for sounding so amateur but i installed everything as per instructions to the letter.... This should not be a complicated thing... It's a basic setup and ALL i wanted to do was setup a small home network so i can have the PC and the laptop to connect to the internet.... ARGHHH!!!

I did a log of ipconfig/ all when the PC was unable to connect this time so maybe one of you wonderful people who know so much more than me can assist.... I'm at a complete loss.... anything else to do with a computer.. FINE.. NO PROBLEM, but a wireless network forget it.... I'm stumped....

Heres the log...Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\User>ipconfig /all

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : FAMILY
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : vic.bigpond.net.au

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 'WIRED':

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : vic.bigpond.net.au
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 3Com EtherLink XL 10/100 PCI TX NIC
(3C905B-TX)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-10-5A-A9-91-64
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.2
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Monday, 12 May 2008 7:08:15 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, 13 May 2008 7:08:15 PM

Was the laptop OK during the period that the PC would not connect?

You may actually have two problems.
1. Wireless connection to laptop as Martin has suggested.
2. Something else?

That last ipconfig /all output says that you still had a vaild IP address, whereas the laptop mentioned previuosly, you didn't.

We really need output from the PC and laptop if either one fails.
Could you also do
ping 192.168.1.1
as that should tell us if you still have local conectivity.

With everything so far that has happened, when the PC looses connection so does the laptop....
However... It is also the case that the laptop will loose connection but the PC doesn't....

I saw that the last ipconfig /all output did show a connection but it still would not connect to the net which baffled me....
But the 2 logs i posted when they both failed is what you have above... I will certainly do them again when it happens though and ping the address you gave...

Thankyou for your help again Geoff it's really appreciated....
Bear with me...

ess x x

essjay1976 writes...

With everything so far that has happened, when the PC looses connection so does the laptop

So that may mean that you have a problem with the router, the modem, or your internet connection, as it effects both the PC and laptop.

The problem that only effects the laptop may be a wireless signal issue.

We want the output from both computers when either one fails.
The additional ping command to your router (ping 192.168.1.1) should tell us whether the router has a problem or whether it is further down the line.

[edit]
Can you also ping the modem at 10.0.0.138?
Other possibilities are 10.1.1.1 and 192.168.254.254.
This will check the connection through to the modem.

ATM both the netgear and your modem are serving the same role and might get the LAN very confused..

this was mentioned in the posts above and i think that this maybe just the problem.. After reading everything this is apparently a common problem.... what would be a way to determine this?

Also i have another question.... and i thank you again for your help so far.... and your patience.... I'm going to be an expert after all of this LOL!!!
On my laptop when i open the NETWORK CONNECTIONS It has 2 sections
INTERNET GATEWAY
Internet Connection
Connected
Internet Connection

Then in the next section underneath it has
LAN or HIGH-SPEED INTERNET
Wireless
Connected, firewalled
SMC2635W 11Mbps Wireless Cardbus Adapter

Is this normal?.. I mean there are 2 'active' connections. One under Internet Gateway and another under LAN or Highspeed Internet....
I thought this meant that one is telling me that i have a 'network' between the 2 computers and the other is the actual internet connection.... Maybe a dumb thing to ask but i'm not sure.....

OK so as i was typing the above post via the wired PC connection I had my laptop on next to me to try and see what is going on and the Laptop came up with the limited or no connectivity but the PC was fine and still connected.... the laptop went into standby mode there and then cause i hadn't done anything with it and when i moved the mouse the screen came back and found the connection again....

Mean anything?

OK... me again.....

Whilst the Laptop had a connection i could ping 10.0.0.138 with success

I could not ping 10.1.1.1 or 192.168.254.254

Mmmmmm....

I can not also ping the above addresses on the PC when connected ( can ping 10.0.0.138 though)

I'm just going to keep posting when i have problems so everything is here.....

OK... Laptop lost connection.... PC is still connected....
this is the ipconfig /all output off the laptop/
I also pinged 10.0.0.138 and as you can see no success...

Rebooted and connected again....

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>ipconfig­ /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : LAPTOP
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Wireless:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : SMC2635W 11Mbps Wireless Cardbus Ada
pter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-04-E2-84-86-8A
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.165.115
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 169.254.165.115

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>ping 10.0.0.138

Pinging 10.0.0.138 with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 10.0.0.138:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

Now when i open network connections i dont have the internet gateway?

Ummmm... I'm confused!!!

Not being impatient guy's just wanting to put everything down here as it happens.... Whenever you get the chance will be great....
I can live with this annoying connection issue just would be better not too... LOL!!
Muliple problems today with the laptop disconnecting over and over.... PC had been running fine though (touch wood)
I am simply turning on and off the 'radio' button and it resets everything.....

Whenever you get the chance.... thank's again

ess x

essjay1976 writes...

I could not ping 10.1.1.1 or 192.168.254.254

That is right. The three addresses mention are default addresses depending on what firmware you have / who supplied the modem.

10.0.0.138 is the default for a Bigpond supplied modem so is right for you. I only mentioned the others just in case, so you can disregard those now.

In the post that begins..
I'm just going to keep posting when i have problems so everything is here.....

OK... Laptop lost connection.... PC is still connected....
this is the ipconfig /all output off the laptop/
do you have a corresponding report for the PC?
If it was still connected OK, it would confirm that you have a wireless issue with the laptop.
If it did not have a connection we could look at either the router or modem.

Anytime the output of the ipconfig /all gives an IP Address of 169.254.xx.xx, it indicates that you have lost your connection and can no longer contact the DHCP server (the router).
169.254 type addresses are Automatic Private IP Addresses that Windows allocates.

I suggest you have a look at the drivers for the wireless card to see if they are the latest available, and possibly disable any power saving modes of the laptop / and or wireless card.

Regarding
NETWORK CONNECTIONS It has 2 sections
INTERNET GATEWAY
I would get rid of it.
There are some instruction on removing it at support.microsoft.com/de...mp;Product=winxp

Which reminds me of another point, does the laptop have SP2 installed.
If not, install it (although SP3 is out now, so probably install that).

These things may assist with the laptop only issue.
We still need to locate the fault that effects both computers.

OK...
Well I'm now pointing to a wireless connection problem.
Although at times the PC doesn't connect at times its more the laptop that does it.
All day today when the laptop disconnected the PC remained connected.

I updated drivers today... Well i'm almost sure that the drivers were up to date anyway but did it again...
As far as the power options on the laptop im assuming i go into control panel>power options and do it that way... I did that and set it up that it doesn't power down or anything until i basically press the button....
I am not sure about the wireless card options... I cant see an option to change any 'power settings'....
can you help with this... the model is in the first post... No phone support in Australia at all.... so frustrating...

I have installed SP3... and everything is up to date...

As for internet gateway query, thanks for that...

you have been very helpful.. thankyou thankyou thankyou!!!

Hopefully it can be resolved...

regads

ess x

Guys could be a router issue??? I've known netgear for being not up to scratch with there routers/etc??