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Router Problems :(

Discussion in 'Entertainment and Technology' started by BudderMC, Mar 26, 2012.

  1. BudderMC

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    I usually consider myself pretty tech-savvy, but Internet stuff (routers, modems, and the like) have always been over my head. And when I get sent to fix the one my family has, it usually ends up in frustration and calls to the help line.

    Anyway, I'm having issues with the one in my house at school. It's not actually my router (my housemates), and he owns two. We switched to the second, supposedly better one about two weeks ago. The connection was a little spotty for me, but everyone else thought it was about the same. On Wed/Thurs, the router stopped working, leaving all of us in a state of perpetual "connecting to the server". Ended up doing a hard reset, and it was all working fine. Friday, I can't connect to the router at all (but everyone else still can). I didn't do anything special; in fact, I think I didn't even shut my computer down overnight.

    So... anyone got any insight as to why it won't work? They said they'd swap out the router again if it was still causing problems, but if I can resolve it myself, that'd be better. Thanks guys!

    EDIT: The router is a D-Link DIR-615, and it's a Cisco modem, if that helps any.
     
    #1 BudderMC, Mar 26, 2012
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2012
  2. WeirdnessMagnet

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    Ok... Do you connect to it using WiFi or cable? Do other people connect to it the same/different way? What's ipconfig(windows)/ifconfig(everything else) output looks like for your connection to the router when you can't get to the Internet? (and does ipconfig /renew do anything to solve the issue?) Did anyone monkey with router's firewall and DHCP settings?

    If everything else fails, you (in principle) can try and "bridge" two routers, so that everybody else uses the new router and you the old one, but that's rather advanced configuration, and not possible with some cheaper rouiters, so you'd probably be better off just switching back...
     
    #2 WeirdnessMagnet, Mar 26, 2012
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2012
  3. BudderMC

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    Like I said... all over my head. I very very very vaguely remember using ipconfig once years ago, but I couldn't tell you where, or how, or why. That just seems familiar. :/

    Uh, we all connect by WiFi, and as far as I (and my housemate) knows, nobody's tampered with it. I'm pretty sure he's the only one who really understands how to set up the router, and he didn't do anything, sooooo... yeah.

    He did say he would switch them out if it wasn't working, but I know he doesn't really want to if he can avoid it, because he has to set it up :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:
     
  4. TriCube

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    If everyone else can connect to it but you can't, it be a problem with your network driver on your computer. I'm not sure if you're running Windows or Mac, but usually computers are supposed to find and update them themselves.

    Assuming it's a driver issue:
    If you're on Windows (7, I don't know how different this is from Vista or XP), go to the start menu, type in device, click device manager, then go to Network Adapters, double click your WiFi driver, go to the Driver tab, and click Update Driver. It should automatically search and download the driver for you. If it doesn't work you might have to go to your manufacturers website and download it from there.

    Hope that helps!
     
  5. BudderMC

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    ^ ah, I forgot to mention. I (and another housemate) run Windows 7, the others run Macs, so presumably it isn't (only) an OS issue. I also tried updating the drivers like you said, and it told me the best software was already installed, so no luck. Thanks though!
     
  6. WeirdnessMagnet

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    [details about how to tell exactly which OS you're using deleted]
    Ok, it's Win 7... Never really used it or have a box with it at home, (only XP or Vista) so I'm not quite ready to give you any really useful advice.

    ---------- Post added 26th Mar 2012 at 10:55 PM ----------

    Add: Windows Update is wonderful, but sometimes what it says are "up to date drivers" are a few versions behind actual latest version you can get from the manufacturer's site.

    Other than that, it might be a signal strength issue, or some misconfiguration, but as I said, I have little experience of Win7 and can't type the kind of instructions you need to check those things :frowning2:
     
    #6 WeirdnessMagnet, Mar 26, 2012
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2012
  7. BudderMC

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    ^ hmm, well I'll go do a manual check then for drivers in the meantime. I think my room is closest to the router (I've also brought my laptop right beside it, and still nothing), so it probably isn't a strength thing. I'll ask my housemate to doublecheck everything. Thanks for the advice :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:
     
  8. TriCube

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    If it says they are up to date, try doing a driver rollback, also found in the Driver tab. It's possible your PC updated the driver automatically and something went wrong.

    If you're close enough to the router, though, I'd recommend using a direct Ethernet cable, as wired connections are faster than wireless ones.
     
  9. BudderMC

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    Well, it seems I have Internet now. I haven't seen any of my housemates yet today, so I don't know if anyone did anything, but it's working. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

    Thanks for all the help though guys!
     
  10. BudderMC

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    I talked with him today. He said he switched around the security settings over the weekend to see if that would fix it. Turns out that my computer (for whatever reasons) can't handle the more specific security protocols that the router had, even though it only mysteriously changed after the router was reset.

    ...in case anyone was interested. Or has insight as to why it would change, or how I can remedy that :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: