Router, Network, and internet connection

Computer Help and Discussions Hardware
1

Ok, so I was trying to set up file sharing with my laptop and my desktop. And then my internet connection went down. And I am having no end of problems with this now. My laptop no longer sees my router or internet connection, and my desktop is intermittent with the internet connection.

Heres what I have under Network Connections on the desktop:

Under Broadband, I have two separate disconnected WAN miniports PPPOE. Not used, and havent used them in forever.

Under LAN or High Speed Internet, I have two separate connections: INTEL®PRO/100 VE Network (the one I used to connect to automatically without dialing in when my router was all configured) and a second one that I just made called: Local Area Connection 3 Efficient Enternet Networks. Both of these are connected right now. My internet is slower at the moment though.

I dont even want to look at the laptop until i get the desktop working properly.

So I read through this link:

http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=7528

and also printed off all the links suggested to me, but I cant seem to get it together.

What I want to do is this.

1- Set up my router so that when I turn on the desktop it is instantly hitched to the internet.

2- Set my security settings so that both my wired and wireless networks are stealthed.

3- Configure my router to have a static ip (which i think is necessary according to what I have read.

4- Configure my emule so that I can still access file sharing without a problem (i had it working great).

5- Set up my desktop and laptop so that I can access file sharing.

6- Set up printer sharing between the two.

rridgely was helping me last night (thanks rridgely) when I don't know what I did, but my net went down and the problems started. and since my internet seems on again off again, im hoping i can still access things while i try to figure this out.

Anyone know where I should start? I am thinking i have configured something wrong on the router that is blocking me from accessing web pages, as the connection itself shows that it is connected to the net.

HELP!

2

OK, when I go type in my router ip in the firefox address bar and configure my router to PPPOE- I can access the internet properly. But I can't seem to get a static ip configured properly. So it is obviously nothing to do with my ip, but has to do with settings on my router. still looking into it....

3

As far as I know, the only way to get a "static IP" is if thats how your ISP is. Most ISPs randomly assign your IP and I think it will change if you unplug your modem..

You can have IP addresses for your network that you assign, but I've never fooled with that.

All you need is to have your router.

1. That one your going to have to do yourself. You had this working right? You must have changed your settings.

2. Just make sure it says the firewall is on and that you have WPA encryption for wireless.

3. I don't think you can do. As far as I know its not necessary either..(Works for me without that. :P)

4. That should work fine once you get 1 sorted. :P

5. Thats should be simple.. I think there is a setting stopping you in vista. I have been searching for you, but I haven't seen anything were missing for your set up.

6. Need 5 working and you need to make sure there are drivers for vista for your printer.

If you want hop on MSN and I'll try to help. :)

4

This is where I got the original information on setting up a static ip:

http://portforward.com/networking/staticip.htm

I had it working, but i did something (as usual) to screw it up.

Also, I had to configure emule before so that it would work properly (i had to open certain ports to allow it in and out because i was stealthed).

i think i got number 1 working, but darn it if i cant only get it working with pppoe. i need to play around a bit still i guess.....

5

That may actually be why your filesharing and stuff wasn't working.

To be honest your doing stuff I've never bothered learning about.

I just took the router out of the box, changed the admin password, and turned on wireless and encrypted it. :P

Reading more about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_forwarding

I can kind of see the point, but for me it wasn't needed.(or any of the 20 other times I've done this. :P)

Is there any specific reason your doing it that way?

6

i thought i was supposed to..............

everything i read says that if you have a static ip its more safe. and then the emule port forwarding tells me i need to have a static ip. maybe im running a marathon when i should have just taken a couple of steps.....lol!

ok, what do i need to do to keep it simple, safe and working. lets try this from the start. :)

7

I'll be honest and tell you I'm not quite sure what you were doing. :P

Every one I've done, I've just run the linksys set up disc, plugged in the wired computer then configured the router(enable wireless, change admin password, encrypt wireless) and then run the wizard on the computers to share files and printers. :P Usually takes 10minutes or less..

I'm sure there are pluses to what you were doing, and I'm sure admiral ross(if he still comes here) might be able to answer that better.(I think he said he sets up networks for a living, I just know how to set up small home networks that anyone could do. :P) Networking isn't my interest by any means, I just wanted to be able to print/share files and I get thats pretty much all you want right?

If I were you I would dump the static IP idea and just let the router assign them.

So set all your settings back to default on your router and pc and start over the easy way. :P

8

ok, tomorrow i will unplug everything and start from scratch. i think i got way too indepth with everything and im not at the point where i can fix things. but they were all working so good and then i screwed it all up! arhghghg!

ill let you know what happens. :)

9
As far as I know, the only way to get a "static IP" is if thats how your ISP is. Most ISPs randomly assign your IP and I think it will change if you unplug your modem..

This is not dealing with that sort of "Static IP", it is only dealing with a "local network significant " IP address the 192.168.0.0 - 192.168.254.254 range (or the 10.0 range if you prefer), its not the IP that your ISP sends to your modem when you connect (If your ISP has given you a static IP you could use your PC as a web/file server, and access it with the IP address). With the local network static ip set on some/all of his systems all should work the same as if it was done DHCP style, remember to keep them on the same subnet.

eg. PC1 has 192.168.1.5 (ip address statically assigned) with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0

PC2 has 192.168.1.6 (ip address statically assigned) with subnet 255.255.255.0

PC3 gets IP/subnet mask from DHCP 192.168.1.7 with subnet 255.255.0.0

PC1 and PC2 will not see each other, PC1 will see PC3 and visa versa (hopefully :) )

Its a complicated topic so I wont try to explain anymore here at the moment, search the net for more info.

----

@1984

If any of your machines receive a 169.254.#.# address they are not picking up the DHCP from the router,

PPPOE vs PPPOA, some ISP's only support one of the two, call you ISP if unsure, so that would explain it if you loose connection or your connection is unusual after changing it.

ie. At college one day some sites just wouldn't load and it wast host or filters, but changing it over it fixed the connection problems.

I haven't done port forwarding so cannot directly help with this problem at the moment.

Restarting from the beginning is a good idea, remember to reset (not restart) your Router setting as well otherwise it will keep them.

ps. So your modem is separate from your router?, In that case make sure you only have one dishing out DHCP (set as a DHCP Server) so if the option is there disable the modem one, it should be unneeded now, (not the DHCP settings for the ISP, only if your Modem has a option to act as DHCP server.

---

If there any stupid errors in my post feel free to point it out, willing to learn :)

10

ok, im getting closer. i have my desktop so that when i turn it on, it automatically hitches up to the internet through my router. and the speed is back to where it should be.

i set up the wireless network (without a static ip) on my router and desktop. but i cant get the laptop to work with it (i keep getting a message that the two computers have the same ip and that there is a conflict). how do i change the ip on the laptop so that it stays changed and that it will not conflict? arrrghghgh!

11

ok, both computers have internet, and both have good speeds again. and automatic connections. now i have to figure out printer and file sharing, and my emule (as my emule is running blind right now:()

12

I read through this thread and am not sure I know exactly what is going on, but I thought I should clarify one thing. A static IP can refer to the router's IP that is connected to your ISP, as well as your PC's IP that is connected to your router. Most ISP's require your router to be automatically assigned an IP when it connects; this is something you cannot usually change. However, it IS possible to tell you PC to use the same static IP every time it connects to your router, rather than having the router dynamically assigning one using DHCP. Hopefully I have not stated the obvious here.

13
I read through this thread and am not sure I know exactly what is going on, but I thought I should clarify one thing. A static IP can refer to the router's IP that is connected to your ISP, as well as your PC's IP that is connected to your router. Most ISP's require your router to be automatically assigned an IP when it connects; this is something you cannot usually change. However, it IS possible to tell you PC to use the same static IP every time it connects to your router, rather than having the router dynamically assigning one using DHCP. Hopefully I have not stated the obvious here.

No, you actually explained it much better than i could. That is exactly what i was trying to do (and had done before i messed it up). I just cant seem to do it again.

But everything is working good network wise, other than printer sharing and emule so i dont want to mess with that part.

The printer that came with my laptop is defective (printer carriage wont move when its supposed to) so im exchanging it tomorrow and going to try to hitch it up this weekend.

I also tried to set my existing printer up for network sharing, but i keep getting an error saying i cant set up sharing with it. Dont know if its the way i set up the network, or if the software for the printer is set up wrong (i set it up awhile ago).

:)

14

What brand of router do you have? If it's a Linksys or Actiontec I can get help you setup a local static IP using either 2000 or XP. Unless that's not your problem anymore.

15

i have a linksys wrt54g and my desktop is xp and my laptop is vista. im going to leave it for now as its all working, and i cant take the stress of messing with it all right now. :)

but thanks for the offer, i may take you up on it after i destress for a bit! :)

16

Did you get your file sharing working? If so all you have to do to get your printer networked is enable it and then install it on your vista machine. Here is how to do it with xp:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/n...cutt_july2.mspx

Your going to have to figure out vista. :P Should be about the same though.

17

ill take a look at it in the next day or two. i was so frustrated getting this all working again that i need a breather....i royally screwed things up, and the only positive thing is that everytime i do this i learn a lot.

18

Well, internet is working great. Network is set up just fine wirelessly. Both printers work on both computers-but not through the network. I have all the correct drivers, etc. installed, but it wont let me set it up for sharing.

I followed all the instructions in the above link, but it wont let me share either printer. Havent figured out why yet though. It has to be something to do with the network, not the printers or the computers because they are all working great.

Is it possible i have a service shut off on the desktop that I need to turn on? Any services I should check on to see if its the problem?

Any help would be great!

Oh and the new printer prints better pictures than the old one, but doesnt fax, so between the two of them i now have a pretty rockin print set up!

Good times!

19
Well, internet is working great. Network is set up just fine wirelessly. Both printers work on both computers-but not through the network. I have all the correct drivers, etc. installed, but it wont let me set it up for sharing.

I followed all the instructions in the above link, but it wont let me share either printer. Havent figured out why yet though. It has to be something to do with the network, not the printers or the computers because they are all working great.

Is it possible i have a service shut off on the desktop that I need to turn on? Any services I should check on to see if its the problem?

Any help would be great!

Oh and the new printer prints better pictures than the old one, but doesnt fax, so between the two of them i now have a pretty rockin print set up!

Good times!

Maybe ask this guy

http://www.onecomputerguy.com/install/vista_initial.htm

Funny how everyone says how fast Vista starts, yet this guy says by default it waits 30 secs before loading OS.

Either he doesn't know what he is talking about or everyone else figured this out very quickly. Maybe he isn't the guy to ask.lol

20

OK, I've come back to this. I tried and tried, but emule would not upload/download properly without setting the static ip and port forwarding. so, i went back and today it worked. and the mule is now working fantastically fast. no problems with that. and the wireless network is working great too.

the only problem that i cannot fix is the printer sharing. both of my printers work fine on both computers when wired-no problems, drivers are good, printer software all installed properly on both machines. but i cannot get them to "share"

this is supposed to be very easy to do. go to the printer, click "sharing" and then click "share this printer" and "apply". simple right?

well not for me. dont know why. i always get a message pop up saying"printer properties. printer settings could not be saved. Operation could not be completed."

I have no idea why it does this. Like i said, both printers work fine on both computers. And i get this message when i try to enable either printer-so it is not printer specific.

This is all happening on my XP desktop-the one the router is hitched to. I was able to enable printer sharing on the vista computer no problem-which leads me to believe that the desktop xp computer has a service that i need (but i dont know which one) disabled.

But i need to enable printer sharing on the xp computer as this is the one that is hitched up to the printers and the router.

Any suggestions? Like I said, i now have a static ip in my router, and everything else is working perfect. :)