I am running two desktops on my computer at home. I am able to connect
directly from the cable modem to either one of the computers individually; however when I tried to connect a wireless router I could
not get it to work through either computer. I have tried both a netgear WGT624 and a linksys WRT45G. I get the same issue on both computers with both routers..It says that the internet connection has "limited or no connectivity" Both computers are running windows XP SP2. I have followed the setup for both routers according to the instructions that came with the start-up discs. This has led me to believe that it is something with the cable connection or a setting elsewhere in the computer. I am running time-warner cable for my ISP. Also, these problems have all occured when the router was hard-wired into the computer using the CAT-5 ethernet port. Any help is appreciated.
This sounds like a classic case of the cable modem not giving out more than one IP.
Turn off the computers, and the router, and the cable modem.
Power up the cable modem, wait for the lights to stop flashing.
Power up the router, wait for the lights to stop flashing
Power up the computers.
There's something funny going on if you are getting "limited or no connnectivity" though, do you have special cable modem software running on the computers? If so, try uninstalling it.
Your cable modem doesn't use PPPoE or something funny, does it?
That means that either router has not delivered an IP address to your computer. I'll assume that the DHCP servers in the routers are enabled and that you have DHCP enabled (get IP address from ISP) in the Windoze boxes. This problem has NOTHING to do with the ISP.
I never read the instructions unless desperate. You must be desperate.
Nope. It's not the cable modem connection.
Ok, let's keep it simple. Start with either router and one computer. Plug a CAT5 cable between the computer and one of the LAN ports on the back of the router. Check your IP address with: Start -> run -> cmd IPCONFIG If you get 192.168.1.xxx, for an IP address, it's working. If you get 0.0.0.0 for an IP address, give it a bit more time. If you get 169.254.xxx.xxx, DHCP is not working.
Try forcing it to deliver an IP address with: ipconfig /release (wait about 10 seconds) ipconfig /renew ipconfig Hopefully, you'll get a 192.168.1.xxx address. Since it works with a direct connection to the cable modem, it's a fair assumption that DHCP is correctly setup on the computers. It's not the computer. That leaves:
Bad CAT5 cable. It might also be a crossover cable. Check the lights on the front of the routers and on the ethernet card. If they don't light up when the cable is plugged in, it's the cable.
Wrong wiring. At this point, just one CAT5 cable between the computer and one of the LAN ports.
Broken connector inside the router. Inspect the gold pins.
It's also possible to have a "personal firewall" screw up the works. It normally is unaffected by DHCP but it's possible. Try temporarily disabling any firewall (Norton Internet Security, Zone Alarm, etc).
If you eventually get the router to deliver an IP address, add another cable between the router WAN (internet) port to the cable modem. Same drill. Check the lights when you plug in the cable. DHCP should deliver an IP address to the router, which you can verify on the status page. Once you have that, you're done.
Please note that when juggling boxes, you MUST power cycle the various connected boxes so that the MAC address to port table gets updated properly. Some boxes take longer than others to reset. Methinks about 15 seconds is usually enough. More is safer.
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