re: needing instructions for connecting to internet through router

It looks odd that you have a router, and one machine has direct connection with the modem. The modem should connect to the router, and the router to a hub/switch, into which you hook up your computers. Any ohter method is suspect...

The router should be configured to accept an IP address automatically from the modem/ISP and it can be set up to provide IP's for the computers as well, in which cas the computers, too, should be set to obtain IP address automatically.
Regards
/RID

I think you have a setup like this: PC1 is connected (phisicaly) to the router. PC2 is connected to PC1, maybe
through a hub/switch, maybe trough a crossed-cable.
If this is true, then PC2 IS NOT connected to the router.
PC2 will connect to the router only if PC1 does ROUTING (!!) from PC2 (meaning: the interface into wich the
PC2 packets arrive) to the router.

In short I think your problem is that PC2 is linked to PC1 and PC1 does not have "IP forwarding" enabled.
To enable it you must edit the registry.
Set the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\ControlSet001\Services\Tcpip|Parameters\IPEnableRouter
to the value "1".

More info on MS KB article number 315236

Good luck

Control Panel
Internet Options
Connections
Set -> Never Dial a Connection
LAN settings
Click only the check box the says automatically detect settings
Check that you are not using proxies.

If that does not work:
Start
Run
Open -> netsetup
OK
and follow the wizard screens.

Good luck

ptero

Oh! Of course that you should have the modem and the PCs connected to the router, and not the modem connected to the PC directly (as someone else already stated). It works better this way, but your option is also feasible.

ptero

This is important to help you with your LAN topography :
 Is you're LinkSys router coupled with a HUB? That is, does it have, like, four or six ports?

Usually, you'd set up the router just like 'Helpnet' suggested, and then plug both computers into the out ports of the router/hub. then configure those computers to use the router's DHCP functions...

Some pointers :
a) THE COMPUTER YOU'LL USE TO SET THE ROUTER (part 1)
->Start-> Ctrl. Panel -> Network & Internet Conn. -> Network Connection
Should be a 'Local Area Connection' or 'Network Adapter' kind of link, right click it and chose Properties
select [Internet Protocol TCP/IP] and click Properties
Check [Use the following] IP Adress
Enter :
[Adress] 192.168.1.10
[Subnet Mask] 255.255.255.0
[Gateway] 192.168.1.1
The rest is unimportant for now, so press OK and leave the control panel

b) THE ROUTER
Open Internet Explorer, and type the adress 192.168.1.1 (this should connect you with your router, provided you're phisically conected to it, 'course)
-> User name : (nothing)  -> Password: admin
1ST PAGE/TAB :
 [Host Name] and [Domain Name] You should leave EMPTY
 [LAN IP ADRESS] should be your router's adress (192.168.1.1)
 [Mask] is 255.255.255.0
 [WAN Connection Type] should be PPPOE
 [User Name] and [Password] are those you connect to your ISP with
 Check [Connect On Demand] and put it at something like 59 minutes...
 Click [Apply]
2ND PAGE/TAB
 You can CHANGE THE PASSWORD so it doesn't have the default one anymore.
 UPNP could be enabled (no idea what this does) and Restore default setting set to NOT
3TH PAGE/TAB
 [DHCP SERVER] Enabled
 [Starting IP Adress] 192.168.1.1
 [Number of Clients] 2
 [Lease Time] 0
 [DNS] Enter a few of the DNS you're ISP provides you with
Click [Apply]
Then close Internet Explorer

c)THE COMPUTERS (All of them)
Just go back to ControlPanel->Network Connection and Internet ->... Internet Protocol TCP-IP
Check 'Obtain an IP Adress Automatically'
Check 'Obtain a DNS automatically'
OK, OK (confirm everything)

You should now be all set!

Hi Everyone:

      Thanks so much for the well-thought out feedback.  I can't wait to give all of these suggestions a try.  

       I will post feedback after trying out everything.

       Thank you.

       George

Hi,

      The router model number is  NR041-WM

       Thanks

       George
       

OK, this model router is not a combination modem and router, it is just a router, so you need to connect the modem to the wan port of the router.  

The modem will have a connection to the phone line (RJ12? socket) and one or two other connections (hopefully one is a network cable).  

 Just a question - what sort of connections are on your modem, and what is the model of the modem.  If the only two ports the modem has are USB and and telephone port, you probably will not be able to connect it to your router.  

Hi,

      The DSL modem connects to the router via RJ45 straight cable.  There is not a port labeled WAN, but, there is one called Internet for which we have the DSL modem connected to the router.  Should I use cross-over or does it matter?

      Thanks

      George

WAN = Internet in this case; more specifically the modem. Cross-over or straight makes a difference. I think you need straight cable ("patch" cable)
for the connection between modem and router.
/RID

Hi Everyone:

       I could not get any configuration information regarding the router tonight when I opened IE and entered the IP address of the router signified as Default Gateway from the ipconfig command.  I "assume" the computer must be online to obtain configuration information about the router.  Since I can only connect to the internet when the router is taken completely out of the equation, I am wondering how I may be able to by-pass this limitation and still configure the router.

       Any more suggestions will greatly be appreciated.  I spent three hours with this problem tonight, but, could not get anywhere.

       I look forward to reading more input on this post.  

       Thank you.

       George

If your router/gateway address is a 192.168.1.x address, you do not need to be on the internet to access it, but everything does need to be plugged in and turned on.  Maybe you are using the wrong sort of cable to connect the wan/internet port of the router to your modem, it varies according to device, try if you used a straight-through cable, try a cross-over cable instead, and vice versa.

You should not need to be 'online' as in 'on the internet', no...

You didn't forget to plug the router in an electrical outlet? ;)

If your network card is properly configured (not much, it just needs for now a static IP address (192.168.1.10 for example)and a mask of 255.255.255.0 (see my post above). Then you only need link that card to one of the router/hub 4 ports ; you don't even need to connect the router to the modem yet, though you better do it now (the modem will go into the 'internet' port of your router).

This should be enough for you to log onto the router and access its interface. The router has a static IP address and that is 192.168.1.1 no matter what the run->ipconfig command tells you. It's not even a gateway yet ;) . Once you access the router, you could probably reconfigure it to use another address, but you should keep it where it is.

If you're confident the above is covered, try swapping cables. Between computers and router you put regular cable. Between the router and the modem you should put whatever cable you would put if it were between computer and modem (that is, whatever the modem builder/telco wants).

Good luck, dont hesitate to come back with more questions..

To clarify, if both the computers are configured to get an IP address automatically (use DHCP), and both are plugged into the router, and both PCs show 192.168.1.1 as the gateway in ipconfig, 192.168.1.1 is your routers internal interfaces address.

in internet explorer

http://192.168.1.1

See if you get a login prompt and try logging in.

If not, double check your IP address using ipconfig/all

Try getting a new lease from your router

IPCONFIG /RENEW /all and double check the gateway is still showing as 192.168.1.1

Hi.

When I connect my modem to a different network card, I need to reboot the modem. Maybe this is your problem, too.

Connect the modem to the router, power off the modem, power on the modem, wait for the self-tests to terminate, reboot the computers.

Any luck?

ptero

Hi,

        I will get back with you after I try this.  So far, there has not been any success.

        George

Hi,

      I do have a question regarding the IP address of the router.  Since I can not access the internet when the pc tries to connect through the router, I am wondering if there is a way of reconfiguring the router offline.  The previous post suggest that I open internet explorer and enter the ip address of the router, which in turn, will ask for a username and password.  Is internet access required to access the configuration information of the router?

       Any further thoughts or suggestions will certainly be appreciated.

       Thank you.

       George

Not at all, internet access has nothing to do with it.

How *I* do it, and I outline each step in a message above, is that I first assign my card a static IP address. That and a Network mask of 255.255.255.0  You don't yet need anything in the Gateway box, nor do you need any DNS server 'cause for now you're only concerned with logging on to the router, and he is on my LAN, not on the net.

Once XP has accepted my network half-config, I just open internet explorer and input 192.168.1.1 into the address bar. Most other companys (but Linksys) use 192.168.0.1...

You can then set the router up as was explained earlier (PPPOE, loginname, password, DHCP...). If you have hooked up the modem already to it, on the Setup page of the Router you'll see a 'status' tab ; there you can get the router to try to connect. If it works, it will get an 'external' IP address from your ISP together with Domain Name Servers addresses.

Now you can go back to your computers (both) and set their network card to automatically obtain IP address and DNSs. Since the router have been set to distribute addresses, it will do so to any computer that demands one.

I hope I was clear and that I understood your concern..  Please get back with more questions/feedback.

One more thing regarding cabling:

If you have:

ROUTER --- cable A --- COMPUTER 1 --- cable B --- COMPUTER 2

cable A is straight and cable B is cross-over.


But if you have (as you should):

COMPUTER 1 --- cable C --- ROUTER --- cable D --- COMPUTER 2

both cables are straight.


Did you try my other suggestion?

Good luck.

ptero

Internet access is not required to configure the router (designed this way so you can setup the internet connection in the first place).  You are best leaving DHCP on for the moment in case a non-standard IP range is setup.  Confirm that the DHCP server address is the same as the default gateway

for win9x use run winipcfg, click on more info and click the ip address of the DHCP server matches.

For win2000/XP in a command prompt type ipconfig /all, and look for the information.

This just confirms the gateway (another word for router) is the device handing out the ip addresses (ie is the DHCP server), and is the address you should be putting into internet explorer to configure the router

Regards

Anne

However, the cable (designated by the label <Mystery Cable>), may need to be a Cross-over cable, or a straight through cable.  If it isn't working with one type, I would try the other.  

Computer A <Straight through cable>Router<Straight through cable > Computer B
                                                               |
                                                               |
                                                               | <Mystery Cable>
                                                               |
                                                        Modem

REgards

Anne

If when you had the modem connected to the computer and the internet works, the connection was made with a straight through cable, it is almost certain the <mystery cable> in my previous post should be a cross-over cable (the reason I say almost, is some routers are autosensing and don't care whether straight through or cross-over cable is used)

This may be the solution to the problem

(GEORGE - Sorry to post this is this thread as this may further confuse you, but...)

Anne, when you ask that George lets his network-adapter set on DHCP, aren't you assuming that the router is Factory-Set to serve as a DHCP. If it is not yet set as such, it will not yet broadcast IPs for 'ComputerA and ComputerB' to seize for themselves, and whatever information ipconfig would then give would be meaningless.

Once the router has been setup then that would be a good time to see if it works like itended, but when you can't know what the 'intent' is how could you tell?

Hi Paul Position
I am assuming it is factory default setting, as george doesn't seem to have seen the router configuration web pages or have gotten it working in the past.  George also stated the linksys tech said hey needed to have dynamic IP addresses (supporting the idea DHCP is turned on as factory default).

If george set his PCs to use DHCP, and gets autoconfiguration (169.254.x.x) IP addresses, we then know there isn't a DHCP server visible on the subnet (and the router's DHCP is not working or being seen, and software internet connection sharing isn't being used).  His current addresses are 192.168.1.x, not 192.168.0.x, and if they stay that way with DHCP, we also know software internet connection sharing is not being used (as unless you have a windows 2000 server using NAT, RRAS or other third party software 192.168.0.x is the only range used.  

This is also why I asked george to check the DHCP servers settings in winipcfg or ipconfig (because these the detailed versions of these commands indicate if DHCP is being used, it will not show DHCP server IP address if DHCP is not being used).  This is to address the possibily that both machines are Windows XP, and an alternate IP address has been configured instead of using autoconfiguration (though I do not think this is likely) which would result in a non 169.254.x.x showing up when DHCP is configured but no DHCP server is available.

Many routers do use the 192.168.0.x or 192.168.1.x range by default, but I have seen other default subnets used.  So if you hard code IP address and other details, and you get the gateway subnet, or DNS settings wrong, it isn't very helpful and really do not have further troubleshooting steps available.

Regards

Anne

In all probability, once you are able to get into the router interface, you will be able to configure your ISP details (login etc), and the shared internet connection will work.

PS, there is an option to refresh IP settings from the DHCP server

for windows 9x, and me, cllick on the renew all button in winipcfg

for windows nt, 2000, xp from a ocmmand prompt, run ipconfig /renew /all

If the machine seems to hang doing this, try again, or reboot.

IT would be helpful to know the versions of windows on the machines (sorry, I have missed it if it is already somewhere in the thread)

Paul Position

Just noticed it is Bellsouth, not linksys tech advised to use dynamic address.....  but the logic of testing with DHCP still prevails.

If the router is not using DHCP, other than in doco in manuals or on the internet, we do not know with certainty what ip subnet it is configured to use, and we will need to resort to finding out factory defaults, and possibly how to perform a system reset to revert to factory defaults (if it is second hand with non default settings).  

If by default a 192.x.x.x subnet, there are 255 subnet possibilities to try.  Many but not all SOHO routers default or are limited to 192 subnets.  If it is a second hand router, it may have been configured with a totally different subnet (eg 172.*.*.* or 10.*.*.*) leading to many more combinations to try.  I know one brand of cheap SOHO router, that even lets you use any subnet (not just the designated private ones).  

Looking at detailed IPCONFIG after enabling DHCP at the client, lets you tell if there is a DHCP server on the network or not, and points to the routers IP address (which end in 1 through to 254).  Once again, if the client IP details are statically configured, if you happen to guess the right subnet, you also need to  guess the router's IP address.  Commonly SOHO type routers use 1 or 254 by default in the last octet, but if it is second hand, anything may have been set.

So using DHCP at the client gives you a lot more troublshooting options than statically setting IP details in george's situation.

George,

Can you please post details of your IPCONFIG /all settings for both machines.  Feel welcome to mask the mac address with 00-00-00-00-00-00.

Also, please let us know if you are not certain how to tell if your computers are configured to use dynamic addresses (I suspect they are already).

Regards

Anne

Hi Everyone:

       I apologize for the lengthy delay in getting back with everyone.  As soon as I try out everything, I will post further.  I need to go back over to my friend's house when we can get an agreeable schedule.

       Thanks again.  I will be in touch soon.

       George