Question

Using LinkSys Router as a Switch on Home Network

Asked by: moshecristel

I've been trying to get my LinkSys Wired Router--BEFSR41 (v.4)--to work as a switch on my home network.  Below is a description of my current setup which does not include the wired the switch:

I have a LinkSys Wireless Router--WRT300N v 1.1--connected to my cable modem.  To the router I have 2 computers connecting: a laptop connecting wirelessly and a desktop connecting via ethernet cable from a room at the other end of the house.  Both computers are using Windows Vista and everything works great--we get internet access and share files/printers just fine.

I would like, however, to connect another XP desktop to the network from the same room as the Vista desktop without running another wire.  I was hoping to use the wired router (BEFSR41) as a switch so that I could plug both desktops into it and have just one cable running from there to the wireless router.

I have posted a diagram of how I would like the network to work: http://www.armadillopages.com/Home_Network.jpg.  

I have tried several things based on things I've read but none quite seemed to work.  I was hoping to just start from the top and have someone help me through this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks!



This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Linksys wired Router to D-Link Wireless Router connectio…
    Hi, I am trying to set up a network between a Linksys wired router and a d-link wireless router. The wired router is hooked up directly to my cable modem and the wireless router is connected to the wired router. The problem is that the wireless router won't see the wired ro...
  2. Connecting Linksys Wireless Access Point to Linksys Wirel…
    I'm planning to get a Linksys Access Point to add on to my existing Linksys-operated network (wireless B network). My current network configuration is an DSL modem connected to Linksys Wireless Broadband Router, and 2 notebooks connected wirelessly to the broadband router. I...
  3. Linksys wireless router
    I had a Linksys wired router and went to the combo wired/wireless. I have a linksys router that points web requests to my web server. I currently host 4 or 5 sites. Upon swapping the routers, everything works fine except that I cannot get to my sites whilst on my net...
  4. How to extend a cisco routed network wirelessly using a li…
    Hello, We have a 10.1.11.0/24 network in our building going back to a Cisco 2300 router. I want to install a Linksys Wireless router on the switch and extend the network wirelessly in our conference room. Can I just assign my linksys router to hand out 10.1.11.50-10.1.11...
  5. Laptop will not connect to new Linksys "N" router wirele…
    I have a new Dell laptop running Windows Vista, and a new Linksys WRT300N wireless "N" router. My desktop works well when wired to the "N" router (have cable for internet). My new laptop works great when wired to the "N" router. But when I ...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: RobWillPosted on 2008-01-01 at 09:17:35ID: 20560731

On the BEFSR41 disable DHCP for the LAN, and only use the LAN ports. Do not connect anything to the WAN port, and "away you go". I.e connect a cble from 1 LAN port of the BEFSR41 to the existing router, and the PC to another LAN port.

 

by: moshecristelPosted on 2008-01-01 at 10:01:06ID: 20560895

RobWill,

You'll have to bear with me, I'm brand new to this.  I've connected the PC to a LAN port in the BEFSR41 router and run another cable from another LAN port to the wireless router.  Then I try to connect to the BEFSR41 to disable DHCP (by navigating to 192.168.1.1 in my browser), it is asking for a username and password.  What username and password it wants.  I've tried my Windows username and password but it doesn't work.

On the wireless router, I set up a password via the LinkSys EasyLink Advisor program but this is an older router and I no longer have the software for it.

 

by: RobWillPosted on 2008-01-01 at 10:37:29ID: 20561012

>>"You'll have to bear with me, I'm brand new to this. "
No problem at all.

I would connect a PC to the BEFSR41 first without connecting it to the other router, to make sure you are connecting to it, and not the wireless.
You can verify the router's IP address by opening a DOS window (enter cmd in the start/run box) and enter:
ipconfig
The IP address next to "default gateway" is the IP address of the BEFSR41, which will probably be 192.168.1.1  Then you can connect to http://192.168.1.1  (it may also be 192.168.0.1)
If no one has changed the password, the user name is blank and the password is "admin" all small letters. If that doesn't work there is a tiny reset button on the unit. Press and hold that for 10 seconds while powered on, then wait 3-5 minutes, and power off and back on. This will reset it to factory defaults.

 

by: RobWillPosted on 2008-01-01 at 10:47:40ID: 20561045

Just checked the on-line manuals.
default IP address = 192.168.1.1
user name = admin
password = admin

To disable DHCP, go to the "set-up" page and disable "Local DHCP server".

Once you connect it to the other network you should re-boot your PC to get a new IP address from the Wireless router's DHCP server.

 

by: moshecristelPosted on 2008-01-01 at 11:06:35ID: 31418180

Well, I finally figured out how to log into the wired router (username blank, password=admin) and I've set the Setup-->Basic Setup-->Local DHCP Server = Disabled.  At this point I could not get internet access but after changing the IP address of the BEFSR41 router to 192.168.1.2 (it was originally identical to the wireless router's IP: 192.168.1.1) I was able to connect to the internet, share files,etc.  Thanks for the help!

 

by: RobWillPosted on 2008-01-01 at 11:50:16ID: 20561200

Glad to hear you are up and running.
Thanks moshecristel.
Cheers !
--Rob

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...