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Computer help: Wireless Router exhibiting strange behavior
Wireless Router exhibiting strange behavior
by hypnotic - 12/5/05 8:48 AMHello!
I have a problem with my Siemens Gigaset Wireless Router. Well, I don't know if it really is a problem with the router, or something else completely. I have DHCP enabled on the router, and 99% of the time, everything is fine. Sometimes, however, I am unable to connect to the net, and simply get timeout errors on Firefox, Explorer, and other programs, such as Messaging Applications. The strange thing is, I am able to connect to the internet in the sense that there is an active connection to the internet, and I am able to use Limewire and other P2P software! I was playing around a bit, and then realized that when I access my router configuration utility, and ask for a specific IP address to be ASSIGNED to my computer, everything is fine. I have heard however, that it is more secure, or better for some reason to not have a static IP address, not letting a particular IP be assigned to me. When I then undo the changes, using DHCP and not assinging an IP address, it continues to work, using DHCP. I have no idea what is going on here and was wondering if anyone has any idea why temporarily letting the router assign me an IP fixes things, and why I can otherwise not access the net, but still access Limewire, for example.
Any help or insights would be greatly appreceated.
Thanks
Hypnotic, Which IP Address?
by Grif Thomas
- 12/5/05 11:00 AM
In reply to: Wireless Router exhibiting strange behavior by hypnotic
First, If the DHCP addresses aren't being allocated correctly by the router, it's possible you need to update the firmware for that router..Have you done that? It's also possible that the modem and router need to be turned off, wait 5 minutes, then turn them back on again so they can reinitialize.
If you're talking about the ROUTER'S IP address, then it's up to the ISP as to the type of IP address you can use..They determine which IP address is assigned to your connection whether it be static or otherwise and there's not much you can do about it.
ON the other hand, if you're talking about the internal network's IP address, something like 192.168.0.xx then it's perfectly fine to assign yourself an address as long as it works better for you. The DHCP will automatically assign a different address you start up the computer but it may not work best in all situations. If you only have one or two computers on your network, just set it. Assuming the router is using NAT or a firewall and if you use a firewall on the computer as well, a static internal address shouldn't be a major issue.
Here are some troubleshooting links that might help also:
Troubleshooting DHCP clients
IP Address Assignment and the Routing and Remote Access Service
Hope this helps.
Grif
Internal IP address
by hypnotic - 12/5/05 1:08 PM In reply to: Hypnotic, Which IP Address? by Grif Thomas
Thanks for the help Grif. I WAS actually talking about the internal IP address, I guess, because when I let the software manually assign me one, I get 192.168.2.100, so I guess that means I can use this option.
Thanks again for the help, and the informative links.
P2P??
by jackintucson - 12/5/05 12:09 PM
In reply to: Wireless Router exhibiting strange behavior by hypnotic
As long as you use P2P you can expect problems from time to time. You didn't mention anything about how you clean up your system..i.e. anti-spyware and the like. If you are getting time-outs only recently, you're not alone. Count on it until after the first of the year. With a 35% increase in shopping and no real increase in broaband the net is busting at the seams.
And as usual, Grif's answers are among the best on the forums. Next to mine of course...just kidding...hi Grif..now don't get mad..;)
and life goes on...
Jack
Router
by hypnotic - 12/5/05 1:16 PM In reply to: P2P?? by jackintucson
Actually, I very rarely use P2P, just found it strange that it was connecting, and not the internet. Also, I use a Trojan Scanner, Antivirus (AVG), Anti Spyware (Spybot), and Zone Alarm Firewall, so I do try to keep free of malware (and a guilty conscience!) by only using P2P once in a few months.
Thanks for the reply though!
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