Router keeps dropping network

Hey Guys,

Got a 4 port telkom 100 WR router. Was working great until I downgraded the firware to the one shipped with it.

Now it drops my lan every 20 secs.

Seems to flicker on the port I am and then when it drops , light up all the other ports and then goes dead - only power and Wifi on.

I am trying to get there via wifi to try get the updated firmware on but failing.

Any got any ideas how to fix this one. I have tried resetting (reset button + power on/off etc).

I have also tried it on multiple machines so cant be the NIC on the PC.

Thanks!

When it 'drops your lan', what is happening? Are you using DHCP or a static address? If you are using Windows, try pinging it with the -t flag, so it is continuous [until it receives a ^C] -- You might be able to get an idea of what is going on by how the ping replies come through. I would suggest using a static IP address as well.

Tried static and DHCP, no go. I am not sure what the IP of the router is anymore (im not sure if it reset or using my old configuration.

It times out on any IP that I choose.

Using windows 7 and it finds the LAN connection but a second later drops again and goes to identifying. I presume its the firmware doing this.

Any other way to do a firmware upgrade?

Personally I think the router is now toast....there is no way to connect to flash the firmware

Its not recommended to update firmware wirelessly...ever

Why did you downgrade the firmware to start with??

MLF

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Originally Posted by morganlefay

Personally I think the router is now toast....there is no way to connect to flash the firmware

Its not recommended to update firmware wirelessly...ever

Why did you downgrade the firmware to start with??

MLF

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Was having some port forwarding issues, wouldnt let me create any rules. Should of just reapplied the latest firmware :(

I will play with it tomorrow but I agree with you that it is toast :(

No internet at home now.

Well it sounds like it was misbehaving already....and has just got worse....could be the actual hardware...and flashing wont help.

Routers fail...probably a electrical spike

MLF

Could be a lot of things. Could be that the firmware didn't download correctly to the router, maybe you didn't wait long enough before power-cycling the router after loading the older firmware...maybe the older firmware had a newer version for a reason.

Anyways, it sounds like a bad firmware. The router is probably running out of memory when you try to use it, and then rebooting itself to a failed state.

Have you tried tftping the firmware to this router? Mind you, I know almost nothing about this router, so I'm not sure what chipset it is or what the mainboard looks like. But most routers have an option where you can use tftp instead of the http client to upload firmware to, in case of a firmware failure.

Download a tftp client for your OS. Not sure if you're more comfortable with a CLI or GUI. I have an excellent windows GUI client, but I can't remember where I got it from, it's been so long ago (EDIT: Found it: http://www.brothersoft.com/tftp-client-122473.html). Install it on a computer you'll be using to connect to the router.

Power off the router. Connect the LAN cable from your computer to any LAN port on the router. Set your computer's ethernet IP address to 10.0.0.3 (according to google, the default IP address for the Telkom 100WR router is 10.0.0.2). Open up the tftp client, and set it to upload your firmware to the router (setting the destination to 10.0.0.2).

Power on the router, and IMMEDIATELY begin transferring the firmware to the router. You may have to try it multiple times (or you may get an error code or something) before it works (if it even has a tftp server running on it). If you are successful in uploading the firmware, leave everything alone, walk away from the router and come back, say, 5 minutes later, hopefully enough time for the router to load the firmware to its nvram. Power off the router, wait 10 seconds, then power it back on. You *should* have a working router. Or, you'll simply have a slightly less broken one. Who knows?

Failing that, try replacing the router's power adapter. Sometimes, they overheat. Sometimes, they get mixed up with other adapters, with different voltages. Sometimes, like morganlefay said, they succumb to voltage spikes. Happens all the time.

Hi Nuke,

Thanks for the app, though a couple of things

1. Does it "upload" into cache or something becasuse it starts uploading even when the router is not on.
2. It uploads to around 99 % and hangs there forever.
3. What is supposed to happen when its done correctly?

EDIT:

4. Upload in binary or plain text is the options?

It shouldn't upload if the router is not on. I'd suggest checking your network settings. Your IP should be 10.0.0.3 (or any other IP on the router's LAN). Your subnet mask should be 255.255.255.0 (don't think it should matter, even with a class A IP. Just make sure you only change the last octet of your computer's IP if using a class C mask). Leave your default gateway setting empty. No DNS.

What's supposed to happen is the client should give you a successful popup dialog, I think. It's been a while since I've worked on consumer routers.

Upload in binary. Forgot about that. Definitely upload in binary.

THink its toast.

So im going to buy a new one.

Looking at like R500 ($80 , 60 euros).

Been looking at Dlink or trying to get a netgear.

All I require is wireless and a 4 port router. Some dlinks go for cheap, havent worked with them before though. Any thoughts.

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Originally Posted by Cider

THink its toast.

So im going to buy a new one.

Looking at like R500 ($80 , 60 euros).

Been looking at Dlink or trying to get a netgear.

All I require is wireless and a 4 port router. Some dlinks go for cheap, havent worked with them before though. Any thoughts.

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Just get a cheap Linksys WRT-54g on ebay, and throw DD-WRT on it. You can have a pretty sweet router for about $20-$30.

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Originally Posted by westin

Just get a cheap Linksys WRT-54g on ebay, and throw DD-WRT on it. You can have a pretty sweet router for about $20-$30.

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I second that!

Yep, DD-WRT is a decently-stable firmware. Just make sure you read some of the stickied posts on the dd-wrt forums before deciding which version to load on your router. The 'recommended firmware' database isn't up-to-date, last I read. Also, the gurus on the forums describe dd-wrt as 'a cadillac, not a porche'. DD-WRT prioritizes options and stability over speed.

At the risk of starting an e-peen contest, I have a Linksys wrt54g-TM, wap54g, and Microsoft MN-700. All with dd-wrt on them, and using WDS. Never had a problem with them.

went for a netgear DGN-2200 for the Wifi N.

300 mb/s couldnt hurt :)

First time ive actually played with firmware besides what I get from Netgears site for our office.

Whats this DD-WRT all about, open source firmware across all products? Why not use your specific firmware made by the manufacturer?

EDIT: this looks interesting. Going try load it on the 2200 , cant find that its supported though.

Most of the time, the firmware shipped with cheap, consumer routers has code errors, is unstable, or otherwise doesn't do what it advertises. DD-WRT is VERY stable (when you get it working the way you want to), it offers LOTS of options, and if your router is supported, you usually won't have any problems installing it, provided you have instructions provided by the dd-wrt gurus or their wiki.

HOWEVER, sometimes, the installation process is a bit more intense. On cisco and linksys-based hardware, you normally have to run something called a 'vx' killer or whatever they call it nowadays. This simply kills the original firmware's setting that's supposed to block other types of firmware from uploading to it (but sometimes it also kills the original firmware itself!!). Once you do that, it's either very hard or impossible to go back to the original firmware if you find that dd-wrt isn't for you.

Please, PLEASE make sure that your router is supported and there are clear instructions (or you're willing to spend a few DAYS learning how to do it yourself) on what to do if something goes horribly wrong. READ the stickied threads in the Broadcom-based hardware forum (I believe netgear has Broadcom-based hardware in its routers), there is very important information in those threads. If you need help, make SURE you've read and memorized all information in those stickied posts, or they'll simply direct you to read something like "Peacock thread note 6" or whatever when you post a topic asking for help.

hmm..."If it ain't broken, don't fix it"

Normally, I wouldn't live by that, especially with a dime-a-dozen router. However, being that that's apparently your only router you have handy (besides the 'bricked' one you replaced with it), and being that there's no instructions on how to flash dd-wrt on that router on the dd-wrt site, I'd say play it safe. Flashing different firmware, not coded by netgear, without proper instructions, is a good way to brick your new router. And, if you screw it up worse trying to fix it, sooner or later, you'll end up having to do this.

Nobody wants to do that, unless you have lots of time and patience on your hands. I've had to do it before, and it gets frustrating after the first couple days.

hmmm this looks tedious. I dont know to be honest. Im not a code guru at all.

Think i will stick with the latest firmware from the site. However if I do spot that my specific model is compatible I will definately give it a bash.

Thanks for the interesting thread.

I had no trouble at all loading DD-WRT on a Linksys WRT54g router that I got on Ebay. I just downloaded the file, uploaded it to the router [using the built in firmware upgrade option], and let it do its thing. It rebooted after a few minutes, and had a nice new interface with all kinds of new options.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by westin

I had no trouble at all loading DD-WRT on a Linksys WRT54g router that I got on Ebay. I just downloaded the file, uploaded it to the router [using the built in firmware upgrade option], and let it do its thing. It rebooted after a few minutes, and had a nice new interface with all kinds of new options.

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Well got the new 2200 netgear up. I want to do DD-WRT on it so I will try and track down if its possible. Would be cool to unlock new features.

edit 1: Q, probally off topic.

in the router there is an option for Dyndns, do I use it or continue using the software of it on my PC? If i use the router side one, can I uninstall the software on my machine as the router will update my hostname, am I correct?

edit 2: this router is champ, so many settings that my old telkom 100 WR never had and it was the same price!!! bastards.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cider

edit 1: Q, probally off topic.

in the router there is an option for Dyndns, do I use it or continue using the software of it on my PC? If i use the router side one, can I uninstall the software on my machine as the router will update my hostname, am I correct?

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Not sure on your internet setup. It really depends on a couple things. Do you host any services that people on the internet need to have access to 24/7? Is it absolutely critical that everyone knows your IP address at all times?

I'd really rather let the router handle such things. 1) A computer uses much more power than a router, and 2) A router usually stays on ALL THE TIME anyways. May as well have it do something useful when it's not being used.

If you do decide to let the router handle the dyndns stuff, I recommend either disabling or uninstalling the dyndns client on your computer. I remember having problems with dyndns when it would disable my free account because it was updating too often.

I saw you already purchased but I figured I'd post anyway. I've had great luck with the Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH and DDWRT. I have 3 of them setup in my house in a mesh (overkill). I have external HDs connected to them for media and one is even running squid caching to the HD.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by phishphreek

I have 3 of them setup in my house in a mesh (overkill).

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Haha. :) Do you live in the Vanderbilt mansion? :D

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Not sure on your internet setup. It really depends on a couple things. Do you host any services that people on the internet need to have access to 24/7? Is it absolutely critical that everyone knows your IP address at all times?

I'd really rather let the router handle such things. 1) A computer uses much more power than a router, and 2) A router usually stays on ALL THE TIME anyways. May as well have it do something useful when it's not being used.

If you do decide to let the router handle the dyndns stuff, I recommend either disabling or uninstalling the dyndns client on your computer. I remember having problems with dyndns when it would disable my free account because it was updating too often.

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Mostly use it just to RDP to my box and check that things are running doing the day, downloads etc. Not running an FTP or web server at all. I have uninstalled the software on my machine and will test later today but all looks good.

Quote:

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I saw you already purchased but I figured I'd post anyway. I've had great luck with the Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH and DDWRT. I have 3 of them setup in my house in a mesh (overkill). I have external HDs connected to them for media and one is even running squid caching to the HD.

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Yeah this thing has a USB input , remote management and FTP story. However im interested in your squid setup.

Ive been looking for another box to run squid on , going well for you?