I can get on internet but others using my Linksys router can't

W

whiteheater

Active Member
You guys helped me a lot already about not being able to boot up using Vista. Now I've encountered a second problem, and it's the fact I can get on the internet but the other two desktop computers using my Linksys Wireless 6 2.4 GHZ (5.4MBPS) Broadband Router aren't able to connect much of the time. One computer has a Belkin Wireless G desktop card and the other has a Linksys USB wireless card.

I already tried disconnecting both my Scientific Atlanta WebSTAR modem and the router and plugging them back in.

This all started about a month ago when I couldn't boot up my computer and has happened on and off since then. On the computer closest to mine (I'm in a basement apartment and the nearest computer is on the first floor) I tried the repair option for the connection but no dice. Funny thing is the Belkin has the name "Sadie" and it shows up in the "my connection" page all by itself but when I press connect at the lower left -- nothing. When I check out the current connections page, it shows the "names" of computers our neighbors are using (like Jazzy and Belkin540) for their network connections. When the connection does work the "Sadie" name appears above the "Jazzy" and Belkin540" named all on the same connections page.

The illustration (computer to router to internet) shows it's not connected to the router or internet and we get a "limited or no connectivity". We even reset the IP address, subnet mask, etc.

BTW: everything seemed to work OK most of the time before I had the boot up Vista problem....I've been using Ubuntu for about a week now to get on the internet. Hope I made sense in my descriptions above. If you need more details just ask.

William
 
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Hi William,

Are you using Windows to connect to the network or a separate connection program that came with the adapter? Look for an option in the program to allow Windows to manage things instead, disable it from auto starting with Windows and exit. The computer monitors globe icon in the system tray well be what you click on to connect to the network using Windows.

Go into Network and Sharing Center > Manage Wireless Networks, delete all wireless profiles listed.

While you're in Network and Sharing Center, go to Manage Network Connections. Go into the IPv4 properties for the wireless adapter and verify that any DNS and IP addresses are obtained automatically. Check the router configuration to ensure the DHCP server is enabled.
 
Kairozamorro:
When you ask if I'm using Windows to connect to the network, are you inquiring about my computer or the other 2 computers? Right now I'm using Ubuntu to get online. The other 2 computers are using Windows (one has XP pro and the other has Vista Home basic). Even though I'm getting online, the other 2 computers aren't able to even though the router and modem seem to be working properly.

There are three small lights on the front of the router. When the light under "internet" is steady it means I'm able to get online (when it blinks is when I can't get online).

When you ask about the Network and sharing center, manage Network connections, etc --- is that for the other 2 computers? I'm really new to Ubuntu and don't know how to check out the router's DHCP server. OK I found under system, administration, network tools.
Everything listed seems to check out OK (IP address, netmask, etc) but I dont see DHCP anywhere.

Also...could the fact I'm presently using Ubuntu and the other 2 computers have Windows be part of the problem why they aren't able to get online and I can?

William
 
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You don't say what you did to get over the problem "a month ago".
Have you reinstalled the OS or other apps ?
Any chance your firewall needs reconfiguring ?
 
Terry:
A month ago when I couldn't boot up using Windows Vista, whenever there was a problem with the other 2 computers getting online I simply unplugged the router and modem for a minute or two and then plugged them in again and then the other 2 computers were able to get back online.

Problem now is I'm using Ubuntu and can get online but the other 2 computers wont go online while I use Ubuntu. Looks like the problem might be I'm using an OS other than Windows. I wont be able to reinstall Windows until the end of May.

I guess one way to find out for sure is to shut down my computer, remove the ubuntu disk from my CD/DVD drive, and unplug-plug back in the router and modem and see if the other 2 computers can then get back online. If that doesn't work....????

William
 
Yes, I'm referring to the Windows computers that can't get online. Most adapters well come with a connect tool, fact is you don't need it, just Windows. Ubuntu shouldn't have anything to do with why the other computers can't get online, unless the IPs are static to the computer (they're manually set and the same). They need to be set dynamically (obtained automatically) and unique, which would be from your router's DHCP server. If you're in a default configuration the IPs each computer should be getting should start out with 192.168.x.x
 
whiteheater said:
Looks like the problem might be I'm using an OS other than Windows. I wont be able to reinstall Windows until the end of May.
Click to expand...
Nope, that's not the problem. I'm using a modem-and-router combination, and set it up from Ubuntu, and other people can connect to my wireless network using a Windows computer, as long as they're in range to pickup the signal, and of course have the passkey.
 
Have you tried factory reset on the router in case the firmware's become corrupted ?
(that's accessed by power-up whilst holding down one of the buttons on my Orange livebox)
 
Yeah, you should try re-setting it first to see if that fixes it. Of course you'll need to reconfigure it with security and other network settings. If that works no point in wasting good money on a new router, unless you just want to :smile:

So what did you determine to be wrong with the router?
 
Kairozamorro:
Ok the router wasn't working for anyone so we had it replaced through our cable company and now it is connected to one of the other computers. I now have a USB Cisco Linksys network adapter that I plugged into a USB port on the back of my desktop computer. Now I need a step by step guide on how to get onto the internet using the adapter with Ubuntu. I only need to use it for about 2 weeks until I do a clean upgrade to Windows 7.
 
If you have

a) The Cisco plugged into an ethernet cable to the router
b) The appropriate drivers for the Cisco installed in Ubuntu

It should Just Work (TM). In this case, it'll default to DHCP to get the IP and configure everything automagically.

If it doesn't work, chances are you don't have the Cisco drivers installed. Google it. Find the drivers. Install them and reboot.
 
Computer Guru:
Problem is I can't get online with my computer to download the drivers. I have to use one of the other computers in the house that can get online to post messages here.
 
If no wireless networks are listed in Ubuntu chances are you'll need to blacklist whatever driver its using and use ndiswrapper to get it working with a 32-bit XP driver for your adapter. Google around for your adapter model and ndiswrapper. You're using the latest version 10.4 right? More wireless support is added with each build, though for most of us with broadcom chipsets we have yet to get support out of the box.
 
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