Home networking question

[jlb1705]

Here's my situation:

My girlfriend and I each have notebook computers, and she also has one from work. Right now, we are set up for wireless, but we are using two separate routers. The first is a Linksys Wireless-G, and then there is a Netgear Wireless-G router connected in series with the Linksys. The Netgear Router is in place because her employer requires it (and its configuration) in order for her to work from home when the need arises.

She is able to connect to the Netgear router through both her work computer (Dell) and her own computer (MacBook Pro). I have never been able to connect to the Netgear router with my computer though (HP, WinXP SP2) though. That is why we have both connected in series - the Linksys is the only way I can get on wirelessly. We've asked the IT people with her employer how I can get my computer to find that router and connect to it, but have never been successful.

This problem is compounded by the fact that the Linksys router is completely unsecured at this point. If I try to secure that network, the Netgear router gets kicked off and I catch hell from my girlfriend. So, I'm relegated to an unsecured wireless network, and every once in a while (especially lately) I get a notification in my taskbar that says there is an IP address conflict with my computer on my network. I can only assume that this means that an unscrupulous neighbor (or worse) is on my router and perhaps accessing my computer.

Could somebody who knows what they're doing please help me get this set up RIGHT so I don't have this problem anymore? Thanks.

 

[jlb1705]

Additional information:

I had been instructed previously that in order for the network created by the Netgear router to visible to my computer, that I needed to be able to supply the name (SSID) of the network. It's been a while since I've done anything with this, but I have the SSID for the Netgear router. When I go to Wireless Network Connection Properties, I can see it listed in my list of preferred networks under the Wireless Networks tab. However, it is never visible to me if I want to connect to it in Available Wireless Networks.

 

[sandgk]

I'm not claiming to know too much about your set-up. But do the responses in this TechSpot troubleshooting thread provide some clue?

This jumped out at me - and it wasn't something you had previously mentioned, but it does indicate that one of the two routers needs to have primacy - which makes sense to me intuitively.

Samstoned
02-03-2006, 12:24 AM

they way I did it was first router to modem is router dhcp enabled
2nd one is dhcp disabled
if you are using both for diff machines disable dhcp in both routers
first router ip is gateway default should be 192.168.1.1
this is on all the nic setup
this should be on the 2nd router address something like
192.168.2.1 all nics on this line 192.168.2.???
default gateway 192.168.1.1
if you have firewall on 2nd router disable all
allow NAT

X DarthMonkey X
02-03-2006, 09:02 AM

do not disable DHCP on Vonage Router, disable it on the second router.

That should fix it, pretty much.

The reason why you don't disable DHCP on the Vonage router is because the phones need to pull an IP from the DHCP Server on the router as well as the computers. And if you disable DHCP on the second one, the DHCP on the Vonage router will still assign IP addresses to the computers plugged into it, because it acts as a network switch instead of a router.

EDIT: The second one acts a a switch.

Samstoned
02-04-2006, 12:25 AM

then its not just a router its a voip modem router
as my voip does not need dhcp set in my router
try it you will see if only a router you don't need dhcp enabled
voip modem uses a mac address
from what I have read dhcp is handled outside of the modem
from server side

 

[jlb1705]

Actually, I really want to be able to connect my computer to the Netgear router so I can disconnect the Linksys router and take it out of the picture altogether. If I can get on the Netgear, there's no reason for us to have two routers going.

Leaving the two connected in series is OK if I can't find a way to connect to the Netgear router. In that case, I'd need to be able to secure the Linksys router, which is the first in the series without affecting the ability of the Netgear router to connect to the internet - if that's possible.

I read the thread you linked, but that stuff is just a bit over my head as I have no idea what dhcp is.

 

[CleveBucks]

Additional information:

I had been instructed previously that in order for the network created by the Netgear router to visible to my computer, that I needed to be able to supply the name (SSID) of the network. It's been a while since I've done anything with this, but I have the SSID for the Netgear router. When I go to Wireless Network Connection Properties, I can see it listed in my list of preferred networks under the Wireless Networks tab. However, it is never visible to me if I want to connect to it in Available Wireless Networks.

jlb, the Netgear is setup to not broadcast its SSID to the world. That's why it never shows up in View Available Networks. You need to enter all the information for that router manually into the wireless connection properties. Start by removing the network if it's listed. Then add it back manually, starting with the SSID and any WEP or WPA security settings required by the router. If the SSID and key match, you should connect to it automatically when in range.

If it doesn't work, the company could be filtering at the MAC address level.

 

[jlb1705]

Would it ever show up under Available Wireless Networks - like after I enter the SSID and everything - or will it always be invisible to me?

 

[CleveBucks]

No, I don't believe it will ever show up, because the SSID is not broadcast. You wouldn't really see it until you're connected to it. (not 100% sure on this)