Hey guys,
I've got a D-Link DGL-4100 wired router, had it for about 2 years, maybe longer, and it's worked great until 1pm this afternoon.
I'm experiencing something I've never experienced before with networks and routers, and I'm just wondering if anyone's experienced the same and can maybe either offer an explanation or some advice please.
Basically, I've got the router connected via WAN port to the modem, I've got an ethernet cable connected to my Dad's PC, my PC, my PS3 and a spare shorter cable that isn't connected to anything so I can switch my PS3 between upstairs and downstairs for streaming media from my PC to my TV downstairs using TVersity.
Anyway, this afternoon at around 1pm, my Internet connection dropped dead. I went down to the modem, reset it, and reset the router at the same time. Modem came back on, I plugged the router in and the Internet connection came back on. Thought nothing more of it, my Dad's PC downstairs was working properly, net connection and all. I headed back upstairs, sat down at my PC, and the net connection was dead again. My dad then yelled up that his was down again.
Tried this little song and dance 3-4 times with the same results. Internet connection down after 2-3 minutes. At this point I tried accessing my router's software at the 192.168.0.1 IP address to find that my router wouldn't communicate with my computer.
"Uh oh".
So I sit there thinking for a second, thoughts like "Goddamnit, why now? Why does it have to die when I'm flat broke? Why does it have to die now instead of two weeks ago when I had some spare cash?". Then, I unplug my modem from my router and connect my Dad's PC directly to the modem. I reset the modem, reboot his PC, and the internet connection is back again. However, unlike before, the internet connection remains up.
Permanently.
So now I'm thinking "Okay, my router's on the fritz...", so I connect my Dad's PC directly to the router with no WAN cable connected to it.
It works fine...
I can log into it, change settings, reboot the device, everything. No problems at all.
Now I'm thinking "What the f...?" and going over the entire schematic in my head.
Here's the interesting part. When I connect the modem to the WAN port with the router software webpage open, it works fine for a second, then begins telling me something along the lines of "This process could not complete because the network connection is down". This happens for, yep, you guessed it, 2-3 minutes until I get a flat out "This page is not available".
So, I have a router that works fine on it's own, an Internet connection that works fine on it's own but when you throw the two together the way God, the Devil and Virgin Media intended, all of a sudden (after two+ years of working absolutely fine), I can't get a connection.
I haven't phoned tech support yet, mainly because 1) I'll only get through to India and I'm awful at understanding foreign accents as it is without a phone line getting in the way and 2) They'll only accuse the router, say they don't support a router, blame me for defying them and curse me and my immortal soul for all eternity.
So, I ask you guys instead. Am I in need of a new router, or is this some sort of devil's work? Is my modem killing my router, or is my router killing my modem? Is my router killing itself, or is my modem killing itself? Is this potentially a temporary situation or is my router/modem/whatever it is knackered and gonna require replacement?
Sorry for the long winded explanation of my problem, but I find if I don't explain everything I often get people asking more (though sometimes, I explain fully and people just don't read it all anyway
)
Cheers for any advice you guys can offer,
Chris/KsE