Network is driving me crazy
 

Hi
I'd be grateful if anyone could solve my network problems.
First the set-up
1 PC (wired) 2 Laptops all running XP SP2 (1 wired 1 Wifi) and IP address set to auto.
D-Link ADSL2 DSL320T modem with ethernet link to router
TP-Link TL-W541G Router
At this stage I have disregarded the wifi and have set it to off.
The modem IP is 192.168.1.1 DHCP enabled
The router IP is 192.168.0.1, WAN is set to Dynamic, DHCP off
These are the settings advised by D-link and TP-link
I can access the internet using 1 PC without router.
I have previously used the router using the PC as a gateway so I know that all the hardware is working. However when I add the router I am unable to connect to the internet.
The WAN on the router is able to dynamically find all the settings from the modem i.e. IP, mask, gateway and DNS (boxes are blank until search is made)
I can ping from PC to laptop and can cofirm with IPconfig/all that the IPs etc have been allocated.
All cables are standard i.e. no crossovers.
All firewalls are disabled.
But still I cannot connect to the internet.
Any advice gratefully received
Lovejoy

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

If you're not using a fixed IP on your boxes, shouldn't router dhcp be set to on?

Oh, welcome to the forums by the way.... :)

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

I'm slightly out of my depth here, but wouldn't it be easier/more convenient to use fixed IPs?

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

Hi Cobbydaler
Ironically I have just checked and the router to DHCP is already on. I forgot to turn it off after setting it back to factory defaults (yet again!).
So apparently it makes no difference.

---------- Post added at 11:26 ---------- Previous post was at 11:23 ----------

Hi danielf
Would using fixed IP's make a difference and if so what do I set them as?
Presumeably the same as auto allocated?

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

Can you ping 66.249.93.104 i.e is it a nameserver problem?

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

Just tried to ping 66.249.93.104 but it timed out.
I don't know what a nameserver problem is as I am also up to my nostrils and paddling hard!

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

Nameservers are what translate the IP address into a domain name. If you could ping 66.249.93.104 but couldn't ping www.google.co.uk then it would be a nameserver issue.

But it isn't... :(

More thinking to do...

What does ipconfig /all report?

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : WINDOW
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 4:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-11-09-2B-D8-AD
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.100
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 22 October, 2007 11:45:09
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 22 October, 2007 13:45:09

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

Is there a diagnostics page in your router that lets you perform a ping to an internet address? You can get in to the router's interface by entering 192.168.0.1 in a browser...

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

Unfortunately the only system tool are Time, Firmware update, reset, password and statistics.

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

Do the statistics show any traffic?

Can you connect to the internet directly through the modem, with the router removed?

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

No the stats are all 0 and yes I am using the modem now.
I have to keep plugging and unplugging and rebooting etc to change over.

I was using the router previously with the PC as a gateway hence the seperate boxes.

---------- Post added at 12:32 ---------- Previous post was at 12:28 ----------

oops! Just realised that the stats was disabled it does have several options
IP addresses Packets or Bytes.

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

Have you configured the router correctly for your adsl connection? Username, password, etc?

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

The options for the WAN are PPPoE, Dynamic IP or Static IP
The advice from TP-Link was for the WAN to be set as dynamic IP which then auto finds the settings from the ISP as the modem actually has all the PPPoE settings i.e. username password etc.

However I have just set it to PPPoE and inserted the settings but it wouldn't connect.

The bit that baffles me is that the router actually reads the settings from the modem which indicates that there is a router/modem connection but it doen't allow other data to pass. The router has a built firewall which I have disabled but there are also other settings which I have played with somewhat randomly. They are:-
Enable IP address filtering which is off but the sub options are allow/not allow packets not specified by rules.
Enable domain filtering (off)

I have assumed that with the firewall disabled that the rules will not apply
Enable MAC address filtering which is off but also has sub options to allow/not allow pc's with enabled rules to accese the internet.
If I go to the IP address filtering rules the default filtering rules are Deny the packets not specified by filtering rules

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

I've downloaded a user manual, & apparently there's an advanced security settings page. This includes a blocked DoS host list. It may be clutching at straws, but can you check none of your IPs/MAC addresses are in it?

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

No it's completely empty!

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

Who is your ISP?

This may be relevant, found a comment on a review:

Is Default route disabled in PPPoA/PPPoE parameters?

Did you visit autoregister to register the MAC of the router, or clone your registered PC's MAC to the router?

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

Hi Cobbler

Cracked it!

I went back to the manual to find the information on NAT and while I was perusing I came across an article in the appendix

How to configure the router to access internet by ADSL user

The very first part said that the modem should be connected in bridge mode.

Then use the router PPPoE for the WAN settings and bingo! i have now got one PC accessing the internet via the modem.

Many thanks for your shear hard work you deserve a medal for patience.

I think I will send a message back to China and tell them because they really sent me in the wrong direction.

Regards
Lovejoy

---------- Post added at 15:01 ---------- Previous post was at 15:00 ----------

Sorry Cobbydaler

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

Glad you got it sorted! :)

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

Just when I thought that everything was going smoothly then it plays up again. Just to update I have got internet access working through the router. I had one problem, the DCHP wouldn't assign the IP address on one PC so I ahve assigned all the IP's manually but left the DCHP still enabled on the router. BUT I now cannot file or print share or ping to each PC. However I can ping the router.
I have contacted D-Link and they have said that providing that the IP's are correct then there shouldn't be a problem using the bridge setup.
Below is the config and I noticed that the IP Routing and WINS Proxy etc are not enabled. Did a google on them and cannot decipher whether I should do anything with them and whether they are causing the problems.

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : WINDOW
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 4:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-11-09-2B-D8-AD
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.102
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . :

Tried disabling the firewalls but still no joy and have tried the router firewall both on and off.

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

If you're going to have static IPS on the PCs you need DHCP turned off in the router I think. You also need to assign the DNS servers manually on each PC...

You don't need IP routing or WINS proxy enabled.

You've enabled file & print sharing & it doesn't work? You've turned the firewalls off on both machines?

What's your exact static IP setup on each machine?

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

The IP setup is as shown for one PC and 192.168.0.101 for the other. All other settings are the same.
I have also setup the DNS but clumsily deleted them on the cutnpaste.
Have made a bit of progress. When I ran the windows network setup it turned on the windows firewall to block file and print sharing (not very clever!). I have now turned them off and can now ping from PC to PC in both directions.
Have disabled the DHCP on the router but still cannot see the other computer.
I have also added each computer to the "trusted" list on the firewalls (Zone Alarm).
I am sure its something minor now and I just wish I knew what it is.
When I have set up a PC to PC network before (no router) each one found the other on reboot without any action from me should this be the case here?

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

Im pretty sure You can have DHCP enabled and have static IPs, i've done it in the past.

---------- Post added at 18:48 ---------- Previous post was at 18:46 ----------

Zone alarm used to do this to me all the time, stopped using it as if you keep your machine clean and you are behind a router little else is really needed.

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

Is the NAT firewall of the router good enough for me to be able to delete zone alarm?

Re: Network is driving me crazy
 

I suppose it depends what you use your computer for but its certainly good enough to get rid of ZA temporarily at least to see if that solves your problem (unless ZA has pooched your network settings).