Cable Forum - View Single Post - Belkin wireless access point/NTL cablemodem grief

clicky · 04-11-2005, 12:23

This is killing me. I'm installing a Belkin wireless access point for a friend. Its somewhat embarrasing as I work in I.T and he specifically asked me to do it because I supposedly "know what I'm doing", but this is driving me mental.

I am not at the premises now, but through a process of elimination on the Belkin website, I'm pretty sure the router in question is the F5D7231uk4. The only difference being that my friends is a 4 port one and the one on the site is a single port unit (I don't see a 4 port one on there).

So here's the situation:

He has a desktop PC that plugs into an NTL cable modem via USB. This modem also has a network port on the back. He is fine with the desktop PC having a wired connection so no problem there.

His son has a laptop with a wireless PCMCIA card which he wants to use wirelessly, hence the purchase of the Belkin unit.

The Belkin unit comes with a CDROM. Whenever we try and run it we can't get past a certain stage. It gives us the instructions on what to plug in, when to plug it in, and even has diagrams, but when it gets to that screen with the progress bar it fails every time. It will give you one retry attempt, but after that it advises you to call Belkin. Call Belkin and they tell you to turn the router off and back on again and it'll work. He's been doing that for days.

Now then, it gets trickier.......

The NTL cable modem has a faulty network port. You have to hold the cable in quite firmly for the LED to light up to confirm theres a cable in place.

My observations:

1). It seems odd to me that this access point requires an installation CD ROM. Especially since it doesn't plug directly into the PC, it plugs into the modem. I'm used to DSL router/modem units, and they rarely require an installation CD. They do DHCP out of the box, so your PC see's it as soon as you plug in, and you do the rest on the routers config page via its IP address. Simple.

2). The Belkin and the laptop can see each other. They're ready to work....except for the fact that the Belkin and the modem won't co-operate.

3). His NTL modem is rented. I have advised him to get it replaced so that we can eliminate this dodgy network port from our investigations.

But I have to go down there when the new modem arrives to try and get this stuff up and running again.

And I have further questions too:

NTL uses DHCP. If NTL are giving the cable modem an IP address and the access point is plugged into that, are there further IP issues to consider? Does the Belkin do DHCP by default (I would assume so because it gives the laptop an IP when I run IPCONFIG)? Should I be looking into getting it to do IP pass-through or something?

The Belkin seemed to be missing a network cable. The on screen walk-through mentions two network cables, but only one was supplied. Are both these cales straight? Or crossover, or one of each?

I am absolutely lost.

Any advice or pointers or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

04-11-2005, 12:23	#1
clicky Inactive Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 3	Belkin wireless access point/NTL cablemodem grief This is killing me. I'm installing a Belkin wireless access point for a friend. Its somewhat embarrasing as I work in I.T and he specifically asked me to do it because I supposedly "know what I'm doing", but this is driving me mental. I am not at the premises now, but through a process of elimination on the Belkin website, I'm pretty sure the router in question is the F5D7231uk4. The only difference being that my friends is a 4 port one and the one on the site is a single port unit (I don't see a 4 port one on there). So here's the situation: He has a desktop PC that plugs into an NTL cable modem via USB. This modem also has a network port on the back. He is fine with the desktop PC having a wired connection so no problem there. His son has a laptop with a wireless PCMCIA card which he wants to use wirelessly, hence the purchase of the Belkin unit. The Belkin unit comes with a CDROM. Whenever we try and run it we can't get past a certain stage. It gives us the instructions on what to plug in, when to plug it in, and even has diagrams, but when it gets to that screen with the progress bar it fails every time. It will give you one retry attempt, but after that it advises you to call Belkin. Call Belkin and they tell you to turn the router off and back on again and it'll work. He's been doing that for days. Now then, it gets trickier....... The NTL cable modem has a faulty network port. You have to hold the cable in quite firmly for the LED to light up to confirm theres a cable in place. My observations: 1). It seems odd to me that this access point requires an installation CD ROM. Especially since it doesn't plug directly into the PC, it plugs into the modem. I'm used to DSL router/modem units, and they rarely require an installation CD. They do DHCP out of the box, so your PC see's it as soon as you plug in, and you do the rest on the routers config page via its IP address. Simple. 2). The Belkin and the laptop can see each other. They're ready to work....except for the fact that the Belkin and the modem won't co-operate. 3). His NTL modem is rented. I have advised him to get it replaced so that we can eliminate this dodgy network port from our investigations. But I have to go down there when the new modem arrives to try and get this stuff up and running again. And I have further questions too: NTL uses DHCP. If NTL are giving the cable modem an IP address and the access point is plugged into that, are there further IP issues to consider? Does the Belkin do DHCP by default (I would assume so because it gives the laptop an IP when I run IPCONFIG)? Should I be looking into getting it to do IP pass-through or something? The Belkin seemed to be missing a network cable. The on screen walk-through mentions two network cables, but only one was supplied. Are both these cales straight? Or crossover, or one of each? I am absolutely lost. Any advice or pointers or guidance would be greatly appreciated.