ROUTER ISSUES

[dewey1]

I HAVE A LINKSYS WIRELESS ROUTER. EVERY DAY, SOME TIMES MORE, I HAVE TO UN-PLUG AND PLUG IT BACK IN TO GET THE INTERNET ON MY DESKTOP. THE DESK TOP IS HARD WIRED. MY LAPTOP IS WIRELESS AND WILL CONNECT, BUT RUNS SLOW WHEN THE ABOVE OCCURS. IT HAS BEEN WORKING FINE FOR A COUPLE YEARS. I DID TRY A DIFFERENT PORT ON THE ROUTER FOR THE DESKTOP BUT MADE NO DIFFERENCE. I AM CURRENTLY TRING TO GET RID OF THE DREADED MICROSOFT SECURITY VIRUS ON THE DESKTOP. COULD THIS BE DOING IT?

[LMITOUT]

I had a similar issue and a firmware update to the router fixed the problem. Try going to the Linksys/Cisco HSOforum and look up your router model number to see if there is a newer firmware available. Might be worth a try.

[Jim Almquist]

I would be willing to bet your router is on its last leg. One thing you could do is to write down any special settings and then default your router. It is under Administration>Factory Defaults. Getting rid of nasty malware might be a little tougher. A routine that has work on most is to run Malwarebytes then SuperAntiSpyware then Microsoft Essentials and last TDSKiller. If it is so bad you cannot get one of them to run you will be better off just reloading the software and start over fresh.

[spearchucker]

I would get rid of any viruses before pronouncing anything dead.

[upnorth]

Malwarebytes and Combo fix to get rid of the Virus/Malware. Then do the firmware on the Router. I have done mine twice and and helps dramatically. And don't discount issues with your ISP. I go through stretches with my stuff where I won't have to do anything for a month or so then go through 3 or 4 days where I need to reset the router daily, then back to no issues for weeks or months.

[delcecchi]

I have the same problem with a 6 year old Belkin. Got a new router on the way. For 28 bucks it is worth a try. Then I'll try new firmware on the old one. Hate to be stuck with a brick till the new one gets here.

It is like the router forgets the DNS is the best way to describe it.

[LMITOUT]

I use Google Chrome and it would always say "Resolving Host" on the bottom status bar when I was having connection problems. I tried Internet Explorer but don't recall what that said. It does give the impression that the ISP is to blame but it would generally work on my laptop over wi-fi while the desktop connected directly to the router wouldn't, so that led me to believe it was internal to my network. In my case the firmware update solved the problem but not after pulling my hair out for a while.

[upnorth]

One of the issues you see with ISPs is that they change the IP schemes. When they do that your router needs to be updated with that info. Most are set to refresh their info automatically every so often, but if the change happens between those changes, well you are stuck with old info. Could be as simple as a different DNS server(name resolution) or as complex as complete new external IP scheme, IP addresss, Gatway, routing tables. When any of that happens you need to reboot the router to get the new info and possibly reboot your internal devices too.

[LMITOUT]

Believe me....the router was reboot, reset, power cycled, and everything just shy of going out the window...you name it.... nothing helped. The firmware update was a last ditch effort and it ended the connection issues.

If the problem happened across all PC's on the network then I would think it might be the ISP but one would work when the other wouldn't so that immediately rules out provider issues.

[upnorth]

Hey I agree, firmware will cure some ills, but it is not the only issue/solution.

[pureinsanity]

By chance do you have frontier or qwest?

most likely is an ISP issue.

When I ran DSL for a while I would have the same issues. Don't rule out your router. Could be a modem instead. and If you have frontier or qwest you most likely have a combo modem/router...

I would call your ISP, specially if you have a modem/router and tell them you want a replacement as yours is constantly dropping connections.