Wirelesss router issue

[pompian74]

I thought I'd try a post here before going to the vendor as I have a problem with a new wirekless router purchased just over a week ago from Novatech.

The router in question is the Philips CKA7740N, I installed it to the letter and all was working ok working through ethernet so wireless had not been activated. Then a couple of days ago I switched the router on to go online and found I was unable to get a connection. When I looked at the router Only the power LED was lit and all 4 LAN led's flashed all at once every 3-4 seconds.

So I tried the previous adsl modem I was using, the connection was still there and no problem's, when switching back to the router the LAN led's were flashing once again.

I've tried setting it up again but it is not connecting with the pc despite knowing the ethernet etc work ok.

If anybody has any idea I would appreciate it.

[atf300]

could it be an issue with a locked mac address for the router ?

[pompian74]

I have no idea of what the cause of this is, after much web searching and contact with Philips Support it was decided the router was faulty. However, after organising and returning this product to Novatech I was offered a replacement which I took. Upon setting up the router was fine for about 10 minutes, connecting through an ethernet cable, then all of a sudden the connection was lost, and again all four LAN led's flashed at once every 10 seconds. Even a reset procedure does not seem to make any difference.

So this kind of leads you to believe there is an issue with my connection, pc or cable maybe. But if I setup my previous ADSL modem with ethernet my connection is back and no problems.

So is it the router again, surely not or is it a set up issue, does anybody have any ideas.

Philips support gave me a couple of suggestions to try and then said if they fail it is a faulty router. Maybe it's the throw away/replace society we live in now.

[pompian74]

could it be an issue with a locked mac address for the router ?

Have to be honest I do not know very much about mac addresses. All I know is having connected the router to another pc the LAN led's flash alll the same so I believe it to be to be a router issue, though I may be wrong. I am still able to connect using the preious ADSL modem with ethernet.

Would be interested to know if anybody has had any problems with this model, recently perhaps.

[Vic]

again all four LAN led's flashed at once every 10 seconds.

That's broadcast traffic on your LAN. It means something is looking for a service that isn't available.


Even a reset procedure does not seem to make any difference.

Can you see the web interface on that router? If so, its main processor is running, so it's probably salvageable.


So this kind of leads you to believe there is an issue with my connection, pc or cable maybe.

No, I'd be checking the config. The timing you've mentioned would seem to imply something going wrong when the router connects to your ISP - so I'd be checking things like DNS servers.


But if I setup my previous ADSL modem with ethernet my connection is back and no problems.

Different configuration...


So is it the router again, surely not or is it a set up issue, does anybody have any ideas.

Given that you've had have two routers showing identical symptoms, I wouldn't suspect a faulty router - it's possible, but I wouldn't consider it the most likely cause.

So the best course of action would be to check each link in the chain in turn - ping the router, ping the PPP peer, ping an external host. Then start name resolution tests - what do you get from checking forum.novatech.co.uk ?


Philips support gave me a couple of suggestions to try and then said if they fail it is a faulty router. Maybe it's the throw away/replace society we live in now.

No, it's just cheaper to bin a router or two than to put knowledgeable people in first-line support.

Vic.

[pompian74]

Thankyou for yor reply Vic, the LAN LED's are flashing before as soon as the router recives power when switching on. I am currently using my previous modem via the ethernet and when I try the router again it no longer connects to the pc when running setup.

I have also tried setting up on another pc but it makes no difference.

I will give the 'ping' a go in the next day or two and see what happens, though having not done this before I'm not entirely sure what I need to entre in cmd prompt

[pompian74]

Thought I'd give the ping a go this evening, so connected the router as expected no connection to the pc via the ethernet and all for led's flashing when swithed on. Suffice to say pinging the router failed as you would expect. When I presssed the reset button it the ethernet pc card lit and the LAN 12 led lit whilst the other three stopped flashing. I've done this before and when powering off and then switching back on, the router reverts back again, thus no connection. Anyway, tried the ping again and yes this worked.

What I do not understand is why the router reverts back to all LAN led's flashing and no connection when powered off and back on again, it's as if it has no memory backup, The LAN led's are also the only led's which light in any way.

What do I enter to ping the 'peer' and 'local host'?

[Vic]

Suffice to say pinging the router failed as you would expect.

Errr - no. I would expect to be able to ping the router successfully from the local LAN.


When I presssed the reset button it the ethernet pc card lit and the LAN 12 led lit whilst the other three stopped flashing. I've done this before and when powering off and then switching back on, the router reverts back again, thus no connection. Anyway, tried the ping again and yes this worked.

OK, so at reset condition it works.


What I do not understand is why the router reverts back to all LAN led's flashing and no connection when powered off and back on again

The LAN LEDs flash when there is traffic. They flash together because it is broadcast traffic - packets sent to everything on the LAN. There is always some broadcast traffic - but it typically dies away to very low levels quite quickly unless something is wrong (e.g. a DHCP server not running).


it's as if it has no memory backup, The LAN led's are also the only led's which light in any way.

OK, so something is going wrong with your PPP connection as well.

What happens if your router is not plugged into the phone line? Can you continue to ping it?

If so, see if there is a setting called something like "half bridge mode". Make sure it is *not* selected.


What do I enter to ping the 'peer' and 'local host'?

The peer will depend on your ISP - you'll have to find it in your router status page somewhere.

And pinging a local host is not that relevant - you want to ping an external host.

Vic.

[pompian74]

Hello Vic,

Pinging the router with the phone line disconnected and having reset, it works, the router is sending and recieving packets.

I've had a look for ' bridge modes' all I could find was 'Bridge connections' which when clicking, a small window appears to say I must select at least two conections not currently being used. So does this mean the bridging is not abled.

By the way i 'm running Vista and in my Network Connections I have showing my TalkTalk connection via USB ADSL WAN adaptor which works fine no problems. Along with a connection using the Intel Pro/1000 CT Network Connection, if that helps in anyway. It seems to be sending/recieving packets as I've said. Connectivity is local and the DHCP is enabled according to the properties.

I have just tried pinging the peer, I think I found,if it's what you meant,the IP address in the properties. This failed, stating it was unreachable.

I'm beginning to wonder if it is worth all the hassle, I only want to set up a shared network so two pc's can connect at the same time.

[J1993]

can you ring the isp, to get all your settings to check router is setup properly

[Vic]

I've had a look for ' bridge modes' all I could find was 'Bridge connections' which when clicking, a small window appears to say I must select at least two conections not currently being used. So does this mean the bridging is not abled.

That's a full bridge - it's a bit different to what I was wondering about.


By the way i 'm running Vista and in my Network Connections I have showing my TalkTalk connection via USB ADSL WAN adaptor which works fine no problems.

Ooh - that's a worry.

What is this USB WAN adaptor? Are you trying to run two simultaneous Internet connections?


I'm beginning to wonder if it is worth all the hassle, I only want to set up a shared network so two pc's can connect at the same time.

What you're trying to do is incredibly common - we all do it. Your problems relate to your network configuration - and to fix that, we need detail

So let's start with this USB device - what is it?

Vic.

[pompian74]

Ok, so the WAN adaptor is the modem I was previously using before the router. I sould say when I installed the router first time the USB adaptor was removed along with it's drivers.

The router was working ok for about 2-3 days before it stopped communicating with the pc and connecting to my ISP.

I should say I have now re-installed the his modem whilst trying to recitfy this issue, but it is disconnected and disabled when the router is connected.

[pompian74]

This is now getting very frustrating as I just seem to be going around in circles. I cannot access the router setup if i enter the IP address in the browser I am taken to a page to install new firmware and reset the router. Resetting does not make any difference by the way. I've also checked in network manager to make sure it is setup to get the IP address automatically, they were.

If i try to run the installation disc the setup fails when trying to connect to the pc, yet I'm able to ping the router successfully and when looking at all the different settings to check and uncheck I don't know if something is checked that shouldn't be or vice-versa.

Would it be an idea to remove all network and connections and start again, would this make any difference?

[aaron333]

Can you please provide a screenshot of the routers homepage, usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.1.2.

[pompian74]

Hi Aaron, yes those are the addresses i tried, I had no response from1.2 but 1.1 returned a firmware/reset page. How do I post a screenshot, I'm sure I use the Print Screen key but how?

[aaron333]

Hi Aaron, yes those are the addresses i tried, I had no response from1.2 but 1.1 returned a firmware/reset page. How do I post a screenshot, I'm sure I use the Print Screen key but how?

Print screen into paint, then save and upload to www.upload3r.com.

[pompian74]

Hopefuly this works!

[aaron333]

Well most routers give you the option to configure the WAN settings for the router. May I suggest calling your ISP and getting their information like Authentication ect. then calling your router manufacturer and ask them to take you through configuring it. I think it may have something to do with the right settings on the router, but as the router seems a bit basic, its best to ask the manufacturer.

[pompian74]

The trouble is I'm unable to access any settings for the router.

[Vic]

Hopefuly this works!

That doesn't look good; it would appear that the firmware is corrupt.

Do you get this page if you boot the router without a connection to the phone line?

Vic.

[pompian74]

Hello Vic,

Yes it is, it was disconnected when I took the shot. I've sent a mail to Philips support so I'll see what they say again.

I'll wait until hear from them but I wonder if it would be an idea to download the firmware and try that, I'm not sure Novatech will take this one back as it was a replacement.