My Router problems with NTL

Andy M · 28-02-2006, 20:33

Right firstly im glad to have found this forum.
I have NTL 2MB broadband which comes into the modem and into a wireless router (linksys wrt54gs) i then have 1 wired connection to my desktop and a wireless connection to my laptop.
Anyway it was fine for a few weeks when one night the internet went down. I thought it might be maintenance, but got told over the phone my line and modem were functioning.
I was confused at the time so didn't immediately realise what was happening. The internet would work fine direct to either PC, it was when the router was involved that the internet would drop off after 1-2-3 minutes. LAN access would still be 100% working.
I exhanged the router thinking it had a fault, and today set it up. I have the exact same problem, but now realise it works fine whilst wired to the desktopm but as soon as i turn on the laptop and use that, the internet goes down again.
I have also tried 2 other belkin routers with the same problem except the belkin couldnt get a WAN IP when the problem started
I thought i was experiencing a rare problem but judging by some of the threads it seems extremely common with routers.
Ive had it working fine for 2-3 weeks at some points.
Ive got a stable WAN IP address, ive tried MAC cloning, resetting, and it works for another minute or so then goes dead.

What is the problem? Im adament its NTL!

SLM · 28-02-2006, 22:40

Sorry to say if the BB works fine without router it will be nothing to do with ntl. You say when you go wireless with your laptop this is when you lose BB? Have you tested the LT as this is what is screwing things up? Could it also be 2 routers in the same area with conflicting RF frequencies?

Andy M · 28-02-2006, 23:09

Right ive left it running after it went dead, and ive concluded this.

It doesn't actually die, it goes really slow, on both wired and wireless

It seams to come back to life, then fade away

zovat · 01-03-2006, 14:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy M

Right ive left it running after it went dead, and ive concluded this.

It doesn't actually die, it goes really slow, on both wired and wireless

It seams to come back to life, then fade away

Ahhhh, that makes sense...

I have seen similar things before (I have a Linksys WRT54G myself....) I found 2 problems that contributed to this in my case...

1) my neighbour had a router configured on the same frequency, and the 2 managed to interfere a bit...

2) I had old firmware that was a little flaky.

I changed my router to a different channel, and upgraded the firmare, since then it has been rock solid.

Andy M · 01-03-2006, 15:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by zovat

Ahhhh, that makes sense...

I have seen similar things before (I have a Linksys WRT54G myself....) I found 2 problems that contributed to this in my case...

1) my neighbour had a router configured on the same frequency, and the 2 managed to interfere a bit...

2) I had old firmware that was a little flaky.

I changed my router to a different channel, and upgraded the firmare, since then it has been rock solid.

Another update, which is definitely the problem

Forget all the other things i thought were causing it.

Its basically spyware and lack of virus software. Im used to dialup where you got little or no viruses, but with the speed of broadband the things come in as regular as clockwork. The internet would come back to life whilst scanning for viruses etc, so ive been and bought macaffee and alls well.
So its never been a router problem (took 2 back) and its never been NTL, its been spyware on all computers,
I confirmed this because the internet also died with the modem straight into the computer

danielf · 01-03-2006, 15:12

Glad you solved this. In case you haven't already. Get yourself a firewall as well (zonealarm is free). Your router will give you protection for inbound traffic, but a software firewall can lock down unwanted outbound traffic (though it can cause some problems as well).

Andy M · 01-03-2006, 15:17

Thanks
I must admit i would never have admitted to it being down to spyware etc, I knew they caused popups and annoyances but never realised they could completely paralyse my internet.
If it wasn't for my friend coming and looking then i would have been refunding the router and doing away with the network

lesrose · 01-03-2006, 15:50

Well well well. I have just the same problem - see my thread here. I am running AVG antivirus, and relying on just the router firewall. Should I install Zone Alarm for instance? I suppose I could try it and see. I did get the MyWife virus recently but AVG says I am clean.

Andy M · 01-03-2006, 17:59

Sounds stupid but i wouldnt believe anyone when i was told it was virus/spyware related. It was too dramatic i.e the internet just went dead after a minute, sometimes it would work for 5 minutes or 30 mins.
Ive scanned all my pcs on the network and turns out all of them had viruses, ive now stopped one from accessing the net (my server) as i think this was downloading allsorts of junk as it was on 24/7 then passing it across the network.
I would also notice this problem occured when i turned certain PC's on