# Linksys BEFSR41 router problem



## cursor (Mar 2, 2009)

Hi folks. First post.

I've just moved my two computers (with router & DSL modem) from one room into my new office (both are at home, using the same phone line). Immediately, I would either get 1) no internet connection, or 2) a very slow connection (like 32Kbps download!).

Removing the router from the equation (attaching the DSL modem directly to a single computer (running WIndows XP Pro), I can successfully access the internet (with responsible speeds -- 2.8Mbps).
 With the connection working fine, I do an ipconfig/all to see the IP address that belongs to the DSL modem: 71.109.161.15.
 I also note the MAC address: F2 0E 92 40 F4 71 (I assume that this comes from my NIC).
I then attempted to insert my Linksys BEFSR41 (4-port, hard-wired) router into the equation:
 I power-off all devices.
 I move the Cat5 cable from the back of my computer's NIC and plug it into the WAN port of my router.
 I connected my computer's NIC to Port-4 (the port closest to the WAN port, per the manufacturer's instructions) of the router using a second Cat5 cable.
 I power-on the DSL modem, then waited until its startup process completes (Power & Line Sync lights are solid green).
 I power-on the Linksys router. The Power, the WAN Link, and the Link/Act lights are all lit, per Linksys instructions.
 I power-on my the computer that is Cat5-cable connected to the router.
 Following full boot and login, I do an ipconfig/all in a DOS shell and note that the IP address has changed to 169.254.108.245. The MAC address stays the same, however. Attempting to access Google.com (using IE7) returns a _This Page cannot be displayed_ message.
 Attempting to access the router directly by entering http://192.168.1.1 into the browser's address field also returns a _This Page cannot be displayed_ message.

Note that I have also gone through the prescribed process of holding the router's Reset button for 30 seconds, then restarting my computer -- but without success.

Also note that I can remove the Linksys router, connecting the one computer directly to the DSL modem and successfully access the internet (at expected interface speeds).

What might be the problem introduced by adding the router?
More importantly, what might the solution be?

Thanks in advance for all constructive input.


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## belfasteddie (Aug 4, 2007)

Try pulling the power cable from the back. leave for two minutes. Insert cable. N.B. not the same as switching off the power.


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## cursor (Mar 2, 2009)

Thanks for the suggestion. As it turns out, the Linksys BEFSR41 router doesn't have an on/off switch. The unit can _only_ be powered-off by physically pulling the plug. (So, your suggestion has already been tried.)


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

Have you tried changing the MTU side in the router's WAN configuration to 1492 from the default 1500?


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## cursor (Mar 2, 2009)

Thanks for your post.

I understand that the MTU setting can only be changed by using the Advanced tab of the router setup (which is accessible by pointing my browser to http://192.168.1.1). As indicated in my initial post, the router setup is inaccessible. Might there be some alternative way? Thanks.


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

You need to resolve the reason you can't configure the router first.


Reset the router to factory defaults by holding the reset button down for 15 seconds with power on. The following procedure should get you a connection with any broadband modem that is configured to use DHCP for the router connection, such as cable modems, and many DSL modems. If you require PPPoE configuration for the DSL modem, that will have to be configured to match the ISP requirements.


Turn off everything, the modem, router, computer.
Connect the modem to the router's WAN/Internet port.
Connect the computer to one of the router's LAN/Network ports.
Turn on the modem, wait for a steady connect light.
Turn on the router, wait for two minutes.
Boot the computer.

When the computer is completely booted, let's see this.

Hold the *Windows* key and press *R*, then type *CMD* (_COMMAND for W98/WME)_ to open a command prompt:

*NOTE:* For the items below in *red* surrounded with *< >*, see comments below for the actual information content, they are value substitutions from the previous command output! 

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following commands one at a time, followed by the _*Enter*_ key:

IPCONFIG /ALL

PING <computer_IP_address>

PING <default_gateway_address>

PING <dns_servers>

PING 206.190.60.37

PING yahoo.com

Right click in the command window and choose *Select All*, then hit *Enter* to copy the contents to the clipboard.
Paste the results in a message here.

*<computer_IP_address>* - The *IP Address* of your computer, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above.

*<default_gateway_address>* - The IP address of the *Default Gateway*, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above.

*<dns_servers>* - The IP address of the first (or only) address for *DNS Servers*, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above.

If you are on a machine with no network connection, use a floppy, USB disk, or a CD-RW disk to transfer a text file with the information to allow pasting it here.


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## cursor (Mar 2, 2009)

Thanks for the detailed response. I'll respond as succinctly as possible.

What I did:
 With router power-on, hold reset for 15-seconds.
 Power-off router (pulled plug), DSL modem (pulled plug), and computer.
 Connect DSL modem WAN to router WAN with a new CAT5 cable.
 Connect LAN port 4 to computer NIC with a new CAT5 cable.
 Power-on DSL modem. Wait until boot sequence completes (about a minute).
 Power-on router:
 Power light = solid green
 WAN Link light = solid green
 WAN Act light = off
 WAN Diag light = solid red

 Power-on computer.
An immediate Start > Run > "command" > "ipconfig /all" returns:

```
Windows IP Configuration
        Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : server
        Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . : 
        Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
        IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
        WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
Ethernet adapter Network Bridge (Network Bridge):
        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : MAC Bridge Miniport
        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : F2-0E-92-40-F4-71
        Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
        Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
        Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.---.---
            (some characters intentionally left blank)
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 169.254.---.---
            (some characters intentionally left blank)
```
ping <computer_IP_address> 169.254.---.---

```
Pinging 169.254.108.245 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 169.254.108.245: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 169.254.108.245: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 169.254.108.245: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 169.254.108.245: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 169.254.---.---:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms
```
ping <default_gateway_address> 169.254.---.---:
(The results will be identical to the first <computer_IP_address> ping, of course, since the referenced addresses in the ipconfig are identical.) 

ping <dns_servers>:
(There is no such value offered by the "ipconfig /all" results referenced above.) 

ping 206.190.60.37:

```
Pinging 206.190.60.37 with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 206.190.60.37:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
```
ping yahoo.com:

```
Ping request could not find host yahoo.com. Please check the name and try again.
```
__________

Following this prescribed proceedure, I connected my computer's NIC directly to the WAN port of the DSL modem (removing the router from the equation). After about 30 seconds, internet access was restored. I then did another Start > Run > "command" > "ipconfig /all":

```
Windows IP Configuration
        Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : server
        Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . : 
        Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
        IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
        WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
Ethernet adapter Network Bridge (Network Bridge):
        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : MAC Bridge Miniport
        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : F2-0E-92-40-F4-71
        Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
        Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 71.109.149.185
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 71.109.149.1
        DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 71.109.149.1
        DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 68.238.64.12
                                            68.238.96.12
        Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Thursday, March 05, 2009 8:45:28 AM
        Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Thursday, March 05, 2009 10:45:28 AM
```
Since there is a <dns_servers> value above, I followed with a ping 68.238.64.12

```
Pinging 68.238.64.12 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 68.238.64.12: bytes=32 time=25ms TTL=246
Reply from 68.238.64.12: bytes=32 time=25ms TTL=246
Reply from 68.238.64.12: bytes=32 time=25ms TTL=246
Reply from 68.238.64.12: bytes=32 time=25ms TTL=246

Ping statistics for 68.238.64.12:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 25ms, Maximum = 25ms, Average = 25ms
```
I then followed with a I followed with a ping 68.238.96.12

```
Pinging 68.238.96.12 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 68.238.96.12: bytes=32 time=60ms TTL=244
Reply from 68.238.96.12: bytes=32 time=60ms TTL=244
Reply from 68.238.96.12: bytes=32 time=60ms TTL=244
Reply from 68.238.96.12: bytes=32 time=60ms TTL=244

Ping statistics for 68.238.96.12:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 60ms, Maximum = 60ms, Average = 60ms
```
As always, the quality technical assistance is greatly appreciated.


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

I'm guessing that since you did the procedure described, the router is dead, or at least the port you tried on the router. I assume you used the same cable to connect to the modem, right?


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## cursor (Mar 2, 2009)

Yes, I used a pair of brand new CAT5 cables. Each of the two were used successfully with just the DSL modem to gain internet access. To be absolutely sure, I will test each of the four ports to see if there is any difference in behavior.

Thanks a million for helping me troubleshoot this problem. =)


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

If after a factory reset with a good cable and a good port on the computer you don't get different results, the router is probably dead.


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