[gui-talk] home network problem

[Steve Jacobson]

Does his new computer work on all of the router ports?  Knowing this would tell us that the router is likely functioning all 
right.  

Sometimes the network cable between the router and the modem is different than the other cables.  The ends will feel 
the same but the cable conductors are connected differently.  They are usually a different color.  Since some devices 
will automatically sense the correct connection and some won't, he should check his cables.  If one is a different color, 
he should use that one to connect between the modem and the router.

Sometimes, one port on a router is a DMZ port which means that it is pretty much a direct connection to the modem.  
These ports are often there for people who do heavy gaming on the internet.  Normally you don't use this port or you turn 
it off.  However, doing this may require changes to the firewall.  

Finally how does he assign the IP addresses for the computers?  They can be assigned manually or dynamically, which 
means that the router will assign them.  If they are assigned manually, he might need to make sure that the assignments 
are correct.  If one is assigned manually and the other automatically, there is the possibility of a conflict, although it can 
be avoided.

Good luck.

On Mon, 9 Apr 2007 20:58:47 -0500, Arliedog wrote:

>My son is at a loss as to what the problem is with a home network he is trying to
>expand.
>To start with he has a Belkin wireless router which also has four ports connected
>to a cable modem.  He had one computer cabled to the router that worked fine and
>was able to use his notebook through the wireless.  Everything worked great.  Well
>this weekend he received his new Dell computer so he decided to move one computer
>to another room and hook both desktops to the router through two of the ports.  His
>new computer had no problem connecting to the net but now his old computer can not
>establish a connection.
>He has tried the following with no success.
>He unplugged the new computer and lleft the old one plugged into the router and still
>no connection.
>He plugged his old computer directly into the cable modem and it worked great.
>He tried to re install the software on the old computer and the setup failed saying
>failed connection.
>He called Belkin and they blamed his computer although it was working fine before
>adding the new computer to the router.
>He has moved the cables around to all available ports on the router as well as switching cables.
>Anyone got any ideas?
>Thanks