((First post. ^^;;;))


Right, so I have two computers and they're linked with a Linksys Networking ..err.. thing. It worked fine for nearly a year, and then suddenly stopped. I know it's hooked up correctly because nobody touched the wires in between the time when it was working and when it wasn't. I've heard that that particular networking thing isn't the most reliable device and that I might be better off getting a whole new one, but...I wanted to get a little more information before going off and spending money.

Errrr.. what is this "THING" that you're talking about ?? Does it have a name? Try reading it off the box (assuming that it is a box) - most likely the "THING" is what we would call a HUB.

Also do you have any DOGS or CATS? They're one of the BIGGEST causes of network failure. Trust me on it. Personal experience over many years speaks in here Check your cables for teethmarks. If cables are fine, then it's could be the hub, although hubs don't go bad so easily, unless one receives a massive electric surge.

You should try and get new cables and see first (coz that's the cheaper option). If that doesn't work out - then it's can be the "THING" or even the Network Cards inside you computer box (where the network cables get plugged into)..

Regards,
m^e

Try to replace the cables of your "thing" one by one, if that doesn't work then go to replace the "thing" (this is sounding like the Adams Family ) or the Network card, if you have some luck it's cheaper then buying everything new.

-=jeroen=-

I feel like such a noob. Here's the webpage for the "thing" : (link)

And m^e, yes I do have dogs. However, they are restricted to the kitchen, and if they get out they usually go for the shoes. My dogs have a taste for fine leather shoes. Plus, I don't see any teeth marks.

What do you mean by "massive electric surge"?


jeroen: I'll try that too.

Massive electrical surge would be something that's caused either by:
1. A lightning striking some electric/telephone pole close to your vicinity - the ground rods would absorb most of it - but sometimes a good quantity is passed on to the neighbouring houses through electrical carriers.

2. Secondly, if you live close to some heavy industrial area - when the manufacturing plants turn off power after the days work, there's an immediate and massive surge of increased electricity that flows out to all houses around (this is like a rule)... Unless your system is equipped with good surge protectors (both for the electrical line as well as telephone surge filters) .. then any part of your system can be damaged. Modems/switches/routers are way mroe susceptible to this coz they have very refined circuitry and are not backed up by a goliath SMPS protecting the motherboard of your system - which absorbs most of such surges and would burn out first before letting it damage your board/chip

From the link you mentioned here, it seems your "Thingy" is a broadband router - since you can connect to the internet still - it might just be working fine. The problem most likely is in your cables or the network cards. You should pray for it to be that way, coz these are the cheaper ones to replace Hardly worth a couple of bucks in case you've to dump them... Well, unless you have a cable tester, it's not possible to say whether it's an issue with the cables or not - the only way you can tell is by replacing them and checking out whether you LAN comes back to life or not. Or get some technician to check out on them. I have enough equipment to do all that in my office - but I live exactly on the opposite corner of the world

Regards,
m^e

Personally i think nothing is wrong with the setup or the actual linksys but there might be something that has changed on the computer. You might want to reinstall the application and reboot. Have u recently performed a system restore something like this or installing another application that runs on a different platform than Xp can also cause this problem.

Quite often, when I've had an interruption in my Router (thangy), I found a simple "Power-On-Reset" does the trick.

By that I mean... turn off all computer's attached to your router. Unplug the power cord from your Router. Leave it off for about a minute. Now, plug back in your router. Wait about another minute (for the router to reboot), then start turning back on your various computers.

If that doesn't work, there is normally a "RESET" button (or hole) on that router. Follow the manual directions for use of that reset button, including any initial setup required.

Sometimes, something as simple as powering everything off, then restarting them does the trick. Sure costs less than randomly starting to replace things.

Hopefully, one of our suggestions will help yas. Good Luck!