Cannot connect to internet with my wireless network but can use others

[map-lecturer]

Nearly 24 hours and 4 or 5 Linksys Support Techs later I still have no answer.

Here is the puzzle:

Linksys WRT54G2 Wireless router connected to a Westell dual connect modem, provider, Verizon DSL
Three computers:
one desktop, running XP, wired to the Linksys router, has full functionality, what I am using now
one laptop, new HP, running Vista, with wireless adapter
another laptop, old Compaq, running XP, with wireless adapter

I would like the laptops to connect to the internet wirelessly

both laptops can make a connection with the secured network I configured on the router and named 'jetnet'
both can ping 192.168.1.1 (which one tech called 'the router')
neither can ping "www.google.com" or any other web server when connected to 'jetnet'

both laptops can connect to an unsecured neighbour's network, call it 'Villnet'
both can ping 192.168.1.1
both can ping "www.google.com" or any other web server when connected to 'Villnet'

both the laptops can connect to another of the four ethernet ports on the Linksys and connect to a network connection called 'verizon' which is labelled WAN Miniport (PPPOE), and find webservers

The techs have all had me try manually configuring the network through the 'setup page', with various combinations of channel number and advanced settings and security types. The firmware has been updated, the power cycled off several times. With one tech all security and wirewalls were disabled. Still no go.

After working with me all night, the tech(s) decided it must be the router, a WRT54G v8.2. So I bought a new router this afternoon, the WRT54G2. I have been through their checklists with the new router to, including 'flashing' the firmware and cycling the power off. I have cleared out and readded 'jetnet' to the Vista machine in 'Network and Sharing' upteen times in every conceivable way. I have used different network names.

The problem's beginning is a little hard to place. It was one evening last week, my wife came to the computer in the evening after my son had finished with it, and found she could not get her email server. Thinking it was a virus corrupting the dns I delayed persuing this, thinking I was faced with a Vista reinstall. Last night I discovered that my son was using this other network and so began the quest. Don't know what my son might have done on the computer. He is a light user, does some browsing etc. My daughter is even more difficult to debrief because she just gets a connection however she can and dosen't pay close attention. I have Zonealarm and AVG Free Editions on all computers.

I am not sure where to turn next. Any ideas?

[ssharish2005]

Well I really suspect it could be the DNS in your case. The wireless router is get you the DNS. Ok the better idea is to find out the DNS server address and the configure it manully. But before you do that try pinging to this address "64.233.187.99" and see if you can find that addess. That the google IP address.

If you see that you get replies that its your DNS i am pretty sure. Check you DNS server from the machine which you have conencted wiured and internet is active through using nslookup command.

And manully configure that on your laptop. See what happenes there. Let us know how you get along!

ssharish

[map-lecturer]

>But before you do that try pinging to this address "64.233.187.99" and see if you can find >that addess. That the google IP address.

ping 64.233.187.99 got no packets returned when connected to my own router, it finds it when connected to neighbour's router

>Check you DNS server from the machine which you have conencted wiured and internet is >active through using nslookup command.

I'd never heard of nslookup before, so already I am learning. :)

Here is the session on this machine:

C:\>nslookup
DNS request timed out.
timeout was 2 seconds.
*** Can't find server name for address 192.168.1.1: Timed out
Default Server: nsnyny01.verizon.net
Address: 68.237.161.12

> www.google.com
Server: nsnyny01.verizon.net
Address: 68.237.161.12

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: www.l.google.com
Addresses: 64.233.161.104, 64.233.161.103, 64.233.161.147, 64.233.161.99
Aliases: www.google.com

> 64.233.161.104
Server: nsnyny01.verizon.net
Address: 68.237.161.12

Name: od-in-f104.google.com
Address: 64.233.161.104

> 68.237.161.12
Server: nsnyny01.verizon.net
Address: 68.237.161.12

Name: nsnyny01.verizon.net
Address: 68.237.161.12

> exit

C:\>

>And manully configure that on your laptop. See what happenes there. Let us know how you >get along!

I manually configured the laptop by adding 68.237.161.12 as the preferred DNS address under Properties for Internet Protocol Version 4 under Properties for Wireless Network Connection, 'jetnet'. Then I re-added 'jetnet' under 'Manage Wireless Networks'

Then I reconnected to 'jetnet'. Still no internet.

Thanks for the suggestions; still seeking the answer. Does 'the DNS', and I am not sure what exactly it is, reside with verizon, the router, or the os?

[ssharish2005]

How about the firewall and stuff. Have you got any firewall installed on your machine. Are you able to access the router setting page? Where did you run the nslookup comamnd; was it on your desktop machine or the laptop? Have you every connected to the internet through your laptop before to the current ISP network?

I dont think it is anything to with your ISP. Since its a ADSL + the router is of your own, they wont able to give you much support.

ssharish

[map-lecturer]

How about the firewall and stuff. Have you got any firewall installed on your machine. Are you able to access the router setting page? Where did you run the nslookup comamnd; was it on your desktop machine or the laptop? Have you every connected to the internet through your laptop before to the current ISP network?

I dont think it is anything to with your ISP. Since its a ADSL + the router is of your own, they wont able to give you much support.

ssharish

The nslookup session I showed was from the desktop machine which is wired to teh router.

Yes I have been using the router setting page extensively under guidance of the Linksys support techs and that is how I set up the network I call 'jetnet'

Yes the wireless network I originally configured was working beautifully and accessible from both laptops until a few days ago.

The only suggestion of theirs that I haven't precisely tried was to resave the settings on every single channel. Right now I am using channel 11

[map-lecturer]

Yes I have Zone Alarm running but have tested this with it and Windows firewall both disabled

[map-lecturer]

The problem is apparently resolved. The key was to set up the router as a 'bridge'
I was using 'Automatic Configuration DHCP' but what I wanted was PPPoE. Once I changed those settings for my network, the IP and DNS addresses became available to the computers connecting wirelessly.

Thankyou ssharish2005 for your responses. I learned things.

[ssharish2005]

Ehhh thats really strange, you changed ti PPoE, PPoE is basically used to conenct to the ISP Radius server from the router. OK are you on ADL or cable network. Hopefully you should have got those username and password details from your ISP

ssharish

[map-lecturer]

Ehhh thats really strange, you changed ti PPoE, PPoE is basically used to conenct to the ISP Radius server from the router. OK are you on ADL or cable network. Hopefully you should have got those username and password details from your ISP

ssharish

I don't pretend to understand and wish I understood better. But perhaps more clarity would help.

My Linksys router is connected by ethernet to my Verizon modem. I guess to operate as a router, the Linksys sets up a default network, called 'linksys'.

(Verizon, meanwhile, sets up a default network connection called 'verizon'.)

If I open a browser and address the router, ie. 192.168.1.1 in the address bar, I get a 'Setup' page for the router. On the setup page I can change the basic settings for the router.

Since the modem is DSL, it requires, as you say, a PPoE connection along with a user name and password. I was using the Automatic Configuartion DHCP choice. So apparently this allowed me to connect other computers via ethernet to the router then choose the PPoE connection on those computers and providing the user name and password from there. The router, then just passed that information through the modem to the Verizon ISP

The computers with a wireless card, meanwhile, could 'see' the wireless network broadcast from the router and could connect to the router that way. But without the router having a PPoE connection through the modem to the ISP, computers connected to it wirelessly could not really connect to the ISP and get DNS addresses etc. I lease that is my current level of understanding.

The Support Tech who finally got some idea about what the problem was, did so when he took me to the 'Status' tab on the router setup page and the IP, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway addresses all showed zeroes. His solution was not right though. He directed me to contact Verizon and have them setup the modem as 'bridge' instead of 'half-bridge' This lead to a barely civil conversation between me and a Verizon Tech who insisted that the modem worked so his job was done. Back to Linksys where a fifth Tech, finally got it right.

For 24 hours I'd been asking people what it meant when the little graphic on Networks and Sharing showed a green connection to the router, a little house, but the connection to the internet, a little globe, had a big red X on it. THEY KEPT IGNORING THE QUESTION. In retrospect I believe I was asking the correct question.

The only other mystery is how it all went wrong when it had once been working. I now believe that the router had been set up with the PPoE connection originally. That I'd done that with the help of a Support Tech when I first got the router, but was just following directions. It all was 'Greek' to me. What I don't understand is how it got knocked out later though.

[ssharish2005]

May be, if you had reseted the router recently would have rolled back some default setting which might have changed the router setting :-/

ssharish

[EMCCleveland]

As an addendum to this, you may want to know it is possible to setup the PPPoE on the router with the username and password. As that point it handles all authentication and login for the validation with Verizon and you don't need the PPPoE setup or any software from Verizon running on your computers to get online.

[map-lecturer]

As an addendum to this, you may want to know it is possible to setup the PPPoE on the router with the username and password. As that point it handles all authentication and login for the validation with Verizon and you don't need the PPPoE setup or any software from Verizon running on your computers to get online.

Thanks, I'll probably leave the 'verizon' PPPoE connection with the Username and PW in place though, so that a connection directly to the modem is easily done in case of router problems. My 'users', ie. wife and daughter, are not real patient about loosing their internet access.