How to Repair a Dead Linksys Wireless Router Page 2

It’s Dead, Jim!




Despite best — or not-so-best — efforts, accidents happen. Maybe your flash upgrade failed, or your router’s memory became corrupted. You may have made a mistake somewhere in the process. It could have been buggy firmware itself. After all, these open source replacements come with no guarantees. The time for blame has passed.



You’ll know your router has been bricked because, well, it no longer works. More specifically, you will probably see the power light blinking steadily. You may see most of its other lights lit solid.



If your router has a “DMZ” (define) light, note whether it is lit at power on or whether it lights a few seconds later, or never at all. This information could be useful soon.



Sometimes you can breathe new life into your bricked router. It is difficult to say exactly how often bricked routers are successfully revived, but it happens often enough that a number of resurrection techniques have emerged. There is no guarantee, of course, that any of these will work.



The methods devised by the networking community basically fall into two categories: gentle and desperate.



The more popular gentle recovery techniques involve establishing basic network communications with your router through software, followed by reflashing back to known, good firmware.



The desperate recovery techniques involve opening your router and attempting to physically reset its circuitry.



Gentle Recoveries



If you could simply reflash your seemingly dead router with an official Linksys firmware, you could, like Cher, turn back time. Not surprisingly, this is Linksys’ approved recovery method for Windows users, and the only one that won’t void your warranty – if it works.



To test if your router is only “a little bit dead,” you need to see if it responds to pings. First, reset your router to its factory default settings. Do this by powering it on and depressing the reset button for at least 30 seconds. You need the tip of a pen, or better yet, the pointy end of a pen cap to keep the recessed button depressed. The router’s lights will cycle off and back on after it reboots itself.



Using a computer with a wired Ethernet connection to one of the router’s LAN ports, open a command prompt in Windows (go to the Run command in the Windows Start menu, type "cmd" and then hit Enter). Use the ping command to see if the router responds at its factory default IP address, 192.168.1.1.



>ping 192.168.1.1

Pinging 192.168.1.1 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=128

Reply from 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=128



If you see something like the above, your router is not really dead. You may now dance a happy jig.



If, instead of “Reply from” you see “Request Timed Out” or “Hardware Error” or “Destination host unreachable,” your router is not responding. Do not dance a happy jig, and don’t bother with the rest of this Linksys-approved recovery, because you’ll just be wasting your time. Jump to the next section.



To proceed with the Linksys recovery, visit their Web site to download the latest official firmware. Select your router model from the drop-down list. Be sure to choose the exact model number marked on the underside label of your router – the WRT54G, for example, comes in versions from V1 to V6 (if unmarked, you have a V1).



Click the “Firmware” icon and proceed to download the firmware executable (.exe) file (define).



Force your network adapter into 10Mbps half-duplex mode. Because the procedure varies on different Windows versions, consult this Linksys support page for step-by-step instructions.



Launch the executable file you downloaded. Click “Next” on the splash screen. Set the “Router’s IP Address” to 192.168.1.1 and the “Router’s Password” to admin. Click “Next” again, and the firmware upload process begins.



About two minutes later, the update will complete, the router will reboot, and you’re back in business. At this point, you may revisit upgrading the firmware to an open-source replacement, but be sure to consider what may have gone wrong before, so as not to simply repeat your router’s near-death experience.



The Ping, Dear God, I Beg Of You Technique



If you router did not respond to pings at 192.168.1.1, it isn’t in great shape. But all hope is not yet lost.



Earlier, did you notice if the “DMZ” light on the front panel glows a few seconds after applying power? If yes, you may be able to reset the router to a failsafe mode. Cycle the power to your router and, as soon as DMZ lights up, depress the reset button for two seconds. It may take some coordination to pull this off accurately. Try again to ping the router.



If your firmware is truly hosed, your router may only respond to pings at 192.168.1.1 for a very brief window upon power-up. The moment power is applied, the router hasn’t yet loaded its firmware and is operating on a kind of BIOS. It is during this fleeting moment that you may be able to “catch” the router while still momentarily conscious, just before its brain-dead firmware is loaded.



You need to test whether your router is indeed responsive, even if just for a second, because that is all that's needed to breathe new life into it.



First, connect both your computer and your router to a hub (define) or switch (obviously, the switch built into the router doesn't count). If your computer is wired directly to your router, your Ethernet link may drop when the router is non-responsive, and you could miss the brief moment when it blinks its eyes awake. The hub/switch will keep your link up.



Second, manually configure your wired network settings. Assign your computer the IP address 192.168.1.10 (the last digit should be any number greater than 1), with subnet mask 255.255.255.0, and gateway 192.168.1.1.



Third, open a command prompt in Windows, or a terminal in MacOS X or Linux. Windows users should type:



ping –t 192.168.1.1



The “-t” switch in Windows will keep the ping running indefinitely.



MacOS X or Linux users should type:



ping 192.168.1.1



Your computer will continuously lob pings at the router. Now, cycle power to the router. You’re looking for any sign of life at all – does the router respond to any ping? Depending on your ping command, a successful reply may say “Reply from…” or “XYZ bytes from…” along with information like “time” and “TTL”.



If you do see even one or two replies, you’re set! This verifies that your router experiences a moment of consciousness.



If your router does not respond to a ping within a few seconds of powering up, it isn’t going to happen.

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How To Setting Up Linksys Wireless Router Network

In this tutorial, I will explain how to build your wireless network using a LinkSys router in very easy steps.

Wireless networks became more popular these days since mobility is a key aspect in any environment, even for home users. This tutorial will show you how simple it is to setup a small wireless network to share your Internet connection for fixed and mobile users.

Typically, a wireless router has two types of interfaces: classical, RJ45 for fixed stations (at least 4 usually) and a radio antenna that supports multiple clients.
For this tutorial, I used a LinkSys wireless router, model no WRT54GC. It's a small office/home user type of router, and I've spent for the device about 50$.

As it comes out of the box, the router has some default settings that help you set it up really quick.
First of all, it has a DHCP server turned on so your PC will recieve an IP address automatically.
So this is the first step you should make: connect a PC to one of the router's LAN ports using a straight-through UTP cable (of course, after powering on the router..).

The PC must be set up to get it's network setting automatically (seehttp://www.tutorial5.com/content/view/32/79/ if you don't know how).
After doing this, click Start - Run and type cmd. In the command prompt, type ipconfig /all and hit enter. You will see some informations on all your network interfaces; like shown bellow, on Local Area Connection, you'll see and IP, a subnet mask, etc that your computer got from the DHCP server on the router.

Get the IP address from the "default gateway" since that is the router's LAN address. Of course, you can get this address from the user's manual supplied with the router too.

Open a browser and type in that address in the Address field (in my example, it's 192.168.1.1linksys-wireless-help.blogspot.com) to connect to the router's graphical user interface.
As shown bellow, you will be asked for an authentication to access the router for security reasons. The factory default username and password depend on the vendor and model; for Linksys it's generally

Username: (leave blank) Password: admin

This information too can be found in the user's manual, on the vendor's website or even on a label posted on the equipment itself.

After logging, you will see the router's menu. This indeed depends on the vendor and/or model, but the topics are quite the same for all.

The first screen brings up the basic router configuration, like WAN and LAN IP addresses. The "Internet Setup" part should be configured using your Internet Service Provider addresses (DHCP/Static IP or PPPoE if you use some kind of authentication for your Internet access). The Domain Name and Hostname are optional.

The Network Setup reffers to your Local Area Network. I recommend you to leave the DHCP Server as enabled to allocate IP addresses automatically in your network; this is appliable to both wired and wireless interfaces. If you don't have any special needs, you can leave all fields here to the default ones, since it works perfectly for a network up to 50 clients.

The MAC Address Clone tab activates a function that will duplicate one of your PC's MAC addresses on the Internet interface. This is useful only when the Internet Service Provider restricts the usage of the connection to the physical address of only one PC for security reasons.

If enabled, by clikcing "Clone My PC's MAC", the MAC address of the interface that connects to the Internet will be identical to the one of your PC; the Internet Service Provider won't know that you are sharing your internet connection and their equipments will think that they are still connected to your PC without any router. If this is the case, be sure that you are not violating any agreements between you and the company the provides you Internet services since that could lead to extra fees or worse.

Next it's time to configure your Wireless settings. Go to the Wireless tab, and select the Mode your want your antenna to work: 802.11b, 802.11g or both.
802.11b is not commonly used anymore, since it has a maximum transmit rate of 11mbps, best case scenario, in comparision with the G standard which works at 54mbps. You can use mixed if you know you will access the wireless networks with older laptops or so which only have 802.11b wireless interfaces.

Next fill in the SSID of the network; this is the name of the wireless network itself and should be set to something that describe your network (like Private-home for example). The wireless channel is not important, since any radio interface will scan all channels to find a wireless device to connect to; just be sure not to interfere with any other wireless router or access point, having the same settings and the same channel.

The SSID Broadcast should remain enabled even though it's a fair security risk. SSID Broadcast is a service that sends some signals called beacons periodically so new devices can see there is a wireless network avaiable; this is a security risk since an attacker can discover the network - but by disabling it, a new device will not see the wireless network at all automatically.

Save your settings and go to the Wireless Security tab:

The default is disabled, but that's an invite to anyone who wants to connect to your network. Leave it that way only if you are building a so called "hotspot" offering free internet services for the costumers in your range. Otherwise, i recommend you to set the security mode to WPA2 Personal which uses a fair AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) cryptography mechanism to protect your wireless data. The Passphras you enter here must be from 8 to 63 charachters (as longer, the better - and I recommend you to use something like your birthday twice: 1710198017101980 for example). The key must have a logic since you have to remember it easly for entering it when connecting a new client.

Save your setting and your ready to go.

After connecting your clients, you can also use the "Wireless MAC Filter" tool for better security. This feature will learn the MAC addresses of the clients you select and allow traffic from those wireless interfaces only after enabling it.

After you do all this, it's time to backup your configuration. FOr this, go to the Administration tab and click Backup Settings. A config file will be generated and you can download it to your PC and restore it if something goes wrong in the future.

For better security, change the router's administrator password too, from admin to something more complex to prevent unauthorized access.

Enjoy your brand new wireless network!

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Online Free Linksys Wireless Router Settings and How to start linksys routers networking...

Linksys routers make it easy for you to set up a wired or wireless network at home or in an office setting. Read on to learn how to access the settings you need to configure a Linksys router.

Use Your Browser

In order to access the Linksys router settings, you will first need to connect the router to your computer or network. Follow the instructions included with your Linksys router in order to make sure it is properly connected. You can find some steps that will help you through this process in the Bright Hub tutorial, How to Set Up a Wireless Network in Your Home.
Once you have the Linksys router connected to your computer, open up your favorite web browser, such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. In the address bar, type 192.168.1.1, which is the router's IP address, and press Enter.

User Name and Password

A dialog box will open asking you for your user name and password. If this is the first time the router settings have been accessed, try leaving the fields blank and clicking OK to access the Linksys router settings page. If doing so does not give you access, check the manual that accompanied your Linksys router for the initial user name and password. Typically, the user name will be admin and the password will simply bepassword. After entering the user name and password, click OK to be taken to the Linskys router settings page.

Set Up Passwords

The first thing you should do once you access the Linksys router settings page is change the router's password. This will prevent unauthorized users from accessing the router settings. To do so, go to theAdministration tab at the top of the router settings page, and then click Router Password in the left pane of the router settings page.

If you are using a wireless Linksys router, you are also recommended to create a security key to keep neighbors and hackers from accessing the Internet using your Linksys router and network connections. To do so, click the Wireless tab at the top of the router settings page, and then click Wireless Security in the left pane of the page. In the Personal Key field, enter a password or key that you will be able to remember. It should also be one that outsiders will not easily decipher. To learn more about securing your wireless network, read WEP, WPA, and WPS - Which to Use?

You can access other router settings from the Linksys router settings page by clicking the appropriate tabs at the top of the page. Refer to your Linksys manual for more advanced setup instructions.

For More Information or Help Visit:http://linksyswirelesshelp.blogspot.com/

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