Modem+Router=No internet?

December 9, 2005 5:24 PM

Techsupportdesperation: Long time listener, first time caller, axmefolk. So, I had the internet. And then I got a router. And now I have no internet, and I'm all out of clues...

So, I have no shiny exciting things. A boring box, a boring modem (BTVoyager) and that got me on the non-boring internet. And then I wanted to go wireless. So I got one of these: (wgt624v3), and all the right lights are on and my boring box seems to be talking to it ok, but can I get on the net now? Can I buggery. And the only bit of relevant online advice (here) is just no use at all.
So, le router seems to work, everything else was/is supercool, but they won't all play nice together. Am I destined to be up past midnight all week tearing my hair out? And then going to live in a bin for a more simple life?

posted by robself to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

We need more details. What operating system are you running? Have you tried connecting the PC physically to the router with an Ethernet cable?

I have no idea what BC's policies are, but in the States I've had several cable/DSL providers limit access by MAC address (i.e. the ostensibly hardware address of your PC). So when the modem sees a different MAC address (the router's), it won't allow you to connect. Many routers have an option to clone the PC's MAC address in the web interface somewhere; this is one possiblity.
posted by IshmaelGraves at 5:41 PM on December 9, 2005

Also, try unplugging your cable modem from the power, and then plugging it back in. I've seen cable modems up in NYC that would lock to the first computer they saw after powerup, and you had to do this to switch them to a new device.
posted by reverendX at 5:44 PM on December 9, 2005

Yea, the previous advice is right on. I just did this a week ago. In order to make it work my first computer had to be connected by cable to the Router. After that, it rocked.
posted by snsranch at 6:06 PM on December 9, 2005

You have to connect with the cable first to set up the wireless modem - it can't connect to you magically. Plug in the ethernet cable, go through the set up, unplug the cable and it will work
posted by A189Nut at 7:14 PM on December 9, 2005

You have to connect with the cable first to set up the wireless modem - it can't connect to you magically. Plug in the ethernet cable, go through the set up, unplug the cable and it will work. It does say this in the instructions
posted by A189Nut at 7:15 PM on December 9, 2005

It's all about MAC address provisioning.

See here.
posted by PROD_TPSL at 7:16 PM on December 9, 2005

As PROD_TPSL said, and specifically this comment. Most likely, you need to enable "MAC address clone" feature of your router- and you need to administer the router while your computer is connected to one of it's hard-wired ports with an ethernet cable.
posted by wzcx at 10:50 PM on December 9, 2005

Response by poster: Good morning mefi. Right, okay so:

I'm running XP sp2. Things are currently not working with a wired connection to the router- oh, that wireless were even on the cards. I've power cycled everything in a myriad of orders many times, no luck. And the MAC address thingy seemed to be the one thing the good people of netgear suggested. No progress with that at all.
Am I stuffed?
posted by robself at 12:06 AM on December 10, 2005

Response by poster: Oh. Well, it turns out I needed to tinker with the settings of the router and change the...LAN IP address? I think that was it. I wish I knew more about this kind of thing so I didn't have to show my arse in public. But thanks for the suggestions everyone.
posted by robself at 3:20 AM on December 10, 2005