About routers

The one we currently have is starting to have problems. It randomly disconnects, especially while playing online on the Wii. Any suggestions?

This is the one we have: Cisco-Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless-B Cable/DSL Router.

The one we currently have is starting to have problems. It randomly disconnects, especially while playing online on the Wii. Any suggestions?

This is the one we have: Cisco-Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless-B Cable/DSL Router.

When you disconnect, do you disconnect from PC <-> Router or does the Router itself disconnect from the internet (it resets itself)? And the connection to the Wii, is it a line or WIFI?

It disconnects from the internet. I can still access the router from a computer, but I get "No internet access". The Wii is connected via Wi-Fi.

If you don't think anything is wrong with your modem:

reset router
update firmware
recreate your wireless network
join on wii

if problem persists, something's wrong with the router.

Yeah, I've done all of that a couple of times. We've had this problem back in Mexico too. So, I know it's not the modem or provider.

those kinds of routers can't really handle online gaming/streaming. They were never made for them.

Power cycling the router clears the memory, and changing firmware and clearing the NVRam might help a bad configuration, but if you're looking at long term sustainable connections, grab a new router. And don't get a Linksys. They were awesome back in the wrt54g days, but now they suck compared to better gaming/streaming routers.

I don't think your router has a lot of RAM. It has a 1 Mbyte flash memory, so open firmware won't really work on it.

What tends to happen with these old Linksys routers is that the memory quickly corrupts, and there isn't an autoreboot mehanism in the router.

For gaming/streaming, the minimum RAM a router should have is 32MB. If you torrent a lot, you basically choke your router's RAM, so when you try to game online as well, it won't be long before your router craps out. This also assumes the firmware can utilize all the RAM, but that's what open firmware is all about (well that and more options).




Long story short: old routers run out of memory quickly if you stream/game online. You will see the same drop out every time even if you change firmware and power cycle. Measure how long it takes for this to happen when you game online, and then measure how long it takes for your router to crap out by simply surfing web pages off the wireless network.

Thanks!

This is the one I have my eye on: BELKIN F5D7234-4.

Hmmm, I know a router can lockup, but then it wouldn't make sense that you can still connect to them right? :o

Anyway, talking about routers... I need to replace my 10 year old one, it's showing off it's old age in crashes/lockups/log corruption.

What are some good (gaming) routers these days? I'm totally not into networking hardware anymore... :+)

Nevermind the one I posted above, I'm going to get this one instead: BUFFALO WHR-HP-GN.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/802....05-20.html

Your router could also be suffering from a more nasty problem you've overlooked... age.

The NPU (Network Processing Unit) is probably starting to die as well as the other connection managing components of the device. My advice... Wireless G and even some Wireless N routers are cheap and cost effective and also provide better security as well like WPA2-AES encryption, built in Packet Filtering firewalls, and other modern security features.

Look into a new Linksys/CISCO brand Wireless G or N.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/802....05-20.html

That's a quite favorable review for the 160N. Of course, that's assuming it works.

http://homecommunity.cisco.com/t5/Wirele..._ascending