PS. I posted this in the General FS Forum as a second spot for assistance.Guru's,Here's my situation - I have a Motorola Surfboard (SB4200) cable modem (using the USB connection), Win XP Home. I connect to the web without any problems.I purchased the Linksys Etherfast DSL/Cable router so I could network 2 additional PC's for the purpose of installing Project Magenta software.After following (meticulously) the instructions of the Linksys I'm unable to connect to the web. I've doubled checked all of the settings, DHCP on the router, Modem, auto set IP, etc..Next, I figured, let me install a PCI NIC card. Setup the card to auto set the IP, DHCP, etc. Still unable to connect to the web. On both scenario's the router see's the LAN (IP set on local PC), but show's 0's for the WAN (modem side I guess).I even tried the same steps above on one of my other PC (Win98) with the same results.What am I doing wrong? Thanks in advance for any advice.Regards,Bob Lyddy

Bob,Have you got the modem plugged into the right port on the router? The modem is, in effect, wired backwards. Allows you to use a standard ethernet cable to connect it directly to a single PC through an NIC. If you plug it into one of the regular ports on the router, you will need a cross-wired cable. If you use a regular cable, you must use the "uplink" port (beside port 5 on the back of the router, IIRC)I have the same router, using it with a Nortel DSL modem. Works great.Do the PC's see each other on the network?Doug Dawson

Doug,Is this a function of this particular router - wired backwards?My netgear router uses a std cable from the modem, and standard cable to my switch. The only time I need to use a cross-over is if I plug a computer directly into the output of the router.Usually a router/switch uses std cables, input from modem and output to various computers.

Doug,Thanks for the repsone. Silly question - how do I tell the difference between a standard wire and a cross-over wire?I plugged thw wire from the modem into the uplink port and all of the lights on the router went blank. If I leave the modem wire plugged into the WAN port the "Link", "ACT" lights are green as well as the port lights for the port I have the computer wire plugged into.I'm using the Comcast network if this makes a difference. I've even entered @comcast for the ISP name and the PC's name. Same old, no connectivity.This is frustrating.Bob L

Hmm... Looking back at what I wrote last night, I can only conclude that it was time for my medication... :-rollThe Linksys Router - at least the unit I have - is a combination router/switch and no crossover cables are required. I believe I was actually thinking of the requirements of connecting one switch to another last night...Doug

Bob,See also my response to W Sieffert, above. Your description of the effects of changing connections suggests that you have that right.Again, can the computers see each other on the network?Have you tried the reset button on the router? Periodically I have to do this in order to get it to reconnect.Have you tried forcing a connection from the Web based setup screen for the router? If so, what kind of error messages do you get?Doug

Hi Doug,Edited - tried the 2nd PC, the router see's it, but the PC's don't see each other. I've tried the reset button on the router to no avail. The web page of the router sees the PC but doesn't see the web (which makes no sense).No error messages are produced/displayed.Bob L.

Bob,Try installing NetBEUI on each computer - this won't help at all with internet access, but it is probably the best protocol for home networking, as it requires zero special configuration and generally will work right out of the box. Should get the computers talking to each other...There are firmware upgrades available for the router. I just flashed mine up to v1.42.7 from 1.37 The list of fixes over the last year is quite lengthy. If your firmware is older than 1.42.7, you might want to consider this. The procedure is reasonably painless.http://www.linksys.com/download/firmware.asp?fwid=1I can e-mail you the list of fixes (a small text file) if you want to investigate further. The whole download is 360kb - quite manageable, even by dialup standards.Doug

Doug,Thanks. I've already downloaded and installed the v1.42.7 upgrade, just in case....Hate to be stupid, is NetBEUI on the WinXP CD or do I have to downloaded from some site?Thanks,Bob L

Bob,NetBEUI should be on the CD. Just to be clear, it is a network protocol, just like TCP/IP. You will not need to uninstall TCP/IP to use NetBEUI, you can have more than one protocol installed at the same time.Is returning the router an option? It is beginning to sound like you have a Friday model.Your modem isn't still connected via the USB port is it? Was just wondering if there is any switching required on the modem to configure it for use with ethernet (the router) versus USB. Does the manual have anything to say on this?Doug

I contacted Linksys Tech Support and they suggested I assign my MAC address directly to the router (this is not mentioned in any of the setup steps).Once I located my MAC address (ipconfig /all) and entered it into the router, bingo everything worked. Thanks everyone for all of your assistance, this community is GREAT!!Regards,Bob Lyddy

Bob,Glad to hear you're up and running. Also nice to hear about useful technical support from the manufacturer - something that isn't always available...Doug

HELP!!!!After receiving lots of GREAT from this forum and the tech support folks of the router I was able to get my Linksys Router/switch up and running with all PC's accessing the web and all of the clients 'seeing' each other.Well, when from the Win98 box I attempt to access the network (via the 'Entire Network' folder in Network Neighborhood) I receive the message - 'unable to browse the network, the network is not accessible'.From the WinXP boxes I'm able to see and access the c drive on the Win98 box. I have zonealarm pro and have shut it down.Any ideas why the Win98 box cannot access the network.PS - the Win98 box is able to access the web.Thanks in advance for any assitance,Bob Lyddy