Problem.

[conuly]

I eventually did get a router set up, my brother-in-law did it. He had to exchange our piece-of-crap modem for another one which wasn't quite so bad, and there was peace within the house.

Fastforward to today, about, say, 5am. I have to plug in my cell phone recharger, so I unplug the router, plug in the recharger, and plug the router into a different slot on the power strip. No problem, right? Lo, what fools these mortals (me) be.

Once I've done this, the modem decides it doesn't want to talk to the router. And, when we attempt to unplug the modem from the router, and directly into my computer, it doesn't want to send anything to my computer either. It's still in its snit, so we set up the old modem - but that one, for whatever reason, refuses to respond to an ethernet cable, meaning we can't set up the router with it, meaning that there is no longer peace in our time.

I didn't even unplug the fucking modem to start with, but now I need to deal with its tantrums?

Anyway, we called the cable company, and they'll be dropping by Tuesday. I'll ask them for a new modem, since the one they gave us when they set us up is a cheap-ass piece of crap, and quite possibly a little broken. After all, it has a slot for an ethernet cable, but it doesn't work.

However, I'd really like to avoid all this, since it's a three-day-wait, and my mom will want her internet back. So, um... any ideas?

Comments

[ancarett]

Not knowing what brand of router or set-up you have (dynamic or static IP?), here's one possible solution.

Unplug the cable modem. Ensure that the cable from the modem is plugged into your router. Turn on your router & plug in your modem back. Now your router resets and detects a new MAC address. This might fix your problem.

[conuly]

Nah, we tried that a few times. Nothing.

[jet87.livejournal.com]

If a good powercycle to the modem doesn't work, then something is messed up. Your router's MAC address shouldn't have changed, if that did happen the modem would freak out. Does the medem have any blinkie flashie lights to tell its status?

[conuly]

Powercycle did nothing. I tried powercycling my laptop. I tried turning off my laptop, switching off the entire powerstrip, and turning it all back on. Nothing.

The modem is what's freaking out. Right now, I've got a modem (the crappy one) plugged directly into my laptop. When I had the router on, the router light that indicated that it was connected to my computer was on, the modem light that indicated it was receiving data was on, but the modem light that indicated it was sending data was off.

[jet87.livejournal.com]

Is it a Motorola Surfboard?

[conuly]

Which, the router or the modem? I know not these fancy terms you use.

The modem we're using now is a toshiba cable modem, so that's not motorola.
The router is a linksys cable router, so that's not motorola. And the other modem, I think also isn't motorola anything, but I don't know where it is right now, 'dul moved it.

[jet87.livejournal.com]

Toshiba has an online troubleshooter at http://www.toshiba.com/taisnpd/support/troubleshooter.html. I didn't even know Toshiba made cable modems, so thats probably a better source of help than I am.

[conuly]

Trust me, this isn't the modem I want to be using. Because it sucks. It keeps stopping working, so I have to unplug it and plug it back in again (my only real techniques when dealing with hardware are powercycling, cursing, and hitting them), and apparently you can buy it for $10 off of amazon. Which explains why we got it free with our internet service. Honestly, you really do get what you pay for....

[jet87.livejournal.com]

Most cable companies seem to give away crappy modems. Hopefully they have a better modem to give you. I use a Motorola Surfboard, and its alright. Issues we've had are mostly due to problem on Comcast's end.

[conuly]

Five bucks says they just give us another one of those sucky modems. As long as I can hook it up to the router, I won't complain.

Hm. I should call them the day before, tell them we'll definitely be needing a new modem.

[jet87.livejournal.com]

I hope they listen to you, and you get a competent technician. Then again, the stupid ones might be more likely to give you free stuff. And free stuff is good.

[conuly]

My experience with them is that they're generally helpful, so no worries here. I just have to clean a bit.

[jet87.livejournal.com]

Have fun cleaning, and I hope it gets all sorted out,

[conuly]

Found the other modem - and it has nothing on it to indicate the brand. There's a sticker at the bottom telling what each light should look like, and what it means, but that's it.

[stejcruetekie.livejournal.com]

It's entirely possible you have a sucky modem and/or sucky router (if it's a netgear or linksys router - definitely sucky).

But with sucky or good stuff, there is always a specific order to do things.

Power *everything* off. Modem, router, computers.

- Power on the modem. Wait 30-90 seconds. (Better to wait longer to be safe).

- Power on the router. Wait another 30-90 seconds.

- Then power on the computers.

Powering everything off and on at the same time with a power strip often will not work.

Also, when switching the modem from being plugged into a router to being plugged directly into a computer, power cycling will not work. You have to do a full reset of the modem - look for a little hole just big enough to put a paper clip in. Stick in the paper clip and press the little white (usually) button for at least 10 seconds. Not 3 seconds, 10. That does a full reset of the modem. (The 3 and 10 seconds difference is important, as on many modems and routers they do two different kinds of resets). You may also want to do this to the router.

But again, after the resets everything must be power cycled in the proper order.

[conuly]

*makes note*

Thanks. I'll go tell 'dul when I see him, as he has the better modem.

[conuly]

Tried it, didn't work. *sighs*

[ancarett]

Not knowing what brand of router or set-up you have (dynamic or static IP?), here's one possible solution.

Unplug the cable modem. Ensure that the cable from the modem is plugged into your router. Turn on your router & plug in your modem back. Now your router resets and detects a new MAC address. This might fix your problem.

[conuly]

Nah, we tried that a few times. Nothing.

[jet87.livejournal.com]

If a good powercycle to the modem doesn't work, then something is messed up. Your router's MAC address shouldn't have changed, if that did happen the modem would freak out. Does the medem have any blinkie flashie lights to tell its status?

[conuly]

Powercycle did nothing. I tried powercycling my laptop. I tried turning off my laptop, switching off the entire powerstrip, and turning it all back on. Nothing.

The modem is what's freaking out. Right now, I've got a modem (the crappy one) plugged directly into my laptop. When I had the router on, the router light that indicated that it was connected to my computer was on, the modem light that indicated it was receiving data was on, but the modem light that indicated it was sending data was off.

[jet87.livejournal.com]

Is it a Motorola Surfboard?

[conuly]

Which, the router or the modem? I know not these fancy terms you use.

The modem we're using now is a toshiba cable modem, so that's not motorola.
The router is a linksys cable router, so that's not motorola. And the other modem, I think also isn't motorola anything, but I don't know where it is right now, 'dul moved it.

[jet87.livejournal.com]

Toshiba has an online troubleshooter at http://www.toshiba.com/taisnpd/support/troubleshooter.html. I didn't even know Toshiba made cable modems, so thats probably a better source of help than I am.

[conuly]

Trust me, this isn't the modem I want to be using. Because it sucks. It keeps stopping working, so I have to unplug it and plug it back in again (my only real techniques when dealing with hardware are powercycling, cursing, and hitting them), and apparently you can buy it for $10 off of amazon. Which explains why we got it free with our internet service. Honestly, you really do get what you pay for....

[jet87.livejournal.com]

Most cable companies seem to give away crappy modems. Hopefully they have a better modem to give you. I use a Motorola Surfboard, and its alright. Issues we've had are mostly due to problem on Comcast's end.

[conuly]

Five bucks says they just give us another one of those sucky modems. As long as I can hook it up to the router, I won't complain.

Hm. I should call them the day before, tell them we'll definitely be needing a new modem.

[jet87.livejournal.com]

I hope they listen to you, and you get a competent technician. Then again, the stupid ones might be more likely to give you free stuff. And free stuff is good.

[conuly]

My experience with them is that they're generally helpful, so no worries here. I just have to clean a bit.

[jet87.livejournal.com]

Have fun cleaning, and I hope it gets all sorted out,

[conuly]

Found the other modem - and it has nothing on it to indicate the brand. There's a sticker at the bottom telling what each light should look like, and what it means, but that's it.

[stejcruetekie.livejournal.com]

It's entirely possible you have a sucky modem and/or sucky router (if it's a netgear or linksys router - definitely sucky).

But with sucky or good stuff, there is always a specific order to do things.

Power *everything* off. Modem, router, computers.

- Power on the modem. Wait 30-90 seconds. (Better to wait longer to be safe).

- Power on the router. Wait another 30-90 seconds.

- Then power on the computers.

Powering everything off and on at the same time with a power strip often will not work.

Also, when switching the modem from being plugged into a router to being plugged directly into a computer, power cycling will not work. You have to do a full reset of the modem - look for a little hole just big enough to put a paper clip in. Stick in the paper clip and press the little white (usually) button for at least 10 seconds. Not 3 seconds, 10. That does a full reset of the modem. (The 3 and 10 seconds difference is important, as on many modems and routers they do two different kinds of resets). You may also want to do this to the router.

But again, after the resets everything must be power cycled in the proper order.

[conuly]

*makes note*

Thanks. I'll go tell 'dul when I see him, as he has the better modem.

[conuly]

Tried it, didn't work. *sighs*