Yet another wireless problem

lindens

I hope someone can advise on the following.

Previous set up which was working fine-
PC downstairs connected to BT landline via ADSL2 modem.
PC upstairs connected via wireless Belkin Pre_N router which can take 4 connections. :T

Step-daughter arrives Boxing Day with new Gateway laptop wifi ready.

Upstairs PC and laptop cant connect at the same time. If laptop is connected OK and I try and connect using PC the network list shows everyone else in the street except the Blekin Pre_N.
If PC is connected but laptop isnt, same thing happens.:mad:

We have tried changing the channel but that didnt work. We use windows to work the connection rather than the Belkin software.
Any ideas please?
many thanks

espresso

lindens wrote: »

I hope someone can advise on the following.

Previous set up which was working fine-
PC downstairs connected to BT landline via ADSL2 modem.
PC upstairs connected via wireless Belkin Pre_N router which can take 4 connections. :T

I think that you will have to first clarify your pre-stepdaughter set-up above, as it makes no sense to me!

lindens

Sorry I'll try again!

PC1 downstairs connected to broadband via BT landline with a ADSL2 modem. This PC also has a wireless router attached, a Belkin Pre_N.

PC2 upstairs is connected via this wireless router to broadband. This has worked for over a year like this with no problems.

Is that OK?

espresso

lindens wrote: »

Sorry I'll try again!

PC1 downstairs connected to broadband via BT landline with a ADSL2 modem. This PC also has a wireless router attached, a Belkin Pre_N.

PC2 upstairs is connected via this wireless router to broadband. This has worked for over a year like this with no problems.

Is that OK?

BT line >>>>> ADSL Modem >>>>> Belkin Router >>>>> PC1

where >>>>> = Ethernet cable

PC1 should only be connected to the router and no connection between the Modem and PC1.

Assuming the above set-up, do you have DHCP Server enabled in the Belkin? and is Broadcast SSID enabled? I'm not very familar with Belkin routers but you may have it set up in Access Point Mode?

lindens

BT landline to ADSL2 modem to PC1 via ethernet cable to Belkin Pre_N router via ethernet cable.

It was set up like this as per instructions that came with the router.

not sure about access point mode can you explain further please whilst I investigate the other questions?

espresso

lindens wrote: »

BT landline to ADSL2 modem to PC1 via ethernet cable to Belkin Pre_N router via ethernet cable.

It was set up like this as per instructions that came with the router.

not sure about access point mode can you explain further please whilst I investigate the other questions?

If you have it connected as you describe, I would say that it is incorrectly cabled and will not work.

Should be:

ADSL Modem >>>>> Belkin Router >>>>> PC1

where >>>>> = Ethernet cable

PC1 should only be connected to one of the routers LAN ports and there should be no direct connection between the Modem and PC1. This should leave three more LAN ports on the router and the WiFi interface to connect to your PC2 upstairs and your stepdaughters etc. using wireless interface.

Modem > Router > PC's (wired or wireless)

lindens

sorry you are right, and we DO have it connected like you suggest.

DHCP and SSID are both enabled.

The access point we tried to set up without really knowing what we were doing and PC1 got disconnected and would not connect so we put the settings back to disabled.
the settings were "specify Ip address = IP of PC2"
"subnet mask = IP address of unknown"

espresso

lindens wrote: »

sorry you are right, and we DO have it connected like you suggest.

DHCP and SSID are both enabled.

The access point we tried to set up without really knowing what we were doing and PC1 got disconnected and would not connect so we put the settings back to disabled.
the settings were "specify Ip address = IP of PC2"
"subnet mask = IP address of unknown"

I was not suggesting that you used access point mode but from your original description it sounded like you may had had some kind of internet connection sharing set up with PC2 using the router in access point mode to connect to PC1.

I don't understand why you can't see the SSID broadcast from your router on both PC2 and the laptop, if you have SSID enabled.

espresso

If you log into your router and go to the LAN settings page. What is displayed for:

IP address:?
Subnet mask:?
IP pool start address:?
IP pool end address:?

lindens

We have now noticed a pattern - up until 6pm everyday we can all usually connect OK and then at 6pm the connections drop and one or both of us cannot see our router and cannot connect. I think the local exchange is capping the bandwidth (?) and after 6pm its too low to share between us, because there are more people using the web since Christmas, new Ipods etc.
Does that sound feasible?
Thanks for your suggestions so far.

espresso

lindens wrote: »

We have now noticed a pattern - up until 6pm everyday we can all usually connect OK and then at 6pm the connections drop and one or both of us cannot see our router and cannot connect. I think the local exchange is capping the bandwidth (?) and after 6pm its too low to share between us, because there are more people using the web since Christmas, new Ipods etc.
Does that sound feasible?
Thanks for your suggestions so far.

No there is nothing that could be done at the exchange to prevent you sharing the connection on your wireless network. e.g. you could still pass data between devices on your own network. It is more likely caused by interference from another device nearby. If you can see any other wireless channels in use in the evening, try changing your wireless channel on the router, to one as far away as possible from these. It could also be caused by say a neighbour using a video sender device etc. etc.