Tek-Tips is the largest IT community on the Internet today!

Members share and learn making Tek-Tips Forums the best source of peer-reviewed technical information on the Internet!

  • Congratulations SkipVought on being selected by the Tek-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!

Can't access modem setup page with laptops

Status
Not open for further replies.

dexterdoo

Technical User
Jul 19, 2003
67
0
0
US
I have an AT&T modem whose web interface can be accessed (192.168.1.254) with any desktop. But when I tried with my Dell laptop and a friends HP laptop,it doesn't work!! What's up with that??
 
Need more information.

What model of modem is this?

How are you connecting the laptops to it? Wired or Wirelessly?

What are the IP setting son the laptops when trying to connect?

Do they match those of the desktops?

Some routers/modems will not allow access to the config page from the wireless connections for security purposes.

You may need to change some settings to allow connections.


----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

Behind the Web, Tips and Tricks for Web Development.
 
Sorry! I'm using the ethernet cable, not wirelessly! Same cable,same browser(IE7)everything is identical for all tests on the Motorola 2210 modem. I thought maybe there was something wrong with my laptop until I tried it with my friends and got the same results. Won't access!
 
Hi,
Is the router blocking new connections from unknown MAC addresses?



[profile]

To Paraphrase:"The Help you get is proportional to the Help you give.."
 
I guess I'm not being clear??? There is no router involed in this. Let me try it again:
If I make a direct connection from the ethernet port on the desktop to the modem and use the IP 192.168.1.254, I get into the modem! If I connect the same cable and modem to either of the two laptops, I does not do the same. I get "page cannot be access or something like that! Does this proceedure not work with laptops??
 
So what happens? Do you get an error page? Do you not get the Login prompt? Does it jut stay there and never load?

Maybe some setting that only allows specific PCs to connect like Mac address filtering?

When you connect do you get internet on the laptops?

Is it set to DHCP or manual IP config?
If manual are IP settings the same as the desktop PCs?
If DHCP are the laptops getting the correct settings?

----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

Behind the Web, Tips and Tricks for Web Development.
 
Sorry, didn't see the responses.


----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

Behind the Web, Tips and Tricks for Web Development.
 
Hi,
When you do access the Modem's web interface, do you see
any security settings that may be blocking access?

Are the laptops using a compatible network card?



[profile]

To Paraphrase:"The Help you get is proportional to the Help you give.."
 
on your Laptop, set the IP to a static value (192.168.1.x where X is a value between 1 and 253, with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0)...

here are the instructions:
reboot for good poise (some XP installs need a reboot, but most do not)...

then try again...

you could also post the output of IPCONFIG /ALL from the CMD line, while it is hooked up to the MODEM before you attempt the STATIC IP...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"
 
Ok ...These are great suggestions. Never thought about setting a static IP.... I'll try these and post back later with results. Headed to a BBQ so it won't be until later tonight. Thanks much guys! :eek:)
 
Ok,setting a static IP solved it! It was at 169.254.83.3, nowhere near the modem IP! Learned sumpthin' new on this one .... :O)

Thanks to all for your help.
 
169.blah.blah.blah That's what we call a garbage IP address. It means "I can't get a real IP address because I can't contact a DHCP server so I'll just crap out".

That's the first thing you do when troubleshooting connectivity problems - drop to a CMD prompt and do an IPCONFIG /ALL and see if the info matches your network.

Your desktops must have been "holding" their IP address and IP info or else they were static. That's the only thing that explains the difference in behavior.
 
or the lan cables were connected while the OS was already up, and then it decided to not refresh the ip. rebooting with the lan cable inserted may have also fixed it, allowing the os to see the dchp server from the modem and grabbing an ip in range.
 
I had rebooted with the cable connected several times and that had no effect. :O)
 
rclarke250 said:
or the lan cables were connected while the OS was already up, and then it decided to not refresh the ip. rebooting with the lan cable inserted may have also fixed it, allowing the os to see the dchp server from the modem and grabbing an ip in range.
That would only have worked if the modem was actually acting as a DHCP. Which at this point I highly doubt it was.

I think the modem either doesn't have the ability to act as DHCP, or if it does its turned off. And it was just a question of manually assigning them because there was no other way to get the configuration.



----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

Behind the Web, Tips and Tricks for Web Development.
 
^^^^ Yes, I concur with your autopsy analysis Vacunita. Please remove the body from the table and proceed with burial plans.
 
It is modem and router, with NAT, firewall, and DHCP if activated.

A browse to the setup page will show if DHCP is enabled.

If the desktop gets a valid address automatically the laptops should also. I used a Dell laptop on one a year or so ago with no problems. Well, problems, but not laptop or modem.

I have a flakey one underfoot and during one of its lucid moments it handed out a valid address.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.
 
edfair said:
If the desktop gets a valid address automatically the laptops should also

Assuming the desktops are actually getting IP addresses. I suspect the desktops were manually configured and have a static IP set, so they work when connected.

I've had my share of flaky routers. One in particular decided it would only hand out an IP address to a specific laptop. There were no settings limiting MAC addresses or anything like that. I ended up resetting it to factory defaults to get it back to normal operation.


----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

Behind the Web, Tips and Tricks for Web Development.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Part and Inventory Search

Sponsor

Back
Top