Slow connection with Linksys BEFSR41 router

[steveelec]

Hi,

I have a Linksys BEFSR41 router with 4-port switch connected to 3 computers all with 10/100 LAN cards and I am also connected to the net via a cable modem (Pace).

I am having severe trouble with the internet connection slowing down say after 30 mins of being on the net after rebooting the cable modem, router and the computers even if only one person is using the net.

If I reboot all the hardware again it will work fine and perfectly fast until after 30 mins and things will start to get immensely slow and not work at all sometimes, does anyone have any ideas as to what is causing this?

If it helps my ISP is ntl. Your help will be much appreciated.

Steve.

 

[cdogg]

Steve,
As a quick test, I would try the connection without using the router. Just connect the cable modem directly to one pc and see if the same thing occurs after a half hour. That would narrow down the problem to being either the ISP, router, or network configuration.


~cdogg

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
- A. Einstein

 

[steveelec]

Thankyou for the reply cdogg,

I have tried it with the modem connected to just one PC and that is fine, no problems there so if you have any more suggestions?

Steve.

 

[smah]

I have heard of cable providers checking the mac address of the user to make sure they're not using routers & such. In the advanced section of the router config, go the the MAC address cloning tab and enter the mac address of the ethernet card on the machine that works by itself. It may not help, but it's worth a shot.

 

[meyerd]

I have replaced 2 Linksys routers within the last year for the symptom you describe. 1 was fixed under warranty and the other I had to buy. I ASSUME this is a relatively common failure mode for the Linksys.

 

[cdogg]

meyerd,
I've been through 4 different BEFSR41 Linksys routers personally and haven't had one problem with "slowness". Also, a company I worked for recently supported over 300 VPN connections that used Linksys routers. Within 6 months of support, there wasn't one report of hardware failure. Everything that went wrong was due to a software configuration. Out of all due respect, I find it hard to believe that it was the hardware in your case unless a surge reached it...


Steve,
Does the problem occur if you only have one PC connected to the router?


~cdogg

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
- A. Einstein

 

[steveelec]

cdogg,

No, the speed is fine with just one PC connected to the router, it's just when they are all connected.

Steve

 

[cdogg]

Steve,
OK, I would go into the configuration for the router and set the starting IP range (under DHCP settings) for 198.162.1.150 or something other than 198.162.1.100 for now. Then turn off "File and Print Sharing" on all PC's and reboot them. Verify that all of them are getting different IP addresses ending in 150, 151, and 152. Also, do a CTRL-ALT-DEL and end task on everything except explorer (for Win9x/ME systems).

Basically, we don't want the pc's to try and see each other. Perhaps one of them is the culprit (trojan, virus, or spyware app eating the bandwidth).


~cdogg

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
- A. Einstein

 

[hennemuthw]

steve, I feel your pain.
I have the exact same router and am experiencing an almost identical problem.
I have replaced my first BEFSR41 router with another one.
I have also cut and crimped new wiring.
However, I still see the same behavior. If I futz around enough, rebooting computers and repowering the router, I can restore acceptable speeds, but if I wait long enough, the speed slows down to a 10th of what it should be and sometimes slows enough to get no connection at all. Like you, the problem resolves if I connect a computer directly into the cable modem. If I then restore the static IP (I'm running a web site and I need a static IP for port 80 routing) on my computer and plug back into the router, I see acceptable speeds. I wake up the next day, and I'm back to the slowness again.
Were you able to resolve this issue? If so, what did you do?
cdogg, any thoughts?

 

[cdogg]

warren,
I have to ask one of the same questions:
If you leave only 1 pc connected through the router to the cable modem, does the problem still occur?

I have the same router with 3 pc's networked. All 3 are running different OS's (Win98SE, Win2K, & WinXP). I have never seen this kind of problem on my setup. Of course, in both of your cases, a cable broadband connection is involved. I use DSL which requires PPPoE and the IP address isn't static. Perhaps the router is having an interface problem with your cable modem or ISP? Also, what OS are you running?


~cdogg

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
- A. Einstein

 

[hennemuthw]

Steve/Cdogg...

It turns out that the behavior I was seeing was the result of a virus called IRC.Mimic. This trojan gets onto your system and waits for a signal to turn your machine into a denial of service attack participant. This is what was causing the super slow transfer time - all the bandwidth was being taken up. Anyway, the solution is easy enough if you have Antivirus software. I didn't and I am paying for it now. Although, I was under the impression that the router would act as a firewall and that - included with intelligent handling of suspicious email, staying away from running FTP (anonymous access) - this would prevent trojans from depositing on one's machine.
Shows how much I know.
Anyone know how you can get one of these things if the above measures - accept NAV - are taken?