Netgear WGR614AU problems

I just bought a Netgear WGR614AU wireless router with two Netgear WG311GE
wireless PCI adapters.

So I connected the router to my Motorola SB5100 Surfboard Cable Modem (which
has been working faultlessly for 6 months) I was able to get the router
connected using an ethernet cable, then I followed the setup to connect the
other PC with the WG311ge wireless PCI. After 10 hours I have given up.

I tried the Netgear standard set up at first, in two different PCs, I tried
sitting the PC adapter antenna just one foot away from the router antenna,
but they just can't see each other.

I tried setting up my SSIDs, checked they were the same, I tried hard coding
the MAC addresses. I have made sure all firewall and antivurus software is
off.

I'm in Melbourne Australia connecting to Telstra Bigpond cable.

The netgear site is a waste of time for help, their Knowledge Base should be
relabelled the Bleeding Obvious Base.

I've got WinXP on both PCs, but I even installed Ubuntu Linix, it went
searching for a wireless network during the setup and it couldn't find one
either, anyone got any ideas? Should I just take it back and swao for a
Linksys or a D-Link.

Vossaka

On Sat, 01 Oct 2005 14:01:11 GMT, "Vossaka" <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>I just bought a Netgear WGR614AU wireless router with two Netgear WG311GE
>wireless PCI adapters.

I just received a pile of WGR614 v6 (US version) wireless routers.
They work tolerably well for me. What version hardware? They're all
quite different.

No expeience with the WG311 PCI cards.

>So I connected the router to my Motorola SB5100 Surfboard Cable Modem (which
>has been working faultlessly for 6 months) I was able to get the router
>connected using an ethernet cable,

OK. So the router part works connecting to the internet via ethernet.

>then I followed the setup to connect the
>other PC with the WG311ge wireless PCI. After 10 hours I have given up.

10 hours? Now, that's dedication. I used to do it like that but now
value my spare time at a higher rate. If takes me more than 2hrs, I
yell for help or return the piece of junk.

The difficult part here is that we cannot tell if the problem is in
the WGR614 router or the two PCI cards. Is there a known working
client (laptop) or nearby hot spot that can be used to make the
distinction?

>I tried the Netgear standard set up at first, in two different PCs, I tried
>sitting the PC adapter antenna just one foot away from the router antenna,
>but they just can't see each other.

OK. So "show available networks" in the WG311 Netgear program doesn't
find the WGR614. Does it see any other networks? If your neighbors
have wireless, it should see them. Hang the computer out the window.
If nothing, then whatever is broken is on the client side.

>I tried setting up my SSIDs, checked they were the same, I tried hard coding
>the MAC addresses. I have made sure all firewall and antivurus software is
>off.

Go back to the stock setup. Firewalls and antivirus software will not
interfere with the initial connection, so that's not a problem at this
point.

I assume that you tried to reset the WGR614 to defaults at one point?
With all the tinkering you've done, doing it again might not be a bad
idea.

On the WGR614 "wireless" page, see if the radio is enabled. (Yeah, I
know.... I've done dumber things when I'm tired).

>I'm in Melbourne Australia connecting to Telstra Bigpond cable.
>
>The netgear site is a waste of time for help, their Knowledge Base should be
>relabelled the Bleeding Obvious Base.

Yep. All the techy stuff was removed to make room for the "feel good"
junk that nobody reads. You'll be thrilled to know that Linksys has
done much of the same.

>I've got WinXP on both PCs, but I even installed Ubuntu Linix, it went
>searching for a wireless network during the setup and it couldn't find one
>either, anyone got any ideas?

Well, that fairly well eliminates the operating system and points at
the two PCI cards. Try different slots? The only way to be sure is
to drag in a different access point and a known working laptop. If
there are no nearby networks, AND the WGR614 is dead, then you'll get
the symptoms you describe. You need a tie breaker.

>Should I just take it back and swao for a
>Linksys or a D-Link.

Not yet.

>Vossaka
>
--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

"Jeff Liebermann" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> On Sat, 01 Oct 2005 14:01:11 GMT, "Vossaka" <(E-Mail Removed)>
> wrote:
>
>>I just bought a Netgear WGR614AU wireless router with two Netgear WG311GE
>>wireless PCI adapters.
>
> I just received a pile of WGR614 v6 (US version) wireless routers.
> They work tolerably well for me. What version hardware? They're all
> quite different.
>
> No expeience with the WG311 PCI cards.
>
>>So I connected the router to my Motorola SB5100 Surfboard Cable Modem
>>(which
>>has been working faultlessly for 6 months) I was able to get the router
>>connected using an ethernet cable,
>
> OK. So the router part works connecting to the internet via ethernet.
>
>>then I followed the setup to connect the
>>other PC with the WG311ge wireless PCI. After 10 hours I have given up.
>
> 10 hours? Now, that's dedication. I used to do it like that but now
> value my spare time at a higher rate. If takes me more than 2hrs, I
> yell for help or return the piece of junk.
>
> The difficult part here is that we cannot tell if the problem is in
> the WGR614 router or the two PCI cards. Is there a known working
> client (laptop) or nearby hot spot that can be used to make the
> distinction?
>
>>I tried the Netgear standard set up at first, in two different PCs, I
>>tried
>>sitting the PC adapter antenna just one foot away from the router antenna,
>>but they just can't see each other.
>
> OK. So "show available networks" in the WG311 Netgear program doesn't
> find the WGR614. Does it see any other networks? If your neighbors
> have wireless, it should see them. Hang the computer out the window.
> If nothing, then whatever is broken is on the client side.
>
>>I tried setting up my SSIDs, checked they were the same, I tried hard
>>coding
>>the MAC addresses. I have made sure all firewall and antivurus software
>>is
>>off.
>
> Go back to the stock setup. Firewalls and antivirus software will not
> interfere with the initial connection, so that's not a problem at this
> point.
>
> I assume that you tried to reset the WGR614 to defaults at one point?
> With all the tinkering you've done, doing it again might not be a bad
> idea.
>
> On the WGR614 "wireless" page, see if the radio is enabled. (Yeah, I
> know.... I've done dumber things when I'm tired).
>
>>I'm in Melbourne Australia connecting to Telstra Bigpond cable.
>>
>>The netgear site is a waste of time for help, their Knowledge Base should
>>be
>>relabelled the Bleeding Obvious Base.
>
> Yep. All the techy stuff was removed to make room for the "feel good"
> junk that nobody reads. You'll be thrilled to know that Linksys has
> done much of the same.
>
>>I've got WinXP on both PCs, but I even installed Ubuntu Linix, it went
>>searching for a wireless network during the setup and it couldn't find one
>>either, anyone got any ideas?
>
> Well, that fairly well eliminates the operating system and points at
> the two PCI cards. Try different slots? The only way to be sure is
> to drag in a different access point and a known working laptop. If
> there are no nearby networks, AND the WGR614 is dead, then you'll get
> the symptoms you describe. You need a tie breaker.
>
>>Should I just take it back and swao for a
>>Linksys or a D-Link.
>
> Not yet.

Thanks for your help Jeff, unfortunately I have no friends nearby with
notebooks who could test another adapter card for me. There were no other
networks showing on the Netgear adapter search, but that could just mean
that my neighbours are not setup for wireless, which is quite likely. The
router was a WGR614v5, I checked the Netgear download site and it already
had the latest firmware. There was a later version of the firmware for the
WG311 adapter, but that didn't help.

I had already packed everything up ready to take it back tomorrow (its
Sunday afternoon here), but your reply reminded me that I had set my login
and password into the router memory, so I set it up again and reset to
default.

Now I am going to put my gumboots on and go outside to destroy one tree and
plant another in its place. That's something I CAN do.

Vossaka



>
>>Vossaka
>>
> --
> Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
> 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
> Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
> Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Vossaka wrote:
> "Jeff Liebermann" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> On Sat, 01 Oct 2005 14:01:11 GMT, "Vossaka" <(E-Mail Removed)>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I just bought a Netgear WGR614AU wireless router with two Netgear
>>> WG311GE wireless PCI adapters.
>>
>> I just received a pile of WGR614 v6 (US version) wireless routers.
>> They work tolerably well for me. What version hardware? They're all
>> quite different.
>>
>> No expeience with the WG311 PCI cards.
>>
>>> So I connected the router to my Motorola SB5100 Surfboard Cable
>>> Modem (which
>>> has been working faultlessly for 6 months) I was able to get the
>>> router connected using an ethernet cable,
>>
>> OK. So the router part works connecting to the internet via
>> ethernet.
>>> then I followed the setup to connect the
>>> other PC with the WG311ge wireless PCI. After 10 hours I have
>>> given up.
>>
>> 10 hours? Now, that's dedication. I used to do it like that but now
>> value my spare time at a higher rate. If takes me more than 2hrs, I
>> yell for help or return the piece of junk.
>>
>> The difficult part here is that we cannot tell if the problem is in
>> the WGR614 router or the two PCI cards. Is there a known working
>> client (laptop) or nearby hot spot that can be used to make the
>> distinction?
>>
>>> I tried the Netgear standard set up at first, in two different PCs,
>>> I tried
>>> sitting the PC adapter antenna just one foot away from the router
>>> antenna, but they just can't see each other.
>>
>> OK. So "show available networks" in the WG311 Netgear program
>> doesn't find the WGR614. Does it see any other networks? If your
>> neighbors have wireless, it should see them. Hang the computer out
>> the window. If nothing, then whatever is broken is on the client
>> side.
>>> I tried setting up my SSIDs, checked they were the same, I tried
>>> hard coding
>>> the MAC addresses. I have made sure all firewall and antivurus
>>> software is
>>> off.
>>
>> Go back to the stock setup. Firewalls and antivirus software will
>> not interfere with the initial connection, so that's not a problem
>> at this point.
>>
>> I assume that you tried to reset the WGR614 to defaults at one point?
>> With all the tinkering you've done, doing it again might not be a bad
>> idea.
>>
>> On the WGR614 "wireless" page, see if the radio is enabled. (Yeah, I
>> know.... I've done dumber things when I'm tired).
>>
>>> I'm in Melbourne Australia connecting to Telstra Bigpond cable.
>>>
>>> The netgear site is a waste of time for help, their Knowledge Base
>>> should be
>>> relabelled the Bleeding Obvious Base.
>>
>> Yep. All the techy stuff was removed to make room for the "feel
>> good" junk that nobody reads. You'll be thrilled to know that
>> Linksys has done much of the same.
>>
>>> I've got WinXP on both PCs, but I even installed Ubuntu Linix, it
>>> went searching for a wireless network during the setup and it
>>> couldn't find one either, anyone got any ideas?
>>
>> Well, that fairly well eliminates the operating system and points at
>> the two PCI cards. Try different slots? The only way to be sure is
>> to drag in a different access point and a known working laptop. If
>> there are no nearby networks, AND the WGR614 is dead, then you'll get
>> the symptoms you describe. You need a tie breaker.
>>
>>> Should I just take it back and swao for a
>>> Linksys or a D-Link.
>>
>> Not yet.
>
> Thanks for your help Jeff, unfortunately I have no friends nearby with
> notebooks who could test another adapter card for me. There were no
> other networks showing on the Netgear adapter search, but that could
> just mean that my neighbours are not setup for wireless, which is
> quite likely. The router was a WGR614v5, I checked the Netgear
> download site and it already had the latest firmware. There was a
> later version of the firmware for the WG311 adapter, but that didn't
> help.
> I had already packed everything up ready to take it back tomorrow (its
> Sunday afternoon here), but your reply reminded me that I had set my
> login and password into the router memory, so I set it up again and
> reset to default.
>
> Now I am going to put my gumboots on and go outside to destroy one
> tree and plant another in its place. That's something I CAN do.
>
> Vossaka
>
>
>
>>
>>> Vossaka
>>>
>> --
>> Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
>> 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
>> Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
>> Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

I see no mention of rebooting the modem before connecting the router.
The symptoms are very much like there is no internet connection to the
router. What is the router WAN IP address?

Q

"Quaoar" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:4bmdnYkGxcxC06LeRVn-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Vossaka wrote:
>> "Jeff Liebermann" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> On Sat, 01 Oct 2005 14:01:11 GMT, "Vossaka" <(E-Mail Removed)>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I just bought a Netgear WGR614AU wireless router with two Netgear
>>>> WG311GE wireless PCI adapters.
>>>
>>> I just received a pile of WGR614 v6 (US version) wireless routers.
>>> They work tolerably well for me. What version hardware? They're all
>>> quite different.
>>>
>>> No expeience with the WG311 PCI cards.
>>>
>>>> So I connected the router to my Motorola SB5100 Surfboard Cable
>>>> Modem (which
>>>> has been working faultlessly for 6 months) I was able to get the
>>>> router connected using an ethernet cable,
>>>
>>> OK. So the router part works connecting to the internet via
>>> ethernet.
>>>> then I followed the setup to connect the
>>>> other PC with the WG311ge wireless PCI. After 10 hours I have
>>>> given up.
>>>
>>> 10 hours? Now, that's dedication. I used to do it like that but now
>>> value my spare time at a higher rate. If takes me more than 2hrs, I
>>> yell for help or return the piece of junk.
>>>
>>> The difficult part here is that we cannot tell if the problem is in
>>> the WGR614 router or the two PCI cards. Is there a known working
>>> client (laptop) or nearby hot spot that can be used to make the
>>> distinction?
>>>
>>>> I tried the Netgear standard set up at first, in two different PCs,
>>>> I tried
>>>> sitting the PC adapter antenna just one foot away from the router
>>>> antenna, but they just can't see each other.
>>>
>>> OK. So "show available networks" in the WG311 Netgear program
>>> doesn't find the WGR614. Does it see any other networks? If your
>>> neighbors have wireless, it should see them. Hang the computer out
>>> the window. If nothing, then whatever is broken is on the client
>>> side.
>>>> I tried setting up my SSIDs, checked they were the same, I tried
>>>> hard coding
>>>> the MAC addresses. I have made sure all firewall and antivurus
>>>> software is
>>>> off.
>>>
>>> Go back to the stock setup. Firewalls and antivirus software will
>>> not interfere with the initial connection, so that's not a problem
>>> at this point.
>>>
>>> I assume that you tried to reset the WGR614 to defaults at one point?
>>> With all the tinkering you've done, doing it again might not be a bad
>>> idea.
>>>
>>> On the WGR614 "wireless" page, see if the radio is enabled. (Yeah, I
>>> know.... I've done dumber things when I'm tired).
>>>
>>>> I'm in Melbourne Australia connecting to Telstra Bigpond cable.
>>>>
>>>> The netgear site is a waste of time for help, their Knowledge Base
>>>> should be
>>>> relabelled the Bleeding Obvious Base.
>>>
>>> Yep. All the techy stuff was removed to make room for the "feel
>>> good" junk that nobody reads. You'll be thrilled to know that
>>> Linksys has done much of the same.
>>>
>>>> I've got WinXP on both PCs, but I even installed Ubuntu Linix, it
>>>> went searching for a wireless network during the setup and it
>>>> couldn't find one either, anyone got any ideas?
>>>
>>> Well, that fairly well eliminates the operating system and points at
>>> the two PCI cards. Try different slots? The only way to be sure is
>>> to drag in a different access point and a known working laptop. If
>>> there are no nearby networks, AND the WGR614 is dead, then you'll get
>>> the symptoms you describe. You need a tie breaker.
>>>
>>>> Should I just take it back and swao for a
>>>> Linksys or a D-Link.
>>>
>>> Not yet.
>>
>> Thanks for your help Jeff, unfortunately I have no friends nearby with
>> notebooks who could test another adapter card for me. There were no
>> other networks showing on the Netgear adapter search, but that could
>> just mean that my neighbours are not setup for wireless, which is
>> quite likely. The router was a WGR614v5, I checked the Netgear
>> download site and it already had the latest firmware. There was a
>> later version of the firmware for the WG311 adapter, but that didn't
>> help.
>> I had already packed everything up ready to take it back tomorrow (its
>> Sunday afternoon here), but your reply reminded me that I had set my
>> login and password into the router memory, so I set it up again and
>> reset to default.
>>
>> Now I am going to put my gumboots on and go outside to destroy one
>> tree and plant another in its place. That's something I CAN do.
>>
>> Vossaka
>>
>>
>>
>>>
>>>> Vossaka
>>>>
>>> --
>>> Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
>>> 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
>>> Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
>>> Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
>
> I see no mention of rebooting the modem before connecting the router. The
> symptoms are very much like there is no internet connection to the router.
> What is the router WAN IP address?

I have gone through the whole procedure a couple of times.

That process was to (as described in the manual)
1) power everything off
2) turn on cable modem and leave it for 2 minutes
3) turn on router and leave for 1 minute
4) turn on the computer

I have just been talking to tech support in India for 2 hours, we went
through every possible scenario. I am now going to try to update the
adapter firmware again, then I'll call him back and maybe do a "hard reset"
(his words) - of the router.

During the day I took the whole lot back to the local computer shop and
asked for my money back - but they refused - telling me it was Netgear's
problem. Next time I'll buy through one of those big-name fancy
chain-stores where you get served by a pimple faced 16 year old schoolgirl
working weekends who knows nothing - but at least they have a guaranteed
refund policy.

Vossaka

>
> Q
>

"Quaoar" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:4bmdnYkGxcxC06LeRVn-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Vossaka wrote:
>> "Jeff Liebermann" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> On Sat, 01 Oct 2005 14:01:11 GMT, "Vossaka" <(E-Mail Removed)>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I just bought a Netgear WGR614AU wireless router with two Netgear
>>>> WG311GE wireless PCI adapters.
>>>
>>> I just received a pile of WGR614 v6 (US version) wireless routers.
>>> They work tolerably well for me. What version hardware? They're all
>>> quite different.
>>>
>>> No expeience with the WG311 PCI cards.
>>>
>>>> So I connected the router to my Motorola SB5100 Surfboard Cable
>>>> Modem (which
>>>> has been working faultlessly for 6 months) I was able to get the
>>>> router connected using an ethernet cable,
>>>
>>> OK. So the router part works connecting to the internet via
>>> ethernet.
>>>> then I followed the setup to connect the
>>>> other PC with the WG311ge wireless PCI. After 10 hours I have
>>>> given up.
>>>
>>> 10 hours? Now, that's dedication. I used to do it like that but now
>>> value my spare time at a higher rate. If takes me more than 2hrs, I
>>> yell for help or return the piece of junk.
>>>
>>> The difficult part here is that we cannot tell if the problem is in
>>> the WGR614 router or the two PCI cards. Is there a known working
>>> client (laptop) or nearby hot spot that can be used to make the
>>> distinction?
>>>
>>>> I tried the Netgear standard set up at first, in two different PCs,
>>>> I tried
>>>> sitting the PC adapter antenna just one foot away from the router
>>>> antenna, but they just can't see each other.
>>>
>>> OK. So "show available networks" in the WG311 Netgear program
>>> doesn't find the WGR614. Does it see any other networks? If your
>>> neighbors have wireless, it should see them. Hang the computer out
>>> the window. If nothing, then whatever is broken is on the client
>>> side.
>>>> I tried setting up my SSIDs, checked they were the same, I tried
>>>> hard coding
>>>> the MAC addresses. I have made sure all firewall and antivurus
>>>> software is
>>>> off.
>>>
>>> Go back to the stock setup. Firewalls and antivirus software will
>>> not interfere with the initial connection, so that's not a problem
>>> at this point.
>>>
>>> I assume that you tried to reset the WGR614 to defaults at one point?
>>> With all the tinkering you've done, doing it again might not be a bad
>>> idea.
>>>
>>> On the WGR614 "wireless" page, see if the radio is enabled. (Yeah, I
>>> know.... I've done dumber things when I'm tired).
>>>
>>>> I'm in Melbourne Australia connecting to Telstra Bigpond cable.
>>>>
>>>> The netgear site is a waste of time for help, their Knowledge Base
>>>> should be
>>>> relabelled the Bleeding Obvious Base.
>>>
>>> Yep. All the techy stuff was removed to make room for the "feel
>>> good" junk that nobody reads. You'll be thrilled to know that
>>> Linksys has done much of the same.
>>>
>>>> I've got WinXP on both PCs, but I even installed Ubuntu Linix, it
>>>> went searching for a wireless network during the setup and it
>>>> couldn't find one either, anyone got any ideas?
>>>
>>> Well, that fairly well eliminates the operating system and points at
>>> the two PCI cards. Try different slots? The only way to be sure is
>>> to drag in a different access point and a known working laptop. If
>>> there are no nearby networks, AND the WGR614 is dead, then you'll get
>>> the symptoms you describe. You need a tie breaker.
>>>
>>>> Should I just take it back and swao for a
>>>> Linksys or a D-Link.
>>>
>>> Not yet.
>>
>> Thanks for your help Jeff, unfortunately I have no friends nearby with
>> notebooks who could test another adapter card for me. There were no
>> other networks showing on the Netgear adapter search, but that could
>> just mean that my neighbours are not setup for wireless, which is
>> quite likely. The router was a WGR614v5, I checked the Netgear
>> download site and it already had the latest firmware. There was a
>> later version of the firmware for the WG311 adapter, but that didn't
>> help.
>> I had already packed everything up ready to take it back tomorrow (its
>> Sunday afternoon here), but your reply reminded me that I had set my
>> login and password into the router memory, so I set it up again and
>> reset to default.
>>
>> Now I am going to put my gumboots on and go outside to destroy one
>> tree and plant another in its place. That's something I CAN do.
>>
>> Vossaka
>>
>>
>>
>>>
>>>> Vossaka
>>>>
>>> --
>>> Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
>>> 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
>>> Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
>>> Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
>
> I see no mention of rebooting the modem before connecting the router. The
> symptoms are very much like there is no internet connection to the router.
> What is the router WAN IP address?

192.168.1.1

and i did reboot the modem, a few times

>
> Q
>

It appears that Vossaka <(E-Mail Removed)> shook an Etch A Sketch
before scribbling:

>> I see no mention of rebooting the modem before connecting the
>> router. The symptoms are very much like there is no internet
>> connection to the router. What is the router WAN IP address?
>
> 192.168.1.1
>
> and i did reboot the modem, a few times
>
>>

WinXP has been discussed as having possible conflicts between the Wireless
Zero Configuration networking and certain drivers. Most likely the two are
fighting over control of the WG311.

Here's a link to the easy steps to turning off WZC. Don't forget to reboot.

By the way, is the Netgear utility (WLANCFGx) running at startup? It should
be in your system tray. That should be the program that scans for available
access points. If not, try running it manually from Start and see if it
finds anything.

It appears that TV Slug <(E-Mail Removed)> shook an
Etch A Sketch before scribbling:
> It appears that Vossaka <(E-Mail Removed)> shook an Etch A Sketch
> before scribbling:
>
>>> I see no mention of rebooting the modem before connecting the
>>> router. The symptoms are very much like there is no internet
>>> connection to the router. What is the router WAN IP address?
>>
>> 192.168.1.1
>>
>> and i did reboot the modem, a few times
>>
>>>
>
> WinXP has been discussed as having possible conflicts between the
> Wireless Zero Configuration networking and certain drivers. Most
> likely the two are fighting over control of the WG311.
>
> Here's a link to the easy steps to turning off WZC. Don't forget to
> reboot.
>

Yeah, I forgot the link...

http://www.ifelix.co.uk/tech/2000.html