Router constant reboots problem

Hi all,

I posted a few days ago about this, and I'm still fiddling with it,
although it's getting close to the time when i hurl the thing in the
bin. ;-)


I have been using a Netgear MR314 router for some time now, and it's
always been fine. I have two PCs wired to it and a portable usually
connecting via wireless.

Recently I started to get an intermittent problem where Windows would
say the cable was unplugged and the router would go off-line, with the
Test led flashing. You could see, by the pattern of lights going on and
off that it was in test mode (as per it's boot sequence). Basically, as
far as I can tell, it is constantly rebooting itself.
Sometimes it would come back on-line after 3 or 4 reboots, other times
not for many reboots.
I've tried powering it off (sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for a
couple of hours), resetting it, resetting it another way (as advised by
Netgear) - none of these things solve the problem - if it's in reboot
mode when I power off it still reboots when I power up again. Then it
will start working ok, for no apparent reason.
I tried swapping cables around, etc. and could not pin the problem down
to any one thing. In fact, now that I have a new router and can test
this one independently, it will do it's rebooting trick without any
other device connected at all. So... I concluded that the router was faulty.

Honestly I'd say the router itself was faulty and the point has probably
passed where it is worth spending any more time on. Even so, I don't
like giving up... if it's dead - ok, but being intermittent makes me
slightly hopeful it could be fixed somehow. What do you think?

I'd just like to get some idea of what the problem actually is/was, for
future reference. Any thoughts, similar experiences?

John

On Sat, 19 Aug 2006 19:32:19 GMT, John Fryatt <(E-Mail Removed)> put
finger to keyboard and composed:

>Hi all,
>
>I posted a few days ago about this, and I'm still fiddling with it,
>although it's getting close to the time when i hurl the thing in the
>bin. ;-)
>
>
>I have been using a Netgear MR314 router for some time now, and it's
>always been fine. I have two PCs wired to it and a portable usually
>connecting via wireless.
>
>Recently I started to get an intermittent problem where Windows would
>say the cable was unplugged and the router would go off-line, with the
>Test led flashing. You could see, by the pattern of lights going on and
>off that it was in test mode (as per it's boot sequence). Basically, as
>far as I can tell, it is constantly rebooting itself.
>Sometimes it would come back on-line after 3 or 4 reboots, other times
>not for many reboots.
>I've tried powering it off (sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for a
>couple of hours), resetting it, resetting it another way (as advised by
>Netgear) - none of these things solve the problem - if it's in reboot
>mode when I power off it still reboots when I power up again. Then it
>will start working ok, for no apparent reason.
>I tried swapping cables around, etc. and could not pin the problem down
>to any one thing. In fact, now that I have a new router and can test
>this one independently, it will do it's rebooting trick without any
>other device connected at all. So... I concluded that the router was faulty.
>
>Honestly I'd say the router itself was faulty and the point has probably
>passed where it is worth spending any more time on. Even so, I don't
>like giving up... if it's dead - ok, but being intermittent makes me
>slightly hopeful it could be fixed somehow. What do you think?
>
>I'd just like to get some idea of what the problem actually is/was, for
>future reference. Any thoughts, similar experiences?
>
>John

I've added heatsinks to the major chips in my D-Link modem/router. I'd
also check for swollen or leaking capacitors.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

Apologies for the late reply - I've only just come across this topic on
Google.

I have had exactly the same problem on a DG834G, and contacted Netgear,
who suggested a "hard reboot". Whilst this worked for a short time,
updating the firmware to version 3 seems to have fixed the problem.
Hope this helps.

John Fryatt wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I posted a few days ago about this, and I'm still fiddling with it,
> although it's getting close to the time when i hurl the thing in the
> bin. ;-)
>
>
> I have been using a Netgear MR314 router for some time now, and it's
> always been fine. I have two PCs wired to it and a portable usually
> connecting via wireless.
>
> Recently I started to get an intermittent problem where Windows would
> say the cable was unplugged and the router would go off-line, with the
> Test led flashing. You could see, by the pattern of lights going on and
> off that it was in test mode (as per it's boot sequence). Basically, as
> far as I can tell, it is constantly rebooting itself.
> Sometimes it would come back on-line after 3 or 4 reboots, other times
> not for many reboots.
> I've tried powering it off (sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for a
> couple of hours), resetting it, resetting it another way (as advised by
> Netgear) - none of these things solve the problem - if it's in reboot
> mode when I power off it still reboots when I power up again. Then it
> will start working ok, for no apparent reason.
> I tried swapping cables around, etc. and could not pin the problem down
> to any one thing. In fact, now that I have a new router and can test
> this one independently, it will do it's rebooting trick without any
> other device connected at all. So... I concluded that the router was faulty.
>
> Honestly I'd say the router itself was faulty and the point has probably
> passed where it is worth spending any more time on. Even so, I don't
> like giving up... if it's dead - ok, but being intermittent makes me
> slightly hopeful it could be fixed somehow. What do you think?
>
> I'd just like to get some idea of what the problem actually is/was, for
> future reference. Any thoughts, similar experiences?
>
> John