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A Problem for A Real Expert - the Haunted Router(s)

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raybeere:
Sorry; I'm going to have to go into a bit of detail here, as I have no idea what might make a difference.

My computer system as I have it set up and connected to the Internet dates from spring 2006; the computer is a bit older but the setup was different and probably does not affect this problem. In 3+ years, I've been through three routers, about to find it necessary to buy #4 if I can't fix this one. (Still working, but past experience suggests it won't be long.)

First router: a cheap Belkin. I worked okay for about two years. Then, one day when I tried to access an unavailable site, the "wrong" DNS page popped up. I'd set my router to use OpenDNS, I got my ISP's version instead. So I accessed the router's settings and discovered something had messed them up (I assumed - and still do - heavy electrical storms not long before might be to blame). Fixed them. Very strange things started happening on my system: I didn't suspect the router, since most of the issues involved programs that were (at best) peripherally connected. I thought it must be malware, so I tried scanner after scanner with no real result (one or two advertising cookies, a key in my Registry that was adware, nothing extreme - and nothing that fixed the problem). I started having Internet connection problems, tried to access the router's settings again - and couldn't even get the login page to come up. Soon after, the router died. Total brick, so I tossed it and picked up a replacement. All problems, including what I'd thought must be a malware infestation, cleared up immediately.

Second router, the replacement, was a cheap Netgear, the first thing I could find on a store shelf, since I wanted to get back online. :) After less than a year, there was an incident with non-computer equipment on the same circuit. A fuse blew, and the ground-fault interrupter I have my surge protectors plugged into tripped. I started having connection problems (w/o too much strangeness; there's enough junk on my system it is hard to be sure what is due to those issues and what is a real problem - I know, one of these days I'm going to have to bite the bullet and reinstall). I didn't want to have to rush out to get another one this time and cash wasn't too tight at the time, so I didn't wait to see if it would die. I looked around, decided what I wanted, and ordered a nice Linksys WRT54GL. :D

Third - current - router: the Linksys. I was meaning to install open source firmware, but never got around to doing that, so it is 'out-of-the-box' except for changes to the settings. A week or so ago, we had a bad electrical storm come through (we've had an unusual number of strikes for the area this year). I pulled out my computer's power, but my son insisted he had to stay connected, so I left the router plugged in and on. (And connected to my computer, which seems fine.) I started having weird things happen on my system. Again, nothing that would point to the router. Then, I got messages about trouble with the Internet connection (still working, but apparently bothering some of the stuff I run). I tried to access the settings: again, I can't get the login page to even come up. "Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at 10.10.10.1" (I know this is not Linksys' default: had to set it to this to get it to work with the modem my ISP provided). I pinged 10.10.10.1 and got the following results:

(Last night)
Reply from 10.10.10.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.10.10.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.10.10.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.10.10.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64

Ping statistics for 10.10.10.1: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 1 ms, Average = 0ms

(Just now)
Reply from 10.10.10.1: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.10.10.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.10.10.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64
Reply from 10.10.10.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=64

Ping statistics for 10.10.10.1: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 2 ms, Average = 0ms

I'm concerned that the first result seems to be slowing down, but don't know for certain if this means anything. I think the fact the first result is the slowest is normal, but beyond that, I can't figure this out. Why can't I access the control settings? Is there an alternate way to do this? (Yes, I'd try Googling, but time online may be limited, so I'm trying all approaches, and didn't want to waste time on a search before at least posting here.)

More importantly, why do routers keep dying on me? Yes, there is the lightning - but the modem is plugged in to the same surge protector, which seems to have protected it. (True, I don't know if I'll have trouble with the modem this time, but both other times, replacing the router fixed every problem.) My other gear is in a separate surge protector, and none of it is having trouble.

I've thought about the factors I know affect routers, and this is all I can come up with:

Heat: yes, I do have all this stuff in a computer "armoire" (I have cats :D ) so ventilation is not perfect. Yet the computer runs hotter than the router, yet has no trouble, and has never overheated. (HDD is the only monitor I have, never above 60 degrees C, and usually not above 55 C). Even when the vents in the computer's case became clogged with dust, and the fan was howling like a jet all the time, things stayed fine until I could make the time to go in there and clean it out. And the Linksys has the best ventilated case of the three models that have died, yet it lasted the least amount of time. So I find it hard to believe heat is the culprit.

"Dirty" power: Thanks the most absurd house wiring layout I've ever seen, I have no choice but to have all this stuff on the same circuit as the refrigerator. Sigh. I know that isn't great - but, again, why just the router? Why isn't anything else having problems? (In all that time, I lost one cheap printer that was already on its way out - to a clogged print head. That's it, except for the routers.) So, not good, I agree (and if anyone has cheap suggestions for improving the situation, I'm all ears), but that doesn't seem right, either.

Power surges / lightning: In two of three cases, there was a bad storm right before I started noticing any weirdness. Both of these cases acted very much the same. In the third case, there was an incident which blew a fuse / tripped my GFI. This acted a bit differently, but the connection was utterly clear in this case. So that would seem to be the issue - but then why don't I need a new modem as well? One router might just be bad, but three? From different manufacturers?

I have no idea if I'll have a chance to read them before my router turns into a brick, but any and all thoughts would be appreciated, on the general issue of what might be causing such a failure rate for routers in specific, or on how I might get into my settings and perhaps fix whatever is wrong (I think I'd try re-flashing the firmware, to see if that did any good) before I lose this one. Thanks in advance.

4wd:
Since you seem to be in the middle of Lightning Central, the most obvious question would seem to be:

Does your phone line go through a surge protector/lightning arrestor?

You've mentioned that the modem is plugged into a surge protector but that still leaves umpteen kilometers of phone line for strikes to induce into.

If the phone company deems it necessary to put gas arrestors on every line to protect their equipment, (and it's still no guarantee of protection), then is there a reason why you shouldn't think the same?

Next time your son insists he has to stay connected against your better judgment, ask him if he's willing to buy a new router.

Carol Haynes:
Have you tried hard resetting the router back to factory settings and then setting up again?

Switch on and then press and hold the reset button for at least 30 seconds. Connect the router by a cable to your computer and then try IPCONFIG /ALL from a command prompt. If IPCONFIG says the router is at 192.168.0.1 you are probably back to square one, go to http://192.168.0.1 and login to the router control panel (admin / password) and resetup all your settings.

Once you have it all working again you can go into the router (at what ever IP address you specified) and backup your router settings to your hard disk then if it happens again in the future you can reset the router and simply restore the settings from the router control panel.

If none of this works don't pass go, don't collect $200, nip down to the local computer store and buy a new router.

While you are at it buy a very expensive surge protector to protect all of your equipment (including your phones lines). Don't buy a cheap one they aren't worth the money. Next time it looks like a storm switch everything off and unplug it from mains and telephone circuits!

Good luck.

Shades:
Computers, more particularly their power supplies, can actually take a lot of bad treatment like "dirty juice" or even milliseconds of no power at all. Get into the named brands of power supplies (and associated price tag) you will be able to mistreat them even more, but not by much.

Compare this with the warts that normally come with a home router...hence one of the reasons why you have a bigger chance of failure there. 4wd is totally right about the phone line and how it is (electrically) secured. 

cmpm:
Just guessing, I would replace the surge protector, having been tripped even once, sometimes they have lost their usefulness.

Your modem could be internally protected and your router is not.
In general start with the simple solutions and cheapest.
But don't get a cheap surge protector.
A good one will pay for itself many times.

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