Re: Problem connecting Macbook to Netgear DG834Gv2 & Internet


"Stephen2" <Stephen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:cb4723a7-a831-4449-b895-04a8fe2e729b@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On May 11, 8:03 pm, "Graham J" <gra...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"Stephen2" <Step...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:5e185ab7-3b97-404c-9dfa-198344cd5aa2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx





I'm using Safari 4 on my MacBook with Leopard and all the updates. The
wireless router is in another room through a couple of walls about 5
metres away.

I can connect wirelessly to the router & download stuff from iTunes, I
can upload to my idisk but sometimes accessing websites through the
browser, including connecting to the router itself, is really, really
slow or doesn't go at all. The url doesn't seem to get resolved and
either returns an error or loads the page eventually (after several
minutes). The gear spins for ages and I get the message 'connecting
to ...' in the status bar at the bottom of the screen in Safari.
Access connected via ethernet is ok. I've also tried Camino and get
the same problem.

The service provider is onetel.

I don't have much of a clue about these things so I would appreciate
any help or clues to investigate further.

If you can't connect to the router itself then the problem is with the
wireless.

I get full signal strength with Airport and I seem to be connected to
the router wirelessly. If I try to go to the settings via the web
interface it sometimes doesn't connect (as with accessing other urls).

I entered the onetel dns serves in the network settings and it seems
to be ok now. But this might be coincidence.

I will check the channel settings next.

-----------------------------------
My reply:

"You seem to be connected to the router wirelessly". How do you know? Can
you ping it by IP address? Always? Provided that you can ***always*** ping
the router by IP address there is nothing wrong with your wireless
connection.

If you look at the router with the web browser do you use the IP address of
the router or some logical name? Can you reliably view the router page
using its IP address? Can you reliably use TELNET to connect to the router?

Normally the computer should obtain its network settings from the DHCP
server in the router. This normally tells the computer to use the router as
it DNS server, which should mean that it will resolve the logical name of
the router (provided you type it in corectly!). If you have any other
settings please explain why.

You should always be able to view the router web pages by IP address. If
this fails intermittently but you can always ping the router, then there is
something wrong with your browser. Can you try a different browser? Can
you try a different computer, also using wireless?

For name resolution on the internet your router should refer to the DNS
provided by your ISP. Some ISPs have several DNSs. Normally the router
will learn about one or two of these when it establishes its connection to
the ISP, but if the ISP then takes a DNS out of service the router will not
necessarily know about this, because the ISP has no mechanism with which to
tell it. Rebooting the router should resolve this. Alternatively use a
known reliable public DNS.


--
Graham J





You say connecting via ethernet cable works OK. This confirms the problem
is with the wireless system.

If you can't use an ethernet cable on a permanent basis you could try
ethernet over mains (google for powerline ethernet).

Further investigation of wireless might just be worthwhile. Switch off the
wireless router and use the MacBook to look for other wireless signals.
Try
this at different times of day until you build up a picture of the
interfering signals, and make a note of the channels that they use. Then
reconfigure your wireless router to transmit on a channel not used by any
of
the interfering signals. Bear in mind that you need to leave a gap of 5
channels to avoid interference, thus in a given location you can only have
reliable operation with channels 1, 6 and 11 simultaneously.

In reality wireless is hopelessly oversold. Bite the bullet and install
ethernet cables properly.

--
Graham J


.

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