linksys wrt54g setup woes

**ShuckyD** · June 5th, 2006, 03:09 PM

This past weekend i went to a computer show in MD and was able to get alot of wirless networking stuff (goood stuff) for a decent price, since i would like to eventually get into the wireless world at home. I picked up a:

Linksys WRT54G Wireless- G Router
AirLink101 AWLH3026 PCI WiFi - G card (just had to try that brand)
Linksys WMP11 Wireless B - PCI Card Adapter
Linksys WUSB11 Wireless B - USB Network Adapter

ALL FOR LESS THAN $70 COMBINED

So i swept up on that deal, the wireless B stuff was like $10-$15 a pop....

Well when i got home i thought i would be a good idea to set up the Linksys wireless router to see if i can get it to work as an access point, since thats all im going to be using it for, no DHCP, etc... When i log into the router 192.168.1.1 i was able to login in with no username and "password" as the pass. There i was into a regular setup mode like i am use to, but whenevr i made a change to a setting and went to the button at the bottom to save changes i dont see anything happening, usually i see my browser refresh. When i go to another tab and come back then whatever i changed is gone... So i dont think the router is working quite right..

How do i reset the whole thing, like back to its factory defaults, unplug it and just hold reset a few minutes?

**originel** · June 5th, 2006, 03:14 PM

you have to have it plugged in for the reset to work IIRC. I seem to remember that on mine (same router, but now with a custom linux firmware) you had to click two save buttons...something like save, and then something like apply...but maybe that's just the new custom firmware I'm thinking of.

**ShuckyD** · June 5th, 2006, 03:18 PM

can you link me up to the new firmware, cause i think/hope i can update that

cause i didnt see any two apply buttons, i looked because on my wired router/switch (Netgear FVS318 i have to do it 2x)

i should be able to use it as just a simple access point right?

**GroundZero3** · June 5th, 2006, 03:22 PM

what verison is your router?

The thirdparty firmware only works with certain verison routers. The newer ones arent supported alot last time i checked

As for your question, yes just disable the dhcp server and setup the encrpytion. Remember your only going to be able to use is WEP and your wireless will all be knocked down to 11 Mbps since you have B products on a G network.

**jkrohn** · June 5th, 2006, 03:24 PM

Be careful, check your router version!

Linksys has CRIPPLED the WRT54G in its latest iteration and most firmwares will NOT work on it. Also your version will determine which firmware you can actually use. Look on the bottom of your router, the version will be there.

originel: The save -> apply is present in the default as well as the custom firmwares (well I can only speak for the sveasoft firmwares)

And finally yes you can use it as an access point.

Jkrohn

**ShuckyD** · June 5th, 2006, 03:28 PM

v 2.2 - is my version good? why cant i apply anything

yea i know about the WEP thing with the B cards, my main computer will have a G card in it (AirLink one) and hopefully that will be good speeds, i just wanted to try out the B cards since they were cheap enough to have as backups...

How should i i reset the router to factory defaults (steps)

since its only gonna have like two or three wireless computers do you think i should just do MAC address filtering, where only the few mac addresses i enter will be allowed into my network, it simplifies the whole encrytion thing, since its only gonna be me using it, right

**jkrohn** · June 5th, 2006, 04:17 PM

There should be a button on the back. With the power on, press and hold this button till all the buttons on the front start flashing. Should be around 5-10 seconds.

MAC filtering is pretty useless as anyone who is going to crack your WEP has valid MACs they can spoof easily.

Jkrohn

**GroundZero3** · June 5th, 2006, 05:23 PM

You do realize wep can be broken in about 5 minutes right Shucky? And your wireless G cards speeds will be affected by the B cards on the network.

And Jkrohn is right, mac address filtering is useless these days.

**ShuckyD** · June 5th, 2006, 06:50 PM

Yea i have to take that WEP thing into consideration for myself. Although i live in the middle of nowhere and have acres of cornfields around my house with only one technology savy person around (me

)

How should i set up the wireless router so i can still run my wired router too (Netgear FVS318) ??

Should i put two NICs inside the comp one for the wired and one for wireless or take one of the ports on the wired one and connect it? the wired one is just used as a switch too.. i have no internet access on this network that will be run (i know sorta pointless

)

**originel** · June 5th, 2006, 07:33 PM

I'm not sure I would recommend that you use a 3rd party firmware...it voids your warranty and there's a chance you can turn it into a brick. I was simply stating that to say that i may not be remembering the default firmware correctly. However, if you've used linux in the past and feel comfortable with it and are brave, then go for it. You're version is good. I use openwrt.

What you are wanting to do is set up a wireless bridge, although i'm not sure if this router can act as a true bridge. You will probably have to run dhcp on it. The 3rd party firmware can make your router act as a bridge however if you are adventurous.

**ShuckyD** · June 5th, 2006, 08:26 PM

Well here is my thoughts for getitng into wireless (here at my house w/o inet access) I want to take my main computer upstairs where i cant run a network cable to it, but i still want to be able to run my "server" with like 500gb of stuff on it downstairs as well as maybe another machine on a wired "workgroup" .. But i want to have wireless access to my files from upstairs or my laptop, like music, movies, etc..

What do you suggest¿

**originel** · June 5th, 2006, 08:41 PM

I would suggest ditching the wired router and just using the wireless router for both.

**ShuckyD** · June 5th, 2006, 08:47 PM

OK, if i do that, which i can, since it has 4 wired ports...

How should i set it up, settings etc? WEP? Whatever you think would help me set it up good for wired/wireless access

**originel** · June 5th, 2006, 08:56 PM

I would recommend using WPA. It's still not perfect, but it's at least better than WEP.

**ShuckyD** · June 5th, 2006, 09:02 PM

Yea but i dont think i can utilize the wireless B usb thing if i need it for anything then, theres no in-between there, right?

**originel** · June 5th, 2006, 11:08 PM

does the wireless b usb device not support wpa?

**jkrohn** · June 5th, 2006, 11:32 PM

Most 802.11B Devices do not support WPA, vendors really only introduced them into G devices for the most part.

Jkrohn

**GroundZero3** · June 6th, 2006, 05:57 AM

yup only a selected few B devices actually have firmware upgrades that support WPA.

**originel** · June 6th, 2006, 10:15 AM

gotcha...i didn't get into wifi until the g era, so i'm not too familiar with b stuff.

I'd go with WEP then, it's your only alternative given the hardware available.