I have been attempting to establish a wireless network at home. The setup consists of two laptops (Dell Inspiron 9300 and Sony VAIO, both running Windows XP), a Linksys WRT54G Wireless G broadband, and a SpeedStream 4200 ADSL modem which provides internet connectivity. Using the Linksys routers supplied installation CD all works well, and the various codes and configurations are accepted. The router indicates lights for power, WLAN, the appropriate Ethernet port and internet link. The last step in the setup is the router checking the internet connection, and after about 20 seconds the following message appears: ‘The Router is not able to connect to the internet’. In frustration, I have reset the router and followed the manual installation instruction step-by-step, but reached the same outcome. All other elements of the router are functioning, except the router’s ability to connect to the internet, despite the internet light on the router indicating that the internet is detected. Before I assume the router is kaput and go out and buy another one, could you let me know whether there is any flaw in my setup? I have also tried connecting the computers through wired Ethernet to the router, but with the same result.

First, thank you for providing such good detail on your setup (particularly the model numbers of your equipment) - this makes diagnosing the setup a much easier process. To confirm the setup you are currently running, your Linksys router is connected to the ADSL modem. Since both computers can connect to the router the problem is not between the computers and the router, but rather between the router and the ADSL modem (and internet). This is also confirmed by the error message which appears during the router setup when testing the internet connection.

The most likely reason for the Linksys router being unable to connect to the internet is the way the ADSL modem is connected to the router. The Linksys WRT54G router is a broadband router, meaning you can connect a broadband modem to the router, using the ‘Internet’ port on the back of the router. You then configure the Linksys router with your internet username and password (as you have been doing through the Linksys setup) and the Linksys can then use the connected broadband modem to establish an internet connection. So in theory, you should be able to connect the SpeedStream ADSL modem to the ‘Internet’ port on your Linksys router, and the Linksys can use the ADSL modem to connect to the internet. Correct? Well, not quite’¦

The SpeedStream ADSL modem is pretty much standard issue for many ADSL connections. However, they are not strictly just an ADSL modem, but are more like an ADSL router. You connect the phone line to the SpeedStream, and then configure your username and password on the device (this is generally done using the setup wizard for the broadband connection, as provided by your ISP). You can then plug a computer into the SpeedStream using a network cable, and the computer can instantly access the internet without further configuration.

So, you might see the issue developing here. By connecting the SpeedStream ADSL modem to the ‘Internet’ port of the Linksys router, the Linksys is trying to send your username and password to the SpeedStream in order to establish a connection (i.e. it’s treating it just like a modem). However, the SpeedStream already connects to the internet by itself, so there is no need for the Linksys to attempt to establish the internet connection. All we want to happen is the Linksys to use the connection already established by the SpeedStream.

There are two options to remedy this situation. First, you can connect the SpeedStream ADSL modem to one of the normal network ports on the Linksys. This will essentially allow the Linksys to share the network (i.e. internet access) as offered by the SpeedStream., and thus should allow all connected computers to access the internet. However be aware, using a standard network cable may not work. Looking over the specifications of both devices, I noticed that neither have auto-uplink ports. This means you will probably need a different type of cable (called a cross-over cable) to link the two devices. Normal network cables can’t connect between the network interfaces of two devices, due to the wire configuration within the cables. Instead, you need a cross-over cable which has certain wires reversed allowing two network interfaces to be connected to each other. These cables are very common, and can be purchased from most computer stores for not much more than a regular network cable.

The other option is to purchase a new ADSL modem wireless router. This may be an easier solution, as at the moment you have two separate boxes (ADSL modem and broadband router). You can purchase an ADSL modem router which contains both a modem and wireless router, and will replace the ADSL modem and router. So, everything is contained in the one box. These cost about $160.00, but make sure you ask to ensure it specifically comes with an in-built ADSL modem. Routers labelled ‘Cable/DSL broadband router’ generally don’t - you will be looking for a product labelled something like ‘ADSL modem wireless router’ or like.

As a final note, you may be wondering in what situation your Linksys router could be used to establish an internet connection. Take for example a service such as Transact, which uses broadband modems. These modems are literally just a modem - they don’t store username or password details. Therefore, if you have such a connection you either need to connect the modem directly to a computer and establish the connection using dialling software on the computer, or connect the modem to a broadband router (such as the Linksys WRT54G) and program the router with the relevant username and password details to establish the connection. As you might gather, the reason this doesn’t work in your situation is your ADSL modem is ‘intelligent’ and can establish the connection itself, unlike other broadband modems which are just purely modems.