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[skaughtEE]

Hello all,

My DIR-655 has been, for about a month now, randomly rebooting itself for no apparent reason.  It used to be able to go for weeks without any issues then it began.

I had the router in my basement very close to the Rogers provided SMC wireless cable router.  I have the wireless turned off on this router and it is just gatewayed through to the DLink.  I did move my DIR-655 up onto the 2nd floor and ran about 20ft of CAT5 cable to connect the DLink with the SMC. 

Are there any tools available, or anything on the DIR-655 that will help me determine what the issue might be.  It simply reboots.  The lights go off and I lose all connections.  It restarts and is off again.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as it has become a bit of a nuisance.

Cheers!!

[FurryNutz]

What Hardware version is your router? Look at sticker under router.
What Firmware version is currently loaded? Found on routers web page under status.
What ISP Modem model do you have?

If this modem has a built in router, it's best to bridge the modem. Having 2 routers on the same line can cause connection problems.

Some things to try:
Ensure DNS IP addresses are being filled in under Setup/Internet/Manual? You can find these under Status/Device Info/Wan section.
Turn off ALL QoS (DIR only) GameFuel (DGL only and if ON.) options. Advanced/QoS or Gamefuel.
Turn off Advanced DNS Services if you have this option under Setup/Internet/Manual.
Turn on DNS Relay under Setup/Networking.
Setup DHCP reserved IP addresses for all devices on the router. Setup/Networking
Ensure devices are set to auto obtain an IP address.
Set Firewall settings to Endpoint Independent for TCP and UDP under Advanced/Firewall.
Enable uPnP and Multi-cast Streaming under Advanced/Networking.

What wireless modes are you using?
Try single mode G or mixed G and N?
What security mode are you using? Preferred security is WPA-Personal. WPA2/Auto TPIK and AES.
What wireless devices do you have connected?
Any cordless house phones?
Any other WiFi routers in the area? Use InSSIDer to find out.
Turn off Short GI and Extra Wireless Protection if you have it. Under Advanced/Advanced Wireless.

Enable uPnP and Multi-cast Streaming under Advanced/Networking.

Turn off all anti virus and firewall programs on PC while testing. 3rd party firewalls are not generally needed when using routers as they are effective on blocking malicious inbound traffic.
Turn off all devices accept for one wired PC while testing.

Check cable between Modem and Router, swap out to be sure. Cat6 is recommended.
Shortest length between Modem and Router is recommended. I run a 1footer between mine.

Any chance you can take this router to a different location like a friend, family or neighbor and test to set it the problem follows?

Does this happen if you leave the router disconnected from the modem and just leave it sit powered on? How often does it reboot?

[skaughtEE]

Hi, and thanks for the reply.  Here are some answers...

Hardware version: A3
Firmware: 1.35NA
ISP Modem: SMC Networks (SMCD3GN)

It does have a built-in router and it is turned off and bridged.  The DIR-655 is doing all of the routing

I have gone through most of these settings and they are as you have suggested.  I do have a Windows 2003 SBS that is providing the DHCP and doing the DNS.

There are, as in most neighbourhoods, many wireless routers in the area.  I have set my channel to 11.

I have WAP/WAP2 Personal security set

The router was working just fine until I moved it.  I wanted to extend its wireless reach to computers on the second floor that were losing connection when it was in the basement.  Would a longer cable cause the entire router to restart?  I can understand perhaps losing the connection to the ISP router, but reboot?...

Is there anything in the log that can help me with this?  It seems, though, that as soon as the router reboots that the log values from before, that may be of help, are gone.

The various wireless devices that are connecting are iPhones, iPods, MacBook Pro and Dell laptop.  We also have a cordless phone.

Once again, thanks for any assistance with this.

Cheers!!

[FurryNutz]

Hi, and thanks for the reply.  Here are some answers...

Hardware version: A3
Firmware: 1.35NA
ISP Modem: SMC Networks (SMCD3GN)

It does have a built-in router and it is turned off and bridged.  The DIR-655 is doing all of the routing

I have gone through most of these settings and they are as you have suggested.  I do have a Windows 2003 SBS that is providing the DHCP and doing the DNS. What happens if you turn this PC off? Having to routers could cause and issue. Is it providing DHCP and DNS on the same network as the 655?

There are, as in most neighbourhoods, many wireless routers in the area.  I have set my channel to 11.
Possible that these other wifi routers could be affecting the router wirelessly since you brought up up stairs where there is more visibility with other WiFi. Were seeing more WiFi congestion is cities and neighborhoods which is causing routers to not work well.

I have WAP/WAP2 Personal security set

The router was working just fine until I moved it.  I wanted to extend its wireless reach to computers on the second floor that were losing connection when it was in the basement.  Would a longer cable cause the entire router to restart?  I can understand perhaps losing the connection to the ISP router, but reboot?...
What happens if you put it back in its original spot?

Is there anything in the log that can help me with this?  It seems, though, that as soon as the router reboots that the log values from before, that may be of help, are gone.

The various wireless devices that are connecting are iPhones, iPods, MacBook Pro and Dell laptop.  We also have a cordless phone.

Once again, thanks for any assistance with this.

Cheers!!

Any chance you can take this router to a different location like a friend, family or neighbor and test to set it the problem follows?

Does this happen if you leave the router disconnected from the modem and just leave it sit powered on? How often does it reboot?

[skaughtEE]

Hi FurryNutz,

Once again, thanks for the response.

The DIR-655 does not have DHCP turned on as my Windows 2003 server is dealing with that and authentication for the workstations.

I guess I can understand the various issues surrounding many wireless modems in a neighbourhood, but what I can quite understand is why the DIR-655 would reboot.  The lights do go out and it restarts itself.  Is it simply getting overrun by data and it crashes?  This is the confusing part for me and why I was wondering about some sort of diagnostic tool(s) that might be on the router or available.

Thanks, and take care.

..scoTT

[FurryNutz]

I see so your running the 655 as an AP then.

Ya, I can see it might have and issue, since it was kind of secluded in the basement and not being up where it's more visable to other Wifi, sometimes it would cause either to hang, disconnect or even reboot as probably in a Rev A unit that maybe to try and find a open channel and get away from interferences, they might have designed it to reboot completely. With Rev Bs I think they don't exhibit this however internally the router does reset as it tries to scan for a new channel.

Try the wireless mode suggestions and see if that might help some. If the 655 is in AP mode, you can turn off all other features like Firewall, SPI, WISH, Protected WiFi, items that are no longer needed since they can't be used while in this mode. Play with WMM Enable too, see if it helps when it OFF or ON.

Let us know.

[skaughtEE]

Hi FurryNutz,

I will check out the wireless settings again and fiddle around with them a bit more.  If anything changes I will report back.

And can you explain to me what "AP Mode" is.  I'm not quite sure that I understand this term.

Thanks, and take care.

..scoTT

[FurryNutz]

Access Point?

[skaughtEE]

Gotcha...

Would setting a specific channel help the issue?  I have set the DIR-655 to channel 11.  I have read in other posts that this is helpful.  I have also seen that channel 1 is good too?

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks.

[FurryNutz]

I would try 1, 6 and 11.

However I would base it off what your neighboring WiFi routers are using. if there using 1 or 6 and nothing using 11, then ya try 11.

How is the 655 connected? Using the WAN port or LAN port in back of the router?

[skaughtEE]

Hi FurryNutz,

And how would I go about figuring out which channel the other neighbourhood routers are using?

The DIR-655 is connected to the internet through the WAN port.  The Windows 2003 SBS is connected to a LAN port, along with a connection to a DLink DP-300U print server and a pair of DLink DHP-300 connectors.

Cheers!!

[FurryNutz]

Use InSSIDer to find out.

[skaughtEE]

Hi FurryNutz,

Ok.  So I downloaded iStumber (as I'm on a Mac and the inSSiDer on my Parallels Windows 7 PC just didn't seem to want to work) and ran it and here is what I've found...

There are approximately 13 wireless routers in my area.

2 are using Channel 1
6 are using Channel 6
2 are using Channel 10
4 are using Channel 11

I seem to recall seeing, at one point in time when my router was set to auto select the channel, that it was on Channel 9.  I guess, given all of these other routers, that would be a good number.  Does it really matter which channel I select? 

How can I attach a snapshot image of this iStumbler window to my response?

Thanks.

[FurryNutz]

I might try channel 3 or 4 if possible or 8.

Yes it matter which channel as if they are being use, they have a good chance to interfere with each other.

You need to upload your picture files to places like photobucket.com then use there forum URL address and paste here in a post.

[skaughtEE]

Hi FurryNutz,

Here is the link to the image...

http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/w480/vogan-si/ScreenShot2012-01-24at124639PM.png

I will try the various channels that you have suggested to see if they help at all.  Perhaps you can take a quick look at the screen shot to see if there are any other clues as to what might be helpful.

Thanks.