Modem help

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Some of you guys have been pretty helpful with techy type questions...so...

I switched to cable yesterday and also hooked up to cable broadband. It all works great. I bought a Belkin wireless router and it also works wonderfully. However, I am not able to connect to peer to peer sites like limewire or ares. I know it's not a firewall or anything on my computer because I can take it to a public wifi hotspot and connect. I know it's not my ISP, cause my mom and brother have the same, and they can connect. My brother suggested it might be a firewall on either my modem or my router. I disconnected my router and hooked in directly to the modem (a Motorola Surfboard) and could not connect, so I'm assuming it's the router.

Is there any way to fix this problem?

Your firewall/router must be block the port(s) your p2p program(s) need. It looks like you'll have to open the port(s) manually. Here's info for Limewire: Limewire -- can't connect

I actually ran across that site last night.
When you (and the web page) say "open the port manually", do you mean actually opening the hardware?
I guess this is part I'm confused about:

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Within the LimeWire options (accessible from Tools > Options on most systems), go to Advanced > Firewall Config, and locate the listening port. Open this port in your modem's or router's firewall for both incoming and outgoing connections, UDP and TCP.
Initialization Error

Actually, I'm confused and frustrated about a lot right now. I went home for lunch and intended to set a password for my wireless router. I followed the instructions to a t, but while I waited for the password to set, the modem would disconnect. This happened repeatedly. Now I need a password to access wireless, but it won't accept the one I entered. I tried to call Belking but, when I enter a # option they kept telling me I am entering an invalid number. So I'm a little pissed about all this right now. I think when I get back in town I will return the Belkin router for a Linksys.

Anyway...I'm rambling. Thanks for your help HCL.

I disconnected my router and hooked in directly to the modem (a Motorola Surfboard) and could not connect, so I'm assuming it's the router. Back up... You said you took out the router and could NOT connect, so why are you now assuming it's the router?

There should be a reset button on the router which will take you back to factory defaults.. You usually have to hold the reset button for like 10 seconds.

The best way to do it, imo, would be to setup a static IP address for your puter, and assign that IP address to your computer on the router (eg: 192.168.0.155) then setup port forwarding on the router, allowing traffic through whichever ports you need specifically to your pre-assigned local IP addressIf you do it this way, it still keeps the connection secure to other computers on the network, so only you will be able to access these ports, and the only IP address the internet will communicate these ports to will be yours, lessening the risk of letting something in/out that you don't want to So, for example... my home network allowes p2p programs to function on the static IP address I have assigned to the computer that downloads "stuff" from the internet, I've set up my dad's and mum's static addresses to only allow web browsing products through the firewall (lowering the odds that I need to fix their computers more often than I already do) and my xbox360 has total access, with no firewall protecting it at all, because the slightest twitch and it goes crazy about NAT being closedIncidently, having messed around with routers of all shapes/sizes/brands, I still maintain that allowing the 360 unabridged access to the outside world is the way forward, but do this to your puter at your own peril... I have run a 24 hour live system, and many years ago, before I had a router, my host computer used to get hit around 2000 times a day by port scans and the like (that's just the ones that got detected!!!) and now, running a 24 hour live system with a router and hardware firewall closing off all but the essential ports, I've got those hits down to about 2 a week (which get as far as the software firewall), which as I'm sure you'll agree is a significant improvement If you're having trouble setting all of those things up on your router, I would suggest going to the Belkin FAQ site for your particular router, as I can't provide tailored advice without a model number, also, personal preference would point you towards Netgear for the home user... easy to setup/configure, and probably the most reliable bit of computer kit you will ever own ... maybe next time Anyhoo, hope that helps you some Oh, and bit of advice for anyone venturing in on the home network front... even if you only have 1 or 2 puters on your network, it's always best to take the infrastructure approach right from the get go, as you never know what you'll be adding in the future, and you do need to use static IP addresses for things like network printers which are becoming ever more popular even in the home market now.

Have to point out (as I've only just read all the replies that made it in before I finished writing my post) that the Belkin helpline is about as much use as a chocolate saucepan!!If you're planning to return your router (a good choice imo), then Linksys is a good brand, and they are cisco certified, but if you're not 100% sure about setting things up on your puter, the easy option is to go for Netgear which will do 90% of the work for you, though I can't knock Linksys, as long as you buy a good one, and do the research first because a few of the linksys routers are riddled with backdoors which are a hackers paradise!! One in particular (I will neglect to mention which model number largely because I forget and whilst geeky, am not quite that geeky!! lol) can be hacked in a very short amount of time, giving someone full access to everything on your network!!The key to success with a router really, is find a brand you're happy with setting up, avoid the cheapy brands, as they can be a pain in the backside to setup and rarely last more than 6 months anyway, but don't go totally ott... you don't need a cisco router for a home network!! lolOh, and just to clarify... nope, I don't work for Netgear, but if they wanted to offer.... ?? heh heh

Originally Posted By: sdp I disconnected my router and hooked in directly to the modem (a Motorola Surfboard) and could not connect, so I'm assuming it's the router. Back up... You said you took out the router and could NOT connect, so why are you now assuming it's the router? Good catch!I meant to say that I'm assuming it's the modem.

Originally Posted By: MDDracoThe best way to do it, imo, would be to setup a static IP address for your puter, and assign that IP address to your computer on the router (eg: 192.168.0.155) then setup port forwarding on the router, allowing traffic through whichever ports you need specifically to your pre-assigned local IP address You sound like a man who knows what he's talking about. I am going out of town for the weekend, but when I get back I think I'm going to exchange my Belkin for a Netgear or possibly Linksys. If I do so, and give you specs and model numbers and such, would you be able to give me "instructions for dummies" on how to do this?

I have a cheap Trendnet router that seems to work fine.Routers often (usually?) come with UPnP (universal plug and play, a Windows thing) enabled, so that when you install Limewire, for instance, the installation program will do what it needs to do to the router (i.e., open port(s)). The ports will be open for the whole network (your LAN) though, as MDDraco pointed out. Also, in the past, it was risky to leave UPnP enabled; I don't know if they've worked out the bugs yet (I always disable the feature).I can't believe that most people have to go through the trouble of making their network IP addresses all static, and enable port forwarding, and all that rigmarole just to get things like Limewire to work. There has to be an easier way.I don't have UPnP enabled on my router, I installed Limewire, and it just worked. I don't know what the magic was. I've had various brands of routers, and it was the same. I just did a port scan, and it appears that all my ports are secure.Anyway, all I'm trying to say is that it shouldn't be this complicated (and it sucks that it is), and it may be easier to just exchange the router.

Of course, no worries... netgear should be pretty solid though, if you check their support site, you'll see that pretty much everything you need is there... failing that, I usually check here quite often, so feel free to post or msg me I work with these things on a daily basis, so I know my way around them reasonably well, but of course as with everything, unless I'm actually there to see what's happening when you do certain things, there're only so many things I can recommend to you, but I'll do my best for you

I returned the Belkin router and went to Circuit City while I was in Louisville. The guy there talked me into a D-Link router. They were out of stock, so they're sending one to me. When I get it hooked up and see what is (or is not happening), I'll get back with you.
Thanks.

I have an oldish D-Link router. Two problems that had me tearing my hair out until I worked out the problem were:1. The manual said for PPP ADSL to set it to PPP and include your modem's password. It was only after weeks of frustration that I discovered on the D-Link website that with most modern modems you shouldn't do this but should set it to variable IP. Since you're on cable, that shouldn't be an issue.2. The default packet size on the router was set smaller than the default packet size on my XP computer, though not smaller than the packet size set on the Vista computers. This meant requests with large packets failed. If you find that a short post here gets through but a long one doesn't, that will be the reason.

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That is exactly the same problem I had with my DSL connection. The phone company likes (or liked) you to have a non-persistent connection, so that if you go idle for a while, you get disconnected, then when you do something, you get logged in really fast. I complained to the phone company about it and they said to just set up the DSL modem to keep the connection up all the time (i.e., persistent). Then I got rid of the log-in stuff, and it's worked great ever since.
Part of the confusion is that the DSL modem (at least modern ones) have overlapping functionality with the router. You can actually plug a bunch of computers and other devices into an Ethernet switch and directly into the DSL modem, and it will do NAT address translation and DHCP, among other things.
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Good catch there.