WRT54G router and windows 7 compatibility

I'm troubleshooting a problem on a small LAN where the one Windows 7 machine has intermittent disconnects. All the other machines run XP and their connections are stable. The router is an older Linksys WRT54G with firmware dated 2004. I'm going to hopefully find a newer firmware and flash it the next time I'm on site, but I wanted to ask if this is a known problem between older firmware and Windows 7? This is not a wireless connection so it's not an encryption issue. All the PCs are connected via Ethernet. TIA

 

Victek123,

If you want, you might try to ask your question at the DSLR-Linksys forum:
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/linksys

 

Windows does not care which router you use. TCP/IP protocols are the same, regardless the OS or router.

So if you are having problems, it points to the network card, the cable, or the port on the router.

I would start by replacing the Ethernet cable and see what happens.

FTR, I would NOT flash the router for one computer if all the others work fine.

 

Like Bill said, I would try a different cable first.

I have had a wired connection problem in the past that that was fixed by a updated driver from the chipset manufacturer of the NIC. It was a Netgear card with a Texas Instruments chip. I found the latest TI driver and it worked.

Recently I had a Win7 notebook that couldn't find the internet until the router was rebooted. The latest firmware for the router fixed that problem. None of the older Windows PCs had the problem nor the Android devices connected to the network. Ironically the problem laptop and the router have Atheros chips.

I also like this site for Linksys stuff. -http://www.linksysinfo.org

 

Thanks for the reply. Regarding TCP/IP protocols, while they may not have changed can you be certain that the software implementation hasn't changed over time? For instance with regard to wireless encryption I've had occasions where I can't get WPA/WPA2 to work properly in XP. I don't know if those problems were caused by router firmware or something in XP itself, but my point is all implementations do not appear to be equal. I agree that it would be good to rule out hardware (ports and wire) first before flashing the firmware. I understand your caution, but at least with Linksys routers I've not had problems with firmware upgrades (I know, famous last words).

 

Not really, ask the Thomson router users the tons of issues they have on Vista/7/8, but not on XP.

 

Yes I am sure. The problems you describe are typically due to lousy driver support for the NIC or security programs getting in the way.

If you needed something special to support various routers, there would be drivers out there for them. But there are none.

Note too wireless access has NOTHING to do with routers. Routers have one input and one output only. There is no such thing as a "wireless router". That is a marketing term for a network device that is really 3 discrete, network devices that just happen to share the same circuit board, case, and power supply. They are, (1) the router - used to connect (or isolate) two networks. (2) a 4-port Ethernet switch used to connect multiple devices to the single router input, and (3) the WAP - wireless access point.

Plus I note Windows knows how to communicate over Ethernet right out out of the box. That is because Ethernet protocols are standard.

 

Yes, I understand that wireless access has nothing to do with Ethernet or routing per se. My reference to wireless encryption issues was meant as an example of how a claim that hardware/software adheres to a particular standard is no guarantee that it actually does and will work seamlessly with other hardware/software that also claims to be compatible. Breaking down a home router into it's technical components is educational, but doesn't contribute to my original question. The fact that TCP/IP and Ethernet protocols are standard doesn't speak to the issue of implementation.

 

Right! So I refer you back to my first post where I said,

And I am saying it is not an applicable example - here. Ethernet protocols have been standardized for years and Ethernet does not care if Windows, Linux, UNIX, or whatever. Wireless uses many different protocols and standard. Your comparison is like saying Ethernet standards are similar to HDMI standards.

Of course there is no guarantee. Until Man can create perfection, 100% of the time, there will always be the chance compatible devices don't work together.

Also, it is not fair to compare an OS and HW designed over 12 years ago with today's operating systems and hardware.

Nor have I - personally. And my current Netgear router has gone through several updates without incident either. But again, there's that Man and 100% of the time issue. Not to mention what might happen if a sudden power outage occurred right in the middle of the flash!

At any rate - Ethernet cables (especially factory made ones) are cheap, low tech and NOT robust. They can only take so many yanks and trip-overs before the weak crimps fail.

Any BTW, I have a nice Linksys 3-port BEFSR41 router and a nice Linksys BEFSR81 6-port router. Note they started out as 4-port and 8-port routers but ports fail.

For sure, BEFORE flashing any router, read the change file to see what the new update changes. If it has nothing to do with you (or security), and the router is working fine otherwise, I recommend leaving it.

I would, however, consider updating the NIC's driver. And from there, I would flush the IP/DNS info and start over.

 

All good thoughts - I do appreciate you're weighing in. I expect to be back at that job in a day or two. Hopefully I'll figure things out and post back here

 

Great! That's how we all learn.