Must be a security setting or port forwarding issue but which one?

[Storm]

Ok its been a looooong time since I've posted on AT.

Anyways I'm using a Netgear WGT624 version 1 router but for some odd reason I can't connect to Anandtech, credit card websites, ars technica and other websites.

The only way I have been able to get on is removing the router and connecting directly to the cable modem.

I've tried disabling the Windows firewall, and the nvidia firewall behind the router but no luck. I can leave both on without the router and I can get to the websites I can't behind the router.

I thought it was possibly the firmware but I've tried reflashing to the different versions no luck there. Behind the router I can only connect via a proxy.

I've also tried to use other domain servers instead of ones from the isp but no luck.

Is there really an alternative port or scripting feature on certain websites? Not quite sure where to start... started to remove the different settings I have like SPI but no luck. The thing is I had been able to connect to Anandtech a couple months ago and the only thing I believe has changed was the firmware.

Any suggestions? Maybe its time to get a new wireless router.

 

[Storm]

Originally posted by: Storm
Ok its been a looooong time since I've posted on AT.

Anyways I'm using a Netgear WGT624 version 1 router but for some odd reason I can't connect to Anandtech, credit card websites, ars technica and other websites.

The only way I have been able to get on is removing the router and connecting directly to the cable modem.

I've tried disabling the Windows firewall, and the nvidia firewall behind the router but no luck. I can leave both on without the router and I can get to the websites I can't behind the router.

I thought it was possibly the firmware but I've tried reflashing to the different versions no luck there. Behind the router I can only connect via a proxy.

I've also tried to use other domain servers instead of ones from the isp but no luck.

Is there really an alternative port or scripting feature on certain websites? Not quite sure where to start... started to remove the different settings I have like SPI but no luck. The thing is I had been able to connect to Anandtech a couple months ago and the only thing I believe has changed was the firmware.

Any suggestions? Maybe its time to get a new wireless router.

*bump*

 

[p0lar]

Do you have any URL or domain filtering settings inside the router?

 

[Storm]

Don't think so, I dont have anything under block sites in the netgear menu.

 

[cleverhandle]

When you say "can't connect", what exactly happens? Are you resolving DNS? Can you start to connect to the site, but then hang up? What error messages do you get?

 

[p0lar]

What browser are you using? Any special extensions, etc?

 

[Storm]

AT in FF

AT in IE

I've also tried to use the open dns servers instead of the isp's still no luck even after rebooting everything.

I'll post Netgear settings when I get a chance.

Gotta put the router back on to allow other ppl internet access.

 

[Storm]

Originally posted by: Storm
AT in FF

AT in IE

I've also tried to use the open dns servers instead of the isp's still no luck even after rebooting everything.

I'll post Netgear settings when I get a chance.

Gotta put the router back on to allow other ppl internet access.

Below are the settings for the router

Basic Settings
Wireless
Block sites
Block Services
Router Status
Advanced wireless
Port forwarding
WAN Setup
Lan ip setup
Dynamic DNS
UPnP

 

[cleverhandle]

Just to be perfectly clear, you've confirmed these problems on more than one machine?

And what do you mean by "Gotta put the router back on to allow other ppl internet access"? I thought this *was* your router we were talking about.

 

[Storm]

Originally posted by: cleverhandle
Just to be perfectly clear, you've confirmed these problems on more than one machine?

And what do you mean by "Gotta put the router back on to allow other ppl internet access"? I thought this *was* your router we were talking about.

Yes it is my router. I had to take the router out in order to post on AT. If I want to be on and my dad wants to surf I've got to put the router back and I wont be able to get to AT.

 

[boomerang]

At this point I'd reset the router. There's usually a small hole you can put a paper clip or whatever in.

You're not saying if you're connecting wirelessly or not, so there may be some settings there you'd want to make note of.

If possible, try to get it working hard-wired first. It may save you some frustration.

Netgear says it's EOL. Maybe EOL for you too. :thumbsdown:

 

[Storm]

Originally posted by: boomerang
At this point I'd reset the router. There's usually a small hole you can put a paper clip or whatever in.

You're not saying if you're connecting wirelessly or not, so there may be some settings there you'd want to make note of.

If possible, try to get it working hard-wired first. It may save you some frustration.

Netgear says it's EOL. Maybe EOL for you too. :thumbsdown:

Yup already tried that and did the other firmware versions no luck .
I'm not connected wirelessly.

Netgear says EOL? where?

 

[cleverhandle]

Originally posted by: Storm
Yes it is my router. I had to take the router out in order to post on AT. If I want to be on and my dad wants to surf I've got to put the router back and I wont be able to get to AT.

But your dad can surf OK? If that's true, then this almost certainly has nothing to do with your router.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: cleverhandle
But your dad can surf OK? If that's true, then this almost certainly has nothing to do with your router.

If your dad's PC can connect fine, but yours can't, then disconnect HIS PC from the patch cable and connect YOUR PC to that same cable. Report the results here.

Also, as mentioned earlier, what is the result of a "Ping" command? Specifically, type "Ping anandtech.com" at the MS DOS prompt. Report the resulting IP address here. Then do the same with a site that you CAN reach and report those results.

I also suggest reporting the results of the "IPConfig /All" command for both HIS and YOUR PCs.

 

[Storm]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger

Originally posted by: cleverhandle
But your dad can surf OK? If that's true, then this almost certainly has nothing to do with your router.

If your dad's PC can connect fine, but yours can't, then disconnect HIS PC from the patch cable and connect YOUR PC to that same cable. Report the results here.

Also, as mentioned earlier, what is the result of a "Ping" command? Specifically, type "Ping anandtech.com" at the MS DOS prompt. Report the resulting IP address here. Then do the same with a site that you CAN reach and report those results.

I also suggest reporting the results of the "IPConfig /All" command for both HIS and YOUR PCs.

Below are links to doing pings to Anandtech behind the router
One from my current comp and another from my old comp.
Both of them have different patch cables.
The laptop is at the office so I can't try today.
Currentcomp
Old comp

Bah lemme get the ipconfig ss

Edit

Comp1configall
Comp2configall

 

[cleverhandle]

Originally posted by: Storm
Below are links to doing pings to Anandtech behind the router
One from my current comp and another from my old comp.

Um... OK, but what's the status of these machines? Is one of them showing the problems you described and the other not? Are both broken? What's the situation? Is one of these your dad's machine that you mentioned earlier?

I'm sure that you're frustrated because you just want this to work right. But it's also very frustrating trying to help you because you're never giving enough information in any one post for anyone to draw a knowledgeable conclusion.

 

[Storm]

Originally posted by: cleverhandle

Originally posted by: Storm
Below are links to doing pings to Anandtech behind the router
One from my current comp and another from my old comp.

Um... OK, but what's the status of these machines? Is one of them showing the problems you described and the other not? Are both broken? What's the situation? Is one of these your dad's machine that you mentioned earlier?

I'm sure that you're frustrated because you just want this to work right. But it's also very frustrating trying to help you because you're never giving enough information in any one post for anyone to draw a knowledgeable conclusion.

Its a wireless router but I connect via patch cables.
The screen shots of pinging and of ipconfig /all are of my computer and and my old computer.
Both with different patch cables. Both cannot get to the same websites. Like anandtech.com

Now I don't have access to the laptop because its at the office. I'll give that a shot when it comes back to house.

Edit

Now if I remove the router out of the equation with the very same patch cables I can get to AT from my computer haven't tried my old one. I'm gonna try for sure but I suspect it will.

 

[cleverhandle]

Originally posted by: Storm
Its a wireless router but I connect via patch cables.
The screen shots of pinging and of ipconfig /all are of my computer and and my old computer.
Both with different patch cables. Both cannot get to the same websites. Like anandtech.com

OK, good. Now we're getting somewhere. Couple of things...

1) Just for the sake of troubleshooting, disable the VPN connection on the first computer. I highly doubt it's involved in any way, but's always better to keep things simple.

2) Also not related to your problem, but disable UPnP on your router - you don't want or need it.

3) OK, here's a shot at your problem, though it's a bit of a guess. Change the MTU size on your router to 1400. Also change the MTU on your NIC's to 1400 as well. You can do that with a regedit as shown here. This is a bit heavy-handed and I'd be lying if I said I understood the gory details of it, but other people here do and it may be illuminating.

 

[Storm]

Originally posted by: cleverhandle

Originally posted by: Storm
Its a wireless router but I connect via patch cables.
The screen shots of pinging and of ipconfig /all are of my computer and and my old computer.
Both with different patch cables. Both cannot get to the same websites. Like anandtech.com

OK, good. Now we're getting somewhere. Couple of things...

1) Just for the sake of troubleshooting, disable the VPN connection on the first computer. I highly doubt it's involved in any way, but's always better to keep things simple.

2) Also not related to your problem, but disable UPnP on your router - you don't want or need it.

3) OK, here's a shot at your problem, though it's a bit of a guess. Change the MTU size on your router to 1400. Also change the MTU on your NIC's to 1400 as well. You can do that with a regedit as shown here. This is a bit heavy-handed and I'd be lying if I said I understood the gory details of it, but other people here do and it may be illuminating.

Yea I was mucking around with the settings and leftuPnP on. As for Sonicwall it shows disabled the connection listed in the client.

 

[boomerang]

Ummm, 1500 for the MTU is the "norm" for cable. I think 1400 is a typo on the part of cleverhandle.

I know I suggested resetting the router earlier, and that you said that you had. What I didn't even begin to make clear is that I think you should try it without changing any settings.

Let it run through it's initial discovery of your internet connection and leave it at that.

If you can't connect, I'd say you need a new router. I think the biggest clue here is that you can't update the firmware. Somethings wrong with the router.

In addition, in your Comp2configall screenie, notice how the DNS Servers IP is that of the Router? Comp1 is using your ISP's DNS Servers. Yet, you get the same results from both computers with pings.

Time to retire that router.

I have to ask, so go easy on me.

You did power on these components in the correct order, right?

You did try to upgrade the firmware using firmware for your specific version of the WGT624? Not the model, the version. Very important.

 

[cleverhandle]

Originally posted by: boomerang
Ummm, 1500 for the MTU is the "norm" for cable. I think 1400 is a typo on the part of cleverhandle.

It's not a typo, and I'm well aware of what the standard is. But one consequence of an MTU being too large is that datagrams get fragmented. From an end-user perspective, this manifests itself as the OP's problem - many web site fail to connect, even though name resolution and pings work properly. My understanding, which as I admitted is limited, is that there's some kind of ICMP flow-control exchange that should be going on, but is frequently blocked at many sites. I've had exactly this problem on my home (DSL) line, where a Cisco router lacked an MTU-related setting and wasn't knocking back the default 1500 it was getting from the clients. As a result, about the only site I could access was Google. I agree this shouldn't really be an issue on a cable line, but since the symptoms seem to fit, I think it's worth checking out.

I know I suggested resetting the router earlier, and that you said that you had. What I didn't even begin to make clear is that I think you should try it without changing any settings.

Let it run through it's initial discovery of your internet connection and leave it at that.

Look at the router config screens he posted - the settings are vanilla. His internet connection is fine. He can resolve names and he can ping.

In addition, in your Comp2configall screenie, notice how the DNS Servers IP is that of the Router? Comp1 is using your ISP's DNS Servers. Yet, you get the same results from both computers with pings.

Yeah, because name resolution isn't a problem. One of the PC's is using the router as a DNS forwarder and the other isn't, probably because it was set statically during troubleshooting. But names are resolved correctly either way.

You did power on these components in the correct order, right?

Why the heck does that matter? His ipconfig screens show that his IP settings are correct, the router screens show that a WAN connection is established, and the pings show that Layers 1, 2, and 3 are fundamentally functional. I agree that it's possible that the router has simply failed, or (as RebateMonger suggested) that there are cable issues. But simply telling the OP to repeatedly power cycle and reset everything is no better advice than minimum-wage cube monkeys give. Even if it's ultimately a hardware problem, let's at least try to get clear evidence of it rather than wave our hands and do the reboot dance.

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: Storm
The thing is I had been able to connect to Anandtech a couple months ago and the only thing I believe has changed was the firmware.

Here's the key to my answers.

 

[spidey07]

telnet to port 80 on a problem site (telnet www.anadtech.com 80). They type GET and hit return. That will verify layer4. If this works but you still can't get to them then it could be a MTU problem.

post output of "route print" from a command window and check if it's a routing problem. I don't like seeing that second IP interface for the VPN.

 

[cleverhandle]

Originally posted by: spidey07...

OP, if anyone here can resolve this problem, this is the guy to do it.

 

[Storm]

Originally posted by: boomerang
Ummm, 1500 for the MTU is the "norm" for cable. I think 1400 is a typo on the part of cleverhandle.

I know I suggested resetting the router earlier, and that you said that you had. What I didn't even begin to make clear is that I think you should try it without changing any settings.

Let it run through it's initial discovery of your internet connection and leave it at that.

If you can't connect, I'd say you need a new router. I think the biggest clue here is that you can't update the firmware. Somethings wrong with the router.

In addition, in your Comp2configall screenie, notice how the DNS Servers IP is that of the Router? Comp1 is using your ISP's DNS Servers. Yet, you get the same results from both computers with pings.

Time to retire that router.

I have to ask, so go easy on me.

You did power on these components in the correct order, right?

You did try to upgrade the firmware using firmware for your specific version of the WGT624? Not the model, the version. Very important.

I can update the firmware, its just the different versions still didn't allow me to make a connection.

What is the correct order for powering the components? I just unplug the power cable to the cable modem and then power it back in. Once the self-test is done and I get the appropriate lights. I then unplug the power cable to the router and then plug it back it. At this point it should self test and get the info from the cable modem.

For comp1, I went into windows under tcp/ip and specified those open dns servers. My old comp #2 I did not specify.

Lastly yes I only tried specifically WGT624 version 1