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Dual boot/ wireless router issues.

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  • Dual boot/ wireless router issues.

    I am having a problem dual booting my computer using a Linksys
    Wireless G router.

    I have my desktop computer which is hardwired into the router
    and is running both Windows XP Pro and Win98 SE. I also have
    a laptop running Windows98 SE and has a Linksys Wirless G pcmcia
    adapter.

    First I think it is important to note that before I got the wirleess
    router, I had my desktop computer connected directly to my cable
    modem through a Cat5 cable and both partitons were able to access
    the internet just fine through the one NIC card.

    So, whilst I was in Windows XP Pro (desktop), I got my new shiny
    wireless router out of the box, read the instructions, ran the setup
    program and once completed my desktop was able to access the
    router over the wired connection and my latop was working wirelessly.
    Yeah! I had the DHCP server enabled in the router software and it
    assigned an IP address to the desktop NIC and the wireless NIC
    on the laptop.

    I then booted the desktop computer into Windows98 SE. It would not
    boot up. It just stayed on a black screen with a blinking cursor in the l
    eft upper corner for about 6 minutes..and then the computer just
    rebooted on it's own.

    I unplugged the Cat5 cable from the NIC and was finally able to get
    it to boot into Windows98. But, once Win98 was up and running, if I re-attached the Cat5 cable, then the internet connection would not
    work and it did not automatically assign an IP address to the NIC.

    So, I decided to reverse the process. I totally reset the wirless router
    and started with the Windows98 partition. Ran the Linksys setup utility
    and viola, the desktop and laptop were once again online and all looked
    good. I then rebooted into Windows XP Pro and I have the same issue.
    It stayed on the Windows XP Pro logo screen for 6 minutes or so, and eventually the computer rebooted itself.

    My guess is the routing table on the router can't deal with the same
    NIC on 2 operating systems. But, why should that matter??
    Shouldn't it just assign an IP address via the DHCP regardless
    of the OS??

    So, the quick fix was to get another NIC card, and have only one of them enabled in each partition and let the DHCP use the different cards on the different partitions.

    Is there a way around this? And why does the router have a problem with the 2 OS's?? I just want to use the one NIC on both partitons
    with the router.

    Any insight would be most appreciated.
    Last edited by Unadude; 11-08-2004, 03:44 PM. Reason: Spelling correction

  • #2
    Re: Dual boot/ wireless router issues.

    Using two OSes on the same computer shouldn't be a problem. Make sure that Windows 98SE is set to automatically get an IP from the router and that it has a valid one. In fact, do this in 98SE:
    Start > Run > command.com > ipconfig
    Then do this in XP:
    Start > Run >cmd > ipconfig
    Tell me the default gateway and IP address listed in the results from each ipconfig.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Dual boot/ wireless router issues.

      Yes, under both Windows98SE and WindowsXP, it was set to obtain the
      the IP address automatically.

      Since the NIC was directly attached the the router, and the router had the
      DHCP server, this is where it would have obtained the address from.

      Since the other partition won't even boot when the same NIC is used,
      I cannot get the IP address or default gateway from each partition.

      I have the DHCP server setup to give away 50 IP addresses and it only
      uses 3 right now. That's with the laptop and both NIC's (one for
      each partition).

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Dual boot/ wireless router issues.

        What does ipconfig report when you put the cable in after booting up?

        Also, having reread parts of your post, I think I see something highly relevant: What Linksys setup utility are you running, exactly? The router will never need you to run software on your computer, so unless you meant the utility for the wireless g adapter, I don't see what Linksys utility you would have ran. If you did try to use some sort of software with the router on the wired PCs, that could feasibly (though I've never heard of such a situation) cause a problem. If the router is somehow configured for one OS (which seems unlikely, but some companies try to implement strange software with their netowrking hardware), it could cause problems if it thinks a certain mac address (the NIC on your desktop) is from that PC with that OS. If that's the case, the only way to fix this would be to either not use the software, assuming I'm not totally misunderstanding your post (meaning you ran no router software on your desktop), or to get a second NIC. The only software you should need for the desktop is a web browser to access the routers setup page, not any configuration software that came with the router.

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        • #5
          Re: Dual boot/ wireless router issues.

          In the box with the Linksys Wireless G Router was a CD. In the manual, it told me to leave the desktop as is...connected to the cable modem..and run the
          configuration program from the CD before I do anything else...

          Once I run the configuration program, a screen comes up and says to
          NOW attach the cable modem onto the router and the router to the computer.

          Which I do and then it all works.

          Except when I reboot into the other OS and the computer locks up.

          I did run WinIPCFG in Windows98 after I removed the cable, let the OS boot, and then re-attached the cable. The IP address was the standard stand-alone-computer IP address, not the one the DHCP server should have assigned to it. When I clicked on refresh, then it locked up the computer again.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Dual boot/ wireless router issues.

            Ignore the manual and forget the software. If this is a router, it should never need software. The only thing it should need is the firmware which you access through a web browser. If it truly will not work on a wired computer without the software, then take the damn thing back.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Dual boot/ wireless router issues.

              So, how would I set up the router?

              I can get to the router via my browser by typing in the
              IP address of the router.

              If I leave everything as is...and just reset the router,
              how does the router know what the settings are for the
              cable modem?

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Dual boot/ wireless router issues.

                Your first question is answered by you in your second sentence of that post...

                It should just figure them out on its own. Every router I've ever worked with personally has. If not, you can just access it via the web browser and configure any necessary settings, if necessary.

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