seidenfrau@gmail.com hath wroth:

>I have an interesting problem that occurs with my Wireless Router.

Any particular manufacturer, model number, hardware mutation, and
firmware version router? In case you haven't noticed, router bugs and
glitches tend to be model specific.

>My Wife uses wireless all day just fine in a configuration yours
>truely has set up for her

How is it configured? DHCP? Static IP's? VPN? Static routeing?

>- Basic stuff really but I am using the
>dreaded WEP.

Other than being totally useless for security, there's nothing much
wrong with WEP.

>I probably am going to try disabling that to see if it
>has an effect. Anyway, what we've identified as a recurring pattern
>is that if we are both using the Router at the same time, I basically
>crash the routher. Crash is not a good descripion so in More detail,
>when I go to a site that requires a picture such as espn.go.com it
>seems as if I've crossed up the router.

Go to:
<http://www.pcflank.com/exploits.htm>
and run the router exploits tests. Many bottom of the line router
will fail one or more tests. I know my BEFW11S4v4 will fail.

>I lose my connection, my
>wifes loses her connection and then we reset the router.

Well, perhaps it would be interesting to know where the router
"crashes". When it happens again, try:
ping ip_address_of_router
ping ip_address_of_your_ISP_gateway
ping ip_address_of_your_ISP_DNS_servers
ping ip_address_of_some_random_web_server
Also so the same pings by name. For example:
ping www.google.com
It could be something as simple as a broken DNS cache in the router.

>Fun.
>Actually it's frustrating.

Agreed. If it were easy or obvious, it would be no fun.

>If either of us then use the router
>independently we are fine, but when we both use it together this
>behavior happens.

Also, check your IP addresses. Are they the correct 192.168.xxx.xxx?
Or are they routeable IP's delivered by your ISP? Or perahps they go
to 169.254.xxx.xxx? If routeable, you have CAT5 miswired on the back
of the router. The cable from the DSL or cable modem goes to the
"internet or WAN" port on the router, not one of the LAN ports.

>I disabled dhcp because we run a wireless printer and that kept
>dropping so I've given each machine (2 laptops and the printer) an
>explicit IP address.

You don't have to disable DHCP to do that. Limit the range of the
DHCP server in the router from perhaps 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.119.
That will give you 20 IP's to assign dynamically. Then, just assign a
static IP address to the print server. You're done.

Incidentally, if your router supports DHCP reservation or pre-assigned
DHCP addresses, you can use DHCP with the print server, and have it
always come up with the same IP.

A suspicious person might suspect that something is odd with your
static IP address arrangement.

>She Runs XP
>I run windows 2000

It's not really necessary here, but it's usually helpful to know which
XP mutation and to which service level. For example "XP Home SP2" or
"W2K SP4".

>I have to figure it's something related to a conflict between the
>settings on our computers.

A marriage counsellor might help with domestic conflicts.

>I don't think it's a general Netgear
>issue, because the router does work fine, it's the case where I come
>home from work and I boot my wife off.

Ahah. A clue. It's a Netgear. Now all I need is the model number,
hardware mutation, and firmware version. Have you checked if you're
running the latest version?

>Any suggestions, that I should think of?
>Any help is greatly appreciated.

Yeah, but you won't like it. Scribble down your ISP settings, punch
the reset button on the print server and the Netgear router, and start
over. Reset both computahs to DHCP. Update the router firmware.
Check your wiring as that's my best guess(tm) as to what's wrong.
Verify that it works with a wired (ethernet) connection first, then
work on the wireless.


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558