2 Routers connected to eachother

[zeefuz]

Ok so i have verizon and comes with router built into modem. all the ports are occupied so i decided to get another router so i can have internet on 2 computers. So i unplugged the computer and pluged it into the new router and plugged ethernet cable going from old router to new router. and plugged the other computer on the new router as well.

So 2 computers are on the new router. But first computers internet works fine the other one will not work. Anything i am failing to do here ? Tryed Powercycling modem/router and no effect to issue.

 

[SirSub42]

Without going into too much detail about networking, the basic problem is, assuming you are using the default settings, each router is set to use 192.168.1.1 as thir IP, and each router is attempting to act as the DHCP server. This conflict is why the devices connected to the second router are not functioning. Simple fix however.
- Connect your computer directly to the second router(the one without the modem), and log into the router's configuraiton page, normally http://192.168.1.1, if that does not work check your manual. On the status page, you will need to change the IP address of the router to 192.168.1.2 (Instead of the old 192.168.1.1).
- You will also need to disable the DHCP server on the second router. This should be on the same page of the IP, but once again if not consult the manual.
- Now connect the two routers together using a standard ethernet crossover cable, but make sure to plug each end of the wire into one of the four device plugs, and NOT into the WAN/Internet uplink port.

That should do it, you have now configured your second router to act as a switch, rather than a router. This will now simply forward the traffic from any devices onto the router. For example the internet traffic will go from the device, through the switch, to the router and out to your ISP. Look forward to hearing back with a notice of success. - Sub

*Edit - One last thing. When you are done, you will need visit the configuration page for your first router. Under the DCHP server options, change the "Starting IP Address" to 192.168.1.3. This will make sure the router does not accidently assign a device the IP address of your second router.

 

[zeefuz]

The second router is currently hooked up to 2 computers. One computer internet works. Other does not. Both connected to the second router. That would still require the steps above ? i am just having trouble understanding how one can work but the other one will not when its connected to the same router. I would think both would not work. But when i go to work tommorow will try out this method. hopefully can get a fix.

another thing.....the cable im using from one router to the other is just a regular ethernet cable.....Does cable specifically have to be called cross over cable ? checkd new egg and none are labled cross over cable

 

[SirSub42]

Odd indeed. Have you tried using a different port for the device which cannot access the internet? Also, check to see if the non-functioning computer is receiving an IP address from the DHCP server (start>run>cmd>ipconfig/all). You can also check the other devices to see if any of them share an IP address with the computer that can not access the internet by running the same commands on the remaining computers hooked up to the routers. Additionally, check your internet settings on the non-functioning machine to make sure it is set to automatically receive an IP address (Control Panel>Internet Options > Connections > Lan Settings > Make sure the box marked "Automatically detect settings" is checked.

My guess at this point, since each router is acting as a DHCP server (assigning IP addresses to devices), perhaps the second PC is being assigned an IP which is already in use. Disabling the DHCP server on the second router should take care of that. I would still go ahead and give my instructions a shot. Without having access to the configurations, it is hard to explain why the one computer would have access to the internet while the other does not. There are a number of situations where, by chance, the default options may work. But given the nature of routers, my opinion is that problems are inevitable.

As far as the cross over cable goes, do not worry about that. As I was reading, it appears my assumptions were incorrect. So whichever cabling you have should be fine. That is all I can think of for now, best of luck with it tomorrow. - Sub