Trendnet Router Problem

[Bolbi]

Hey guys! This is my first post.
I'm having some trouble with a Trendnet TEW-432BRP router. Trendnet's own tech support gave up, so I'm getting a little desperate... There are a couple of symptoms that I think are both related to the same problem:

■ After having the router on for a few days, Firefox will give me a "Connection to server reset while the page was loading" error each time I open it afresh. Restarting the router fixes this, but it's annoying if it starts doing it during a download on another computer, etc.
■ Often, a webpage will load so far and then get stuck with the statusbar saying "waiting for *.*.com" or "read *.*.com". Sometimes a Stop/Reload fixes it, sometimes it doesn't. This error happens most often on Newegg and Recipezaar.
I can trace these errors back to the router, because when I take it out of the equation and plug the DSL modem directly into one of the computers, I don't get encounter either of these problems.
More info on my setup: desktop running XP Home SP3, laptop running Win7 RC. I get the errors in both Firefox 3.5 and IE 8 (the only browsers I use oftener than once per week). My modem is bridged, so this isn't due to multi-layered networking. Both PCs have manually assigned IP addresses. Everything (drivers, firmware, OS, security, etc.) up-to-date.
Finally, Trendnet tech support's only idea was changing the MTU, which didn't help at all. Any other ideas?

P.S. Don't be afraid to suggest; I'll try almost anything

 

[GhislainG]

Are you using wireless or wired connections? Other than getting a better router, there isn't much that you can do.

LINKSYS WRT54GL http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124190

 

[Bolbi]

It happens more on the XP desktop (wired 100Mbps), but some on the Win7 laptop (wireless-g with WPA-2 AES security).
Thanks for the router suggestion; I was afraid that would be the only solution. Actually, I set up the WRT54GL for some relatives, so I know how great a router it is. I was attracted to the Trendnet because of the price difference: $15 instead of $55 at the time. And now for $80, that would be a hard sell with my Dad 😀 Thanks anyway.

 

[GhislainG]

You often get what you pay for.

 

[teledog]

Just posted my fix for the TEW-452BRP router on another thread.
Do all the lights go out momentarily on the router when it disconnects?
Thread;
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/20826-43-frequent-router-resets-crashes

 

[Bolbi]

Just posted my fix for the TEW-452BRP router on another thread.
Do all the lights go out momentarily on the router when it disconnects?
Thread;
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/20826-43-frequent-router-resets-crashes

Thanks teledog, but the problems I was having were a little different. My connection from the computer to the router remained intact, but my requests (through my browser) for certain webpages were getting stuck at the router level. Besides, I've already RMA'd!

 

[philbernie]

1. Could it be DNS problem? Instead of the name of website like "google", type the site address such as "74.125.67.100". If it comes up faster, then it could be a DNS problem.

2. Try reseting to the router's default setting.

 

[Bolbi]

1. Could it be DNS problem? Instead of the name of website like "google", type the site address such as "74.125.67.100". If it comes up faster, then it could be a DNS problem.

2. Try reseting to the router's default setting.

Let's see; (1) The TEW-432BRP allows you to set what DNS servers you want it to use. I tried various public DNS servers, as well as my ISP's primary and secondary. No difference. Also, no problems when I have my computer directly connected to my modem. Then it's using those same ISP servers, so I don't think DNS was the problem. As for (2), I tried resetting to the default settings; I hadn't changed many anyway. Pretty much the only things I modified were to set the wireless to use WPA2 security and MAC address filtering. I guess you can tell I'm a privacy/security freak. But neither of those things should have prevented the router from functioning correctly, right?

As I said, I already RMA'd it, so I'm hoping that a new router will eliminate these problem.

 

[philbernie]

Yeah, if it's the router, then it could the hardware, firmware or the setup. Most of the problem people have with the router is the setup. If you replace the router, you will most likely, if the problem is with the router, solve your issues. Good Luck!