[theorigamist]

I have been having problems with my wireless connection, and I'd like to get opinions on what the problem is before I go spend a bunch of money to replace hardware. First, relevant info about my setup:

Computer:
-about two months old homemade build, E8400, Asus P5Q, 4GB ram, 9500 GT
-dual-booting Vista Home Premium 64 bit/Ubuntu 8.04
-Edimax EW-7128G internal wireless adapter

Laptop: about two months old Asus Eee 1000 running Ubuntu 8.10

Wireless Router: about 6 months old WRT54GS Linksys Wireless Router with firmware 7.50.5

Cable Modem: Motorola Surfboard SB5101

The problem: While using my wireless internet, the connection will suddenly become "Local Only" (as opposed to "Local and Internet"). I then run the Windows Diagnose/Repair utility, which usually tells me to reset my wireless adapter, which usually fixes the problem. But, if this doesn't fix the problem I can be without internet for hours at a time. More specifically, the Dianose/Repair utility tells me that it pinged my primary DNS server and could not get a response. When my desktop starts having internet issues, I check my Eee which also cannot access the internet (although it it connected to my network).

Things I've already tried: It was suggested to me on another forum that I manually set my DNS. I've tried a couple different addresses, but they had the same issues. I've read about possible Vista IPv6 networking issues, which I have dismissed as the cause, because my Eee running Linux is also having issues. The only hardware in my computer that was new when these issues started was the Edimax wireless adapter, which I've ruled out as the problem, again, since my Eee has the same problem. Earlier today, when the internet had been out for about an hour and I was getting frustrated, I stretched an ethernet cable to the wireless router. This didn't solve the problem (access was still "Local Only"), but allowed me to remove the WPA security on our network. I had read somewhere online that this fixed somebody's similar problem. But (1) this is not a good permanent solution, since I don't want the network to be unsecured, and (2) the "Local Only" issue came back within about five minutes, even though I still had the ethernet cable plugged in (which seems to rule out almost everything on the computer side).

So I'm basically left guessing that the problem is the router or the cable modem, but I don't know how I would decide what the specific problem is. Also, I'm living on a grad student stipend, so I'd prefer not to buy a new router or cable modem, each of which can easily cost $50+, without having a better idea of what the problem is. Does anybody have any ideas, or any fixes I can try short of buying things?

[aaronkupen]

Well I've had many issues like this with linksys routers that either resolved themselves over time, or persisted for ever. I think it's a safe bet that with the exponentially decreasing quality levels with linksys routers that the router itself is the problem. You could try putting custom firmware on it, like dd-wrt -- this usually increases the performance of the router due to lackluster linksys software.

[majistic]

Agreed, Linksys routers are going on a downward sprial. Update the Firmware for the Model of that router and restart system. Try doing that first and see if you can't start cutting out some smaller issues first.