This isn’t quite a website issue but I thought I ought to share some of the technical problems I’ve faced and managed to overcome so that others may be able to benefit from my experience.

I’ll admit it - I’m not a hardware person. Give me software anytime and I can figure out how to work it, but quite often computer hardware can stump me. Especially when it comes to networks.

Two years ago I bought the Linksys WAP54G (Wireless Access Point - more commonly known as wireless booster) in an attempt to strengthen my wireless network router. It’s a really long story which I won’t write here, but the short story is that I decided to use it as a redundant router for my home office network.

I had a lot of trouble connecting with the booster; I did everything the manual said, i.e. making sure the booster was connected to the router, and the PC connected to the network, but the PC could not detect the booster. It was a sudden rare stroke of luck that at one point it suddenly detected the router, and I seized the opportunity to set up my redundant wireless network.

Strangely after that, I never had any problems connecting to the redundant network.

Tonight, I wanted to reset the password for the redundant network but I forgot my administrator password, so I did a hard reset on the booster - and I suffered the same problem again. I tried to detect the booster for about an hour to no avail. I kept switching the booster on and off, resetting it, checking teh cables, etc without success. Finally I restarted the Setup software and when my firewall prompted me about the attempted Linksys connection to the Internet, I chose “Grant Access” instead of “Grant Access Once” - and lo and behold, my PC was able to detect the booster without problem.

It’s an odd solution which I won’t say might be able to be replicated, especially since the first time I suffered this problem, there was no firewall issue. But it’s something worth noting and trying if you do ever face this problem.

On another note, when I ran an online search to find a way to resolve this problem prior to solving it, there were several complaints by many people about the same problem with various Linksys products. Some had different solutions, and some had no solutions (yet)… but you can check them out here >> http://forums.linksys.com

Please feel free to leave any comments, feedback, or suggestions - or if you have a solution or an explanation, even better!

Hi everyone! As part of my professional contribution, I would like to keep my fellow customers and potential customers about my works in progress - and what better way to do this than with a blog? However, I assure you - especially my customers and potential customers - that there will be no confidential information revealed here, and any updates provided will only be those that are beneficial to yourself or to the community.