daveinpoway
Premium
join:2006-07-03
Poway, CA
| Problematic SpeedStream 4100 B
I picked this up at a swapmeet over the weekend. First problem- it was totally dead. Turned out that the on/off switch was bad (this is a known problem on the 4100, but not on the "B" version). Anyway, I soldered a jumper across the switch contacts and the modem came to life.
Next problem- the "Power" light was lit steadily, and the "Ethernet" light was flashing; the other lights were off. The unit would not assign an IP address to the computer and it was not possible to access the configuration pages. Holding in the "Reset" button for 30 seconds and then releasing it did not solve this problem.
The solution turned out to be holding in the "Reset" button for 30 seconds, releasing it and then pressing it again while the modem was restarting, so that the "Power" light flashed red, then green, then red... I repeated this a few times (doing it only once was not sufficient), and the modem reverted to proper operation. I can only assume that arcing of the switch contacts prior to the complete failure caused unsteady power to the logic chips, so that the modem's brain became scrambled. Apparently the alternating red and green flashing of the "Power" light indicated that a hard reset was taking place, and this unscrambled the logic.
If anyone has a 4100 B lying around that developed a flashing "Ethernet" light after a thunderstorm or other power disturbance, this procedure might restore it to life.
This might very well also work with the 5100 B and 4100, but I cannot say for sure.
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Doctor Olds
I Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me.
Premium,VIP
join:2001-04-19
1970 442 W30
clubs:
| Didn't you try the proper reset procedure first? Anything longer than 10 seconds cancels the reset request. You have to hold it 3 to 4 seconds and when you see the first alternating green/red flash let it go. It takes several attempts to get it right for most people.
Image from User Guide
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What’s the point of owning a supercar if you can’t scare yourself stupid from time to time? |
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daveinpoway
Premium
join:2006-07-03
Poway, CA
1 edit | Yes, I tried that. Even tried holding in the reset button while applying power.
I did not try repeating your reset procedure since I didn't realize at the time that more than one instance might be necessary. Had I repeated the procedure (as I had to do with what I devised), it might have worked. No way to know now. |
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