Jan Janowski
join:2000-06-18
Skokie, IL
 ·AT&T Midwest
1 edit | [wired] BEFSX41 V1.51.00 and loss of main IP
This has happened about 6 times so far, under two different senerios. I'm posting it here to see if anyone else has encountered this.
BEFSX41 V1.51.00 firmware. Used on SBC/Ameritech DSL 3M/384K dynamic service. (PPPOE--MTU 1492)
I have encounterd two different senerios where the router will just stop communicating with the computer behind it.
Senerio #1: Overnight, when computer turned on, no web access is possible. If I run PingPlotter (or Ping from cmd) I find that the IP of the router is un-reachable.
(I know it is the router, not ethernet card, cause there is a switch between them. I can ping the switch, but not the BEFSX41 in front of it. Looking at the LED's, I see no LED's that are unusual, behind or in front of the BEFSX41. In fact, it appears from the LED Blinking, that the Keep Alive (mine is ste for 20 seconds) is still going. I can't proove this, because I cannot connect to the main IP of the router.
I cannot access the status menu, cause the main IP is not responding to a login. The Modem LED's all indicate connect, too. Wallwatcher logs are also halted, and usually a few entries before it stopped logging was a warm reboot.
Proof it is the BEFSX41. If I do a power cycle, or just briefly hit the reset button (warm reboot?) in about 5-7 seconds, all is fine. No other devices were touched. No LED's change or flash during this reboot..
Senerio #2: I use blocking by keyword. I enter the keyword click and that blocks a whole series of spyware, like doubleclick, fastclick, etc.....
If I go to ebay, a continual stream of click related items are blocked... Sometimes after a long session with Ebay, I see that I am unable to get anywhere. Pings or Pingplotter indicates that the router main IP is not reachable. The switch is reachable.
Proof it is the BEFSX41. As above, all LEDS indicate that it is operational. Ping or Pingplotter cannot reach the IP of the BEFSX41. Within a couple of the last entry on Wallwatcher is a warm reboot. Hitting the reset to force a warm reboot will re-aquire the main IP and surfing capabilities again.
At this point, I can report that no other version of Linky firmware exhibited these symptoms.... In a week or so, I should have a used BEFSX41 and I'll try same settings on that one, and see if it follows one router, or firmware settings... or..... ??????
At this point, I'm posting symptom's to see if these ring a bell with anyone else????
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Looking for 1939 Indian Motocycle |
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Eko
Premium
join:2004-05-04
Slovenia | Hmmmm, interesting..... |
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A8codr
join:2004-05-30
Lakewood, OH
| reply to Jan Janowski
Don't know if this will help or not but had a SR41 with the same problem on a cable modem. Unfortunatly we are all too aware of the code swapping going on with these units. The work around that resolved it was to set the routers MTU to 1400 to get a stable connection. Even 1492 the standard for DSL would occasionally lock up and lock you out.
Give it a try and let us know what results you had. Might be usefull info for Flogator since he seems to get results from linksys were the rest of us seem to be ignored. |
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hananz
join:2003-11-19
israel
| hi jan
i had the same problem in the 2 time that i have tried the
1.51 firmware and i happen about 2-4 times in the 2 weeks
i have tested this firmware
but with the 1.45.7 i didn't happen even once....
so i went back to this firmware
talk to linksys support they had no answer to me and they
closed the chat....(2 times)
btw i use cable (but in Israel maybe it's different here) |
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Flogator
Premium,MVM
join:2003-01-19
Cantley, QC
·Acanac
 ·Videotron
| reply to Jan Janowski
I kind of suspect that these problems are related to filtering. I could of course be all wrong but it is my gut feeling right now.
I would still encourage you to try the MTU thingy by setting your PC's MTU to 1400 as suggested by A8codr. It would at least either pin point the problem or eliminate a possibility. |
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Jan Janowski
join:2000-06-18
Skokie, IL
·AT&T Midwest
1 edit | reply to Jan Janowski
OK... I just changed the Linky MTU setting from 1492 to 1400.
Prior to this, I did 3 speedtests from the site I usually test at. With MTU of 1492, I usually get 2543/318. That's what I get today with MTU of 1492.
After the MTU change to 1400, I did 3 tests in a row, and they came up at 2539/317....
Basically the same speeds... We'll now see how this reacts with time......
Thanks for the suggestions..... I'll post in about a week or so the results... Jan
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Looking for 1939 Indian Motocycle |
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Jan Janowski
join:2000-06-18
Skokie, IL
·AT&T Midwest
| reply to Jan Janowski
Just now I encountered a reset while doing a Speakeasy speed test. (MTU is 1400 with V1.51.00).
I remember testing using Speakeasy speed test maybe 20 times with MTU set for 1492. I did it 3 times last night ok, and first time today caused a reset... After getting an IP, tried again... Worked ok.. 2539/317.
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Looking for 1939 Indian Motocycle |
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A8codr
join:2004-05-30
Lakewood, OH | Have you been having any other problems with it to this point? |
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Jan Janowski
join:2000-06-18
Skokie, IL
·AT&T Midwest
| reply to Jan Janowski
No, the only thing that was unusual was the loss of IP. (That was the reason for reducing MTU to 1400).
It was the first reset encountered under a speedtest by this user.
I did try the long URL and that did a reset early on in V1.51.00.
After this problem reared it's ugly head, I did the "Long Reset" and then manually re-entered all the settings again, just in case the first reset I did after firmware install wasn't long enough...
I should have access to another BEFSX41 within a week, and will try same settings (1492) on it, to see if this follows one, or multiple Linksys units.
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Looking for 1939 Indian Motocycle |
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Jan Janowski
join:2000-06-18
Skokie, IL
·AT&T Midwest
| reply to Jan Janowski
Had the symptoms appear again....
Loss of surfing on power up.... No Main IP, hit reset briefly, and all works again....
6 days since I last saw this... MTU now at 1400 (was at 1492 before).
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Looking for 1939 Indian Motocycle |
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hananz
join:2003-11-19
israel
| i have talked with linksys support "team" (ya right)
and after several minutes they said "we don't know this
problem please send us a message regarding it"
and that's that.......
jan can you send them a message you checked it more then i
tnx hanan |
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Jan Janowski
join:2000-06-18
Skokie, IL
·AT&T Midwest
2 edits | Ask and you shall receive:
BEFSX41, V1.51.00 on PPPoE
All connections (3) are fixed, though 6 DHCP users are allowed.
MTU in Linky is manually set at 1492, and then I tried 1400. Same results: 1492 or 1400 MTU.
I have Advanced Firewall Disabled (Because UNLESS disabled, Keyword blocking will not report to Logs correctly—That is a bug report in it’s own!)
Symptom: Every 3-5 days, I will be unable to surf, for no apparent reason. If I try and connect to the http Login of Linky, It will not connect to the login screen.
If I try and Ping the Linky, it will report 100% data Loss (unreachable). If I ping other devices (I have a Linky Swtich [BEFSRU31—V1.45.7] in between the computer and the BEFSX41, I can ping the BEFSRU31 Switch, and other computers and Network printer, but not the BEFSX41. Moving the BEFSX41 to another port during the problem, or afterward, and waiting 3-5 days, will result in identical symptoms.
It is as if the BEFSX41 has ceased communicating via it’s main IP (as programmed by me).. However, If I watch Linky and Modem (Efficient 5100), I will see that the Keep Alive LED Sequence is still apparently working correctly. This is based upon LED sequences, as I cannot log to the Fixed IP because it has stopped communicating…
Supprisingly enough, Wallwatcher will log blocked probes during this time, but I cannot Ping (Or PingPlotter) the Linky Main IP.
Furthermore, if I briefly tap the reset button in the back of the BEFSX41, within 5 seconds, all functions return to the BEFSX41, Wallwatcher (V2.2.21.10 current, but older versions logged identical information) will log a Warm Start, AND THEN EVERYTHING IS BACK TO NORMAL, for about 3-5 days.
For more information, please visit: »[wired] BEFSX41 V1.51.00 and loss of main IP
As aparantly I’m not the only one who is having this problem….
Sincerely
Jan Janowski
P.S. I went back to MTU of 1492 to see if there is any difference in the timing of this problem based on MTU.
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Looking for 1939 Indian Motocycle |
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sgkent
join:2002-04-15
Sacramento, CA | reply to Jan Janowski
see my notes on the correct TFTP program to use to flash it. The older one will look like it works but it doesn't fully flash all the binary it appears. |
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Jan Janowski
join:2000-06-18
Skokie, IL
1 edit | See my post on your post.... (Grin!)
Correct TFTP used....
But it is good that someone posted that!!!
It's a shame it isn't in the current manual???? OOPS!!
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Looking for 1939 Indian Motocycle |
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Tachyon
join:2004-04-21
Plano, IL
| reply to Jan Janowski
Jan ... my experiences. Sound familiar?
(repost from another thread)
Ok .. you've seen my other posts regarding Bit torrents and X41 lockups. Well I ran for about a week where I was able to do around the clock torrents of unlimited size and connection numbers. Then, it locked up once and now I've not been able to successfully DL anything that takes more than 2 minutes.  I thought at first it was my switch that was locking. I'd loose my LAN IP (I'm DHCP from the X41) and I'd have to cycle the power on the switch to regain control. Not sure how that was happening but I've seen found out this...
MU10 -> SX41 -> SX88W -> computer: router will lock and entire Linksys stack goes into spasms.
MU10 -> SX41 -> computer: router reboots! then returns to normal operation after reboot.
For some reason with the switch attached the router is not able to reboot. It just goes into a hard lock. This is driving me nutz. 
sgkent -> I use web interface ...  |
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Jan Janowski
join:2000-06-18
Skokie, IL
·AT&T Midwest
1 edit | reply to Jan Janowski
PPPoE DSL User.
I've gone back from V1.51.00 to V1.45.7...
I've tried multiple Switches (and Switch firmware) & port changes in between main computer and BEFSX41, and within 3 to 5 days I lose the main IP of the router. Confirmed with Ping and Pingplotter. Confirmed with 2nd computer on different port also...
Most of the times, a brief tap on reset button (Warm Start) will get it operating again, but sometimes it takes a full power cycle to gain attention of router.
Will post results on this in a few days....
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Looking for 1939 Indian Motocycle |
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hananz
join:2003-11-19
israel | sadly to say i have move to a software router www.ipcop.org
and since then every thing is faster and better
still checking it but it looks like a better router...
the befsx41 is used as a switch only
try it... |
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Jan Janowski
join:2000-06-18
Skokie, IL
·AT&T Midwest
1 edit | reply to Jan Janowski
Over a period of a few weeks, the following information was gathered on many tests done on the BEFSX41 with V1.51.00 firmware. The Router was Long Reset, and reloaded with V1.51.00 multiple times, Followed by a 2nd Long Reset, followed by manual configuring of the router. After configuring, the settings were saved, the unit power cycled, and then compared against the settings, and then the tests started. This senerio takes place every 3-5 days, though occasionally can be triggered by excessive blocking by keyword operations, for example doubleclick on Ebay. It is most likely to appear on power up of computer (swtiches, router remains powered on 24/7/365) as an in-ability to surf or get email.
(I'm posting is great detail in the off chance Linksys sees this post).
I'm using DSL (PPPoE capped at 3.5M/384K) and this senerio occurs with MTU at 1492 or 1400. The loss of IP on BEFSX41 V1.51.00 happened under any of these senerios:
1. Fed by switch (BEFSRU31 V1.45.7 firmware) on port1.
2. Same as #1, on port 2 or 3.
3. Fed by swtich (BEFSR41 V1.45.11 firmware) on port1 (BEFSRU31 removed).
4. Same as #3, on port 2 or 3.
5. Fed by 2 swtiches (BEFSR41 V1.45.11 firmware, BEFSRU31 V1.45.7 firmware) on different ports.
All of the above swtiches were assigned IP's. DHCP was enabled on BEFSX41, but not used.
When Loss of IP occurred, access to setup http pages was not possible.
Pinging (or PingPlotter) to the IP's of either switch behind the BEFSX41 was successful (as was http menus of both swtiches), but Pings or Pingplotter attempts to the BEFSX41 resulted in Un-reachable IP.
All LED's on the BEFSX41 would appear normal, indicating Link, Full, and 100 LEDs to the Modem (Efficient 5100), as well as the Link LED to the switch (or switches) behind the BEFSX41. LEDs on swtich(s) also appeared normal (Link light was on).
Also, Occasionally During this loss of Main IP, Wallwatcher would sometimes log blocks to the BEFSX41 router, so the send portion of the Router seemed to be still functional!!!
Though you couldn't connect to the BEFSX41, If you watched the Router & Modem LEDs, the flashing sequence on Router and Modem is IDENTICAL to the Keep Alive time... It would appear from LED flashing that the Router was keeping the IP from my ISP alive during this time of Main IP loss!
Work Arounds:
1. A Short Tap on the BEFSX41 reset button (Warm Reset?) would usually result in fully normal operation in 5 or so seconds. NO LEDs change state during this reset (no red Diag Led).
2. Power cycle and re-aquire of IP will also fix this problem...
Then the 3-5 day time frame starts all over again....
Based upon this information, I have returned to V1.45.7 firmware on the BEFSX41
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Looking for 1939 Indian Motocycle |
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sgkent
join:2002-04-15
Sacramento, CA
| reply to Jan Janowski
I seriously suggest that anyone moving from 1.45.7 and below use the current TFTP program to update. I see a pattern in who is having touble and who isn't. Ther might be an issue where the flash programs, whether TFTP or web interface don't write to the full address. I also suggest that all cables on teh bEFSX41 be removed except the one from the computer being flashed from. ALl I can say is that the first 2 times I flashed the 1.50.18 and 1.51.0 firmware I had some of the same issues that are mentioned plus others. Since using the current TFTP program from to go from 1.45.7 to 1.50.18, and then th eweb interface from 1.50.18 to 1.51.0, I cannot duplicate issues that many of you are finding. |
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Jan Janowski
join:2000-06-18
Skokie, IL
·AT&T Midwest
2 edits | I've been using the 'current' TFTP program since V1.45.7.
Have also re-programmed V1.51.00 3 times... Same Issue, each time... Even went so far as Long Reset after upgrade, followed by manual configuration (Rather than backupnrestore [which doesn't recall block WAN request correctly, by the way).
Your suggestion about removing all but one cable, so that the box cannot be confused by multiple connections is a good one. I power off modem as well.
You could not reproduce the symptoms I described,
However, if you are on cable and not DSL (PPPoE) then I could understand you not being able to reproduce the issues. PPPoE (Due to MTU) was all but un-useable in V1.50.18. Cable users liked it. DSL users found many problems...
Before posting this thread, Multiple weeks of testing were done.... using multiple pieces of equipment, such that the only remaining constant was DSL (Even swapped modem) and BEFSX41 V1.51.00.
Not enough time has transpired since going back to V1.45.7 to consider the firmware yet... but with every passing day I'm getting closer to pointing a finger...
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Looking for 1939 Indian Motocycle |
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