Arrggh! Help me with a network problem before I tear my hair out.

A question about : Arrggh! Help me with a network problem before I tear my hair out.

Friend has a weird house, and no way of getting an ethernet cable to her study.

Last year, we set up her BT infinity Home Hub 5 with a Netgear WRN2000 that I had lying around, so that the Netgear connected to her main computer and gave it internet access without the need for a cable between the Home Hub and the Netgear.

She had her Home Hub replaced over the weekend and I've been trying to get it working again ever since, but can't figure it out

I've put the Home Hub and the Netgear on the same SSID. I've downgraded security to WEP, and ensured they are the same. They are on the same channel. The Netgear has DHCP turned off.

I've tried having the ethernet cable between the netgear and the computer in both a random ethernet port in the back of the netgear and the specific internet port, but it seems to make no difference.

Any ideas where I'm going wrong? Could someone walk me through it? It's driving me INSANE.

Best answers:

• What's the IP address range of the HomeHub? e.g. 192.168.0.1 - 255
  Set it to 192.168.0.4 - 255
  Hardcode the IP address of the Netgear to 192.168.0.2 and turn DHCP off (as you have already done). Best to test this by connecting a computer to the HomeHub and pinging 192.168.0.2
• I dont at all understand why you've set up the second router on the same SSID and channel - this is asking for trouble. I assume the HH and Netgear are wired together - is this correct?
  If so, first of all I'd recommend using a different channel and SSID on the Netgear. Then set the security back to WPA2.
  Secondly, disable smart setup on the Home Hub.
  If none of that works when check the IP addresses. The default IP for the home hub is 192.168.1.254 and the DHCP range is 192.168.1.64 - 192.168.1.253 therefore I'd recommend hard coding the Netgears address to something like 192.168.1.10
• I wouldn't recommend using the same SSID - some equipment struggles with that and it's difficult to tell which router you've connected to in areas of overlapping coverage.
• Set a static local IP address on each router, then on the one that actually routes (i.e. the one connected to the Internet), manually reserve the IP address of the other router.
  Both routers need to be on the same subnet (with the most common default settings on consumer routers, this usually means that all devices on the network must have the same first three octets in their IP address -- e.g. 192.168.0.X or 192.168.1.X, etc.)
• Bt homehubs are poor for any non standard setup - mine would often give up when using a netgear router in another room (via a wire)..
  Shouldn't the netgear be working in a bridge mode with the router to provide connection, so ssids sound like there both broadcasting?
  Although the netgear will have dhcp turned off whats its ipaddress fixed to? and has the new homehub changed what it set to? might be an ipconflict?
  Surely it would be easier to either go with homeplugs between the homehub and the study? or to add wifi to the computer in there?
  as per other suggestions - move on from WEP security...
• Can wholeheartedly recommend powerline plugs. We use them for our router and desktop PC because we don't want to cable the house. If it's a weird house she'd just need to check the two plug sockets are on the same ringmain.