A router or hub is the cornerstone of the average home network. An Ethernet hub, which has several Ethernet ports, lets users share folders and files among all of the computers connected to the home network. A router generally has a built-in hub and also has features that let it share a broadband Internet connection with the networked PCs. Routers also usually include other features, such as wireless connectivity and a hardware firewall that can protect your computers from many of the digital threats floating around the Web.

Because the router is the center of your network, many network problems can be traced back to it. A defective device, bad settings, old firmware, and firewall issues can all put your network on the blink. We’ll show you how to troubleshoot your router or hub so you can spot and fix common problems.

Know Your Model
To download the right updates, you’ll need to know the unit manufacturer and model number of your device. Many routers and hubs bear the model number on the front panel and other information, such as the serial number, on the bottom of the device.

How To Tell If The Router Or Hub Is The Problem
You can determine whether your router is the source of your network troubles by eliminating other network devices as the problem sources. Chances are, there are only a few potential troublemakers beyond your router:

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Many wireless network card stated that it supports speeds that are much faster than the 802.11g or 802.11a specifications allow, but most of the time, you never achieve those high speeds when transferring network files.

802.11g and 802.11a operate at up to 54Mbps, but most manufacturers add speed boosting technology to their wireless products that allow for much faster speeds. Unfortunately, these technologies are not standardized and therefore do not work with similar products from other manufacturers, so stick to products from the same company because they use the exact same speed-boosting technology to benefit from a faster connection

Sometimes the wireless network card simply doesn’t turn on or fails to connect to the network on its initial attempt. When this happens, the wireless icon in the system tray has a red X next to it, so right-click the icon and click Repair. If that doesn’t establish the connection, right-click the icon and click View Available Wireless Networks. Find your network on the list, click its entry, and click Connect.

The first thing to do is to determine whether the device is compatible with a network card, because there’s a good chance it needs a wireless bridge. Bridges are a lot like wireless network cards except they have more internal hardware that lets them act as a sort of wireless cable. This means bridges work with just about every type of network-enabled product, whereas wireless network cards only work with products that have enough integrated networking hardware to recognize the network card and manage the network connection.

If the device requires a bridge, you’ll need to buy one, attach it to your router, and configure it to work with your network according to the instructions provided with the router. Once you configure the bridge, it should work with all of your network enabled devices simply by plugging it into their Ethernet ports.

If the device is supposed to work with a wireless network card, then it must have some network setup menu that you can access to input network settings such as the network name and password. Check the documentation that came with the device to figure out how to enter this data, which must match the settings that were established when you set up and secured your wireless router.

Drivers are software that Windows uses to communicate with your hardware, while firmware is software that is installed in a special memory chip on the network card and that controls all aspects of the network card’s operation. Updating to the latest drivers and firmware revisions can fix bugs, enhance compatibility, and add new features to the network card that can help you avoid further trouble.

You must download the latest drivers and firmware from the manufacturer’s Web site, and when doing so you must make sure it matches up with the exact make and model of network card you use. To find out this information, look for a sticker on the bottom of an external network card. For internal network cards, click Start, right-click My Computer, click Properties, and select the Hardware tab. Click Device Manager, expand the Network Adapters entry by clicking the plus (+) sign next to it, and write down the exact name that appears there.

Use the instructions provided by the manufacturer to install the drivers or firmware. This is especially important during firmware upgrades as mistakes during the process can render the network useless.

Sometimes the network card must be reset so the router recognizes it. Click Start, Control Panel, and Switch To Classic View, and double-click Network Connections. Click Repair This Connection in the

Network Tasks box, wait for the process to complete, and click Close. If the connection still doesn’t work, you may need to uninstall and reinstall the network card according to the instructions it came with.

Click Start, Control Panel, and Switch To Classic View, and double-click Network Connections. Right-click Local Area Connection, click Properties, and click Configure. Select the Advanced tab and click the speed-related entry in the Property box. Use the Value drop-down box to select the fastest speed your network card supports, which is likely 10/100Mbps Full Duplex but may be 1,000Mbps Full Duplex if you have a Gigabit Ethernet card installed.

Click OK and reboot the computer. The card should operate at its full speed, assuming your router and the network computer you’re connecting to also support that speed.

The speed of a wireless NIC depends mainly on the strength of the wireless signal it receives. You can get a quick read of the strength of your NIC’s wireless connection by hovering the mouse cursor over the wireless icon in the system tray and waiting for a balloon to appear that tells you the overall signal strength. If it doesn’t say Excellent or Very Good, then you may need to move the computer closer to the wireless router, upgrade the router, or invest in an antenna that attaches to the router and boosts the signal.