slow internet/some sites don't load at all

here_is_gone

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I have a wireless router (Linksys WRT54G v. 5 w/ latest firmware) connected to a cable modem (Terayon). The internet connection is shared between a wireless desktop and a wireless laptop (both running Windows XP). Recently my internet went out (because cable sucks).

I tried power cycling the modem and router, which didn't fix it, so I bypassed the router and connected the desktop straight to the modem. The internet worked, so I turned off the desktop and modem, turned on the modem, connected it to the router, turned on the router, and connected it to the computer. I turned on the computer and there was no internet access.

I had to use the reset button on the back of the router, and then finally the internet worked after power cycling everything one more time. After I did this, our internet got really slow (it was slow before but now it's just terrible).

Some sites, like www.facebook.com, won't load at all, and overall, the browsing speed it about half what it was before. I know it's not my computer because I've tried going to facebook with both computers and with two different browsers. If I get on a neighbor's wireless network, I can visit facebook and it works fine; my browsing speed is also normal on the other network. Is there any way that this has to do with my router, and if so, how do I fix it?

Thanks.
 
Yes, it sounds like your router is the issue. Though it could also be an issue with the modem. To fix the router, make sure there are no firmware updates for it. For the modem, contact your cable provider and make sure the firmware is up to date on it as well, and make sure they haven't been making changes to their system. I worked for a large ISP not long ago, and they are always changing something, adding features, etc. This has a tendency to foul up things from time to time.
 
I just tried bypassing the router and plugging straight into the modem, and all the sites I was having trouble with now load fine. I think the firmware on the router is up to date, so what should I do?

EDIT: just checked the firmware; it's the latest version (by the way my router is a Linksys WRT54G v5. firmware v. 1.00.9)
 
I'm still having trouble loading facebook.com. It's weird, because if I let it sit around loading long enough, it will load, but the home page looks like it's missing a CSS file. I can access the page fine directly though the modem, but not through the router. I have no idea what could be causing this.

Also, the router is not dropping any packets; however when I run tracert some of the IP addresses are replaced with *
 
Sounds like something is wrong with your router. Facebook.com is not a graphical Website, there is no reason it shouldn't load for you. Maybe the site was having problems when you tried to connect. Here's what I got with a tracert:
C:\Documents and Settings\Michael>tracert facebook.com
Tracing route to facebook.com [204.15.20.25]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
1 228 ms 238 ms 238 ms 68.216.204.62
2 181 ms 238 ms 238 ms 68.216.204.25
3 222 ms 238 ms 238 ms 205.152.150.86
4 294 ms 315 ms 318 ms axr01msy-7-0-0-1.bellsouth.net [65.83.237.26]
5 259 ms 317 ms 328 ms pxr00mia-3-0-0.bellsouth.net [65.83.236.22]
6 307 ms 315 ms * axr01mia-1-2-0.bellsouth.net [65.83.236.27]
7 294 ms 330 ms 338 ms 65.83.236.68
8 259 ms 232 ms 316 ms ge3-21.fr1.mia1.llnw.net [68.142.100.226]
9 299 ms 318 ms 315 ms agg1-6-1.ar1.mia1.llnw.net [68.142.100.193]
10 266 ms 441 ms 269 ms so1-5-1.ar1.atl1.llnw.net [69.28.172.53]
11 291 ms 317 ms 319 ms so1-6-2.ar1.dal.llnw.net [69.28.171.165]
12 333 ms 311 ms 315 ms so1-5-2.ar1.ord.llnw.net [69.28.172.226]
13 275 ms 318 ms 316 ms tge1-4.fr3.ord.llnw.net [68.142.72.217]
14 321 ms 390 ms 393 ms tge1-2.fr3.sjc.llnw.net [69.28.171.66]
15 324 ms 399 ms 394 ms tge4-4.fr1.sjc.llnw.net [69.28.171.74]
16 321 ms 394 ms 400 ms facebook.ve702.fr1.sjc.llnw.net [68.142.116.42]
17 333 ms 395 ms * www-a.facebook.com [204.15.20.25]
18 470 ms 393 ms 393 ms www-a.facebook.com [204.15.20.25]
Trace complete.

Check this out for more info: http://www.mediacollege.com/internet/troubleshooter/traceroute.html
 
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