THE PB is connected to a Linksys WET54G Wireless-G Bridge plugged into the ethernet port.

I have a laptop that uses a wireless card to connect to a Netgear WGR614 router. I used the laptop to configure the Linksys bridge. I confirmed that the bridge was properly configured by physically removing the wireless card from the laptop (at which point I lost my Internet connection) and plugged the Linksys bridge back in, at which point I recovered my Internet connection.

Believing that the Linksys bridge worked properly, I plugged it into the PB ethernet port. All of the little green lights on the Linksys bridge come on.

Does that help?

Thanks again.

-Znutar

Yes, that helps.
This sounds like the PhotoBridge is having a problem with DHCP (maybe a timeout) connecting via the wireless bridge. DHCP is the system used by your netgear router to give devices an IP address.
I don't know if this is possible for you, but, for a test, could you connect the PhotoBridge directly to your netgear router (reboot the PhotoBridge) and then see if it gets an IP address?
If it is able then we can assume its some sort of timeout issue while trying to use the wireless bridge. If that turns out to be the case then probably the best solution for you would be to give your PhotoBridge a static IP address - if it comes to that I could give you a small script you could download and run that would set that up for you (I'd need a few more details about your network first though).
The basic solution you're talking about (wireless bridge etc.) should work fine then, especially for things like photos and music - don't think it would be up to video however.

That might be difficult. I'll have to look carefully tonight at how hard it would be to get at the power strip to unplug, and then replug, the power cord. That, or I need to get a 80 foot ethernet cable.

Hypothetically, if a timeout issue isn't the problem, what then? What info would you need to write the script if it is a timeout issue?

With your existing wireless setup, try doing a complete reboot of the PhotoBridge (i.e. pull the plug) and see if you're able to get an IP address. Maybe try this a couple of times.

znutar wrote:

Hypothetically, if a timeout issue isn't the problem, what then?

In that case it could be a configuration error in the router. Could be other reasons as well, I just think timeout is most likely. But lets not worry about other things that may be wrong till we have more information.

znutar wrote:

What info would you need to write the script if it is a timeout issue?

Your IP addresses, gateway etc. Usually we could work this out based on your computers IP address/settings.

Soiaf,

Unplugging the PB from the entertainment center is more trouble than I'm willing to undertake at the moment. And I did try the reboot, but to no avail. So let's assume that timeout is the issue. What information do you need to write that script, and just as importantly, with great specificity, how do I find it? I follow intructions really well, but none of this comes intuitively to me. My formal computer training started and ended with a class in FORTRAN in 1982 using punch-cards.

Thanks for your assistance.

-Znutar

Ok, what I need is more specific information about your computer setup.
Based on you using Windows XP, go to 'Start' on your computer and select 'Run'. In the dialog box that this opens type cmd
This should open a command shell window.
Now in this new window type the following command
ipconfig /all

I need the last few lines of this, should haves lines like 'DHCP enabled', 'IP address', 'Subnet Mask' and 'Default Gateway'.

I also need to know if you have any other computers or devices that are using the router.

Physical address 00-13-46-BA-91-7C
Dhcp Enabled Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled Yes
IP address 192.168.10.2
Subnet mask 255.255.255.0
Default gateway 192.168.10.1
DHCP Server 192.168.10.1
DNS Servers 192.168.10.1

One other PC is directly connected to the router by ethernet cable. Another PC is connected to the DSL modem that's before the router.

Anything else?

Thanks.

-Znutar

Download the following file

http://homepage.ntlworld.ie/p.mc.quillan/setstatic4.zip

Theres one file inside this zip file, setstatic4.roku
Extract this file (setstatic4.roku) and copy it to a compact flash card.
Put the compact flash card in the PhotoBridge.
When you select the compact flash card from the PhotoBridge menu you should see an icon called setstatic4
Select this file. Nothing much will appear to happen, in about 2 seconds you'll just be brought back to the same menu screen.
Now wait a few minutes (just for the file system to settle) and then do a complete reboot of your PhotoBridge.

Now, when you check the IP address of your PhotoBridge you should have the IP address 192.168.10.20
Assuming this is the case you then need to check communication from your PC.
On your PC start up a command shell as before (going to start menu, selecting Run and then typing cmd).
You then type the following command:
ping 192.168.10.20

You should get some sort of response i.e. not just getting the message "Request timed out".

Assuming this is ok then you're set to re-search for those network shares.

soiaf wrote:

Download the following file

http://homepage.ntlworld.ie/p.mc.quillan/setstatic4.zip

@soiaf: That's cool! Many thanks for sharing. I shall probably modify this to suit the needs of my network since I am switching over to static IP's for some things.

The thing that always frustrates me is how do folks find out how to do this stuff. Is it just having the relevant Linux/Unix knowledge? I am sometimes reluctant to start hacking around in the software in case I break something and I can't get it back (although I know I can always reload firmware to get back to the initial settings).

S80_UK wrote:

I shall probably modify this to suit the needs of my network since I am switching over to static IP's for some things.

Just be careful when editing the file to use an editing program that won't change the line breaks. I've also written a script that you can run manually on the PhotoBridge (if you've telnetted onto your PhotoBridge) that configures a static IP address.
http://forums.rokulabs.com/viewtopic.php?t=6259

S80_UK wrote:

The thing that always frustrates me is how do folks find out how to do this stuff. Is it just having the relevant Linux/Unix knowledge?

Lots of reading of this forum!
Roku used to have a document that explained how to get a static IP address, but it assumed the user was quite technical - among other things that they would know how to use vi, the editor on the PhotoBridge. vi is not for the faint of heart! Lots of people have found that in general the PhotoBridge seems to run better/reliably using a static IP address, so I wondered was there a way to modify the relevant file without using vi.
So I wrote a script that would basically replicate the way that the file would be created anyway, new file, add the relevant correct lines one by one. So yeah, a lot of this is based on me having several years of unix knowledge - but I think you can certainly try out a lot of things by looking at existing scripts and trying to work out what they do and making some changes. As you say the great thing about the PhotoBridge is that if you completely mess it up you can always reset it (reinstall the firmware).
Certainly I would say on this forum if you want to find out how to do something just ask! Theres a lot of helpful people here and if someone knows the answer I'm sure they'd be glad to help.

S80_UK wrote:

I am sometimes reluctant to start hacking around in the software in case I break something and I can't get it back (although I know I can always reload firmware to get back to the initial settings).

The PhotoBridge is a great platform to try things on and its interesting having a look around to see how its put together (in terms of files etc.).

Thanks for all the encouragement and pointers.

Certainly I am technical - but 30 years of playing with hardware does not make me a software guru - so I keep on learning... I've also been learning just a little Linux stuff for the audio side (NSLU2 feeding two SoundBridges). I'll get there....

Soaif,

I got the correct static IP on the PB. When I tried to ping it, however, it timed out.

So what does that tell you?

-Znutar

Well, good news that the PhotoBridge now has an IP address.
Have you tried attempting to see any shares?

As for not being able to ping it...
You've tested the ethernet bridge and it worked, but did you try it in the same room/location as the PhotoBridge?
My first guess would be that it is working, its just that the signal strength is very weak. If that is the case I'm not exactly sure what you can do as this would mean that trying to access any sort of content such as pictures/music would be very slow, or just not work at all.
How far away/how many walls is the ethernet bridge from the router?

Soiaf,

Even though my laptop could not ping the PB, I tried to find shares on the laptop, but to no avail. Lights on the ethernet bridge did at least flicker... In answer to your questions, the ethernet bridge was tested in the same room as the PB, and the signal strength is quite good.

As a further test, out of frustration, I just took an ethernet cable and plugged my laptop directly into the PB. Still no luck. What does that tell you? Windows firewall is off, but if there's some other firewall, well, I don't know how i'd readily identify it.

-Znutar

znutar wrote:

Soiaf,

Even though my laptop could not ping the PB, I tried to find shares on the laptop, but to no avail. Lights on the ethernet bridge did at least flicker... In answer to your questions, the ethernet bridge was tested in the same room as the PB, and the signal strength is quite good.

As a further test, out of frustration, I just took an ethernet cable and plugged my laptop directly into the PB. Still no luck. What does that tell you? Windows firewall is off, but if there's some other firewall, well, I don't know how i'd readily identify it.

-Znutar

You can't plug your laptop into the Photobridge directly. First of all, either the laptop or the PB might not support peer to peer connections without a special cross-over cable. Second depending on how the NIC on your laptop is configured, it might not be able to get an IP address if you are using DHCP on the laptop and rebooted it after you plugged it in. If both laptop and PB are on the same IP subnet (ie: 192.168.2.x) then it's just the crossover cable part that might be an issue.


Something is FUBAR with your bridge and the setup there. Does the port you have the PB plugged into light up and show a valid ethernet connection? What about on the back of the photobridge?

Planning to run any sort of video streaming over a wireless bridge is asking for trouble.

Wireless G is 54 Mb/sec but unless I am mistaken this means it's 54 Mb/s shared between uplink and downlink (ie: 27 Mb/sec in each direction). Speed is DIRECTLY related to signal strength in wireless. It's hard to keep a 54 Mb/sec link. Additionally, if something else comes on the network that has a weaker signal and can't operate as fast, the whole network slows down - even if you have a good signal. Then when your bridge you take half your network speed just for the bridging. So the speed across the bridge is 27 Mb/sec AT BEST. And remember, that is 27 Mb/sec split across up and down which is 13.5 Mb/sec in each way! It is VERY easy to find oneself in a situation where one cannot handle a 10 Mb/sec wireless connection and you need at LEAST that if not more potentially when streaming video.

Get a powerline adapter like a SlingLink Turbo from SlingMedia or similar products from Netgear, etc. You'll have better luck.

jon