Packet loss in Netgear WGR614v9 router

Hello there, I have a broadband connection which is shared between two computers. One is desktop computer which is running on Windows xp and other is a Hp laptop which is running on Windows 7. The desktop is connected to the router using Wired connection while the laptop is connected to the router using Wireless connection. Netgear WGR614v9 router is used for sharing the connection. The problem is when both the computers are connected to the router together, the router faces packet loss. I tried to ping the same website on both the computers but the it showed that lots of data packets are lossed. I am not a networking person and hence I cannot solve the problem of Packet loss in Netgear WGR614v9 router. Any suggestions regarding the issue are more than welcome.

First check if the sharing of the connection between two computers are allowed or not. Many of the ISP's do not allow the sharing of the connection. If sharing of the connection is not allowed from the ISP end, then implementing any hardware solution to share the connection will not help. ISP's keep track of the MAC address of all the computers which are using its connection. Tracking MAC addresses helps them in differing services to the different computers which are connected to the network. Hence check if the sharing of Internet connection is allowed or not.

The router has to be configured properly inorder to share the connection between two computers. If the router is not configured properly then the devices which are connected to it will not be able to access all the resources of the network. Contact your service provider and get the proper configuration of the router. Login to the router and open the configuration page. Configure the router according to the settings which are provided by the service provider. Once all the settings are entered, save the configuration and then reboot the router. Once the router is reboot, check the performance of the network.

The default version of IP of Windows 7 is IPv6 while the default IP version of Windows XP is IPv4. If the computers running on these two operating system are connected on same network, then the network will not work properly because of the protocol mismatch. In order to connect the computers on same network, you will have to disable the IPv6 support of Windows 7. To disable IPv6 support of Windows 7, go to network connection wizard and then go to LAN properties. Select TCP/IP properties and remove the check mark from "Enable IPv6" and click on Ok. Once done see if the problem persists or not.

It is possible that the link which is providing the bandwidth to the router itself is faulty and hence you are facing problems with packet loss. If the link which is providing the bandwidth to the router is flappy then the packet loss during the communication is bound to happen. Therefore I would suggest you to get the link checked by the ISP guys. If there are some problems with the link then get it rectified by them. You can also check the link by visiting the Websites like SPEEDtest and PINGtest. These websites provide online tests which can be performed on the link. After performing the tests, the results are displayed. The results show if there is some problems with the link or not.

All the routers work on software known as firmware. Firmware is nothing but algorithm. The capability of the router depends on the algorithm. Stronger the algorithm, stronger is traffic handling capability of the router. I suspect that the firmware of your router is outdated and hence you are facing such problems. Therefore update the firmware of the router and see if it helps. To upgrade the firmware of the router, connect it to the computer using console cable. Visit the official website of the manufacturer of the router and then download the latest firmware which is available for model of the router which you are using. Once the update is downloaded, install it on the router. Before installing the update on the router, save the configuration of the router as you will have to configure the router again after up gradation of the firmware.