Recently I had trouble sending E-mails and asking for help at Computing.net. After testing to see if it was a setup problem or a software problem and not finding any problems I took my D-Link DI-604 out of the loop and everyting started wroking again. I had not changed any settings in the D-Link firmware or settings so I assume the router has gone bad. Is there anyway to test the router for this type of problem?

I can't help you with troubleshooting but I can tell about my experience with a DI-601. Had problems with connections being dropped and updated the firmware. D-link stated that firmware updates were necessary beacuse my ISP chnaged something. This happened a couple of more times over the course of a couple years. Finally D-link stated they were no longer supporting that router so I ended up buying a different router. I would see if a firmware update is in order. D-link had pretty good support.

Thanks for that OtheHill. Since D-Link is not supporting the DI-604 any longer I think I will purchase another router. Thanks again.

Are you sure that D-link is not supporting the 604? I had the 601, the 601 is older than the 604.

Not sure at all. I mis-read it when you said they no longer supported the 601. I took it for 604. Sorry. I will check with D-Link and see if they have updated firmware for the DI-604. Thanks

I have a DI-604 version E1 (the version is on the label on the bottom)and have used it for several years. It has been absolutely reliable and has never needed a firmware update. Other than initially setting it up, according to my ISP's connection type requirements, to clone the MAC address of the NIC I was using to connect to the internet previous to that, which is optional, I have never used any other settings with it other than it's default ones. Several other people I know have a DI-604 and they have had no problems with it. However, I have had intermittant problems with the reliabilty of my ISP's ADSL connection many times. Usually if you have a problem connecting it's because of that, not the router. Your situation regarding settings in the router's configuration may require you change or add some setting, or to add a url so that it can bypass the firewall, that is not default in order for you to connect to your ISP, or to connect to certain sites you want to connect to. If you do Site Search of the XP or Hardware forums of this site using DI-604 you will find many posts about such settings. You say you have not changed any settings and the DI-604 worked fine previously. It could be your problem is because your ISP has changed some requirement, as in OtheHill's case. You could try checking your ISP's current requirements, and setting the router's configuration from scratch again, perhaps after resetting the configuration to defaults. In my case, the best most specific directions are in the region specific printed manual that came with the router, not the *.pdf on the CD or the *.pdf on the D-Link web site - in that the configuration type for my ISP is clearly stated - but if your ISP's current requirements have changed from what they were you may have to do something different. If it is ONLY the email you are having problems with and it is not standard Outlook Express or Outlook email, there is probably nothing wrong with the router, but you need to change something in the router's configuration, such as add a url so that it can bypass the firewall. In that case, the information you need would be on the email program providers's web site somewhere. Other than that, it is quite possible your router has been damaged, especially if it is not plugged into something that protects it from voltage surges and spikes, or if anything connected to your computer is not protected, including your cable that connects you to the internet.

Thanks Tubesandwires The router is connected to a voltage suppressor and I think it is well protected. It could be that my ISP has made changes since Bell South has been taken over by AT&T and they are making changes, so I will explore that avenue before I spend money on another router. I checked with D-Link and they have no updated firmware for my router. I will check some of the forums you speak of also. The problem I was having was not only Outlook Express and Thunderbird email but I could not get into any forum or the like until I removed the router from the system. Now everything is running like it did a month ago. Thanks again