Windows 7: Unkown Router, WRT320N

Hey! I have one baffling problem that is driving me insane! In "Network" I have a Linksys Router simply labeled "WRT320N" that appears in the "Network Infrastructure" category. The problem is, I don't have such a device nor is it connected to my network by any means. My router, which is a D-Link, does not show the Linksys connected either via cable or via wireless. My wireless is encrypted via WEP and I have never shared the key. I have manually checked the cables and they all lead to their respected computers and nothing else. The Linksys does not appear in my Network Map, in the Network and Sharing Center. The Linksys does not appear on any other computers on my network which run Windows Vista. When I look at the properties of the router I am able to see the MAC address, however the IP address is unavailable.

Picture:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u...jr/Linksys.jpg

I'm running Windows 7 Professional. My wireless card is Broadcom 802.11g. Any help would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks
-Binarywolf

Since you are connecting wirelessly, it could be a neighbors router and it must have a stronger signal than yours and no security. Is this PC far from your router? How strong is it's signal?

The Windows Zero Config is notorious for connecting to unwanted networks unless you specifically tell it not to. What Darryl Licht said is quite possible if you haven't specifically defined your network in the preferred list and haven't disabled the automatic connection to other networks.

It looks like a neighbour's or hotspot's router. That specific model of router does have encryption, but it might be disabled. Do you have any neighbours with internet and how strong is this router's signal?

It states that I'm connected to my wireless network, NETPurple aka D-link. There are no foreign networks listed in the preferred. I wouldn't think that it would be possible for a router's signal to "bleed" over onto mine. I've tried changing the channels on my router with no affect.

Wireless Networks Picture:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u.../Connected.jpg

I've tired connecting to the linksys router via it's listing in the wireless system tray "linksys" and in the Windows Explorer Network area "WRT320N". Both attempts bring up a Window stating that the router isn't configured and that I need to enter a security pin in order to do so. So I'm assuming that both listings are the same source. I've never configured a router through Windows, so I'm not sure how it works. I noticed that when I attempt connect (to the linksys) I'm disconnected from my network "NETPurple" and then immediately reconnected to back to my network. Shouldn't it list my connection as "linksys"?

Configure Picture:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u.../Configure.jpg

I just remembered that I saw the same thing on my own home network!

About 2 months ago I looked at my network map and the router showed up as a Belkin. The catch is I don't have a Belkin. My only router is a wired unit. No wireless.

If memory serves, I rebooted the PC and it changed back to it's original which shows up as a Gateway.

I have the feeling when Windows 7 detects the router it checks to see if it supports an HTML login and will try to identify the router by the login prompt. That would explain why in your case it usually shows up as "Linksys".

It's possible it misidentified the router as a DLink by the style of the login prompt.

This is just a guess but it sure would explain a few things...

I've just found out some disturbing news. The Linksys router still appears at another geographical location and on a different, Netgear, wireless network. Although I highly doubt it, does the Windows 7 Network Explorer use some sort of caching? Is it possible that at one point my laptop attempted to connect to a Linksys router without my knowledge and cached the router and now it isn't being flushed? I'm completely lost. Because the Linksys router still appears at a different location, I suppose this rules out external interference, unless I'm so unlucky to have two different neighbors at two different locations with the same Linksys WRT320N router?

I really don't think this is a serious problem. My gut says that Windows 7 is just not identifying the router correctly.

Yeah, I agree... I think at some point in time you may have connected to it unintentionally or wireless networking sees a neighbors... As long as you can connect to yours and the Internet, you should be fine!

You are making yourself nuts for not reason. You do have encryption, correct? Unless some distant neighbor (all the signal strengths are low) would have to be a wizard to hack it and since it is so far away it would be painfully slow. I have 8 broadcasting wifi networks within 50 feet, and to date not once have I had a problem.