well having discovered that the worst possible thing I could do was to upgrade my firmware! I now have no BB access at all.

so made a 50 mile round trip to buy a new modem/router, explained exactly what I had and what I wanted I get home to discover that the product I have been sold couldn't be more wrong and I now face another 50 mile round trip to return it, which I will not be able to do until next weekend so guess I might as well just cancell my BB as I am unable to get any support from any quarter

Lesson: Before updating any firmware, always back-up a copy of the old one locally, so you can revert to it w/out having to go online.

a backup doesn't solve the problem as I am unable to actually connect to the modem so can't restore anyway

by updating the firmware wirelessly I have corrupted the router and it is now totally stuffed.

so my trip today resulted in a huge waste of petrol (money) and a piece of kit that will never work in a million years and still no broadband. I will now have to waste more money driving back up there plus until I get a refund I have no money buy elsewhere.

All I can say is "Ouch!".

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

All I can say is "Ouch!".

Which I will echo, along with the comment that it doesn't really help The Captain.

CM, would you please answer the following --

Which is your exchange? (Insert you telephone number into http://www.samknows.com/broadband/broadband_checker and paste the URL of the page returned.)
Who is your ISP and for what package are you signed up to receive?
That socket in your kitchen, is it the master socket?
Is it an NTE5/A or a LJ2?
What modem/router/WAP did you just purchase?
Why are you unable to use it?

We all can, I'm quite sure, appreciate your frustration with this situation. Hopefully, with the above information, one of us will be able to come up with a temporary working solution and then, ultimately, a proper fix.

am at work now so not all info to hand
my exchange is wadhurst non LLU
ISP is vivaciti family package (doesn't appear on the website now)
master socket in kitchen no idea about the other
router purchased was netgear but not modem router and is for CABLE only not ADSL
thank you cat

On HomePlugs, the reason sellers say not to use extension blocks is that some people see significant drops when they use them on 4 way blocks that have many meters of extension cable.

On a short 1 to 2m extension block generally you should be fine. There may be some speed drop off.

http://support.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2...
Offers a way that might allow you to recover the DG834G, it is for older versions of the device so may not work.

Thanks for that, but

The utility requires a Windows PC (not UNIX or a Macintosh). This utility is tested for Windows 2000 and Windows XP. It may not work in other versions of Windows.

being a mac user that is a no go for me

I have home plugs, i used them in a previous house, unfortunately they do not work with extenstions of any length, the lights fail to illuminate.

also the lappy has no ethernet port

Isn't it worth getting a mate with a Windows PC to help fix a dead router?

It'll probably work with any post 2000 version of Win and even if it doesn't you couldn't break it more.

If you were willing to invest then they do powerline adapters that have a passthrough power socket. That way, plug the powerline straight into the wall and then plug the extension into it - should solve interference problems that may be caused by the extension. Just check the rating of the adapters first to ensure they will support the amp-age (I am assuming they support 13 amps but haven't looked).