Router mode vs Gateway mode in Linksys/Cisco home and small business routers

I would like to set the record straight on the router mode and gateway mode that Linksys/Cisco routers use. At first I couldn't figure out what these did exactly and I couldn't find anywhere that explained it well. I found a couple of sites that said that the WAN port wasn't used when the router mode was activated. I would like to make sure that people know that the WAN port is used when in router mode and that only functional difference with the router mode is that NAT is disabled. Router mode does not just use the switch portion of the router.

Here it is in simple terms:

Gateway mode: NAT enabled on the WAN port

Router mode: NAT is disabled on the WAN port. The WAN port is still functional.

The key to getting router mode to work is that there needs to be a static route added to the upper level routers to route the traffic back to the subnet behind the router that is in router mode. One will notice that if just the router mode is enabled that you will be able to ping all the interfaces on the router but nothing past that. One will also be able to ping anything using the diagnostic abilities of the router itself, but that nothing behind the router will be able to communicate with anything past the router. This is because the upper level routers don't have a route to the subnet behind the router mode router (unless dynamic routing protocols are used).

As far as I know this is the case with all Linksys/Cisco home and small business routers, or any router with a gateway mode or a router mode. I've only tested this on a WRT router and a RVS4000 small business router.

Slow printing in Outlook 2010

If when printing from Outlook 2010, the printer prints really slow. Try changing the paper type to normal 8.5x11 letter. When I checked, Outlook had the paper type as 8.5x11 borderless. When printing the printer itself would take a long time, even though it was faster in other programs. The specific printer was a Officejet 8500 running on Windows 7, but this might affect other printers/OSs. Changing the paper type solved all the problems.

Creative's new X-Fi driver (2.18.0008) won't detect sound card in Windows Vista

Problem: Creatives newest driver version (SBXF_PCDRV_LB_2_18_0008), downloaded from their support site will not detect the a X-Fi Extreme Music card on Windows Vista (Home Premium or Ultimate). This problem occured with two different machines, with two different sound cards (same model).

Solution: I found the same driver mirror by majorgeeks.com (http://majorgeeks.com/Creative_Sound_Blaster_X-Fi_Driver_d4751.html), which worked perfectly when installed. Was also going to look into the PAX alternative drivers if the previous solution didn't work

Quickbooks freezes when trying to access printer in any way

Problem: When trying to use a print menu, or in anyway access the printing service, Quickbooks will freeze for no apparent reason.

Setup: Quickbooks client connecting to a Quickbooks host that is serving company files for mulit-host access. The client had the problem.

Solution: The Quickbooks PDF Converter printer had a print job that was frozen in queue due to an error. Remove print jobs from the Quickbooks printer, and the program works fine.

Applies to: Quickbooks 2008 (2007, 2006, all versions?)