It’s always something with computers, and even I’m not immune. In fact, I think I’m particularly susceptible to computer trouble because I’m a so-called “expert.” This week’s issue: My router is acting all hinkey.

I was going to write that “network problems are the worst,” but isn’t any computer problem “the worst?” Printers, programs, monitors, mice — if whatever you need at the time isn’t functioning, then it becomes the biggest tech problem that you have.

Recently I’ve had some network issues and, like any computer problem, it’s been driving me nuts.

There was a power outage a few weeks back. That generally drives the network offline, so it was expected that things would be weird: My boys and I returned from seeing a movie and only one computer on the network was able to get on the Internet.

Normally to fix a broadband Internet network anomaly you unplug the modem and router. Wait. Plug the modem back in. Wait. Plug back in the router. That fixes about 99 precent of all the problems.

I tried that, of course. It didn’t work.

Long story short: After about two hours, I finally turned off every electronic gizmo in my office, then turned them all back on. The culprit: A 16-port switch. The switch is connected to the router, which allows the vast array of computers, printers, and other gizmos I have in the office to connect to the Internet and each other.

Yet the problems persisted.

The other day, my son Jonah’s computer was the only one in the office that couldn’t access the Internet. Restarting the router didn’t work, but resetting the switch worked: I unplugged the switch, waited, the plugged it back in. Jonah’s computer found the Internet.

Yesterday one of my test computers wasn’t able to get on the Internet. At first I tried resetting the switch, but that didn’t work. So I had to restart the router.

This morning, no computer was on the Internet. Resetting the router worked.

My suspicion: The router is about to take a mighty crap.

Routers are relatively cheap. True, at about $60 they’re not “cheap” per se. Compared to the cost of hiring a network expert at $120/hour, however, they’re cheap.

The problem (yes, another problem) is that the router itself isn’t that old. I think I just replaced it about a year ago. So my first step — one that I’m reluctant to take — is to check for a hardware upgrade for the router. That may address the issue. Though, given the weird stuff that’s happened on the network, I’m not eager to give it a try.

In fact, the reason I’m writing this blog post before I try is to ensure that the post makes it on schedule.

I’ll let you know how things turn out on Friday.