where can I learn about internet connection stuff?

G

guapagirl

Registered
Hope this is in the right place.

I've got a G4 imac connected OK via ethernet and my daughter has an oldfashioned G3 imac which is supposed to be connected via airport, only it isn't now. It just stopped working.

Thing is, the guy who set my system up has gone over to corporate work only and won't even return emails and the only other guy in the area is a pretty shifty schoolkid (I live in a very remote rural area, so not that many Mac users around).

I have to learn how to do stuff for myself, starting with this internet problem, but I have no idea where to start. I read through posts here and it's just gibberish.

Can anyone recommend a decent book or fool's guite on the net to at least get me strted so when I ask you guys the question, I'm asking the right question and I can understand the answers.

Thank you in anticipation
 
guapagirl said:
Can anyone recommend a decent book or fool's guite on the net to at least get me strted so when I ask you guys the question, I'm asking the right question and I can understand the answers.

Thank you in anticipation
Click to expand...

IMHO the best, easiest to read book is David Pogue's Mac OS X: The Missing Manual.
 
northmendo.com said:
Was it set up through a wireless router of were you broadcast in your ethernet connection via an internal airport card?
Click to expand...

Huh? ermmmm I don't know! Told you I was rubbish at this!

My computer is connected to the router by an ethernet cable. The ethernet box/router thingie has an arial that sends the signal (I am guessing here!) to my daughter's mac in her room. My daughter has the airport card installed.

It was working ok til a few months ago and then it started going funny. I had installed macminder which my daughter tried to over-ride/trash. Macminder stopped working but daughter could still get internet and then it just stopped.

satcomer, I have the pogue book, but I haven't found it much help in this area :(

Thanks for the responses anyway guys :)
 
O.K. Now you have to think networking flow like a water pipe trying to get to your sink (Mac). Typically and ISP (or corporate/school) server is like your ISP (the sever has it's own ISP). Now usually only ONE IP is given out by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). So you have two computers but only bought one IP from your ISP. But you can get around this very easily by using a device that can take one IP (on the WAN=Wide Area Network=ISP=Internet). This device is usually a router (Linksys, Netgear, D-Link, etc).

So if I read you right you have a wireless router connected to your ISP. I hope this is right. This router will take the one IP (from your ISP, one the WAN port of the router) and make a little internal network (make many IPs because you have more than one machine. This router is wireless (dishing it's IPs wirelessly to your daughter's Mac. Then you connect to your daughter via ethernet).

Now you have to figure out on you daughter's Mac if the program she had screwed the Airport settings on your daughters Mac.

We first need to know what operating OS X machine she has. This way we could walk you through checking her machines Airport settings.
 
Hi Satcomer :) If it helps the router is an 'eTec wireless ADSL router'. that is connected to my phone line and via ethernet cable to my imac (10.3.9). The arial is well connected and all the wires are in securely and the lights flash.

Lu's mac is running 10.2.8 and she has an airport card (I've checked it is in securely). She only has about 2GB of HD left (at least losing the internet means she can do some school work and not just download crap video clips and music :D) if that makes a difference. She insists that it was working after she had tried to trash macminder and says it started working intermittently.

I'm wondering if maybe the airport card is broken or even the router? How would I know?

Anyway, I hope this is enough info and thank you so much for taking the time to help me. I may live in beautiful surroundings and splendid isolation, but it does have its drawbacks! :D
 
O.K. So you are still getting out but your daughter's Mac (wireless) is not. It has been a long time since I have had 10.2, so be patient.

Since you still connection to the router, you need to get into that router and see it is still working. To do that follow this you have to have some info. Also if i read correctly you are connected to you router and still are getting out.
So follow these steps to get into the router.

1. On your Mac (that still can get out onto the internet) open System Preferences.
2. In System Preference launch the preference pane "Network".
3. In the Network pane highlight the line with the green button (it should be the 'Built-In-Ethernet' line, then click on 'Configure' and the bottom of the pane.
4. The Network Preference will now change and you will see slightly smaller buttons labeled "TC/IP", "PPoE", "AppleTalk", "Proxies". Select the button "TC/IP".
5. In the "TC/IP" window you will see some settings. The settings you want to look at are the ones "IP Address", "Subnet" "Router". Remember the IP for the line for"Router". You now have the IP of your router and you can now goto the router (via a web browser) and see if it still working.
6. Launch your web browser and put into the address line (of the browser) the router' IP (you got from the previous step.
7. You now are into the router and from there you can determine it is working and see what computer's IP are connect and the router itself is connected to your ISP. Once you in the router (I don't have that model) follow the router's manual to find the information you are looking for.

Then report back. Good luck.
 
Oh joy!

I typed in the router IP address and I got a username and password window for "home gateway". I tried my computer password and username etc but no luck :(

On the plus side, it may mean it's still working?
 
For the Username/Password type this:

Username: Admin
Password: Password

If this works, once in the router, change the password. If this doesn't work, find the routers manual. The username/password should be in the manual (if it hasn't already been changed).
 
Hi there! I'm back :)

Thanks for your kind message.

Anyhow, I'm now 'in'

I have a window with a side menu with 'status', 'configuration' and 'admin privilege' with a whole load of stuff underneath each heading.


However... I borrowed an ibook from work which has AP and it connects fine, so I think it must be a problem with the blue iMac? I'm going to check out the airport card and makesure it's not somehow come loose (or mini-me has spilt coke all over it :rolleyes:)

I know just how they felt in the matrix now :D

speak later,

Liz :)
 
OK, I [poked around at the AP card and it seemed ok. I turned it on and tried typing my router IP address into the network TC/IP pane on her mac and then went to the airport pane and tried turning it on and voila! It connected!

Well, I say connected, bit more like the airport symbol in the tool bar filled up and it said it was connected, but in actual fact I couldn't get the flipping thing to connect to safari or her p2p music thingie.

I no longer feel like Neo :(
 
OK, I have tried getting the imac's settings to be the same as the ibook's (which is on osx.10.4.4).
They are different and I don't seem to be able to change them. But on internet connect, the signal bar on the ibook is full, but on the imac it's only about 4/5ths full. Maybe a problem with the reception in the imac?

I'm also picking up another network, must be a neighbours. That can't affect it can it?

Liz (still :cool:)
 
Quick update:

Rather bizaarely, Mini-me's imac is now connected to the internet and fully functioning :D

I have no idea what I did or why it has started working, but I told her it was because she had tidies her room and all the mess was interfering with the signal. I don't *think* she bought it but I can live in hope!

Liz :)
 
Were you ever able to get into your wireless router? I ask this because it is important that you keep the router's firmware up to date for security reasons.
 
Hi Satcomer,

I did get in (luckily I still had the instruction book with the default passwords).

How would I stop people piggybacking off my bandwidth? Would it be via the router or somewhere else? And how would I be able to make sure my laptop and daughter's imac can connect?

I'm still pretty bemused that it started working like that!

Liz :)
 
Well you should really consider reading the manual in using Security in the router. I use WPA2 encryption so someone needs the password I set in the router to use it. OS X can use this type of security with no problem and once a password is used to get into that particular router it can/will save the password in your KeyChain (/Applications/Utilties/Keychain Access) so you don't have to keep putting the password in when you want to use the wireless router (if you want it to do that).
 
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