Unreliable Internet Sharing

ex2bot

ex2bot

Registered Bot
I use my iMac to connect to the Internet via Earthlink dialup, because I ordered my G5 without a modem. So, I share Internet access via ethernet to the G5, using OS X's built-in sharing function.

The problem is, it doesn't always work. About every third or fourth connection attempt will fail. Safari says it can't find the server, Mail gives an error.

Has anyone else seen this? Any solutions?

Thanks.

Doug
 
Do you have a proper lan connection? Are large filetransfers working without any break? How are those two macs connected to eachother? Do you have fileaccess when the internetsharing seems to fail?
Do you have an option marked to disconnect your Earthlink after a certain time of being idle?
 
Good questions. I should have been more specific.

I use a crossover cable to connect the two machines. Large file transfers seem to work reliably, even when I have unreliable Internet sharing.

And the option to disconnect from Earthlink is _not_ checked.

Typical scenario:

- I click my bookmark for macosx.com. Safari indicates that the page is loading. Page loads successfully.
- Next, I click on Maccentral.com to load in another tab or another window. Safari attempts connection . . . 60 seconds later, it indicates it can't find server maccentral.com.
- I immediately click the reload button or hit return and maccentral loads successfully. Sometimes it takes a couple tries before it loads.

Weird, huh? I never used to have this problem with my iBook and my iMac.

Doug
 
;)

Yeah, I thought I was finally going to be able to get DSL out here in the boonies. But they called the other day and said I was too far out. Argh.

Doug
 
I was wondering if you have the same problem with all tree macs. Which system is sharing the dialup connection? Is it possible to plug another one and see, if it's about your dialup connection or rather a software problem on the sharing mac.
 
Maybe you should enter the DNS addreses given by
your isp in the built in ethernet settings of your G5(under DNS Servers) if you have not done so and set your iMac as a router.
:D
 
Good ideas. Unfortunately, I lent my iBook to my sister. It, of course, has a modem, so I could use that for troubleshooting. But I'll have to wait until I get it back.

Ailes Grise: As for DNS addresses, I was thinking about that too. I was having some troubles with Earthlink a few months back, and their tech support suggested entering the DNS addresses, but it only made the problem worse. Turns out (and I had to figure this out on my own) it was the buggy TotalAccess net accelerater software that was causing the problem. So I got rid of TotalAccess. Worked fine after that. But that was on my iMac. TotalAccess has never been installed on my Power Mac.

I'll call Earthlink and get those urls again.

Thanks for the ideas.

Doug
 
Problem solved, apparently. It looks like I didn't have the cable snapped in all the way. Dumb low-tech problem.

These new ethernet cables have a plastic flap on the end. I thought it was to make it easy to pull them out. But it seems to get in the way.

I don't understand, though, why I seemed to have the same problem with my old cable. I swapped it in for troubleshooting.

In any case, it's working for now. Thanks, everybody, for the help.

Doug
 
I just got the latest MacAddict in the mail, and one mini-article talks about problems with Safari connecting. So, apparently other people have had the same problem with Safari. Maybe it wasn't a cable issue.

They suggested deleting caches, pref file, and increasing the timeout time (using a prog called SafariNoTimeout). I've deleted the Safari caches. We'll see what happens.

Doug
 
I have a similar problem, and I think I ruled out the low-tech solution. First, the set-up. I have a 2 gig dual G5 connected by modem to the internet (yes, I live in a rural area). The connection works fine. I had a G4 powerbook hooked to the G5 with a crossover ethernet cable to share a printer. By accident, I found I was sharing the internet connection.

Later, I used the same crossover cable with my G4 Cube and set it up to share the connection. I set up the G5 to share a dial-up connection via ethernet. When I tried to use Safari, I got waits of about 30 seconds before I got the message the server could not be located. If I was not connected at all, Safari would instantly tell me I had no connection. I tried turning the firewalls on and off. I was able to log into each computer from the other via file sharing. Network sharing had a green light for the ethernet connection. But the Cube's browser couldn't access the net.

I then tried the same thing with the powerbook. Same results. I then tried a shorter straight ethernet cable (os x is supposed to be able to recognize the kind of cable, and it seemed to). Same results.

I tried using Internet Explorer, instead of Safari. Same results.

The G5 runs 10.3.5; the Cube 10.3; and the powerbook 10.3.5.

If it hadn't worked by accident when I wasn't even trying to set it up, I might be frustrated but I wouldn't be this disgusted. Anyone have any ideas?
 
Edited:

[Problem solved, apparently. It looks like I didn't have the cable snapped in all the way. Dumb low-tech problem.

These new ethernet cables have a plastic flap on the end. I thought it was to make it easy to pull them out. But it seems to get in the way.

I don't understand, though, why I seemed to have the same problem with my old cable. I swapped it in for troubleshooting.

In any case, it's working for now. Thanks, everybody, for the help.]

*** EDIT *** It's not a faulty cable after all. Still happens sometimes.

Doug
 
Chorizo,

MacAddict suggested upgrading to 10.3.5, deleting its preferences, and clearing Safari's cache ("Reset Safari" under Application menu, but I think this also erases autofill preferences--be careful). I don't know for sure if that helped.

I'm guessing it's a bug with 10.3.x's Internet Sharing.

Doug
 
I just recently installed SafariNoTimeOut.

I don't know if it has helped, but I'm not seeing as many error messages lately.

Doug
 
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