eMac troubles :(:(:( (also network issues)

Well, my mom's eMac is all set up and running; sort of. She brought it home from the k-12 school where she works for the summer and according to her, it worked perfectly there. Now, we're having all sorts of trouble:

1. iChat won't open most of the time
2. iTunes constantly rebuffers on a 100 mbt/s wired connection*
3. Screen flickers
4. Safari won't load pages, even though IE will
5. Sometimes it won't wake up from sleep
6. Print sharing to a PC will not work. The PC can see it, but will not print.**


*Network set up like this:

(see attached file)

PC1 Shares a dial up connection among the network. When just PC2 was being used (PC3 is my sisters and is hardly on), the internet would range about 28 kb/s on each machine (PCs1&2). Now with just the eMac mainly being used on the network/net and PC1 sharing, speeds have dropped to an unusable speed of 11.8 kb/s on the eMac and in the 40kb/s range on PC1! What's going on? Also, the network has slowed to a crawl and sometimes PCs don't show up under "network" unless you first connect to them using cmd+k. The network will not work if I remove the router when I'm not using my PowerBook and just connect PC1 to the hub. Ive even tried switching the hub and router's places and making the line from the router to the hub an uplink and then from the hub to PC1 a straight through.... I need help!

** Printer sharing is not working from PC2/PC1 to the eMac! The eMac can't print to the shared printer that is on PC1, even though PC2 and my PB can. PCs 1&2 have what I believe to be the correct drivers installed.

For reference:

PC1:

Windows XP Pro SP1

PC2:

Windows ME

PC3:

Windows 98 SE

PowerBook:

Mac OS X 10.3.4

eMac

Mac OS X 10.3.4

Hub:

NetGear Dual Speed (10/100) Hub

Router

D-Link (don't remember the exact model number... but I think DI-514)

PC1 Printer:

HP Deskjet 845c (USB)

eMac Printer:

HP Deskjet 840c (obviously USB)

Hope someone can help me on this one!

kingjr3 said:

Am I understanding this right?

You are sharing a DIAL-UP connection with 5 machines?!?!?!?! If so, thats the prob with issues 1,3,4 (although you should provide what error messages or symptoms you are seeing). Obviously PC1 is going to have the fastest connection to the internet, and the eMac will only get what PC1 is allowing.

I would highly suggest simplifying your network design to use a high speed option with a router. Using a hub on one of the routers lan ports should give you enough connections. I would even go as far as suggesting you get a router with a print server to simplify your printing probs. Also why do you need to print on PC1 from your eMac, if your eMac already has a printer?

Your issues seem to be related to your network setup and most likely configuration issues. I would suggest you try one issue at a time.

Click to expand...

Yes I share dial up between 5 machines, but not simultaneously. Ususally its just PC1 and the eMac or just the PowerBook. I have to use dial up because its the only feasible option in my area. Yes, I understand that the eMac will only get what PC1 is allowing, but when I was sharing to PC2, it was about half and half. Now, its like 30/70. And actually, if you look at my post after I fixed the network map, I have the hub plugged into a LAN port on the router. Unfortunately a print server is not an option.I need to print to PC1 from the eMac just as a back up.

Please look at my updated network setup above.

Thanks for replying.

kingjr3 said:

Am I understanding this right?

You are sharing a DIAL-UP connection with 5 machines?!?!?!?! If so, thats the prob with issues 1,3,4 (although you should provide what error messages or symptoms you are seeing). Obviously PC1 is going to have the fastest connection to the internet, and the eMac will only get what PC1 is allowing.

Click to expand...

How is my dial up causing iChat to bounce, get an arrow, and then not open, just disappear, arrow and everything? No error messages or anything..... iTunes just constantly rebuffers its stream from PC1. On the Safari thing, why will IE load pages, but not Safari?!?!!?!?! And why is the connection so slow now? It used to be faster (i ran tests) when it was just PC2 and PC1 sharing the net connection. Now with just the eMac and PC1 using the connection, its so SLOW.

joshuawaire said:

I don't have an eMac, but I sometimes share dial-up on my iMac and it works fine.

Have you repaired file permissions on the eMac? Deleted iChat's preferences? Did you reinstall Mac OS X after you purchased the eMac from the school? Can you connect to the internet through the eMac and enable internet connection sharing, see if it improves?

Click to expand...

Ok first thing, just a technicality: It's still the school's computer; it's her's from her classroom. I thought I should put that so that I could make sure everyone knew it wasn't a lab computer....

I've repaired permissions several times, and it didn't help. I don't know which file iChat's preferences are in.....?!?!?! There'e no *gulp* phone jack in the room where the eMac is.... and PC1 is all the way across the house....

anyone else?

I haven't tried to create a new account yet, might do so later tonight. Just wondering if anyone has any other suggestions?!?! Thanks.

Ok, I tried deleting iChat's preferences, and it still does the same thing: bounces, gets an arrow, then disappears. I did fix my printer sharing to my PC by deleting the printer on the PC and then readding it, then recreating the sharing. Now the eMac prints to it flawlessly, just like my PB. Safari is also now surfing at normal speeds. If only I can now get iChat and the PC to Mac printer sharing to work....

edit: forgot to restart the eMac after I deleted preferences. I have, and now iChat works perfectly. The only issue now is PC to Mac Printer sharing.