Big Mac Brother

[jotamurray]

Just switched to mac... and tiger. Unfortunately I am writing on a 1999 packard bell and all because i cannot find a way to connect my powerbook. had a usb modem and of course with tiger its not compatible. Just bought a wireless dlink router... and unfortunately its not compatible.
can anyone explain how a so called best OS is such a pain, bearing in mind that xp had no compatible problems. I'ma keep to macintosh for now but hopefully it will remain a minority OS. Imagine everyone bought a mac... and had to buy only mac products. Big brother mac would be watching over.

 

[Applespider]

Just bought a wireless dlink router... and unfortunately its not compatible.

What's the point of posting if you don't give us enough details to try to help you out? Which dlink do you have? If it's 802.11b/g with an ethernet port, it should be pretty standard. At what point is it 'not working'?

Does the Powerbook see the network at all? Can you get to the 10.x.x.x or 168.x.x.x address to set up the router? Does it work if you plug it into the Ethernet port and use it 'wired'?

I guess if you haven't been able to get the Powerbook online, you haven't been able to update to 10.4.1 which, I think, did fix one problem 10.4.0 had with some dlink routers. This was the computer's name being too long for the router to handle. Go to System Preferences/Sharing and check that your computer's name is less than 20 characters. Then give the router another go.

 

[CanadaRAM]

Hi Jot
Welcome to Macs - lets see if we can help you get it together

You don't need a USB modem for dialup, the Powerbook has a 56 Kbs modem built in. Just plug the phone line into the RJ-11 jack. You'll have to set up your ISP's phone number and login password, of course.

You can also hook up through any 802.11b or 802.11g wireless router, or any cabled Ethernet router.

I suggest you start with a wired connection, because that will reduce the number of variables. Take a cable from the Powerbook's Ethernet jack to one of the (usually 4) jacks on the D-Link (the fifth, WAN jack on the D-Link should be going to your Cable/DSL modem). The Mac should automatically recognize the router through DHCP and load up the correct settings.

If you open the System Preferences and check the Network preference pane, you should see an IP address assigned to the Powerbook. If it is 169.x.x.x then the router did not successfully assign a number. If it is something like 192.168.x.x or similar, then your Powerbook is online with the router.

Sometimes, you need to get your broadband provider to enable your account for the specific router ID#, call them to check.

 

[flhr94]

Which Mac? Most have internal modems, just hook it up to the phone line. I use a Netgear wireless router, no problem. Someone here will be able to help more, but don'r worry, almost all the stuff you need to use, modems, printers, etc., will work with the right settings.

 

[jotamurray]

What's the point of posting if you don't give us enough details to try to help you out? Which dlink do you have? If it's 802.11b/g with an ethernet port, it should be pretty standard. At what point is it 'not working'?

Does the Powerbook see the network at all? Can you get to the 10.x.x.x or 168.x.x.x address to set up the router? Does it work if you plug it into the Ethernet port and use it 'wired'?

I guess if you haven't been able to get the Powerbook online, you haven't been able to update to 10.4.1 which, I think, did fix one problem 10.4.0 had with some dlink routers. This was the computer's name being too long for the router to handle. Go to System Preferences/Sharing and check that your computer's name is less than 20 characters. Then give the router another go.

Router is dlink dsl g604t. computer names is 12 characters long. I cant access the web configuration menu.

 

[CanadaRAM]

Router is dlink dsl g604t. computer names is 12 characters long. I cant access the web configuration menu.

OK, it looks like your router has the DSL modem built in, so scratch the "cable to the Cable/DSL modem" recommendation.

Is it at all possible to give us any more specific details? We're operating in the dark here trying to help you.

By Web configuration menu, do you mean the 192.168.1.1 (or similar) web screen in the router itself that is used to set the router configuration?

The DLink faq page is here http://support.dlink.com/SupportFAQ/default.asp?model=DSL-G604T

 

[Applespider]

Have you tried hooking it up to the ethernet port of the Powerbook and trying to access the configuration page?

If not, have you tried checking to see if there are any firmware updates for the router?

 

[Maxiseller]

It is also worth noting for the record (I'm new to macs "ish" too, and I know it can be a pain to get everything up and running) but USB modems (espcially broadband) are nothing but a pain.

They don't process date efficiently, they don't give you the full broadband speed, and honestly, the drivers are so badly coded they brought my system down to it's knees.

I'm not sure what system you're using, but I am using a netgear wireless router, that literally connects everything in my house. I'm typing this on an ibook while watching Star Trek on TV, while my partner is on her Windows XP computer upstairs (Ive TRIED to tell her!) also sharing the same connection, and we have an emac too hooked up. The point is, that it took zero configuration, and that I had the most trouble setting up the Windows XP machine. And thats the truth.

Please give macs a try; if you don't have the will and the patience you're doing everybody on here, and your future computing life a great injustice. It will get easier, and you'll realise that in order to get by with the Mac OS you have to look for the most obvious thing, and not the least obvious as per Win XP!