Cable modem and OS 9.1: drops connection after 60 seconds

[Luminous]

Well to be more precise, my mac forgets it's connected after about 60 seconds of a boot.

Just had wireless installed today; company says they will only involve themselves physically up to the cable modem and don't provide info on the computer end.

However, have TCP/IP set up as far as the installer guys knew, and it looks to me like it should work: Ethernet, DHCP, all other boxes blank except for a few IPs in the name server box. And it does work....for 60 seconds. Literally. Then poof. My lil imac (333 G3 on 9.1) doesn't know it's online anymore, and I can't connect to or do anything.

Everything is fine on the hardware end; installer dudes hooked up one of their laptops to the cable modem while we were noticing this problem, and their windows machine stayed connected fine. Also all lights on the cable modem are in proper order .

I have been combing the web on my trusty old dialup connection all afternoon now and haven't found an answer to this yet. I did, however, find one post on another site from a guy with the exact same problem (same version of MacOS btw); unfortunately his post didn't get any replies.

So...any thoughts on how to stay connected for more than a minute?

 

[Sun Baked]

This was a big problem back in the Mac OS 9 period, there was a problem with OS 9 dropping the connection when hooked up via DHCP.

Worked fine with a static IP address, but was quite problematic with the DHCP lease.

If your provider gives you a static IP address, try that instead of DHCP.

Otherwise you may end up having to get a router and connecting to the router with a static IP address.

 

[windowsblowsass]

i never had a problem but if ou want a free os upgrade do the folloing get a dumbass tech let him convince him self that for your modem to work u need an os upgrade go out and buy it later find out you didnt need it then call and bitch voila free os upgrade

 

[windowsblowsass]

Well to be more precise, my mac forgets it's connected after about 60 seconds of a boot.

Just had wireless installed today; company says they will only involve themselves physically up to the cable modem and don't provide info on the computer end.

However, have TCP/IP set up as far as the installer guys knew, and it looks to me like it should work: Ethernet, DHCP, all other boxes blank except for a few IPs in the name server box. And it does work....for 60 seconds. Literally. Then poof. My lil imac (333 G3 on 9.1) doesn't know it's online anymore, and I can't connect to or do anything.

Everything is fine on the hardware end; installer dudes hooked up one of their laptops to the cable modem while we were noticing this problem, and their windows machine stayed connected fine. Also all lights on the cable modem are in proper order .

I have been combing the web on my trusty old dialup connection all afternoon now and haven't found an answer to this yet. I did, however, find one post on another site from a guy with the exact same problem (same version of MacOS btw); unfortunately his post didn't get any replies.

So...any thoughts on how to stay connected for more than a minute?

did you try upgrading to 9.2

 

[applemacdude]

did you try upgrading to 9.2

Yeah 9.2 fixes this "bug"

 

[Luminous]

Thanks to all for your prompt replies!

This was a big problem back in the Mac OS 9 period, there was a problem with OS 9 dropping the connection when hooked up via DHCP.

Worked fine with a static IP address, but was quite problematic with the DHCP lease.

If your provider gives you a static IP address, try that instead of DHCP.

Otherwise you may end up having to get a router and connecting the router with a static IP address.

Yeah, I think first I'll try the path of least resistance and ask if they can provide a static address. Somehow I doubt that will fly; it's too simple.

I'd like to try the 9.2 update. Lucky me, Apple's "export agreement" page is acting hinky so it's impossible to dl it atm. Grrr!

I've been seeking answers to this problem all day and I seem to keep running across a router as a potential solution. Forgive me for being dense, because I'm 100% new to networking. If my Mac can't handle a dynamic address, how does a router help? Does the router take care of the dynamic addressing and somehow let the mac have a static one?

 

[jeremy.king]

If my Mac can't handle a dynamic address, how does a router help? Does the router take care of the dynamic addressing and somehow let the mac have a static one?

Yes, you can assign a "local" static IP, which means that your network can have its own set of IP addresses usually in the 192.168.1.X range while the router handles the dynamic IP assigned to your broadband modem (i.e. your external IP address).

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Thanks to all for your prompt replies!

Yeah, I think first I'll try the path of least resistance and ask if they can provide a static address. Somehow I doubt that will fly; it's too simple.

I'd like to try the 9.2 update. Lucky me, Apple's "export agreement" page is acting hinky so it's impossible to dl it atm. Grrr!

I've been seeking answers to this problem all day and I seem to keep running across a router as a potential solution. Forgive me for being dense, because I'm 100% new to networking. If my Mac can't handle a dynamic address, how does a router help? Does the router take care of the dynamic addressing and somehow let the mac have a static one?

First of all, regarding Mac OS 9.1: that version of Mac OS is notoriously flaky when it comes to broadband internet connections. If you can, upgrade to 9.2.2 (you must have a G3 class Mac or later to boot 9.2.2), which doesn't have this problem, plus it's better suited for the Classic environment in Mac OS X.
Secondly, regarding the router: a router performs Network Address Translation (NAT), which allows a computer to have a static/dynamic private address known only to devices inside the local part of the network, and yet the router can have a completely different static/dynamic public address known to the whole Internet. The router takes care of translating addresses from public to private and private to public. Thus, your Mac could have a static private address, and be connected to a router that gets its IP address from your ISP's Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server. It makes no difference, as far as the cable modem is concerned, what your Mac's IP address is or how it's assigned as long as a router is present to convert the address appropriately.

 

[Sparky's]

I agree with the up to 9.2.2. I was running that on my G3 when we got our cable modem. Very stable, no drops and when I migrated to OSX it was like nothing it was there just like always. never had to change a thing.
I was surprised to hear your install guy only went up to the physical install and wouldn't help with the software end. When I put in RoadRunner the install tech stayed and made sure I installed the software correctly, then went on line for me and made sure all my settings were correct. I was sending an e-mail to thank the local office as he was pulling away.
But that's my story, If your getting broadband I would look into RoadRunner.

 

[Luminous]

Woot! Router solved the problem. Many thanks to everyone! This networking newbie now has a 802.11b wireless network . What follows is stream-of-consciousness storytelling so you may stop reading here if you like.

Ofc, buying the router was my last line of defense, as I decided to try the non-money-involving steps first. So, got 9.2.1 and 9.2.2 updaters; good news is my OS is shiny and .12 versions newer , bad news is that didn't help the DHCP issues.

Called ISP re static IP. $10 a month. Ouch. Their (one) tech person is getting to know me by now, so she warmed up and we chatted for a bit and also said try a router.

I look about online a bit and begin drooling over g wireless networks. I spend loads of time avidly reading about them before remembering I have one computer. And it doesn't even have a wireless card. I don't need this fancy thing. Look, I can buy this $20 wired Asante router and have it by Tuesday. BUT! I want my +T1 speed internet NOW!

Commence rl, physical shopping, with driving and walking and looking at stuff and sales tax and traffic and oh my. As is always the case when shopping, the first place I looked had the best deal. The Linksys b router I picked up is $40 after rebate, which was by far the best retail deal I found. Plus, the department's helper dudes were actually nice and...helpful. And this was Best Buy. I think I'm gonna faint.

Setup went flawlessly. But I have a bone to pick with Linksys. If they're going to bother putting "Mac" in their "compatibility" list on the side of the box, they ought to damn well put another version of the setup program on the CD-ROM besides an .exe file. What an annoying little slap in the face. Luckily the printed quickstart guide was lucid.