Internet sharing and 10.5.8

[mccjim12]

Recently, I've signed up for Netflix streaming and have been watching on my TV via a Blu-Ray player. I owned this machine for a bout 4 years and always thought it had integrated wifi but when trying to connect to the built in Netflix app I discovered that wifi was available only through a Sony USB dongle which has been discontinued. So anyway, I was able to make the whole thing work by connecting a cable to its ethernet port and using my MacBook Pro to share the Airport connection out though the ethernet port on it.

This worked well but I thought of using my iBook G4 for this task since it doesn't get much use these days. I can not seem to make the sharing work. I get a self-assigned IP on the ethernet connection and no amount of tweaking with the settings on either the computer or the Blu Ray player will alleviate this.

I have seen a few instance of this problem in Google searches but they all seem to be from 2009-11 and involve re-installing the Leopard combo update which I'm not keen on doing.

Just wondered if anyone had any other workarounds or advice. Not a huge deal. Just curious since fixing this would free up my MacBook which is my main machine these days.

Thanks!

 

[Altemose]

@mccjim12 I would try deleting and re-adding the AirPort and Ethernet interfaces in System Preferences --> Network. Keep in mind that the iBook G4 was limited to wireless G and I am not sure if that coupled with interference will offer fast enough performance for some high definition content.

 

[eyoungren]

Some things to try. First, turn of your firewall. It's in System Preferences>Security.

Second, make sure your iBook has a valid IP first and do not use a static IP address (on the iBook). If you need a static IP, assign it via your router.

Once all that is set up, then turn on Internet Sharing. Make sure you have the adapter you want to share set correctly in the popup menu and then the checkbox in the appropriate port for the device you are sharing too.

Assuming you are sharing your Airport Connection via Ethernet, this would be Airport and Ethernet respectively.

On the device you are sharing to, make sure it's using DHCP. I do not believe you can give the device being shared to a static IP address because Internet Sharing from the PB is supposed to assign it.

Now connect the cable. My apologies if you already knew most of this, just covering the bases.

 

[mccjim12]

Some things to try. First, turn of your firewall. It's in System Preferences>Security.

Second, make sure your iBook has a valid IP first and do not use a static IP address (on the iBook). If you need a static IP, assign it via your router.

Once all that is set up, then turn on Internet Sharing. Make sure you have the adapter you want to share set correctly in the popup menu and then the checkbox in the appropriate port for the device you are sharing too.

Assuming you are sharing your Airport Connection via Ethernet, this would be Airport and Ethernet respectively.

On the device you are sharing to, make sure it's using DHCP. I do not believe you can give the device being shared to a static IP address because Internet Sharing from the PB is supposed to assign it.

Now connect the cable. My apologies if you already knew most of this, just covering the bases.

Thanks to both of you guys.... I will try these tips. And honestly, I hadn't considered the wifi limitations of the iBook. Duh haha.

And to eyoungren, no I did not know most of that info as I had never used the sharing feature before. So thanks!

 

[MatthewLTL]

I actually BOUGHT a blueray player at a garage sale that has a bad Blueray laser lens. It has built in Wifi BUT i could not get it to work by wifi or eathernet. What you have to do is go into the internet settings of the blueray player and MANUALLY assign it's IP. I did this than the internet worked fine abit useless but worked to upgrade the firmware in a repair attempt either way.

 

[eyoungren]

I actually BOUGHT a blueray player at a garage sale that has a bad Blueray laser lens. It has built in Wifi BUT i could not get it to work by wifi or eathernet. What you have to do is go into the internet settings of the blueray player and MANUALLY assign it's IP. I did this than the internet worked fine abit useless but worked to upgrade the firmware in a repair attempt either way.

Which is something completely different than an iBook G4 trying to share an internet connection.

 

[MatthewLTL]

Which is something completely different than an iBook G4 trying to share an internet connection.

point being the player will need to have the IP address assigned to it manually.

 

[eyoungren]

point being the player will need to have the IP address assigned to it manually.

That's not the way it worked whenever I shared my connection with my son at Starbucks. His iBook G3 had to have a dynamic IP address in order for the connection to work. Assigning a static IP meant no connection for him.

So, I have to disagree with you.

In any case, when the OP reports back we'll know.

 

[mccjim12]

Wanted to thank you guys for your help but sadly I'm about ready to abandon this project. I fired up my second, little used (haven't gotten around to getting RAM for it in 2.5 years!) 1.67 ghz PowerBook G4 running 10.4.11 because some signs pointed to a Leopard issue with internet sharing. I got the same result, though, and the fact that I can just hook up my MBP without tweaking any settings on the Blu Ray player makes doing something like this less attractive.

Again, many thanks!

 

[Altemose]

@mccjim12 If you are not using your PPCs then have you considered selling them off?

 

[mccjim12]

No, I most likely would never sell them. I don't use them a ton but occasionally I'll pull them out. One of my PBG4s I bought new in 2004 and it's still in really great condition aside from an LCD screen that is a little yellowed. The others were ebay purchases a couple of years ago. An iBook G4 and the other PB I mentioned. All fun machines. I was having a blast earlier with the PB, which runs Tiger.

Anyway, with this Netflix project I've decided to keep trying! So on it goes!

 

[mccjim12]

Success!!!! I was able to make this work under Tiger! I had to go into NetInfo Manager and change a setting. After a restart, my Blu Ray player was able to get a connection. The odd thing is that in System Prefs, the Ethernet connection still says it has a self assigned IP of 169.something something. But it absolutely works!!

I might try this on the iBook which only runs Leopard. a sideline to this whole ordeal is that I've been operating all week with the PB and haven't touched my MacBook Pro since!

 

[Altemose]

a sideline to this whole ordeal is that I've been operating all week with the PB and haven't touched my MacBook Pro since!

That is by far the best thing I have heard today!