Safari Hangs when 2 computers try to access the internet

[bgalizio]

I've recently had some issues with Safari hanging when my iMac and Macbook are both trying to access the internet. Here is our setup:

iMac - core duo, early 2006 model
Macbook - core 2 duo, early 2008

Both are connected to a 5 yr old Netgear WGR614V6 wireless router via wireless g. Everything is usually in the same room (Macbook can obviously move around the house). The Macbook uses a bluetooth Mighty Mouse as well.

Neither computer hangs when it's the only one awake. When both are awake and accessing the internet, there isn't always a problem. It doesn't seem to be related to any website. No spinning beach ball - pages just don't load. Network stats in Activity Monitor show nothing coming or going.

Any help? Is my router dying? Do we have some kind of interference problem? I should mention that when this happens, I can still send music to my Slim Devices Squeezebox 3 wirelessly without any stuttering.

(Other devices on our network: Squeezebox 3 down the hall, Squeezebox Radio in the next room, Wii downstairs).

 

[gusgrave]

I have a similar problem (posted in this forum without answers). My MBP wont connect wireless, but I have a playstation 3, an old P4 with USB modem, a NAS server and a SONY Vaio all working properly. The only piece of equipment I have that doesn't work wireless is my MBP.

From all my enquires the best I got was that this could be related to the latest AirPort update which gave lots of people connection problems! As for solutions, except for the given ones (restart computer, airport, router ......) A clean install was what I got.

 

[Makosuke]

On the original question, that sounds a lot like your router flaking out when it sees too much traffic. I'd normally expect other devices connected wirelessly to also stop working, but it's possible depending on exactly what's going wrong for only certain devices to lose connectivity. Do you need to power cycle your router to get it working again, or does it come back on its own?

If you don't need to power cycle the router, that seems more like an interference or other network problem. Could also be DHCP--if for some reason you've either configured both Macs to use the same manually-entered IP address, or the router is giving them both the same address, it could cause all manner of network issues, while other devices would keep working.

 

[bgalizio]

On the original question, that sounds a lot like your router flaking out when it sees too much traffic. I'd normally expect other devices connected wirelessly to also stop working, but it's possible depending on exactly what's going wrong for only certain devices to lose connectivity. Do you need to power cycle your router to get it working again, or does it come back on its own?

If you don't need to power cycle the router, that seems more like an interference or other network problem. Could also be DHCP--if for some reason you've either configured both Macs to use the same manually-entered IP address, or the router is giving them both the same address, it could cause all manner of network issues, while other devices would keep working.

If I wait a little while, the internet comes back on its own. I do have the iMac DHCP configured manually at a much higher number than the router would automatically assign.

 

[Makosuke]

Hmm... so the router isn't outright crashing. And you also said that other devices connected wirelessly continue to respond during the hangs, right? Which would rule out NO traffic getting through.

I'm leaning much more strongly toward DHCP/IP overlap issue based on that. Since you've configured your iMac to get a specific address via DHCP, are you sure you didn't do that to BOTH of them?

Two things you could try to test:

1) Remove any specific DHCP allocations (yes, I know this will screw up sharing, although if it's Mac-to-Mac you can use hostname.local, which should work fine) and see if that fixes it.

2) Try manually configuring both Macs to use a static IP address in the router's subnet range, rather than DHCP, and see what happens.

If one or both fix the issue, that narrows it down.

 

[Black Macbook]

Wow, I have the same exact router! And I've also had it for about 5-6 years!

And guess what?

I also have the same problems when more than one machine is accessing the internet!

I have concluded that it must be the router. I got the router for very cheap when I bought it, so I am just going to buy a new, better, modern router and hopefully that will solve it.

 

[Makosuke]

Huh, maybe it's not a DHCP issue then. Can't handle complex routing or something, maybe?

5 years is getting up there for wifi hardware--I've rarely seen Linksys routers last that long without something failing--but Netgear is usually pretty good, and I haven't heard complaints about any of the Negtgear stuff I've installed for people (though I use an AEBS at home, which I like a lot).

On the bright side, a replacement basic Netgear G router is only about $40 at Staples or the like, and in my experience the current model is reliable with at least three or four devices on it. Or bump up to an N router if you have the money and Mac-side hardware.

 

[Black Macbook]

Huh, maybe it's not a DHCP issue then. Can't handle complex routing or something, maybe?

Well, I'm not 100% sure of course. I'd been having the same problem for a while now, and it was first after seeing this thread, that it further confirmed my suspicions about the router.

I'll be getting a new router soon, and by next week, I'll know for sure when I hook up the new router and test it.

 

[bgalizio]

Haven't had a chance to run all the tests posted above, but... still happens with Safari 5 update. I tried connecting our iPod Touch when the hang happened, and the iPod hung too. The Squeezebox was still playing while these devices hung - is the music transmitted directly from iMac > Squeezebox, or does it go iMac > router > Squeezebox?

Black Macbook - let me know if you get a new router and if it solves your problem. I'm leaning towards a new one at this point, but I want to make sure that's the problem.

 

[Makosuke]

The Squeezebox was still playing while these devices hung - is the music transmitted directly from iMac > Squeezebox, or does it go iMac > router > Squeezebox?

I would assume the latter--it would only go directly from the iMac to the Squeezebox if you were running an ad-hoc network, which you're not if there's a router in the picture.

The Touch hanging as well does point to it being the router that's flaking out, and not just a DHCP issue--the only odd thing, really, is that the Squeezebox keeps working.

I don't suppose it's possible that the Squeezebox just has a large enough buffer on the files it's streaming that it's going to play through a network outage so long as it's not more than, say, a minute? Ever tried skipping a track or something to confirm this? Or, alternately, generating an outage and THEN trying to play through the Squeezebox, so that it's got nothing queued up? (I've never used a Squeezebox, so I'm not really clear on how the interface or buffering system works--maybe what I'm suggesting doesn't make sense.)

 

[bgalizio]

I would assume the latter--it would only go directly from the iMac to the Squeezebox if you were running an ad-hoc network, which you're not if there's a router in the picture.

The Touch hanging as well does point to it being the router that's flaking out, and not just a DHCP issue--the only odd thing, really, is that the Squeezebox keeps working.

I don't suppose it's possible that the Squeezebox just has a large enough buffer on the files it's streaming that it's going to play through a network outage so long as it's not more than, say, a minute? Ever tried skipping a track or something to confirm this? Or, alternately, generating an outage and THEN trying to play through the Squeezebox, so that it's got nothing queued up? (I've never used a Squeezebox, so I'm not really clear on how the interface or buffering system works--maybe what I'm suggesting doesn't make sense.)

That's a good point - I'll try changing tracks on the Squeezebox or starting from scratch the next time I have a problem. Maybe that will help narrow it down. It does do some buffering of the music, though I'm not sure how much. I was playing FLAC files, so they're not super small like an mp3.

 

[bgalizio]

That's a good point - I'll try changing tracks on the Squeezebox or starting from scratch the next time I have a problem. Maybe that will help narrow it down. It does do some buffering of the music, though I'm not sure how much. I was playing FLAC files, so they're not super small like an mp3.

Update: if the internet hangs, I cannot access via the Macbook, iMac, or iPod Touch. I can still play new tracks/change songs/etc. with the Squeezebox.