self assigned ip address - going to throw my iMac out of the window!

[92jlee]

Hi, i've been using mac rumors for a while now, but only just got round to setting up an account, i could do with some help from you geneses out there!

in our small office we have two powermac g5 machines (2003 and 2005) they are wired up through ethernet to a BT micro system for two IP phone lines. i bought a core 2 duo 17" iMac (white edition, 2006/7 i think) for the company and i'm trying to get it to access the network. i have plugged it directly into the BT micro, and it says "self assigned ip address" - i have used wireless with the micro and it says the same thing, yet i can access an open network on my road without any problems, which makes me think it is the BT micro. so i took one of the ethernet cables from a working G5 which could get on the internet and plugged it into the iMac and it said the "self assigned ip address" again!!

i have been googling for hours trying to find a solution - renewed the DHCP, manual IP address, restarted the micro, the iMac, deleted the airport preferences and booted into safe mode i really don't know what to do next. as we are a small company, i cant afford to waste my time googling to find the right answer just like many other people out there.

please help me

James

 

[Queso]

Check your Internet Sharing settings and make sure they aren't enabled. That can cause normal DHCP to play up.

Also, make sure that the BT Micro isn't configured to only permit certain MAC addresses (note : that's MAC as in layer 2 ethernet address)

If you don't know what a MAC address looks like, here's one from my MBP

00:1e:c2:8d:55:b2

 

[92jlee]

sorry, i didn't explain, i wiped the iMac when i got it, i installed leopard on it, so it doesn't have any previous settings apart from the keychain password for the network in the office - so internet sharing is off, but file sharing is on both of the G5s

when it says "self assigned ip address" i can still see the 2 G5s on the network and access them, just not the internet.

i don't know how to find the MAC address settings, the software that came with the micro is really bad but the boss wont get an airport. - i've set it so it used WPA encryption but it says "any wireless PCs can connect" (in the settings i can block MAC addresses)

 

[Queso]

That's correct then. Are the PowerMac G5s receiving IP addresses via DHCP or are they statically set? It sounds like no DHCP server is active.