[oivindi]

Suddenly I´m having problems connecting my Pismo with my girlfriend´s iMac G4 through a local network (using just an Ethernet cable between the machines).

It´s been working 100% before, but now there is no way *either* of the machines will assign an IP-address to themselves through TCP/IP (DHCP). I´ve now tried various solutions numerous times, but not once have I experienced that an IP-address will show up in the Network Address field in the Sharing panel.

I´ve tried with Appletalk on, and with Appletalk off. Nothing.

Both machines have recently been upgraded to OS X 10.2.6.

I´ve also tried assigning IP-addresses manually in the Network panel, but not even then will the (manual) IP-address be acknowledged in the Sharing panel.

To put it simple: What on earth is going? Why will neither machine be "IP-addressified"? This has been working marvellously before, but now it´s all dead.

I´m having a real hard time "error searching" in OS X. It seems almost as complex and insurmountable as Windows (shudder), and while deleting a preferences file was often enough in OS 9, I have no idea at all where to start in OS X.

Yes, I have tried switching the cable...

Any and all suggestions appreciated greatly. I´m close to giving up now.

/Oeivind/

[Xeo]

Have you tried the Rendezvous names?

[Gul Banana]

If there's nothing but a network cable between them, there's no reason why DHCP should work. Set the TCP settings to Manual and assign them addresses yourself - say, 192.168.0.1 and 192.168.0.2, and make sure they both have the same subnet mask; 255.255.255.0 should do it.

Alternatively, turn on Internet Sharing on one and then DHCP will work on the other.

[oivindi]

Regarding "If there's nothing but a network cable between them, there's no reason why DHCP should work":

In the words of another user at a Usenet-group:

"No - this is what Rendezvous is all about. It allows machines to assign themselves IP numbers and advertise themselves over the local network. This is a really cool feature of Mac OS X (which you evidently have not yet discovered). The "DHCP Server" setting is merely a cover for this."

So that's not the issue.

However, I've found, through using the command "ifconfig en0" in the Terminal, that there doesn't seem to be any physical contact between the two Macs. The reading after ifconfig (for the Pismo) shows:

en0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULT ICAST> mtu 1500
inet6 fe80::230:65ff:fe57:6824%en0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x4
ether 00:30:65:57:68:24
media: autoselect (none) status: inactive
supported media: none autoselect 10baseT/UTP <half-duplex> 10baseT/UTP <half-duplex,hw-loopback> 10baseT/UTP <full-duplex> 10baseT/UTP <full-duplex,hw-loopback> 100baseTX <half-duplex> 100baseTX <half-duplex,hw-loopback> 100baseTX <full-duplex> 100baseTX <full-duplex,hw-loopback>

Both machines show "supported media: none" and "status: inactive", so something strange is going on.

As I said (I think), I've tried two different cables of the same type, but the machines just won't talk, or even see, each other.

Assigning things manually won't work either.

Is there any way to hardware diagnose for example the Ethernet ports? Some have suggested I change cable .type. (not just cable), but why should I do this when the cable I'm using now (and the other one I tried) has been working for me at all other occasions?

I'm as confused as a European watching a baseball game.

/Oeivind/

[pat++]

did you try the good old PRAM reset? (cmd-option-P-R during startup). Just in case...

[adamk]

starting with some obvious stuff, are you just plugging each end of the ethernet cable into each machine? that shouldn't work unless the cable is specifically a cross-over cable.

also, if you have a hub (and two regular cables) you should be able to connect the two that way.

adam

[oivindi]

Originally posted by adamk:
starting with some obvious stuff, are you just plugging each end of the ethernet cable into each machine? that shouldn't work unless the cable is specifically a cross-over cable.

The cable is (must be) specifically a cross-over cable.

As I said above, this .has. been working previously (on several occasions).

I then come back from a short holiday (where I amongst other things connected my Pismo to a ADSL cable modem; worked fine), and suddenly nothing works.

In other words, this is a "used to work, doesn´t work"-situation, which makes it terribly frustrating.

Right know I´m guessing it´s a hardware problem (fried port(s)? faulty port(s)?), but it´s difficult for me to test since, right now, I only have access to the two machines in question.

Will take my Pismo to the University and try to connect to the local network. If that doesn´t work anymore, something´s definitely up with the hardware. On ther other hand, it could work...meaning I would have to find some way to test the iMac.



/oeivind/

[Camelot]

Originally posted by adamk:
starting with some obvious stuff, are you just plugging each end of the ethernet cable into each machine? that shouldn't work unless the cable is specifically a cross-over cable.

Doesn't the iMac support auto-MDIX, meaning it can auto-compensate for crossover cables when needed?

If so, you don't need a crossover cable - a regular patch cable will do.

if it doesn't support auto-MDIX then, yes, you need either a crossover cable or a hub/switch between the two systems.

[aaanorton]

Are both comps set to Show: Built-In Ethernet in the Network pref pane?

[oivindi]

Originally posted by aaanorton:
Are both comps set to Show: Built-In Ethernet in the Network pref pane?

Yes, both are set to the above setting.

For the above poster: Yes, I´ve reset PRAM two or three times already - on both machines.

/Oeivind/