[mkuehn]

I'd like to achieve the vision of having my Airport-enabled iBook and non-Airport-enabled iMac be able to see one another for the purposes of swapping files, sharing an Internet connection, VNC, etc. For one reason or another, (namely user error, I'd bet ;-) I haven't been able to get this to work effectively.

Here's my set-up:

+ iBook (10.1.2) connects via AirPort to the Airport Base Station

+ iMac (9.2.2) connects via regular Cat5 cable to NetGear 10/100 Hub

+ HP Pavilion (98SE) connects via regular Cat5 cable to NetGear 10/100 Hub

+ NetGear 10/100 Hub connects to ABS 2.0 via regular Cat5 cable
I am using port 4 on the hub, which can be either a Normal or Uplink port. Question: Should the port be set to Normal or Uplink, and should I use a normal or cross-over cable to connect to the ABS LAN port? Currently, the port is set to normal, and the cable is a regular cable.

And here's the issue:

+ the iBook connects perfectly, takes an IP address from the ABS, can access the Internet on demand, can see the iMac via AppleTalk, and can access the PC

+ the PC can access Apache on the iBook, takes an IP address from the ABS, and can access the Internet on demand

+ the iMac will NOT take an IP address from the ABS and therefore cannot access the Internet on demand. TCP/IP is set to Ethernet, use DHCP server, router address 10.0.1.1 (default ABS), subnet 255.255.255.0. I save the changes, try rebooting, everything, but when I go to TCP/IP > Info... it says that router and IP address are "not assigned" or whatever it says when you don't have a router and IP address. ;-)

What gives? I tried Apple's knowledge base recommendation of setting TCP/IP to inactive, closing the control panel, re-opening it, closing it, and saving changes, but that didn't seem to help any. And since the iBook can see the iMac, I assume the physical network connections are OK, and it is just software settings on the iMac that are incorrect.

Any ideas or similar experiences? If I can get this working it will be SWEET!

Thanks,
Matthew

[ghporter]

Set the port to "Normal." The "Uplink" setting is for connecting one hub or switch to another. Always assume that any connection between your computer and another _non-computer_ device uses a straight Cat5 cable unless otherwise directed.

Keep your iMac set to use DHCP and try again with the port set to normal, or with the cable plugged into any other port on the hub. Let us know what happens.

Good luck.

[mkuehn]

So I switched the ABS to another port (a not normal/uplink selectable one) and now the iMac does just what it's supposed to!

Thanks for your help!
Matthew