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Miniryu · Apr 27, 2010, 02:16 AM

I have an iBook G4 that stopped connecting to the Internet recently. This is bugging me, because I just bought a new hard drive and upgraded the RAM in September.

In my network settings, I am using DHCP. Neither my router at home nor the router at work is being recognized (i.e. the field is blank), and there is only a self-assigned IP address. I have tried connecting via Airport and via Ethernet both at work and at home and neither has worked. Last Friday I tried zapping the PRAM and it worked until I shut the computer down for the weekend. Monday morning, it won't connect again and zapping PRAM doesn't work anymore. Oh, and yes, I've restarted the routers and DLS modems at both locations many times.

I have even tried manually entering the router ID and an IP address that worked for other computers on the network, and that still didn't work. I suspect that something crapped out on me.

Andy8 · Apr 27, 2010, 06:20 AM

Have you tried using a fresh user account?

Big Mac · Apr 27, 2010, 07:42 AM

And other devices are connecting normally, right? What physical interface are you using to connect? Ethernet, WIFI? If it's WIFI, try a direct ethernet connection from the router to the iBook.

imitchellg5 · Apr 27, 2010, 05:12 PM

Originally Posted by Big Mac

And other devices are connecting normally, right? What physical interface are you using to connect? Ethernet, WIFI? If it's WIFI, try a direct ethernet connection from the router to the iBook.

He said neither WiFi or Ethernet connected.

Like Andy8 said, try a new user account and see if that works. Also you could repair disk permissions and see if that fixes any permission errors that may have occurred with AirPort.

AKcrab · Apr 27, 2010, 06:37 PM

Does the system profiler see ethernet and airport?

Miniryu · Apr 28, 2010, 03:40 PM

Okay, so I tried to create another user account (which I thought was an excellent idea), and it didn't work. Bummer.

The System Profiler will recognize my Ethernet Card (under the Network Tab) and the Airport Card.

I took my iBook to the Genius Bar at the local Apple Store, and they were able to Boot off their network with my machine, and they concluded that the problem must be a software error. They suggested doing an Archive and Install reinstallation of the System Software, which I am going to try as soon as I get my important stuff backed up.

The Apple Store people really were stumped and hadn't seen this before. I'll keep people posted.

SSharon · Apr 29, 2010, 09:25 AM

My first guess was that the cable to the airport card wiggled itself loose and you could just lift up the keyboard and make sure it is plugged in all the way. If the ethernet port isn't working though, all bets are off.

Does anyone know if a short to the airport card could interfere with the other networking interfaces?

Miniryu · Apr 30, 2010, 04:04 AM

Well, I was able to fix my machine by doing an Archive & Install of the OS. I kept the option to preserve users and network settings, and once I rebooted after the installation, everything worked as it had in the past. I was hoping to figure out what the actual problem was. All I know for sure is that it was software/settings related.

Thanks for all of the help.