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lilcasper · Sep 29, 2005, 08:14 PM

I am proud to say that I am a owner of a 15'' Powerbook as of today; however i have a question:

On my PC i have AOL and am connected to the internet using a cable modem. Is it possible to use that modem to connect my Pb to the internet? and if so how. If not please be very detailed on what I need to buy and/or do to get internet connection. Thanks for the help also try to keep it dumb (lol) im not that smart when it comes to this kinda of stuff.

ibook_steve · Sep 29, 2005, 08:27 PM

You need a router, wired or wireless. Search in the networking forum for lots of information.

Steve

Dork. · Sep 29, 2005, 08:34 PM

Welcome to Mac ownership! Don't be suprised if you end up using your PB more and more (and your PC less and less) in the coming months!

There are several things you can do to connect your PB to the internet:

1) Unplug the ethernet cable from your PC and plug it into your Powerbook. Re-plug your PC when you're done with the Powerbook. It's as simple as that!

2) Buy a Router. Any computer store or consumer electronics store will have a them. The router will have one "internet" port and four or five "PC" ports. You can connect the cable modem into the "internet" port and plug your PC and PB into two of the "PC" ports. Make sure you get a "router" that will share the Cable Modem connection among your computers -- a "hub" doesn't do that. you might have to get a few moree ethernet cables if you don't have enough lying around the house.

3) If your PB is new, it probably has wireless built in. You can buy a router with wireless (802.11G is the latest standard, look for a router with a -G somewhere on the package), and not have to connect the PB via ethernet at all! It runs on the 2.4GHz band, which is the same band that some cordless phones and your microwave use, so the connection might slow down at times. But it's generally just as good as a wired connection.

I don't know anything about the AOL part of it, but at least this can get you connected to the cable modem.

Good luck!

lilcasper · Sep 29, 2005, 08:38 PM

thnx for the help, ill try to get my hands on one soon

lilcasper · Sep 30, 2005, 12:20 AM

well i tried connecting my cable modem to my mac and failed horribly, then i called aol and asked what should i do and got some really bad news, apparently time warner doesnt work with macs, so in order for me to go online i have to get another online service and unforunatly there is no one around my house for me to use the air port thing. i guess i can only go online at school.

giggs11 · Sep 30, 2005, 12:25 AM

Uh, that sounds... not right at all. There is nothing platform-specific about the signal coming through your cable line. What they probably meant is that their auto-setup software doesn't have a Mac version.

Have you tried directly connecting the line from your cable modem to your Mac's ethernet port and then starting Safari? Try that and report back.

lilcasper · Sep 30, 2005, 12:34 AM

if the ethernet port is the one with this above it <...> then yes

giggs11 · Sep 30, 2005, 12:44 AM

What do you see in Sys Prefs... Network... Configure... TCP/IP? What's the IP Address say?

benwhanlee · Sep 30, 2005, 07:42 AM

Yeah, make sure you setup your network settings in System Preferences to make sure that it will look for the internet via the ethernet port.

Once you open the network settings, on the 'show' tab select 'network port configurations'. I'd go ahead and make sure 'Ethernet' is checked and then uncheck all the other options. Then drag ethernet to the top of the list, the order of the list is the order in which your computer looks for a connection. Then click 'Apply Now' in the bottom right corner.

See if that helps.

Dork. · Sep 30, 2005, 09:01 AM

lilcasper:

Do you have AOL "bring your own access" subscription and Time Warner Road Runner service?
Or, do you have AOL cable modem service? I think there's a difference.

It's possible that your connection to the Internet is OK through your cable modem, but your AOL software may not be configured properly.

Have you tried Safari yet, or just the AOL software?

lilcasper · Oct 1, 2005, 12:32 PM

What do you see in Sys Prefs... Network... Configure... TCP/IP? What's the IP Address say?

Do you mean for the pc or mac? on the pc its really confusing ill just list everything i see. three are 3 local area connection icons,
first one says : Local Area Connection,Connected, Firewalled, CNET PRO200 PCI FAST Ethernet Adapter
IP Address: 86.173.95.222
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
Assigned by Dhcp

the second one says : Local Area Connection 2, Connected Firewalled, Microsoft loopback adapter
IP Address: 10.254.254.254
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.252
Manually Configured

Last one : 1394 Connection, Connected, Firewalled , 1394 Net Adapter

When i disconnect the ethernet cable a red x appears on the first one. I hope this helps alittle. And srry for the late response, had to catch up on some hw. One more thing, could it be something with apples firewall?

lilcasper · Oct 1, 2005, 12:34 PM

lilcasper:

Do you have AOL "bring your own access" subscription and Time Warner Road Runner service?
Or, do you have AOL cable modem service? I think there's a difference.

It's possible that your connection to the Internet is OK through your cable modem, but your AOL software may not be configured properly.

Have you tried Safari yet, or just the AOL software?

I tried both aol and safari, and honestly all i kno about service is i use aol and time warner to connect to the internet.

giggs11 · Oct 2, 2005, 01:52 AM

Ok well AOL isn't used to connect to the internet per se, its just a program that requires internet access. You seem to be getting internet access from Time Warner.

To start out, let's remove the PC from the equation here, just to see if you can get on the internet using only your Mac. If you plug the cable straight from your modem to the <...> port on your Mac, and then go to Sys Prefs... Network... Configure... TCP/IP, what do you see there?

lilcasper · Oct 2, 2005, 06:09 PM

i talked with a time warner rep and he said that my account is set up, that i have to use aol to go online, and that i can switch to road runner which doesnt require aol. Right now im looking at the pricing and will most likely be switching to road runner

voicebox · Oct 3, 2005, 12:02 AM

Hi lilcasper,
Welcome to Mac!
It is a known fact here in the UK that AOL offer no support whatsoever for Mac users - oil and water etc ..... I have a couple of Mac using friends who sadly have AOL and have no end of problems, unfortunately they are tied into a 12 month contract - they can't wait to get out of the deal!
I think you'll be fine with Road Runner, although there are other ISP's around!

Good luck!

imacgeek · Oct 6, 2005, 11:33 PM

if you want to bo wired get a multiplier for $5 like a USB hub. O and welcome to MACs their the best aren't they

mad cow disease · Oct 6, 2005, 11:41 PM

Originally Posted by imacgeek

if you want to bo wired get a multiplier for $5 like a USB hub. O and welcome to MACs their the best aren't they

Unless he has permissions for two IP addresses from his ISP, a hub will NOT work. A $20 router will do the trick nicely, however. I think the problem here is that you need AOL software in order to get online because the software authenticates with the AOL software, then releases the IP address to the client. I had a similar setup when I first got DSL - that quickly went the way of the dodo.

No software, no IP address, no internet.