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Proudest Monkey · May 29, 2004, 03:09 PM

I think the majority of the frustration of this setup is because of the PC - but I have to check with anyone on these boards that may know. No one on windowsbbs.com has a clue.

My iMac 600 has always worked with every router and network its been connected to. Plug it in, and it works. For good measure, 1 network and 2 routers. The PC has a history of not working with routers. The router is a Microsoft Broadband Router MN-100.

In the previous setup with this router, everything worked when plugged in. It was the MN-100, my iMac (10.3.4), and Compaq laptop running XP, and a PC running Win98. The router came with an install disc but everything worked so we tossed it w/the box.

The new setup is my iMac, a PC running XP and the router. I tried plugging it all together and we get nothing. As i said the PC has a history of not working with routers and it appears to be the problem. When either computer is plugged into the cable modem directly everything is functional.

I think I need the install disc for the PC but i'm not sure. If do use the install disc on the PC, would the connection to my iMac be sacrificed? - I'm assuming no.

Quite the lengthy tale of my problems - but if anyone has experienced something similar and found a solution/workaround i'd love to hear about it.

Sod Off Sadr · May 29, 2004, 03:22 PM

have you checked your LAN and ethernet card configurations? Simply saying that 'it doesn't work with routers' is a bit vague.

Applefreak01 · May 29, 2004, 05:38 PM

My experience with Microsoft routers is this, they are bad. My friend had me help him with this MS router and we couldn't get it to work on his PC and my Mac. We took it back and got another one but had the same problems. After the second one didn't work he got another non MS router and everything worked right out of the box.

Proudest Monkey · May 31, 2004, 11:10 AM

Originally posted by Applefreak01:
My experience with Microsoft routers is this, they are bad. My friend had me help him with this MS router and we couldn't get it to work on his PC and my Mac. We took it back and got another one but had the same problems. After the second one didn't work he got another non MS router and everything worked right out of the box.

that is where my thoughts were taking me also ... do you remember what kind of router it was?

ghporter · Jun 1, 2004, 08:08 AM

I have had great luck with Linksys routers, but I also have USRobotics and SpeedStream (Siemens) routers that should work fine. Right now I'm using the Linksys with a PC (running XP Pro) and an iBook running OS X.3 and all is beautiful.

One item to think about: if your PC is running XP Home, there are some networking tasks that it just won't do, and others that it will do poorly. Pro is built for networking, so it should work fine.

Proudest Monkey · Jun 1, 2004, 03:01 PM

Originally posted by Sod Off Sadr:
have you checked your LAN and ethernet card configurations? Simply saying that 'it doesn't work with routers' is a bit vague.

this is where my ignorance on the topic comes in; to check the LAN and thernet card configurations what would i do, and what would i be looking for?

it is vague - but that is because i wouldn't know what else to tell you -- when the ethernet cord is plugged into the card (in the PC), the green light is on. I know that the same PC did not work with a linksys router either. in fact, it had win98 on it, didn't work with the routher, upgraded to XP, and still doesn't work?

i'm still lost and confused - may just buy a new router and see if it works.

Proudest Monkey · Jun 1, 2004, 03:02 PM

Originally posted by GHPorter:
I have had great luck with Linksys routers, but I also have USRobotics and SpeedStream (Siemens) routers that should work fine. Right now I'm using the Linksys with a PC (running XP Pro) and an iBook running OS X.3 and all is beautiful.

One item to think about: if your PC is running XP Home, there are some networking tasks that it just won't do, and others that it will do poorly. Pro is built for networking, so it should work fine.

i'll have to check to see what 'edition' of XP it is running

did you have to install anything on the ibook or pc to make it all work - or it just did work out of the box?

Applefreak01 · Jun 1, 2004, 05:58 PM

I have a netgear. I think he's was a linksys. Either would work a lot better than any MS router.

ghporter · Jun 2, 2004, 10:18 AM

You can easily tell if you're running XP Home or XP Pro-XP Home comes up with a green background, while Pro has a blue background.

To check your PC's network configuration, click on the Start button, then right-click on the My Network Places entry, then select (left click) Properties. When you see your network adapter (usually called a Local Area Connection), right click on it and select Properties again.

In the window in the middle of the box, scroll down until you see the TCP/IP entry. Click on it and click the Properties button. The first thing that pops up will show you that you either "obtain IP address automatically" or that you have a manual address.

Good luck with this. It's simple, but not straightforward, so some people get turned around.

Proudest Monkey · Jun 3, 2004, 12:56 AM

Originally posted by GHPorter:
You can easily tell if you're running XP Home or XP Pro-XP Home comes up with a green background, while Pro has a blue background.

To check your PC's network configuration, click on the Start button, then right-click on the My Network Places entry, then select (left click) Properties. When you see your network adapter (usually called a Local Area Connection), right click on it and select Properties again.

In the window in the middle of the box, scroll down until you see the TCP/IP entry. Click on it and click the Properties button. The first thing that pops up will show you that you either "obtain IP address automatically" or that you have a manual address.

Good luck with this. It's simple, but not straightforward, so some people get turned around.

okay ... so i can do this easily, but what can i use this information for to help troubleshoot the issue?

Applefreak01 · Jun 3, 2004, 01:55 AM

You can use that information to make sure the PC is on the same subnet as the router and that it's getting a IP address from the router or not.

Applefreak01 · Jun 3, 2004, 02:01 AM

I say dump the MS router and get a Linksys or Netgear. One of those would work right out of the box. Just plug your PC and Mac in and go. Athough I know some PCs don't like to network with some network cards but most of those problems can be fixed fairly simply.

Proudest Monkey · Jun 3, 2004, 11:08 AM

Originally posted by Applefreak01:
I say dump the MS router and get a Linksys or Netgear. One of those would work right out of the box. Just plug your PC and Mac in and go. Athough I know some PCs don't like to network with some network cards but most of those problems can be fixed fairly simply.

i think thats a good idea - a man from micro center recommended a netgear router that i think i will go with.

Applefreak01 · Jun 3, 2004, 12:42 PM

Originally posted by Proudest Monkey:
i think thats a good idea - a man from micro center recommended a netgear router that i think i will go with.

Yep Netgear routers are good. I have a Netgear wireless with built-in 4 port ethernet switch. I use 2 computers on the ethernet one PC and one Mac and haven't had any problems with the PC connecting. You shouldn't have any problems either. Good luck.

ghporter · Jun 3, 2004, 02:08 PM

Originally posted by Applefreak01:
Yep Netgear routers are good. I have a Netgear wireless with built-in 4 port ethernet switch. I use 2 computers on the ethernet one PC and one Mac and haven't had any problems with the PC connecting. You shouldn't have any problems either. Good luck.

Your previous post said that you needed to check to see what edition of XP was being used-Green=Home, Blue=Pro. It is useful because Pro can do a lot of network-related tasks that Home cannot. Further, with Pro, you have a lot of control over each facet of network connectivity, whereas with Home you have only a few options.

Now, if the XP machine is running XP Pro, click on the Start button, then right-click on My Network Places and select Properties. Scroll down in the window that shows up until TCP/IP is visible. Right-click on that and again pick Properties. You SHOULD have "Obtain an IP address automatically" selected. If it isn't, select it, "OK" your way back to the desktop, then log out and log back in. That should do it.

This fixes 99.999% of the problems most people run into with XP and routers. These choices are probably also in XP Home, but I don't have that handy to step through each option as I did above.

Proudest Monkey · Jun 3, 2004, 10:37 PM

Originally posted by GHPorter:
Your previous post said that you needed to check to see what edition of XP was being used-Green=Home, Blue=Pro. It is useful because Pro can do a lot of network-related tasks that Home cannot. Further, with Pro, you have a lot of control over each facet of network connectivity, whereas with Home you have only a few options.

Now, if the XP machine is running XP Pro, click on the Start button, then right-click on My Network Places and select Properties. Scroll down in the window that shows up until TCP/IP is visible. Right-click on that and again pick Properties. You SHOULD have "Obtain an IP address automatically" selected. If it isn't, select it, "OK" your way back to the desktop, then log out and log back in. That should do it.

This fixes 99.999% of the problems most people run into with XP and routers. These choices are probably also in XP Home, but I don't have that handy to step through each option as I did above.

the PC is indeed running xp pro so i will give that a try with everything hooked up and see what happens

the new router i am looking at is the netgear rp614na , also has mail in rebates, but the man at microcenter said it works well and i've always had good luck with the microcenter and they seem very mac friendly.

Proudest Monkey · Jun 3, 2004, 10:54 PM

Originally posted by GHPorter:
This fixes 99.999% of the problems most people run into with XP and routers. These choices are probably also in XP Home, but I don't have that handy to step through each option as I did above.

IT WORKED!!! (with the old router) i'm so excited, this has been a 2 week process and i can't believe no one told me to do what you did, and this didn't cost $54.99 -- thank you very much. i love the macnn boards!