G3 iMac and USB wireless

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Level 1

4 points

G3 iMac and USB wireless

Still trying to get my old iMac G3 hooked up to the internet. On the internal network card, I get a message saying "The cable for the built in ethernet is not plugged in." After some back and forth on the discussion forum, the determination was made that the internal network card is bad.
So, I have gotten a USB wireless from eBay ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=1302 67810935).
*Kenichi - I ended up not going with the one you recommended from a cost perspective.*
Now when I follow the instructions that are given to me to set this up, I install the drivers and restart. After that, I am to go into the Network under system preferences and see a message that says "New port detected." Then, I go through setting up the rest. However, that never happens.
Now in order to make sure it is not a bad USB port, I plug in the USB wireless and go to the System Profiler in Utilities. The System Profiler recognizes the USB wireless.
Anyone out there have any suggestions?

G3 iMac, Mac OS X (10.3.x)

Posted on Dec 13, 2008 9:33 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 13, 2008 12:22 PM in response to casey24601

Then, I go through setting up the rest. However, that never happens.

You'll have to explain that part in more detail.

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Answer 2

casey24601 Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 13, 2008 2:01 PM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

Below are the instructions that come to set up the USB wireless What happens is that I follow all the steps. However, the "New Network Port detected" in step #2 does not occur. Also, "Ethernet Adapter en(X)" in step #6 does not show up.
I took the USB wireless and hooked it up to my MacBook, it does work and recognizes my home network.

INSTRUCTIONS TO INSTALL UBS WIRELESS
To install your Mac USB device, please follow these instructions.

1. Turn on your Mac laptop. DO NOT connect the USB adapter yet. If you have done so, please disconnect and reboot your PC.

2. Open the Mac Drivers CD and run the program called "DriverExtract". This will open up a folder with three separate folders, one for OS 10.3, one for OS 10.4, and one for OS 10.5. Open the folder for your version of Mac OS (example, if your computer is running a version of Mac OS 10.3, you would open the OS 10.3 folder). While this may seem obvious, this is a very important step to follow because if you install the wrong driver package for your operating system, the device will not work. If you are not sure which version OS your Mac has, don't guess as if you install the wrong driver set the adapter will not work. Instead go to the Apple menu in the top left corner of your screen and select "About this Mac". On the menu that appears immediately below the Mac OS X logo it will tell you the precise version.

3. Inside the folder double-click the 11g USBInstall file for your operating system. This will launch the setup program. Follow the onscreen instructions to install the software. When you have installed the software, you will be prompted to reboot- please do so.

After installing the software, please follow these steps:

OS 10.3.x, 10.4.x
1. Go to the Apple menu and choose System Preferences.
2. In the Internet and Network category, click once on Network. You may receive a message that says, "New Port Detected." If you do, click OK.
3. At the top of the window, pull down the Location menu and choose new location.
4. Name the new location "MacWireless 11g USB Stick".
5. Pull down the Show menu and choose Network Port Configurations.
6. Drag "Ethernet Adapter en(X)" to the top of the list.
7. Click in the "on" column to disable all options except "Ethernet Adapter en(X)".
8. Click "Apply Now".
Configuration is complete. You may now open the wireless utility and proceed to connect to access point. Additional instructions for using the utility program are at the bottom of this document.

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Answer 3

Dec 13, 2008 2:28 PM in response to casey24601

The port seems to be working because System Profiler sees something there. The device seems to be working, because it works with your MacBook.

The obvious question is, did you install the correct driver for your system?

Other possibilities:

1. It doesn't like the old USB 1.1 - I believe I advised that if you wanted to buy the OWC product, to contact them by email or phone to confirm it would work with your old iMac.

2. Your iMac's old USB 1.1 port does not supply sufficient bus power to power the device - Make sure you are connecting the device directly to your iMac, or with an extension cable that goes directly to your iMac. Do not connect it to an unpower USB hub, or to your keyboard.

As a test, with the device connected directly and System Preferences Network pane open, try disconnecting your keyboard (and anything else) from the other USB port. This will provide the device will all possible bus power. See if the device suddenly shows up on the System Preferences Network pane sidebar as a network service.

If it does (or even if it does not), you may be able to get it to work by getting a self-powered USB hub. A 2.0 hub should be backward compatible with 1.1. Connect the device to the iMac through the hub. Since the hub supplies its own power, the device may now operate properly.

Just some ideas...

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