Q: WPA wireless instead of WEP with PowerBook G4 Titanium Onyx?

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marconiusrex

Level 2 (345 points)

Q: WPA wireless instead of WEP with PowerBook G4 Titanium Onyx?

Hi I recently helped a friend install an airport card in her PowerBook G4 Titanium Onyx that she purchased back in 2002. The install went fine, but when I started it up it will not recognize any wireless networks. I set up her netgear router with WPA security. On the Mac I only find WEP recognized. Is there a way to get this older notebook onto WPA secure wireless networks or do I have to change the security to WEP if she wants to use this notebook? It would be great to keep the WPA security because she sometimes uses a newer Dell laptop from work too.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
M.

Mac Book Pro (New 2008), Mac OS X (10.5.6), 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB SDRAM, 6Mb cache, 160GB Ipod Classic

Posted on Feb 10, 2009 3:03 PM

I have this question too

Solved

Jan Hedlund

Level 6 (9,894 points)

A:

I guess that this article and the instructions here are applicable in this case (it is easy to become confused because of the number of PowerBook G4 models). Without an antenna, the range would be very limited.

Jan

EDIT: Just saw that jpl had mentioned the KB article HT2617 while I was typing.

Message was edited by: Jan Hedlund

Posted on Feb 14, 2009 6:05 AM

Q: WPA wireless instead of WEP with PowerBook G4 Titanium Onyx?

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by Grant Bennet-Alder,Helpful

Grant Bennet-Alder Feb 10, 2009 3:08 PM in response to marconiusrex
Level 9 (61,078 points)

Desktops

Feb 10, 2009 3:08 PM in response to marconiusrex

HT2594- AirPort Card: When You Can Join a WPA Network
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by Jan Hedlund,Helpful

Jan Hedlund Feb 10, 2009 3:14 PM in response to marconiusrex
Level 6 (9,894 points)

Feb 10, 2009 3:14 PM in response to marconiusrex

You may want to have a look at the requirements for WPA here to begin with.

Jan

EDIT: Just noticed that Grant had posted the same link already.

Message was edited by: Jan Hedlund
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by marconiusrex,

marconiusrex Feb 11, 2009 1:14 PM in response to Jan Hedlund
Level 2 (345 points)

Feb 11, 2009 1:14 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

Thanks much Grant and Jan for the info. I'll look into it. I see it has OS X 10.3 on it so maybe if I just update the airport it will be OK. I'll keep you posted.

M.
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by marconiusrex,

marconiusrex Feb 13, 2009 6:19 PM in response to marconiusrex
Level 2 (345 points)

Feb 13, 2009 6:19 PM in response to marconiusrex

I did get the wireless working with this older notebook, but the reception if very touchy...I can't get more than about 8 or 10 ft. away and get good wireless reception. Is that normal on an older Powerbook like this? I can go all over the house with my new MBP. I was able to get the WPA personal security up and running. I had to reset the netgear rounter to defaults (using my new 2008 MBP and an extra ethernet cable) and then I could get the PB up and running on the in secure wireless connection, download all of the Apple updates, install them and then set up the WPA security on the routers page.

I did notice that the wireless connection does not always start up automatically or even show up in the pull down at time.

Can I use the newer browsers on this or do I need to stick with the older ones to work with OS X 10.3.9? She just needs to use this for internet browsing and light word processing. She does not have the funds to update to a newer model right now.

Any additional thoughts or ideas you may have would be appreciated.

Thanks
M.
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by Jan Hedlund,

Jan Hedlund Feb 13, 2009 9:05 PM in response to marconiusrex
Level 6 (9,894 points)

Feb 13, 2009 9:05 PM in response to marconiusrex

Hi,

Is the antenna properly connected to the card?

Posts in the Internet, Networking and a PowerBook G4 15-inch Titanium forum seem to indicate that certain wireless range issues do exist.

It may not be a bad idea to try to rule out interference as a contributing cause. See, for example, KB document HT1365 and this Macworld article.

Jan
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by marconiusrex,

marconiusrex Feb 14, 2009 3:30 AM in response to Jan Hedlund
Level 2 (345 points)

Feb 14, 2009 3:30 AM in response to Jan Hedlund

Thanks for the info Jan. I'll read it over and see if I can find any interference. I found a program called istumbler that I may try to find what channel others are using in the neighborhood.

I installed the airport card from a picture on I-fixit, but it did not show the installation of an antenna wire. (thought I went back and looked at the instructions and it mentioned an antenna wire) I just plugged it into the slot. Do I need to install an antenna wire onto the airport card?

Thanks
M.
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by jpl,

jpl Feb 14, 2009 5:54 AM in response to marconiusrex
Level 7 (28,285 points)

Feb 14, 2009 5:54 AM in response to marconiusrex

marconiusrex,

There is a separate antenna wire that is plugged into the side of the card; here is Apple's guide.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2617

Edit: Sorry...it plugs into the back of the card.

Message was edited by: jpl
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by marconiusrex,

marconiusrex Feb 14, 2009 3:23 PM in response to jpl
Level 2 (345 points)

Feb 14, 2009 3:23 PM in response to jpl

jpl - thanks so much for this info this is just what I needed!

M.
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by marconiusrex,

marconiusrex Feb 14, 2009 3:24 PM in response to Jan Hedlund
Level 2 (345 points)

Feb 14, 2009 3:24 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

Jan - this is just the info I needed. Thanks so much! I'll reopen the powerbook and hook up the cable and post back here how it has effected my wireless connectivity issue.

Regards,

M.
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by marconiusrex,

marconiusrex Feb 14, 2009 7:09 PM in response to marconiusrex
Level 2 (345 points)

Feb 14, 2009 7:09 PM in response to marconiusrex

Thanks again Jan and Jpl. The info that both of you provided enabled me to get the airport card installed correctly and now the wireless connection on the old powerbook appears to be working fine!

M.
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Accepted Answer · Feb 14, 2009 6:05 AM

Jan Hedlund

Level 6 (9,894 points)

Feb 14, 2009 6:05 AM in response to marconiusrex

I guess that this article and the instructions here are applicable in this case (it is easy to become confused because of the number of PowerBook G4 models). Without an antenna, the range would be very limited.

Jan

EDIT: Just saw that jpl had mentioned the KB article HT2617 while I was typing.

Message was edited by: Jan Hedlund

Q: WPA wireless instead of WEP with PowerBook G4 Titanium Onyx?

All replies Helpful answers

by Grant Bennet-Alder,★Helpful

by Jan Hedlund,★Helpful

by marconiusrex,

by marconiusrex,

by Jan Hedlund,

by marconiusrex,

by jpl,

by Jan Hedlund,Solvedanswer

by marconiusrex,

by marconiusrex,

by marconiusrex,

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by Grant Bennet-Alder,Helpful

by Jan Hedlund,Helpful