Connecting old iMac to internet

Olga,

If you are using BT Home Hub 2.0, this web page could possibly be of interest. Please note that WPA security is recommended.

The requirements for AirPort cards and WPA can be found in KB article HT2594.

If you do not wish to upgrade the old iMac to Mac OS X 10.3 or later, but still want to use WPA for the wireless network, the only option would probably be to (remove the AirPort card and then) connect a wireless Ethernet bridge with WPA support to the Ethernet port of said computer. Wireless Ethernet bridge devices (also known as gaming adapters) do not normally need special drivers, and can thus be used under almost any operating system.

This article seems to indicate that a wired connection between a computer and the BT Home Hub would be possible, too.

Jan

If you use Mac OS 9, you will need to use older WEP security protocol instead of WPA on the wireless router. As a test, try turning security OFF on the router to see of the iMac can connect. Obviously, you do not want to operate without security, and WEP is not as strong as WPA.

Some router's (like Apple's) come with software, but most are set up using a web browser with the router's IP address as the URL. You'll have to refer to the router's setup instructions (may be available on the manufacturer's web site if you can't find the paper docs).

Hello Olga, Why don't you upgrqade your iMac to OS 9.2.2 - you can download the updates free from apple via your other mac and install them. You could then update your firmware to 4.1.9 ready for OS X. Are you selecting the right type of 'protocol' for your password before you enter it? There are several different types - 40 bit WEP, 28 bit WEP , WPA WPA2 etc.

No version of Mac OS 9 will allow you to use the newer more secure WPA protocol, as far as I know. WEP was the standard when Mac OS 9 was Apple's latest OS.

If you need to use the iMac with Mac OS 9 to get Internet access now, connect it directly to the router with an Ethernet cable and use it that way. WPA and WEP apply only to wireless connections; there are no such complications with a wired connection. That would be best, since you probably do not want to use WEP anyway, just to include an old iMac.

If you upgrade to Mac OS X, there is a small possibility that WPA will still not work. Apparently, there are two versions of the 802.11b Airport card. The older version does not support WPA. However, the newer version is more common and it does support WPA under Mac OS X. I have one in my PowerBook Pismo and it works perfectly running Mac OS X (Tiger) with wireless using the WPA setting.

One thing you can do (as a test) is set up +Internet Sharing+ on your MacBook, which is set up in System Preferences Sharing pane. Connect the MacBook directly to the router with an Ethernet cable, and make sure you can access the Internet with AirPort turned OFF on the MacBook. Then turn AirPort back ON. Set +Internet Sharing+ to +Share your connection from *Built-in Ethernet* to computers using Airport. The default setting will not use security and that would be best for this test (you can set it to use WEP if desired). Then try connecting using your iMac.