eMac not reading ethernet port when I plug in a good cable

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eMac not reading ethernet port when I plug in a good cable

I am now the proud owner of an eMac with the OS X 10.3.9 installed. The previous owners were online with a DSL connection and I have one as well. When I connect my cable to the ethernet port the system is not seeing it. It states that no cable is plugged in. I have been on the phone with my service provider to walk me through the necessary steps, but they are not at all familiar with the apple/mac brand of OS, and quite frankly neither am I. I am tech savvy, but in no way a tech genius. Can someone help, so I can at least use the internet. Thanks in advance

eMac OS X, Mac OS X (10.3.x)

Posted on Feb 22, 2011 2:08 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 23, 2011 11:30 AM in response to baseman219

Hello baseman219,

First of all, Welcome to the  Discussion forums!

Not knowing, from your topic post, what has been tried by you and your service provider, I can only suggest a few troubleshooting steps that may help.

If you have not already, shut down the eMac and the modem and completely disconnect all peripherals except for your keyboard and mouse. Plug in the ethernet cable to the ethernet port of your mac and then connect to the isp's modem that you have been supplied with. Make sure cable is connected correctly to the correct ports. From Apple's Knowledge Base article:

All eMac computers come with a built-in 10/100Base-T Ethernet port (RJ-45 connector) ready for connection to a local area network or high speed Internet service providers.

Illustration of all ports of the eMac can be found in the KB article About eMac external ports and connectors.

Make sure the cable you are using is the correct cable.

Make sure your eMac and modem are off. Power up the modem and then power up the eMac.

Does the eMac recognize the ethernet connection now? To check, go to the blue apple menu>About This Mac>More Info which will open System Profile. Select "Network" in the left pane. What shows in the Network window? Do not post IP addresses here etc. but rather just let us know if it is recognized.

FYI, the eMac is one model that was sold as an eductational model originally and did not come with an internal modem on the early education models. The first consumer models of the eMac came with an internal modem.

Post back with any further questions or comments and any additional info that you feel is appropriate and that might help.

littleshoulders 🙂

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Answer 2

K Shaffer

Level 7

34,972 points

Feb 23, 2011 2:10 PM in response to baseman219

If the Network system preference panel has been set to allow Ethernet to be a priority
connection, (options there may include Modem, AirPort, Ethernet, FireWire) and then
once chosen as an option, you can drag Ethernet to the top of the list of priority.

Since Panther is such an old system, and I no longer have it running on a computer here
(but have the retail install disc set and a Missing Manual, in storage) the details are not
available for me to double-check, on how to implement setting changes in OS X 10.3.9.

• Mac OS X: Connecting to the Internet via Cable, DSL, or local area network (LAN)
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1383

• Mac OS X: Troubleshooting a cable modem, DSL, or LAN connections...
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1317

There is a chance the Ethernet may be fine, except when setting up a network connection
the Network preference panel has additional settings to choose what & how it may network.
If this is the real issue, a resolution would be to change settings and then click 'save.'

And if the settings are OK, you should be able to see items connected via Ethernet in
the System Profiler's hardware information area.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

+{ edited }+

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