Airport Express as WDS for Sagem fast@800

Question

Level 1

0 points

Airport Express as WDS for Sagem fast@800

I have an eMac, which has broadband through a sagem fast@800 ADSL modem through a USB port.
I want to shared internet access, to that I can use by XP PC wirelessly and has bought an APXP to do this, on advice from Apple sales.

my eMac doesn't have an airport card; my laptop has a Cisco 340 card in it.
I have connected my APXP to my eMac using the ethernet port, and left my modem directlky connected to my eMac.

I have tried various settings, and can get my laptop to both see and reconfigure the APXP in WDS mode; the APXP is showing a green light, and depending of the config, can somewtimes be see by my eMac - at other times my eMac can't regonise the config.

I spoken to Apple support several times, and perused various websites, but can't find any clear answers as to (a) whether I can do this with the equipement I have, or (b) how to do it!!

Any help gratefully recieved.

MJS

eMac, Mac OS X (10.3.9), Sagem Fast@800 ADSL Modem

Posted on Jan 15, 2006 3:20 AM

Reply

Answer 1

RichB

Level 4

1,584 points

Jan 15, 2006 8:14 AM in response to MJS~Hill

I have tried various settings, and can get my laptop
to both see and reconfigure the APXP in WDS mode

The Express should not be in WDS mode. It is receiving it's internet from the ethernet port just as if it were connected to a broadband modem. What you need to do is turn off the router part of the Express since the Internet Sharing part of your eMac is handling that. This will make your Express a bridge instead of a router.

From the PC laptop you can either reconfigure the Express or just do a hard reset on the Express to bring it back to default state. You want the Express to be configured as a "Create a Wireless Network (Home Router)" under the Airport tab; under the Internet tab it is "Connect Using: Ethernet" and "Configure: Using DHCP;" and under the Network tab uncheck "Distribute IP Addresses." Update and wait a few minutes for the change to propagate.

Reply

Answer 2

MJS~Hill Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 15, 2006 9:05 AM in response to RichB

Hi Rich,
Thanks for taking the time; tried your suggestion eg. hard reset the APXP and configured as you suggested, but now my PC is saying it has 'limited or no connectivity', Windows talk for 'no good', and Airport admin on the PC can't even see the network - anything else I should consider?

Cheers

Reply

Answer 3

RichB

Level 4

1,584 points

Jan 15, 2006 9:37 AM in response to MJS~Hill

Have you restarted the PC after making those changes?

From the eMac using Airport Admin Utility what is the IP of the Express?

What is the wireless IP the PC gets (Sart/Run/cmd/"ipconfig /all")?

Reply

Answer 4

MJS~Hill Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 15, 2006 9:50 AM in response to RichB

Restarted the PC.
On the eMac the IP is 169.254.237.30
On the PC it is 169.254.190.70
Also the Express is flashing a slow orange light - before making changes it was a steady green.
M

Reply

Answer 5

RichB

Level 4

1,584 points

Jan 15, 2006 10:02 AM in response to MJS~Hill

That's not good. The problem with Internet Sharing is the eMac has to be on and every time you restart or sleep the eMac Internet Sharing has to be restarted. Can you verify it is still enabled?

How about hooking up the PC directly to the eMac with an ethernet cable temporarily. Does that work eliminating the Express?

Reply

Answer 6

MJS~Hill Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 15, 2006 10:36 AM in response to RichB

I restarted the internet sharing and included the built in ethernet option (previously I'd only ticked the 'Ethernet adaptor' option which my ADSL uses) - the Express light wentgreen, but my laptop still shows limited or no connectivity...

I tried plugginh the ethernet straight into the laptop and got a connection and was able to access the internet, but when I replugged it into the Express I got nothing and again thr airport admin on the PC can't see it (I restarted both Express & PC again, just in case)

Reply

Answer 7

RichB

Level 4

1,584 points

Jan 15, 2006 10:54 AM in response to MJS~Hill

I restarted the internet sharing and included the
built in ethernet option (previously I'd only ticked
the 'Ethernet adaptor' option which my ADSL uses)

Internet Sharing for you is from USB (Ethernet adaptor) to built in ethernet.

I tried plugging the ethernet straight into the
laptop and got a connection and was able to access
the internet

That's a good sign. You are very close... The Express should be set as a Home Router with "Distribute IP addresses" unchecked. This also means only one computer can connect wirelessly in this situation.

Have you tried disabling wireless security? If it is enabled you must use the " Equivalent Network Password" on a PC.

Reply

Answer 8

MJS~Hill Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 15, 2006 11:14 AM in response to RichB

Result!
Made the changes and switched off the wireless security - got a signal and able to use i'net on my laptop. 2 questions - is it possible to set my internet sharing to defautl on?

+ What is the 'equivalent network Password on the pc' about?

Cheers for your help,

Marc

Reply

Answer 9

RichB

Level 4

1,584 points

Jan 15, 2006 11:26 AM in response to MJS~Hill

Result!
Made the changes and switched off the wireless
security - got a signal and able to use i'net on my
laptop. 2 questions - is it possible to set my
internet sharing to defautl on?

I don't think so. Perhaps an Applescript as a startup item or Automator script could do that.

+ What is the 'equivalent network Password on the pc'

It is because the PC uses a different way of entering a password. See the link embedded in my previous post:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106864

Reply

Answer 10

MJS~Hill Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 15, 2006 11:36 AM in response to RichB

Thanks for all your help Rich - apologies I'm new to the forum and didn't mark previous couple of replies as helpful, but they were.

Much appreciated.
Marc

Reply