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User profile for user: mz charles
mz charles Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Why can't I turn on Airport on my MacBk Pro?

I'm not sure it's relevant, but, apparently (I didn't try to turn it on since then), ever since I had Snow Leopard re-installed (unrelated problem) at the Apple Store Genius bar, I can't turn on my built-in Airport (??!!?).

I turn it off when I'm at my desk - I prefer a wired Ethernet connection to the I/Nt there. But, of course, I turn it back on when I'm mobile with my MacBook Pro.

So, I haven't been "mobile" since my Apple Store Genius visit on 16 Jun '11.

Yes, I intend to go back to them, but I thought I'd give this blog a shot first …


Any ideas out there ??

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jul 11, 2011 8:22 AM

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8 replies
User profile for user: Tesserax
Tesserax
User level: Level 10
148,423 points

Jul 11, 2011 9:39 AM in response to mz charles

Please try the following steps, in order, or until resolved:


Step 1

  • In Finder, go to /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration
  • Move (not copy) the preferences.plist file to the OS X desktop.
  • Restart the computer.
  • Verify if you have connectivity. If not, go to the next step.

Step 2

  • In Finder, go to /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration
  • Move (not copy) the NetworkInterfaces.plist & com.apple.airport.preferences.plist files to the OS X desktop.
  • Restart the computer.
  • Verify that you have connectivity. If not , go to the next step.

Step 3

  • In Finder, go to /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration
  • Move (not copy) the entire SystemConfiguration folder to the OS X desktop.
  • Restart the computer.
  • Verify that you have connectivity. If not, go to the next step.

Step 4

  • Open a Terminal session. The Terminal application is located in /Applications/Utilities.
  • At the command prompt, enter ifconfig -a
  • Locate the network interface that is giving you trouble. (Note: en0 = Ethernet; en1 = AirPort)
  • Look to see if Terminal indicates the problematic interface is not enabled.
  • If not enabled, enter sudo ifconfig en0 inet up (Note: Replace en0 with en1 as applicable.)
  • At the command prompt, enter ifconfig -a
  • Verify that the problematic interface is now active and various network interface related data should now be listed.
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User profile for user: mz charles
mz charles Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Jul 13, 2011 11:36 AM in response to Tesserax

I'm sorry I couldn't respond until now, but thnx Tesserax - your Step 1 did the job, altho I couldn't move that file to the desktop (it copied it, no matter which keys I pressed), until I got around it by moving it to the Trash (w Admin pernission), then took it out of the Trash to the dsktp. And, of course, I lost my other memorized locations, but that's a minor point.


The question still remains in my mind as to why this happened in the first place: the OSX reinstall?? Why the corrupted pref file? I've had previous WiFi connections prblms with my previous MacBk (Tiger?) which was resolved w an OSX update, but never until this one w my MacBk Pro.


Thnx again for the help …

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User profile for user: Tesserax
Tesserax
User level: Level 10
148,423 points

Jul 13, 2011 12:52 PM in response to mz charles

The question still remains in my mind as to why this happened in the first place: the OSX reinstall?? Why the corrupted pref file? I've had previous WiFi connections prblms with my previous MacBk (Tiger?) which was resolved w an OSX update, but never until this one w my MacBk Pro.

Preference files (aka .plist files) can get corrupted or go "missing" for all sorts of reasons. These are normally created by either the operating system or specific applications. At any time, something can (& will go) wrong when these files are either created or updated.

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Why can't I turn on Airport on my MacBk Pro?

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