Ethernet Problem - Internet Not Working

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Level 1

5 points

Ethernet Problem - Internet Not Working

I'm having a problem with my otherwise-wonderful Power Mac G4 that I fixed up with the help of the wonderful people here.

There was a brief power outage yesterday, and the Power Mac has a very old PRAM battery, so when the power cut out, its PRAM was wiped; its clock was reset to 1969 and any other settings were lost. Nothing I can't deal with. However, it also seemed to have developed a problem with its Ethernet settings.

For some reason, I can't connect to the internet with the Power Mac. I can connect to the internet on my laptop using the exact same ethernet connection that is usually plugged into the Power Mac, so it's not the cable. The Power Mac can see the printer on my network when the cable is plugged in. (I haven't tried actually printing, but the printer appears as available.) But when I try to load any webpage, it just says that it can't load the page because the computer isn't connected to the internet, and when I typed in the IP address for my router (which normally brings up the router's settings), I got a "server not responding" error.

Can anyone help me figure out how to get my ethernet working again and my Power Mac re-connected?

PowerMac, Quicksilver 2002

Posted on Dec 1, 2011 7:45 PM

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Answer 1

BDAqua

Level 10

239,111 points

Dec 1, 2011 9:44 PM in response to Maronan

Whew, Eternet ports are prone to voltage spikes & die often, but try printing, does it work?

Does it not see it if the cable isn;'t plugged in?

Make a New Location, Using network locations in Mac OS X ...

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106653

The Interface that connects to the Internet, needs to be drug to the top of System Preferences>Network>Show:>Network Port Configurations and checked ON.

10.5.x/10.6.x instructions...

System Preferences>Network, click on the little gear at the bottom next to the + & - icons, (unlock lock first if locked), choose Set Service Order.

The interface that connects to the Internet should be dragged to the top of the list.

Find IP on computers...

http://www.helpdesk.umd.edu/topics/communication/ethernet/office/winxp/2882/

Does that report a 169.254.x.x IP?

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Answer 2

Maronan Author

Level 1

5 points

Dec 5, 2011 1:26 AM in response to BDAqua

Wow, thanks for everything!

I'm not sure what the problem was but I never managed to start any of those diagnostics before the problem fixed itself. I restarted; it didn't work. I reset the clock manually and restarted again, and it worked. I don't suppose the ethernet breaks if the computer's date is set to 1969? It does warn of "erratic behaviour" if it's set too early...

Still, thanks for your help anyway.

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Answer 3

BDAqua

Level 10

239,111 points

Dec 5, 2011 11:06 AM in response to Maronan

Time to replace the PRAM Battery, 4 years is close to their lifespan, far less if ever without AC power, & can cause strange startup problems, for Ethernet also...

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/BAA36VPRAM/

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