PowerMac 8500 ethernet

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Level 1

14 points

PowerMac 8500 ethernet

I've got a PowerMac 8500 that's running OS 8.5. It has an ethernet port on the back that seems to work but I cannot for the life of me get this machine to connect to the internet. Since the computer is upstairs and too far away from my router, I'm unable to plug it directly in so I have to share the Airport connection from my PowerBook G4 running Leopard. I've restarted both numerous times, shut Internet sharing on and off and nothing's brought the old machine back online. A friend told me that it's probably because the ethernet card the PowerMac is using is too old to be compatible with the PowerBook's (which is a decade newer). Any help? I'd like to at the least be able to share files back and forth so that the machine will get some software on it.

PowerMac, Mac OS 8.6 or Earlier, 150 mhz, 32 mb RAM, 2 gig HDD

Posted on May 2, 2013 6:16 PM

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Answer 1

BDAqua

Level 10

239,219 points

May 2, 2013 6:36 PM in response to tanner1294

Whew!

First on the 8600/8.6 you'll need to connect using TCP/IP.

Some old info...

OSX.4.x lost the file transfer ability of Appletalk... 10.1.5 thru 10.3.9 had it!

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301183

With OS9 set with Appletalk to using TCP/IP, and or Chooser>AppleShare+IP, you can connect to the 10.4.8 machine.

Another solution is OpenDoor's $39 Shareway IP, (some OS7, 8, 9 releases had a limited version included)...

http://www.opendoor.com/shareway/

Which makes OS9 Tiger compatable.

"Mac OS X 10.4 and later don't support Personal File Sharing (or other AFP) over Appletalk, though by initiating the connection from the opposite direction you could still achieve an IP connection from a Mac OS 8 computer to a sharing Mac OS X computer. The Network preference pane in Mac OS X 10.4 and later still offers the AppleTalk checkbox, but it is for browsing AppleTalk-advertised resources and zones. The subsequent connection must be over TCP/IP."

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106461

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Answer 2

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

22,219 points

May 3, 2013 7:59 AM in response to tanner1294

If you have access to a spare (router with a built-in) Ethernet switch, or perhaps just a plain hub, you could try an indirect cable connection over such a device (instead of a direct cable between the Power Macintosh 8500 and the PowerBook G4) in order to see whether that makes a difference.

Another option could be to connect a wireless Ethernet bridge (such as Linksys WET610N or Netgear WNCE2001) to the Ethernet port of the Power Macintosh 8500. That would allow a wireless connection to an existing router.

Jan

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Answer 3

PiddlyD

Level 1

0 points

Dec 9, 2014 12:32 PM in response to tanner1294

It sounds like you're not getting the right answers, Tanner.

If I understand right - it isn't that you can't share on a local network - you can't get connected to the Internet at all.

I have the same problem. Setting TCP/IP for Ethernet and DHCP doesn't seem to renew the IP address. It was working fine before I upgraded it to 8.5. Previous OS was 8.0

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