Old Guy with a G5

Q: Ethernet self-assigned 169 IP address 10.4.11

Suddenly and without warning my old G5 running Mac OS X 10.4.11 lost connectivity to the internet. I booted one morning and saw the dreaded 169 IP in the Network tab of System Preferences. Oddly enough when I boot from HARDDRIVE2 (same OS) in the same G5 everything's OK and I have internet. Booting from the main drive, HARDDRIVE1, yields nothing but 169 frustration.

 

Here's a list of what I've done to troubleshoot:

 

- Rebooted the modem (CenturyLink Actiontec C1000A)

 

- Rebooted the G5

 

- Trashed /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration folder and the two files within, NetworkInterfaces.plist and preferences.plist

 

- Determined that the ethernet cable is working properly

 

- Determined that all four ports on my modem are working properly

 

- Used Network Setup Assistant to obtain a 192 IP

 

The genius at my local Apple Store can't figure it out and Apple Tech Support won't talk to me because the OS is too old. You're my only hope, Obi-won.

PowerMac, Mac OS X (10.4.11), No Internet!

Posted on Mar 12, 2014 12:38 PM

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Q: Ethernet self-assigned 169 IP address 10.4.11

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  • by Martin Joseph,

    Martin Joseph Martin Joseph Mar 15, 2014 6:06 PM in response to Old Guy with a G5
    Level 2 (225 points)
    Mar 15, 2014 6:06 PM in response to Old Guy with a G5

    I would try going to the system preferences and the network control panel and adding a "new" interface that is associated with the ethernet port you are trying to use.

     

    See if that recognizes the DHCP serve on your DSL modem.

     

    If not, you could also try booting from the drive that does work and make some notes of the address that your box gets assigned. (ie 192.168.10.32).

     

    Then you could boot back to your primary drive and manually configure the IP address as noted above.

     

    That certainly seems like an odd problem, which I would guess has NOTHING to do with hardware.

     

    If nothing else seems to help I would reapply the last COMBO update for that system (which system?).

     

    Good Luck...

    Another old guy.

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Mar 15, 2014 8:42 PM in response to Martin Joseph
    Level 10 (123,618 points)
    Mar 15, 2014 8:42 PM in response to Martin Joseph

    Two great ideas, thanks!

  • by Old Guy with a G5,

    Old Guy with a G5 Old Guy with a G5 Mar 16, 2014 5:08 PM in response to Martin Joseph
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 16, 2014 5:08 PM in response to Martin Joseph

    Thanks for the suggestion, Martin Joseph, but no luck. I reinstalled the latest update for Mac OS X 10.4.11 and now neither drive has an internet connection!

  • by Martin Joseph,

    Martin Joseph Martin Joseph Mar 16, 2014 8:30 PM in response to Old Guy with a G5
    Level 2 (225 points)
    Mar 16, 2014 8:30 PM in response to Old Guy with a G5

    Hey,

     

    Sorry for your woe and for making you do a bunch of pointless stuff ;~) Does you machine have two ethernet ports?  I know this is kind of a stupid question, but have you tried both?

     

    Are you saying that the other system that used to work has now failed also?  That would sort of lean toward some kind of hardware issue that was just intermittent...

     

    You can always cheaply add ethernet ports to the mac pro if need be.  I like

     

    http://macsales.com

     

    They have many items, you might look in clearance. Or if you are adventurous, you can go to your local thrift shp and find an old PCI ethernet card that will fit in a slot.  Some of these that where for the PC will work and some won't.  Intel branded cards are usually good in my experience if you choose to go down this path.

     

    Best of luck...

  • by Old Guy with a G5,

    Old Guy with a G5 Old Guy with a G5 Mar 16, 2014 9:56 PM in response to Martin Joseph
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 16, 2014 9:56 PM in response to Martin Joseph

    Thanks, Martin Joseph, I'm giving up and purchasing a new Mac. I even tried logging in as root. By the way, the troublesome one is a G5, not a Mac Pro, and the only reason I hang on to it is to run Photoshop, Logic Pro, and my guilty pleasure — Breakthrough. Time to bite the bullet and buy some upgrades.

     

    Thanks all who offered help,

     

    Old Guy with a G5

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Mar 17, 2014 10:15 AM in response to Old Guy with a G5
    Level 10 (123,618 points)
    Mar 17, 2014 10:15 AM in response to Old Guy with a G5

    Just wondering, did you Repair Permissions after the Combo update then restart it?

  • by rccharles,

    rccharles rccharles Mar 17, 2014 10:31 AM in response to Old Guy with a G5
    Level 6 (8,486 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Mar 17, 2014 10:31 AM in response to Old Guy with a G5

    You could try an archive install. 

     

    You could try a usb to wifi dongle.

     

    You may want to run these "standard" fixes if the problem persists.

     

    1) Check the amount of free space on your harddrive.  You should have a several gigs free.

     

    2) You should run disk utility

          Macintosh-HD -> Applications -> Utilities -> Disk Utility

          a) verify the disk

          b) update your permissions.

     

    3) Try a safe boot.

         Shutdown your machine.  Hold down the shift key.  Poweron.  Wait awhile; wait awhile while you harddrive

         is being checked.

         http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1455

     

    4) Another way to correct filesystem problems is into single use mode.

         This page will tell you how to get into single user mode.

         http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1492

     

        Basically, you hold down the command + s key then  powering on your machine. The command key

        has a little apple symbol on the lower left. It is between the alt/option key and the space bar. 

     

    4) You may want to run applejack to clean up your machine.

          http://applejack.sourceforge.net/

     

    6) Run hardware diagnostics.  It's good for a sanity check.

     

     

    a lot more ways to fix your Mac.

    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214

    http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/faqs.html

  • by Old Guy with a G5,

    Old Guy with a G5 Old Guy with a G5 Mar 17, 2014 11:24 AM in response to Old Guy with a G5
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 17, 2014 11:24 AM in response to Old Guy with a G5

    Hello all, I booted from HARDDRIVE2, ran Disk Utility and repaired both permissions and the disk; ran TechTool Pro and did a Volume Rebuild, File Optimization and Volume Optimization; more Disk Utility repair; ate a bagel with cream cheese.

     

    Thanks again for the suggestions. Gotta let this one go.

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