IMac ethernet connection problem to router

somethings missing here? Modem....

Can't connect to internet with my iMAC. Checked
ethernet cable, ethernet connection to router.
Wireless connection from another computer works with
router, so problem appears to be with iMac ethernet
connection. Any recommendations?

Welcome Geauxtown!
Sorry to refer you to another thread, but typing takes too long, and this may give you some insight into the issue, if this is your issue...
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=3385261#3385261

I ran into the same problem when I first set up my iMac on my ethernet network.

The problem originates with the MAC address table that the router/broadband modem maintains. Theses devices store the MAC address (the unique serial number of every network card not your particular imac) of every machine on the network in memory as a means of speeding up network performance; since the router is reading from memory not actively seeking out new MAC address and clogging the network with unnecessary traffic. The only problem is the router tends not to "see" new devices when they are first attached.

The work around is to power-cycle both your router and broadband modem by unplugging their power cords and leaving them off for a minute or two. This will wipe the memory of the router/modem and force them to build a new MAC address table (that will included your new iMac) when they are powered back on. Make sure you unplug them and not just switch them off as some routers still power their memory even after they are switched off.

This should work for you. Good luck!

HI thom3011

I experience the same problem with my 20" iMac C2D but only via ethernet. It is extremely slow to connect to the Internet over Ethernet after start up. Mostly I have to open either Mail or Safari, have it try to connect and just leave it running a few minutes until connection really is set-up. This happens all the while my PB is connected via the same router and being able to surf at full speed. The same thing happens with my office laptop (Wintel box).

Thus, the problem you have described should also keep my other devices from connecting to the network, if the router doesn't recognize what new device is added after powering up. Yet, I only have this nagging problem with my iMac...

Any other idea?

Thanks

Hi imyself

Oh I just hate overly slow internet connections. It is the most frustrating sort of problem and unfortunately can be difficult to pinpoint the exact cause without a bit of diagnostics. 😟

I'm going to assume you've already tried my power-cycle trick with your modem and router and are still having problems gaining a connection. Although I'm sure you already were aware, I feel I should mention for the benefit of other readers that the offending computer must remain on and connected to the ethernet network while you are power-cycling the modem and router (a point I forgot to mention in my previous post)

I'm also going to assume that you have good & working ethernet cables, that you haven't made a VPN with your router or changed it's configuration in any significant way that could interfere with networking and that you are using a DHCP connection on your network.

To help you out and to avoid explaining every possible problem and solution I need to ask you a few questions

- You mention the problem is "only via ethernet", do you have a wireless network/router and if so are you connecting via ethernet and airport simultaneously.

- When you connect to the internet is there a delay before pages start to load in safari.

- Does your ISP require authentication for email and if so verify your settings (particularly authentication type and SSL)

- Have you turned on file-sharing on the imac and if so have you turned on AppleTalk and windows file-sharing too?

- What version of the Mac OS are you running on the PB (OS 9 or OS X and version #) and is it using a wired or wireless connection

I hate to answer your question with more questions but it's hard to correctly answer your question without a little more info. I'm sure we will work this one out.

Cheers!
Thom

your little trick fixed the problem for me! unplugged the modem and router and all is well now.

Thom,

I'm having pretty much the same issue. Tried power cycle and I end up getting a very incosistent connection. Safari takes forever to load yahoo as homepage. I get half a blue bar for progress and then it freezes. However, if i repeatedly click the address bar to reset the process, it will take on the 5th try. I also use camino and after power rese, it will not even load a page whili safari does.

Using dsl to wired di-604 router wiyh latest firmware. Cables while slightly worn check out ok. Using a dynamic ppoe option. I have airport card, but its off. ISP requires password. File sharing off. Mac OSx 10.4.8

Im so frusturated and the wife is thinking its a mac problem. She's starting to regret making the switch..

HELP!!!!

Hi RyHelsley

First off you can tell your wife that she needn't fear she made the wrong choice in switching to mac as she will find that using the mac is mostly a painless experience. Fortunately for her, and all mac users, problems are few and far between. That said... you do have a very annoying and exasperating problem that can require a little finessing to resolve.

Thanks to your brief but succinct description of your network setup I can think of two possible solutions to your problem.

1:) Open "System Preferences" and click on the "Network" button and finally double click on "Built in Ethernet" to reveal your settings. Under the TCP/IP tab, verify that you are connecting to your router using DHCP and under PPPoE verify that this turned off. If not, do so and click "Apply" to restart your connection.

You say in your post that you are "Using a dynamic ppoe option" however you do not need to do this on the mac since your router is already doing this for you. Any login information your ISP provides you with (in other words: PPPoE configuration) should be input into your router not your mac, since the main use of a router at a home level is to manage and share your internet connection between multiple computers. You only use PPPoE on the mac (or any computer for that matter) when you don't have a router and are connecting directly to your broadband modem.

This should get your mac up and running again on the internet.

2) If the first recommendation doesn't work out your may also have to verify that your router is properly configured. Again in the Network settings, under TCP/IP copy the number that appears beside "Router" and paste into safari's address bar. This will connect you with your router and present you with a login page. Unless you changed your settings, your user name and password will be: Admin. Once you are logged in, navigate to PPPoE settings and input the information supplied by your ISP. I don't have a Dlink router so I can't tell you exactly where everything is so check your manual for more info or go to there website and checkout their support.

This should fix your problem

Just incase, here are some links from Apple support (a very reliable source for troubleshooting information) that can help you diagnose further problems.

General trouble shooting:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303546#trouble

DNS issues (another possible problem):
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106799

And finally to save you the leg work on such a bad connection here is the link to the support page for your router:
http://support.dlink.com/products/revision.asp

Hope this fixes it so you and your wife can finally enjoy your mac
Cheers

Thom 🙂


iMac Core2Duo 17", Powermac G4 "Quicksilver" 733, eMac G4 800 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Hi Thom

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I've tried the power-cycle thing and it didn't help. The problem with my iMac only happens after I start the iMac up and without using airport or wireless. In this case, the settings are such that the iMac is supposed to use only Ethernet and no wireless. Therefore, I mostly don't connect simaltaneously over wire and wireless (sometimes I do though and I have the impression that wireless is much faster to allow an internet connection after startup of the iMac). The cable is quite ok, I exchanged it with other cables I have and that work quite fine already, but this didn't help either. Besides, the airport extreme is connected to the same router as my iMac via the Ethernet cable. So, it shouldn't be a problem of my router or the modem.

To answer your other questions:

- When you connect to the internet is there a delay before pages start to load in safari.
mostly, yes. Especially after startup of the iMac I have to let it "rest" (i.e. not use Internet at all) for a few minutes until I can get a connection to the Internet via Mail or Safari or Firefox or whatever other tool seeks an internet connection).

- Does your ISP require authentication for email and if so verify your settings (particularly authentication type and SSL)
nope. my one e-mail account does though but this is not the problem. this one works quite fine once I have a connection after all.

- Have you turned on file-sharing on the imac and if so have you turned on AppleTalk and windows file-sharing too?
nope. practically never.

- What version of the Mac OS are you running on the PB (OS 9 or OS X and version #) and is it using a wired or wireless connection
on the PB I still have OS X 10.3.9 and it's using mostly a wired connection; occasionally a wireless connection (again, all devices are sitting on the same router).

hope this explains more.

thanks for any help.

BR markus

Hi RiHelsley

Besides having the same router as you have, I have just changed my Internet configuration settings and today my iMac was really swift in connecting to and loading internet. What I did:

Assign a static IP Adress to the iMac on the router.
Changed the System setting for the Ethernet connection to Manual. Entered the static IP Adress from the router in the respective field. Entered the subnet mask and Router addres, as well as the DNS server address from my router and saved the whole thing.

And now it works quite perfectly. At least today it does. Let's keep fingers crossed.

cheers m

I'm having the same problem I se here.
My Intel iMac stalls on the net, which is quite annoying.

I want to try "m"''s idea of assigning a static IP address.
Can you break that down step by step please?
For example, what IP address should I choose?

Thanks!

CF

Hi Clownfish

First, you have to log on to your router and in the DHCP functionality of your router you must assign a specific IP address to your Mac. Every router has a certain range of IP addresses from which you can choose from. Most consumer tpye routers start with 192.xxx.x.100 and go up to 192.xxx.x.199, for example. So, pick an IP within this range and assign to your Mac. If you don't know how to do this, please refer to the manual of your router as I don't know what kind of router you have.

Then, you open the system preferences from the Dock or from the Applications folder. Click on the Network icon. Then, you should see a list of all configured network connections (e.g. Ethernet and Airport). Select the Ethernet configuration and click on the Configure button at the bottom. You'll be asked to identify yourself with the administrator profile, unless you're already logged in as admin.

In the TCP/IP tab, change the drop-down value in the field "Configure IPv4" to "manual". Then, in the field "IP-Address" enter the IP address you have previously assigned to your Mac on your router.

In the field "Subnet mask" enter 255.255.255.0 (which is the most frequently used value by most router manufacturers; otherwise refer to your router manual).

In the field "Router" enter the IP-address of your router and in the field "DNS server" the IP-address of your DNS server if that is different from your router's IP address (which in your case probably isn't).

Then, save your settings and try your internet connection.

Hope this helps.

BR m