Mac Issue

[Geekyfanboy]

Hey Guys,

We just got a 1giga switch for my PC and Harry's Mac. We removed the router since we don't need it anymore and plugged the modem into the switch and then plugged our computers into the switch.. my PC connected just fine but the Mac isn't seeing the network and can not connect to the internet. We have tried a bunch of thing and it seems the Mac doesn't see the connection.. anyone have any ideas on why this is happening?

[celestialteapot]

Because it's a Mac? (Sorry, always wanted to do that... years of asking for help with my PC only to get the response "get a mac").

Sensible answer: I asked Google - does this help?

   1. From the Apple menu, select System Preferences.
   2. Click the Network icon.
   3. From the Location drop-down list, select Automatic.
   4. Select your ethernet connection:
          * In Mac OS X v10.2/10.3/10.4: from the Show drop-down list, select Built-in Ethernet.
          * In Mac OS X v10.5: from the left-side menu, select Ethernet.
   5. Select the TCP/IP tab.

      Note: In Mac OS X v10.5 ignore this step.
   6. Configure TCP/IP to use DHCP.
          * In Mac OS X v10.2, from the Configure drop-down list, select Using DHCP.
          * In Mac OS X v10.3/10.4, from the Configure IPv4 drop-down list, select Using DHCP.
          * In Mac OS X v10.5, from the Configure drop-down list, select Using DHCP.
   7. Click the Apply Now button.
   8. Restart your computer.

[Geekyfanboy]

Thanks for that.. we tried that and still nothing.. the computer looks like it's seeing the connection but still no connection... it's very bizarre.

[Jen]

The problem isn't the Mac it's the fact that the software/hardware world caters to PC right now. Unless they're sure they can make more money, they deem it too much trouble to make things work for both platforms. I had to have a separate IP address for my Mac...the PCs on our network find the connection dynamically. I'm not sure whether your issue is the same... but you might want to call your service provider for answers. Be prepared to have someone who is not up on Apple products, to attempt to walk you through it all. ;)

[Rico]

Actually it sounds to me like the Mac OS and it's ability to dynamically connect.  Not sure, but why did you buy a switch and not a 1 Gig router Kenny?

[billybob476]

Right you need to be sure you have something that is giving out IP addresses. Routers do this, switches tend not to. They usually rely on an external domain controller or DHCP server to handle dynamic IP addressing.

Kenny, can you manually set up a static IP address on your mac? What brand of switch did you get?

[Geekyfanboy]

yeah i think we can manaully assign an IP address.. and I think it's a Netgear switch.

[jedijeff]

Does your ISP give you two IP addresses? you might need to manually add the IP address for each computer, as they might be fighting over the same one right now.

You should consider a router, as it handles the DHCP addresses, and very straight forward to setup.

[Geekyfanboy]

We are currently having issues with the router.. that is why we went with a switch..

[jedijeff]

If you are using the switch, then I think you will need to check with your ISP to see if they can assign your account another IP address that you can give to the Mac.

[Rico]

A switch is much harder to deal with. 

[Geekyfanboy]

Well we never got the switcher to work so we returned it and got a giga router. After some doing we got it to work and doubled my download and upload speed.. whooo hooo.

Thanks everyone for trying to help.