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#1 2009-05-01 5:07 am
- davebot 0.9
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- From: Tumbolia
- Registered: 2003-10-05
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old iMac won't connect to new AirPort
My G4 iMac was connecting to my new AirPort, but now it tells me "There was an error joining the AirPort network <my network>." I'm up way too late, missing sleep, and feel like screaming. It might help to know what *kind* of error is occurring. Or what has changed. Or at least not having to dismiss that panel with "OK" since it's not okay! (One of my standard gripes).
My 2008 Mac Pro just connects. The AirPort utility seems to indicate that everything is great. I don't have any MAC address filtering turned on yet. My iPhone still connects to the new AirPort. The only thing I can think of is bad cached data in the iMac. I did start Keychain Preferences and deleted all entries for my previous network (which did have the same name). I very carefully enter the WPA2 password each time -- but I don't really know whether the problem is the password, or not finding correct data on the AirPort. The iMac is scanning and finding the AirPort, which is just on the other side of the wall, and the Mac Pro is only 6 feet away from the iMac and has a full 4-bar signal.
Just now, I reconfigured the AirPort from scratch, choosing different names for the base station and network. Once again, the Mac Pro and iPhone are fine, and the iMac has some unknown issue.
Any suggestions for debugging this?
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#2 2009-05-01 9:03 am
- dv
- Negusa Negest
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- From: Minneapolis, MN
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Re: old iMac won't connect to new AirPort
Is the card in the iMac an Airport card or an Airport Extreme card?
A lot of the older Airport cards don't like WPA. Try WEP.
"Now commences the process of cutting off the head, which generally takes from an hour to an hour and a half by an expert workman with a sharp blade." -Reuben Delano, Wanderings and Adventures
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#3 2009-05-01 11:00 am
- davebot 0.9
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- From: Tumbolia
- Registered: 2003-10-05
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Re: old iMac won't connect to new AirPort
Hey! Thanks for the idea. But System Profiler calls the wireless card type "AirPort Extreme."
I did perform a speed test on the iMac, a night or two ago. So it was connecting fine then. The only changes I can think of are that since then, I changed the DNS numbers in the AirPort to those of OpenDNS, and I downloaded OnyX and used it to do some cleanup on my other computer (the Mac Pro). Both the Pro and the iPhone have no problems. I'm scratching my head to think of anything else that may have changed, or even system info that might help me get to the bottom of the problem. . .
Thanks,
David
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#4 2009-05-01 11:15 am
- davebot 0.9
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- From: Tumbolia
- Registered: 2003-10-05
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Re: old iMac won't connect to new AirPort
HUH! All that late night hair-pulling. On a whim, I just tried setting "Use interference robustness" on the iMac. AND IT CONNECTED TO MY NETWORK. Wish I knew why that made a difference, and why I need to do it when I didn't two nights ago. I'm also only getting three bars on the AirPort icon, whereas before I was getting all four. I wonder if the AirPort may be giving it a channel that has some interference with those of my neighbors? I do see 6 neighbor networks. The Mac Pro reports that its wireless is on channel 149, while the iMac is reporting channel 1 (according to System Profiler). So it looks like I'm making use of the simultaneous dual-band feature. By the way, does AirPort ever change the channel?
Thanks,
Dave
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#5 2009-05-01 11:26 am
- dv
- Negusa Negest
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Re: old iMac won't connect to new AirPort
What's the wall made out of?
Airport will change the channel as necessary - you shouldn't notice anything. Interface Robustness will increase network reliability at the cost of speed.
"Now commences the process of cutting off the head, which generally takes from an hour to an hour and a half by an expert workman with a sharp blade." -Reuben Delano, Wanderings and Adventures
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#6 2009-05-01 9:24 pm
- davebot 0.9
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- From: Tumbolia
- Registered: 2003-10-05
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Re: old iMac won't connect to new AirPort
I'm not sure what the wall is made of -- two layers of drywall, I think. That hasn't changed since the iMac was connecting without interference robustness, though. That's why I was curious what else may have changed. I'm disappointed if this cuts the speed. But I just tried turning off I.R., and couldn't load a page. Turning I.R. back on, the page immediately finished loading. I don't imagine that I could choose better than the AirPort when it comes to channels. Can it change channels at will, and tell connected devices to follow? Or does it have to wait until those devices disconnect?
Thanks,
Dave
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#7 2009-05-02 10:54 am
- dv
- Negusa Negest
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Re: old iMac won't connect to new AirPort
davebot 0.9 wrote:
I'm not sure what the wall is made of -- two layers of drywall, I think. That hasn't changed since the iMac was connecting without interference robustness, though. That's why I was curious what else may have changed.
One of your neighbors could have bought a microwave.
I'm disappointed if this cuts the speed. But I just tried turning off I.R., and couldn't load a page. Turning I.R. back on, the page immediately finished loading.
Robustness.
I don't imagine that I could choose better than the AirPort when it comes to channels. Can it change channels at will, and tell connected devices to follow? Or does it have to wait until those devices disconnect?
The former, basically - it's transparent.
"Now commences the process of cutting off the head, which generally takes from an hour to an hour and a half by an expert workman with a sharp blade." -Reuben Delano, Wanderings and Adventures
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