Mac Internet Whaos

MrVestek

I have recently aquired a Powerbook G3, with OS 9.1 from a mate of mine who simply didn't want it anymore. I didnt think it anything major as it's old and i'd only be messing about with it whenever i was away from the PC. However, one thing is bothering me, first off, it seems to crash alot which i hate, and second, i can't seem to get it to connect to my broadband connection. I'm on NTL 600k if that helps. Anyways i can get it to connect to the service fine, i have set in the TCP/IP control panel to connect to the correct dns: 192.168.4.100 and 192.168.8.100. I also set the ip address and gateway and everything else to be obtained via DHCP. I get an ip address and everything from the server and i can see on the NTL modem that the mac and the modem are both 'talking' to eachother. However, when i open internet explorer or netscape navigator, it seems almost impossible to connect to a website. The whole mac will hang for a while, then start downloading the html file... will hang again, will get the title of the webpage in the title bar, then hang indefinatly, leading me to do a hard reset. Anyone got any idea as to why the system is so unstable in general, and particularly with connecting to the internet? I'm at the end of my teather here. As i say me getting on the net with it is nothing major, i just hate when things go wrong...

lotas

interesting predicument you are in. try the following:
set your proxy server on the mac to either cache1-dbln.server.ntli.net or cache2-dbln.server.ntli.net. the ips of them are 62.254.96.4 and 62.254.96.5 respectivly. set the port to 8080. i had a problem with some of the machine on my network getting the wrong DNS info. the 194.168.4.100 and 8.100 servers give me a lot of greif. they keep telling me my machine is infected with something and that i should download the update of the MS website. everything redirects me to outbreak.ntli.com, but if you use the DNS it will work properly. also, how do i install windows patchs on a linux box, a mac, and a hardware router, which i think is the problem for them. anyway, if that helps, tell me. if not, ill see if i can find more stuff.

MrVestek

Nope that doesn't seem to work. I dont think my problem is with the net connection itself, but rather with the mac hardware. When it's downloading a HTML document it just freezes, then loads the title of the page, then freezes indefinatly. I mean what the hell is causing this? I dont know much about macs so i wouldn't know. Any more ideas?

lotas

maybe its not the hardware, but a software problem. my mac complained slightly when i got it. it was used to connecting though dial up, and then when it went on to a network and was given a nice fast internet connection, it whent slightly mad. try reinstalling the software, if you have it. or get it off your friend who gave you the machine in the first place. just wondering. do you have a spec for the machine?

MrVestek

Yeah it has 192 megs of ram and 233mhz processor, with an ati rage (i think) gfx card, that's all i know. I'll see if i can get the latest version of os9 from someone, as i doubt it'd run OSX, or would it?

lotas

it should run it. it wont be fast, but it will run. i have OSX.3 on my G3 iMac running @ 333Mhz and 288mb ram. the only copy of OS9 i have is for the imac, so that wouldent work for you. you may pick it up on ebay or something like that. this place has it, but its $60. you can Get OSX for about 120-130. see if your friend has it though.

MrVestek

Ok i'll try it man thanks. But are you sure OSX will run on a 192MB system with only a 233mhz processor?

flywheel

here's the 'official' OSX 10.3 upgrade requirements:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/upgrade/requirements.html

although looks like the PowerBook (Bronze Keyboard) specs start at 333 MHz:
http://www.info.apple.com/support/applespec.html

i just stuck OSX.2 on a 266Mhz iMac with 160 MB (listed as a compatible system) - only going to be used for word, email and a bit of browsing - it works fine - of couse a new G4 iMac would run better

BrianG

lotas

certing things on my G3 imac are slow, like ripping CDs (takes about half the time of the CD, and my pc (dual athlon) does it before the first track has a chance to play!). also, a lot of new software REQUIRES a G4, like iDVD, iMovie (not a requirement, but a recomendation) and a few other things. i tried x.2 and it was OK, and then upgraded to X.3 when i heard it was faster. i is too! put that being said, theres a 7200RPM hdd in there now, so it would be faster then the old 4200RPM that apple originally sold with the imacs. anyway, you can try it and see what happens. theres a few message boards you could try. dont have them off hand, but if you PM me ill send them to you.

flywheel

i stuck with OSX.2 as the Belkin WiFi USB adapter drivers were happier with it than with Panther... no Airport so limited options to get a connection and the Belkin was the easiest/cheapest option to make it Wireless...

i'd suggest you do some research on that PowerBook to see if others were successful / have any OSx.3 stories with your particular model, as it doesn't appear to be listed in the 'official' supported system list

BrianG

ZENER

@ Dubwireless: I might have a spare Airport card lying around here if you're stuck. PM me if you want it, FOC of course.

I recently installed 10.2 on a 333MHz G3 iBook with 192MB/10GB/ATI 8MB and it works fine.

Tinky

flywheel

thanks tinky, unfortunately it was one an earlier tray loading iMacs (5 Flavors) that had no Airport card slot so had to go down an alternative route - USB just worked out cheapest / easiest to sort out

thanks anyhow
BrianG