03-24-2008, 02:35 PM

Hi,
My dad has an iMac that is running on a local network with a Linksys WRT54G v2 router/switch with a DSL ISP. There are 2 other Windows XP Pro machines on the network. He also has Parallels program with Windows XP Pro loaded on the iMac. Before upgrading to Leopard, everything was working great. Both the Mac side and the Parallels XP could see all the other XP machines and get on the internet. After upgrading to Leopard, both the Mac and the Parallels XP could see all the other XP machines, but only the Parallels XP side could get on the internet, the Mac could not.

The settings have to be correct, otherwise the Mac would not be able to see the other XP machines (it is using DHCP). I have tried both the wireless and the wired connections, and get the same results. We have taken the iMac to someone else's house that has a local wireless network (not a linksys), and the iMac worked fine (both the Parallels XP and the Mac could see the internet), which tells me that the settings on the Mac side should be OK, which leaves, I think, some settings on the Router as the problem. Is anyone aware of particular issues with the Linksys WRT54G router with Leopard?

Thanks!
Michael

03-24-2008, 02:46 PM

If I had a penny for every time I saw an issue with this Router and OS X, well I'd have about 9 pennies... but anyway...

This router does seem to have a very specific issue with OS X - the fault is that although you connect to the router, it does not give you an internet connection, right? I had the same router and got so fed up with it, I actually physically threw it out of my apartment window into the trash can below (great shot actually). OK, I went way too far in an uncharacteristic fit of rage! What's very interesting in your case is that Parallels can connect (I assume you simply use Shared Networking). This means the hardware is fine, but there is some incompatibility between OS X and this router, not the hardware.

After I threw out my router, one day I was in a Coffee Bar in Brooklyn and I could not connect. I saw all these Dell and HP owning guys happily surfing the web, but me and 2 other Mac owners could not connect. We were all using Tiger. - Guess what? It was a WRT54G. I connected to the router and found it was still protected by the default password, so had a sniff around.

After experimenting, I did notice something odd. The DHCP was not assigning an IP address to my machine for the internet. By forcing a fixed IP I was able to get it to work, but only for a few minutes, then it stopped.

None of this helps you, but I do think there is some issue, but it's pretty random - and actually has nothing to do with Leopard - probably more to do with how your OS sets up the networking when the OS is installed. Plenty of people on this forum don't have the issue, and they'll be here shortly to tell you so, which also won't help you.

I suggest:

- Check for new firmware on the router, it may just work
- Reset the router
- Try changing the Security Settings (WEP/WPA) to see is this makes a difference