Oops- Found this Forum too late! Help!

Hi all! As many others, I have been in the PC world for years but now have a new iMac which I have managed to mess up.

When I installed it a month ago all worked well. Then I began to get occasional messages that I was not connected, but I could click on the 'connect' link and move on. But a week ago I suddenly could not bring up any web pages, not even the Safari start page. Emails continued to come it but none could be sent.
I talked with the Geek Squad on Chat but we couldn't fix it. I took the iMac back to the store and the Geek pronounced it "working perfectly" while admitting that he "wasn't really a Mac guy". I took it home and hooked it back up. Same problem. I called AT&T (we have U-Verse) and the guy came out, upgraded our U-Verse system, and replaced the wireless modem. Same problem persisted. I should mention that 2 iPads, a WinXP PC, and a MacBook Pro were/are all working fine on this same modem.
By this time I had messed with settings to the point where I don't know where I am or what to do next.
The machine is OSX Lion ver.10.7.4 with 4 GB memory, and 27" monitor.
I don't have many files on it so I wouldn't lose much if I could restore it to factory default settings and start over
I'll appreciate any help from you Mighty Wizards of the Mac!!

Thanks! I've already learned a lot from reading the previous posts but not enough to get things working.

John

To start this, how is the iMac connected to your network? Wired in or Wireless?

dtravis7 said:

To start this, how is the iMac connected to your network? Wired in or Wireless?

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Wireless, as is the MacBook Pro. The PC is wired.

Did I pick the right way to reply? I Don't see a "reply" button.

BestefarJohn said:

Wireless, as is the MacBook Pro. The PC is wired.

Did I pick the right way to reply? I Don't see a "reply" button.

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Yes you did fine!

Let me think on this a bit and I will be back. You can receive email you say but not send and no Web page access?

dtravis7 said:

Yes you did fine!

Let me think on this a bit and I will be back. You can receive email you say but not send and no Web page access?

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Right now no mail is goi8ng either way and no web page access. I'm using the PC to access the forum.

Are you connecting to the proper WiFi signal? In the upper right side of your menu bar, you should see the Wifi icon, which is sort of shaped like a fan. Click on it to make sure it's connected to your wifi signal and not a different one that requires a password.

Are you experiencing the same problems if you connect the same Mac by wire?

Oneironaut said:

Are you connecting to the proper WiFi signal? In the upper right side of your menu bar, you should see the Wifi icon, which is sort of shaped like a fan. Click on it to make sure it's connected to your wifi signal and not a different one that requires a password.

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Yes, I am connected to the proper wifi signal - it does require a password but I've entered that. Everything shows green and the system tells me I'm connected but still no email nor web pages.

In the Netword dropdown box my IPv4 is shown as 192.168.1.5 which I rhought was right but when I go to WhatsMy IP.com it gives me 99.169.250.142. I just found this a bitago and I think it's part of the problem.

Your network address will be different than your IP. Your network address is your personal network's IP for your computer. Your IP through ipchicken.com or What'sMyIP.com is your actual modem IP address. So it apears that' both are fine. But I'm not yet a mac user so I'm not sure what could be wrong with your mac. I'd let someone else troubleshoot as I don't have a mac here to work with. Good luck! I'm sure you will find a good answer here.

You are using a router. The 192.168.1.5 is the DHCP address your Router is giving the iMac. That 99.168.250.142 is the IP your ISP is giving you. A Router hides your computer IP from the rest of the world. That is working right.

It's something else. Can you show us screen shots of all your network settings?

dtravis7 said:

You are using a router. The 192.168.1.5 is the DHCP address your Router is giving the iMac. That 99.168.250.142 is the IP your ISP is giving you. A Router hides your computer IP from the rest of the world. That is working right.

It's something else. Can you show us screen shots of all your network settings?

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I will try. I'll have to figure out how to do screen shots. What constitutes "all" of my network settings?

BestefarJohn said:

I will try. I'll have to figure out how to do screen shots. What constitutes "all" of my network settings?

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Oh, but I can't get the iMac online. I'm on a PC sitting next to it, so I don't know if it is possible to get screen shots from the iMac over to the PC so they can be posted. I could just type them into an email though - just tell me exactly what is needed.

You might also list any software you installed. In particular, any anti-virus or firewall or system improvement software. You don't need any of that on a Mac, and some of it is definitely performance killing.

MacInWin said:

You might also list any software you installed. In particular, any anti-virus or firewall or system improvement software. You don't need any of that on a Mac, and some of it is definitely performance killing.

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The problem is that the iMac does not access the internet - no email, no web pages. But it did so when first purchased about 6 weeks ago. The U-Verse tech was just here and made sure that everything on his end is working. Three other computers can access the internet and do email over the same router. It's just the iMac that fails..

I'll gladly post the settings or any other information that might help. Just tell me what information is needed - specifically what settings, etc. - and I'll post them.

Thanks to all for your help! I wish I was more computer-literate!

Open System Preferences, Network and on Ethernet, tell us every setting and also in Advanced and the TCP/IP and DNS. Trying to see if there is something obvious wrong.

dtravis7 said:

Open System Preferences, Network and on Ethernet, tell us every setting and also in Advanced and the TCP/IP and DNS. Trying to see if there is something obvious wrong.

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Network Settings:
Connected: WI-FI is connected to 2wire068 and has the IP address 192.168.1.5
Network Name: 2wire068

Network Settings:
Advanced: WI-FI: Network Name: 2wire068 Security: WPA/WPA2 Personal
2wire341 WPA2 Personal (note from John - this is the old router that has been replaced by 2wire068)

The only thing checked is Remember networks.
.
WI-FI Address: 7c:c31e:35:fe

Advanced: TCPI/IP
Config. IPv4: Using DHCP
IPv4 Address: 192.168.1.5
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Router: 192.168.1.254

Config. IPv6: Automatically

Advanced: DNS: DNS Servers 192.168.1.254 Gateway 2wire.net

Advanced: WNS: NetBios Name: JOHNS-IMAC
Workgroup: WORKGROUP

Advanced: 802.1X : (empty)

Advanced: Proxies: No proxies checked.
Bypass proxy settings: *local, 169.254/16

Advanced: Hardware: Mac Address (same as above, 7c:c3: etc.)
Configure: Automatically
MTU: Standard (1500)

Under DIAGNOSTICS, Network Status - all six lights are green, and on the next page it states,:"Your Internet connection appears to be working correctly."

If there are other settings I don't know where to find them.

Thank You!!.

BestefarJohn said:

Oh, but I can't get the iMac online. I'm on a PC sitting next to it, so I don't know if it is possible to get screen shots from the iMac over to the PC so they can be posted. I could just type them into an email though - just tell me exactly what is needed.

Click to expand...

Take photo of screen using camera / camera phone -> post that using your PC.

Thank You!

dbm said:

Take photo of screen using camera / camera phone -> post that using your PC.

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I want to thank everyone who attempted to help me get my iMac back online. The problem was traced to a conflict between ISPs. The other numbers were correct.

With regarda,

John

This is a tough problem... Have you tried restarting?

joeelectricity said:

This is a tough problem... Have you tried restarting?

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Oops. Looks like I replied too late.