iMac DV Connects - Won't Pass Packets?

DakRoland · Jun 26, 2004

I have in my possesion an slot load iMac DV running OS 9.2.2. It can dial up and connect to the ISP I work for, I see it on our servers and it does get assigned an IP address. Everything looks good, except it will not pass packets. I cannot get any pages to load. If I try, it immediately fails and says that there is no connection present. Even software update won't connect, it says the same thing. I have run scans with the shop's Tech Tool Pro 3.0.7 and it does find some issues with a few files (invalid dates), but it doesn't find anything else wrong. I ran the diagnostic on the Modem and it checks okay except for carrier signal (which I think is because it didn't fully connect to the servers, and so it dropped). I have checked TCP/IP settings, Modem settings, Internet settings, reinstalled Internet Explorer, and nothing seems to work. I've trashed Modem, TCP/IP, Internet & IE preferences, and rebooted, and still to no avail. I'm not sure what else to check. Does anyone here any any suggestions as to what else I need to check?

~Dak "The Frustrated Mac Guy"

witeshark · Jun 26, 2004

This really resembles a firewall issue

Absolute Zero · Jun 26, 2004

There is no built-in firewall in Mac OS 9.2.2, but it's possible.
Did you install one? Did a firewall come with it?

DakRoland · Jun 26, 2004

Nope. No firewall has been installed on this iMac. There is no security package installed that would explain why it can't see that it's connected. The iMac was on a Verizon DSL setup, and was working until he brought it here and set it up on our ISP. I don't think the Verizon software would cause this kind of problem, but as far as I can tell, that would only come into play when it was hooked up through the Ethernet or the USB connection. Straight dialup should not be affected, and I have setup separate configurations and trashed preferences so that anything it would have affected, should be gone now.

Quite the mystery, eh?

Absolute Zero · Jun 26, 2004

Is it compatible with Mac OS 9? When I had AOL (shut up, don't anyone comment on this... please...) it did not work with Mac OS X 10.0. Might want to check that out.

DakRoland · Jun 28, 2004

Update: Okay, new work day, here I am working on the iMac once again. First thing I decided to do was hook up the Ethernet cable and see if it would work on our network. I plugged it in, assigned it an IP...lo and behold, it works! I can browse, Software update loaded and showed a firmware update for the iMac. I decided to take advantage of my good fortune and downloaded it. I then performed the update which went off without a hitch. Dialed it right up and it worked! But, whether it's my paranoid nature or my natural skepticism, I decided that one try was not enough. I unhooked the ethernet cable, set the TCP/IP back to Using PPP and restarted the iMac. Dialed it back in and ...CRAP! Back to the same old problem! I even zapped the PRAM (Option + Command + P + R) and still to no avail.

I decided to see if this was an OS 9 issue or a hardware/firmware issue, so I restarted in OS X (10.0.4) and they had never run OS X before, so I knew this was a clean start. Once I got it setup on the dialup, I dialed it in and it seems to pass packets nicely. No troubles so far, but I'm doing a reboot right now. Redailed it, it connects...open IE...and pages load fine. This has to be an OS 9 issue.

Any thoughts?

DakRoland · Jul 8, 2004

Success!!!

Sorry about the delay in updating this, but I got it figured out. I don't know why I didn't think of this, but I guess I still have to get used to working with OS 9 issues before it becomes something like second nature for me. ;-)

The problem with this iMac turned out to be an extensions conflict. My brother, (a Mac Solutions Expert, btw) asked me if I'd checked the extensions yet. I hadn't, because I hadn't run across an extensions issue before. So he showed me how to make different Extensions Configurations, and how to go about slowly adding extensions back in and letting the system reboot and testing it. I was able to get just the extensions she needed enabled, and got it working flawlessly.

I also just ran into a Powerbook G4 (Ti) with a similar issue this morning, and was able to quickly chase down and resolve that issue thanks to my experience with the iMac.

Thanks for the suggestions and help. I just thought you'd like to know that I was able to get everything going, finally.