Airport Express issues sorted and itunes10 airplay working properly!!!

Question

I could not rename my original topic, but I have cut & paste the thread so all can read it, weeks of faffing about is now sorted!
I have been running AX for almost 2 years with out an issue, that's with my router and AE in the living room, about 15 feet and a thin wall, could even join my laptop in my bedroom almost 60 feet away with out issues.
My wireless internet connection keeps dropping out, I can wait for several minutes and it will re join automatically, if I go manual it asks for a password, even though it is saved in my keychain!
I moved the router and AX next to my imac and the issues are still occurring.
I am running 10.6.7, have all updates on AX. run 4GB ram, checked activity monitor, all good.
I am not exactly computer savvy, but I was wondering as my router is a little older (Motorola SBV5121E Cable modem) could it be possible that it may not communicate with the AX since updates?
I plugged ethernet directly into my imac from router and no problems what so ever.
Is it possible to run my imac directly from the router and still set up a wireless network using my imac as the base station? This would then solve the issue as the wireless connection is really only needed for the wife and iphone surfing etc ??
Or can I get a wireless router that enables my imac to plug into it directly and also create a wirless network for my AX's (hopefully x 2) to operate. Any recommendations as to the best wireless router?
Any help greatly appreciated.
imac Mac OS X (10.6.7)
Reply from Tesserax
Yes, you could use your iMac as a "software" router, sharing its wired Internet connection to wireless devices (like the iPhone) via its built in AirPort wireless. Apple calls this feature: Internet Sharing.
Here are the basic steps to configure it:
To setup for Internet Sharing (Wired to Wireless):
Setup the Network
Cable Modem > (Ethernet cable) > [Ethernet port] iMac > (wireless) > iPhone
Enable Software Firewall - iMac
System Preferences > Security > Firewall
o Block all incoming connections (enabled)
Enable Internet Sharing - iMac
System Preferences > Sharing
o Select "Internet Sharing" from the options in the left column
o Share your connection from: Built-in Ethernet
o To computers using: AirPort (checked) (Note: Uncheck all other entries in the list.)
AirPort Options...
o Network Name: <anything you want>
o Channel: Automatic
o Enable encryption (using WEP) (optional)
o Password: (optional)
o Confirm Password: (optional)
o WEP Key Length: (optional)
o Click OK
o Select "Internet Sharing" again
o Click "Start" to start Internet Sharing
o Click Start
 Macmini3,1 Mac OS X (10.6.7)  Macmini1,1  MacBook4,1  PowerBook5,6  PowerMac3,5
My Reply:
Halleluja! Thanks for the reply, I will have a play tonight after dinner and see whether I can get the "internet sharing" up and running.
Will post my results,
Cheers.
Bez
imac Mac OS X (10.6.7)
bezza911
Good Morning Tesserax,
that's fantastic, I now have internet sharing and everything is perfect. My next question is, can I now add my 2 x airport express onto the network to "extend wireless network", and especially have it next to my audio to plug the speakers in for airplay around the entire apartment?
Thanks in advance,
Bez
OK,
I just tried setting up my AX, reset the device, reconfigured to "join a wireless network", waited a few minutes and an error message came up on my screen saying try again. Tried a 2nd time, same problem. Turned airport off on my internet sharing imac, then suddenly the AX went green, set up the other AX and the same scenario. Been playing "airplay" through both AX for 30 mins and happy to report that I no longer have the "drop out" of music that has plagued my configuration for weeks!
I think Tesserax has created a solution for the numerous issues with itunes 10, via the internet sharing proceedure.....
Yaaaahooooo,
Cheers Tesserax, you da man!

Answer 1

I have a similar issue. Station has been working with no issues since I purchased in May 2014.  But since last Monday (12/29/14), it just does not connect to the internet at all.  I have it connected via LAN cable from my Comcast router.  Verified the conditions of the LAN cable and the output of the COMCAST router as I plugged to a network switch and works with no other issues.  The 5 GHz signal totally disappeared, and the 2.4 GHz is there but no internet connection.  I use terminal to ping the station and obtain a reply from the station and the router, but no luck obtaining internet via the Apple extreme which is connected to my VOIP phone, my Apple TV, and all my music in the cloud.  Right now had to configure everything to receive the signal from the COMCAST router.  No one at the Apple store knows about this equipment, just IPhone6 jockeys.