Hooking a non-wireless Mac to a wireless network

My daughter has an old iMac (with the white dome base). Is it possible for her to set this up on a wireless network? What would she need to purchase if so? I'm pretty sure there's no provision for an Airport card in one of these things, correct? Or is there?

My daughter has an old iMac (with the white dome base).
That's an iMac G4.
Is it possible for her to set this up on a wireless network?
Yes.
What would she need to purchase if so?
Click here and determine which card is compatible. It's also possible to use an external USB or Ethernet device which supports any of the 802.11 protocols to gain wireless access.
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Bridging network to non-wireless Mac

I have 2 Wireless Linksys routers, 2 Airport Express Base Stations, and 1 Airport Extreme BS 11n. I had been using one of the Linksys routers and one of the Airport Express Base Stations to connect to my DSL modem and host my wireless, connect a couple of wired Macs (2 minis), and a network printer (via the Base Station since the Linksys doesn't have a USB port).
I bought the 11n Base Station and the 2nd Express Base Station in the hopes that I could bridge the airgap between the 11n Base Station and the Express Base Station over wireless and then hook a non-wireless OSX Mac to the Express. It now appears to me though that the ethernet port on the Express is really only for set up of the Express itself and cannot be used to provide network access to a non-wireless-enabled machine. Am I wrong about this? Does anyone have any ideas on how to hook a non-wireless Mac into a network when stringing an Ethernet cable to it from the router isn't a viable option?
Any ideas are appreciated.
Regards.

I bought the 11n Base Station and the 2nd Express Base Station in the hopes that I could bridge the airgap between the 11n Base Station and the Express Base Station over wireless and then hook a non-wireless OSX Mac to the Express.
Yes, this is possible and is known as a Wireless Distribution System (WDS).
Here's how ...
AEBSn - WDS Setup
(Note: To facilitate the WDS set up, place the base stations within near proximity of each other during the set up phase, and then relocate them to their desired locations when complete. Also, jot down the MAC addresses for each of the base stations to be used in the WDS.)
Main Base Station Setup
o Click the AirPort status menu in the menu bar and choose the wireless network created by the base station you want to set up as the main base station.
o Open AirPort Utility (located in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder on a Macintosh computer, or in Start > All Programs > AirPort on a computer using Windows).
o Select the main base station, and choose Manual Setup from the Base
Station menu, or double-click the base station to open the configuration in a separate window.
o Enter the base station password if necessary. If the base station is using the
default password of public, you will not be prompted for a password.
o Click Wireless in the toolbar, and then choose “Participate in a WDS network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu.
o Click WDS and then choose “WDS main” from the WDS Mode pop-up menu.
o Select the “Allow wireless clients” checkbox if you want client computer to connect to this base station.
o Click the Add "+" button and enter the MAC address of the base stations you want to connect to this base station.
o Click Update to send the new settings to the base stations in the WDS.
Remote Base Station Setup
o Click the AirPort status menu in the menu bar and choose the wireless network created by the base station you want to set up as a remote base station.
o Open AirPort Utility (in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder on a Macintosh computer, or in Start > All Programs > AirPort on a computer using Windows).
o Select the remote base station, and choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu.
o Enter the base station password, if necessary. If the base station is using the default password of public, you will not be prompted for a password.
o Enter the same network password as the main base station, if necessary.
o Click AirPort in the toolbar and click Wireless. Choose “Participate in a WDS network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu, and choose the same channel as the main base station from the Channel pop-up menu.
o Click WDS and choose “WDS remote” from the pop-up menu.
o Enter the MAC address of the main base station in the WDS Main field. The MAC address is also referred to as the AirPort ID and is printed on the label on the bottom of the base station.
o Click Update to transfer the settings to the base station.
(ref: Pages 42-46 of "Designing AirPort Networks Using AirPort Utility.)

Using the Mac as a wireless Bridge for the Xbox 360

Want to use your Mac essentially as a wireless adapter for an Xbox 360 or any console? plug in the ethernet cable between the two devices and follow the setup process!
Wireless Bridge setup process
1. Open system Preferences.
2. Clisk sharing, then the internet tab and select Airport as the “share your connection from” then select the Built-in Ethernet in the list.
3. Open up the terminal Application and type ifconfig en0 in the window it sohuld display an outcome like this
ifconfig en0
en0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
inet 192.168.2.1 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.2.255
ether 00:16:cb:cc:80:aa
media: autoselect status: inactive
supported media: autoselect 10baseT/UTP <half-duplex> 10baseT/UTP <full-duplex> 10baseT/UTP <full-duplex,hw-loopback> 10baseT/UTP <full-duplex,flow-control> 100baseTX <half-duplex> 100baseTX <full-duplex> 100baseTX <full-duplex,hw-loopback> 100baseTX <full-duplex,flow-control> 1000baseT <full-duplex> 1000baseT <full-duplex,hw-loopback> 1000baseT <full-duplex,flow-control> none
4. This gives you the information of what your computer’s IP address is. On the xbox dashboard in the network setup screen select manual and select the top section which contains the IP address, subnet mask, and Gateway address, for the IP address, input the Highlighted section above plus one, so its 192.168.2.1 (this is for standard configurations, again, just add one to the last digit of your IP address.
5. Open Airport Admin Utility, the select configure on your airport. Then select the Internet tab This will give you your subnet Mask, input accordingly.
6. For the Gateway address, you are going to put in the value in the blue box. This is because you are using your Computer as a gateway, therefor you need to tap into its connection.
So For the Average setup you will use:
IP Address: 192.168.2.2
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway Address: 192.168.2.1
7. Now for the DNS server, this varies according to What internet service you have, but, Airport admin utility provides the answer, right below the information we used above, you will see DNS Server. viola! Put that in as your primary DNS server in the second box of edit options in the network menu.
Now you should be complete, test the connection and you should be Ready to Go!! Happy Gaming!

Welcome to the discussions, DanSwiggsD!
If you have a non-Apple device as your main router, unfortunately the AirPort Extreme has almost no chance of compatibility with your main router.
If you do have an Apple router as your main device, please post back with your model number and we'll let you know how your devices should be configured.
If you don't have an Apple device as your main router you have a few options to connect the xbox:
1) A pair of ethernet powerline adapters could be used if you did not want to run a regular ethernet cable from your main router to the xbox.
2) The new AirPort Express 802.11n model does have a feature called Proxy STA which should allow it to receive a wireless signal from any wireless router and allow the ethernet port to be enabled.
Message was edited by: Bob Timmons

Why does my mac use the wireless network when the wired network (faster) is available?

My mac is connected to my gigabit wired network, but insists on using the (decidedly slower) wireless network. When I connect the ethernet cable, I can see that Ethernet moves to the top of the list in my network options... but investigation using the Network Utility shows that all the data is still transferred over AirPort unless I disable it. That shouldn't be necessary.

Do you NEED Airport and Ethernet on at the same time?
Like @PAHU said you can use Locations to set up a different connection and/or network when you only need the Wireless.
Setting a "Location" is an excellent way to separate the networks. If you use a "Location" for DSL/Cable and another for "File Sharing" then you can set up which "connection" you want to use and can turn off the others. Or a wireless OR wired Network.
If you also go to the left side of the Network window and select Airport and turn it OFF and you won't have to worry about it anymore. You will have to set each "connection" for each "Location".
I have all my computers hooked to a wired Gigabit switch and the Wired/Wireless router is connected to that. I have "Ethernet-DSL", "Wireless DSL", "DSL OFF", "Wireless Games", "Ethernet Games" (also for file transfers between computers) all on different networks. Takes all of 5 seconds to switch back and forth.

Strange log entries Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/wireless?

On my desktop machine I get this in the logs;
Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/wireless false:
/usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/wireless false: success.Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/pcie_aspm false:
/usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/pcie_aspm: line 9: echo: write error: Operation not permitted
/usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/pcie_aspm false: success.
Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/readahead false:
/usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/readahead false: success.
Running hook /usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/sata_alpm false:
/usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/sata_alpm false: success.
A lot ...
I do not have pm-utils or laptop-mode or pm-powersave installed since it is a desktop machine. The logs doesn't tell where it's coming from and I'd like to stop it.
Last edited by swanson (2012-01-30 15:54:28)

I have the same error too: "/usr/lib/pm-utils/power.d/pcie_aspm: line 9: echo: write error: Operazione non permessa".
What is this?
Thank you.
Riccardo

New mac mini and wireless keyboard

how do I set up a new mac mini and wireless keyboard at the same time?

Since the Mac Mini does not come with a Monitor, Keyboard or Mouse those are needed when setting up a Mac Mini. I don't know what brand wireless KB you have or if that even matters.
I have an Apple wireless keyboard (bluetooth), Apple magic trackpad (bluetooth), and Dell DVI monitor. When I initially booted my new Mac Mini, the screen showed it searching for bluetooth devices. It found the keyboard first and then a few seconds later, the mouse. So, I had all devices to finish setup of the Mini.

Using a mac as a wireless media server

Can a G5 or Mac Pro be setup to share music, videos, and pictures wirelessly without needing a monitor, keyboar, or mouse? I would like to be able to set the mac up somewhere not visible, and never have to access it directly. I would like to add new videos, pics, and music to it from another wireless mac.
Does this sound realistic?
Does it take a long time to transfer files between macs wirelessly? How does the speed compare to transfering files with a USB or FireWire drive?
Thanks!!!

Should be no problem, even with older Macs than that, heck, a 233MHz Beige could Serve as fast as any Wired or Wireless connection could transfer I think.
Depends which 802.11x are in your setup... 802.11a/b=no good, 802.11g=plenty, 802.11n=great.
G speed tops out at 54Mbps, but half that is more likely, so say 180MB file would take one minute on a good day, N would be about 4 times faster.
If you go the Wireless route, the Mac would have to be awake all the time, but with Ethernet you could use Wake on LAN activity to do it.

Sharing iTunes between wired and wireless Macs

Hi,
I have a Mac laptop connected wirelessly to an Airport Express -- which is wired to a desktop Mac Mini. I'm trying to share music but cannot. I've done all the proper settings in the iTunes preferences and the same in System Preferences -- I think -- on both computers, but on neither computer is anything showing in the Sources window. It says that there are no users online.
Is there something in the System Preferences box that I'm missing? Should I turn the firewall off (I shouldn't need to, since I've checked the iTunes Sharing box)? Is the main problem here that you can't share music between a wired and wireless computer? (This would be a bit strange to me, but you never know.)
One other thing. I was trying out the network and I can only get access to the wired Mini's Public folder as a Guest, not as a Registered User. Is there something very badly wrong here?
Any suggestions welcome. Thanks.

Thanks for the rapid response. All of those preferences, however, are already set properly (i.e., as you said) on both computers. When I try to go to the Network, I can access the wired desktop Mini's hard drive, but when I try to do it on the mini to get into the laptop's it can't find the afp. It just keeps searching but then says it doesn't exist. Not sure if this network-connectivity problem is relevant or not for this particular issue of iTunes sharing. Grateful for any advice.

Problem with connetction to wrt54g2 via wireless connection with WPA/WPA2 & wireless MAC filter

Hello,
I'm Alexey from Novosibirsk, Russia.
I have a problem with connection to wrt54g2 from my DELL D630 notebook via wireless connection. When I setup WPA/WPA2 in wireless security and wireless MAC filter I can't connect from notebook to WRT - in Windows I see that dynamic IP address from WRT is not assigned. When I switch off security mode to disable always OK, but I need a wireless security between DELL and WRT.
Connection via cable Ethernet port is OK.
Can You help me?

Have you tried the different laptop...?
Download 1.71 MB the firmware for WRT54G2 v1 and reflash the router's firmware.After reflashing/upgrading the router's firmware,reset the router for 30 seconds and reconfigure the router from scratch.

Attempted to set up an HP wireless printer and my whole network is now a mess. HP help told me I had too many signals, as I have a Time Capsule 4 Macs and 4 Airport Express set up. Anyone else figure this out?

I attempted to set up a new HP wireless printer. It is unstable and HP support says I have too many devices since I have a time capsule and 4 airport express either extending my network or being used for a different printer or stereos. Anyone else find that their Airport Express/Extreme interferes with a wireless printer. If so, what's the point?

I have a similar model, the HP 8500A here in the home office that I originally hooked up using wireless on an AirPort system consisting of an AirPort Extreme, Time Capsule and 2 AirPort Express devices.
The HP was originally hooked up to the "main" router using wireless as a test to see how wireless would perform. No issues with setup or performance over the first few weeks. I did eventually change the device to connect using Ethernet once I had room to move the device near the AirPort Extreme.
HP is pulling your leg with the advice about too many devices. The AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule will handle up to 50 wireless devices. In my case, I did nothing except follow the setup procedure and restart the entire network....something that I always do when I make any change to the network.

How to make tv as display, wireless-mac bk pro-2yr old tv?

how do i make tv as display, wirelessly -mac bk pro 2009- and samsung 40'' 650t tv 2yr old,

you need this for one thing http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-WIS09ABGN-LinkStick-Wireless-Adapter/dp/B0021LA1BE
or if your tv is near your router you should just plug it in directly via ethernet cat6.
further reading about your tv and how it connects to stream content is needed.

Wireless MAC filter can not be active to connect to WIFI?

I use a Linksys router with WEP security and a Wireless MAC filter. When I turned off WEP I was unable to connect to the router with my iphone 3g but when I enabled WEP and turned off the MAC filter I connected right away.
Has anybody else seen this or has anyone successfully connected to a router with a MAC filter?
Thanks

I have no problems connecting to a router with MAC filtering enabled... I would just double check that you entered the correct MAC address into your router (Settings>General>About>Wi-Fi Address) and make sure the permissions are set correctly for that MAC address (if applicable)...

Can this be done? Airport extreme connected wireless in extend mode to connect a wireless Mac Pro with an ethernet cable from the extended airport extreme..

Can this be done? Airport extreme connected wireless in extend mode to connect a wireless Mac Pro with an ethernet cable from the extended airport extreme.

This will work.....IF....you also have an Apple AirPort router configured to provide your wireless network.
In other words, you need to have two Apple AirPort routers to extend a wireless network.
When the AirPort Extreme is configured to "extend" the wireless of the "main" AirPort, it will provide more wireless coverage and the Ethernet ports are enabled, so you could connect your Mac Pro to any of the Ethernet ports and use that as a network and Internet connection.

My Wireless mac keypad has stopped properly working. The keys sometime do not correspond to the result, or a a simultaneous duel actio, for example when the delete button is pressed the. Ursor does go backwards, but it also turns the sound up. Any ideas?

My Wireless mac keypad has stopped properly working. The keys sometime do not correspond to the result, or a a simultaneous duel actio, for example when the delete button is pressed the. Ursor does go backwards, but it also turns the sound up. The keyboard is properly connected to the computer, and the battery life is up in the nineties.
Help please !!!!

Hi, thankyou for your response. Can I just confirm that you mean turning the computer on and off again, or re-booting the whole system. If it is the first I have already turned the system on and off, with no luck.
Regards

Using Mac as local wireless webserver (without internet connection)

I want to use a freestanding Mac as a wireless webserver. The mac couldn't be connected to the internet but would hold all its content locally, which would be accessible to other devices on a wireless network.
I feel sure this should be possible somehow but I'm not sure what direction to take. Can anyone give me any pointers?
Thanks for any suggestions!

So I buy th iPad, I buy the applet TV, I install my own local area wireless network and purchase the Lion King and I still can't drive down the road in my RV and play the movie for my kids? Seems a bit idiotic. What are they trying to authorize? If I purchased the movie for $19.99 don't I own the rights to watch it? The technology seems like a perfect fit for a road trip in the RV since we can buy/rent the movies for download before the trip and then stream them to the tv whie on the road.
I guess I will return the hardware get my money back and revert back to VHS tapes. At least those we actually mine once I paid for them...

Hooking a non-wireless Mac to a wireless network

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