Lion and Ethernet?

Question

Not WiFi this time but Ethernet! I've a new Mac mini running 10.7.2 which connects via WiFi OK but I can't get a connection via ethernet. My WiFi signal is weak hence the desire to use ethernet if possible - via a PowerLine connection perhaps? The same ethernet cable plugged into my wife's little G3/Panther iBook works fine and the Network Configs are as near as possible identical. The mini Network panel reports that I have a working connection - but it only gets to the router/modem and not beyond.
Alternatively, is there a simple way of boosting the mini's WiFi sensitivity? iStumbler shows the mini to have only a third of the signal level to that of the little G3 iBook sitting right alongside! The mini's metal casing can't exactly help WiFi reception.

Answer 1

A 169 address means that the Mac is not getting an address from the router and is self-assigning an address, all of which will being with 169, which cannot connect to the Internet. So there's either a problem with the router, or Mac OS X isn't correctly obtaining an address, or there's a cable problem (unlikely, but the old Mac might connect at 10Mbps Ethernet and work on that cable, but the 100Mbps/1Gig Ethernet from the Mini might not). You might first try resetting the router and see if that helps.
If not, you could try assigning a manual IP address in the router and setting up a static IP address in your Mac. You'll need to know your Internet provider's domain name server addresses for that. For more information on setting a static IP address in Mac OS X, see:
http://portforward.com/networking/static-Mac10.4.htm
The interface in Lion will be a bit different but the basics will be the same.
Regards.