Wrecked Connection PART 2 (the continuation)

Question

Hi Guys,
I will just add the relevent points ,if I miss any I know you will let me know
Kindest becca
Power-cycling networking equipment (in the right order) can often solve a lot of problems. Worth a try.
-Rebooted my mini and router several times (including what you suggested in your earlier post Boece)
-Checked all settings and passwords for mistakes (three times-just to be sure)
-Ran Airport set up assistant---'problem connecting to network'
-Manual connection---'problem connecting to network'
-Without any security (turned off MAC filtering WPA2 hidden SSID)-made no difference
-Adjusted channels from g to g&b to b and back -again no difference
When I looked in network utility I got...
link speed 54Mb
status active
sent12
send errors 253
received 10
received errors 0
collisions 0
These results are after 10 minutes of trying to connect via airport.
I get an error from safari -error 1001
Firefox error- AUS update XML file malformed (200)
I appreciate your concern about the mini being far away but I have measured it and the distance between the base station/mini is approx 30 ft (in a straight line via ceiling ) I didnt really think that should be a problem (no microwaves, cordless phones, tv's etc )although there are other networks in the area they have never caused problems with a G5 imac (45 ft away and 2 ceilings) macbook ( 60 ft away2 walls and outside)
You might also want to consider reverting to the pre-update Airport configuration as outlined on MacFixit at http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20070126190822382 - for ease of reading, the pertinent part is:
"1 -Download the most recent version of Mac OS X for Intel (10.4.8) but do not install it.
2 -Download and install the shareware application Pacifist
3 -Drag the Mac OS X 10.4.8 installer package onto the Pacifist application icon.
4 -Click the triangle next to "System" to expand it
5 -Click the triangle next to "Library" to expand it
6 -Click the triangle next to "Extensions" to expand it
7 -Scroll down and find the file IO80211Family.kext. Drag it to your Desktop or another location (you will have to enter your administrator password)
8 -On your Mac OS X startup drive, navigate to /System/Library/Extensions and locate a similarly named file (IO80211Family.kext). Move it to another location for safe keeping.
9 -Now drag the file from step 7 (the one that you retrieved from the Mac OS X 10.4.8 install package) into the /System/Library/Extensions, in effect replacing the newer file (installed by the AirPort updater) with and older copy -- you will have to enter an administrator password.
10 -Restart your Mac
Try switching your basestation to something like channel 5, 6 or 7, and repeat the ap grapher test.
I've give it a go on all the chanels 1-13 and 9 seems to get the best signal strengtht ( 95)
The only major difference I noticed with the other proccess was that the TX rate graph , while still up and down and off the scale at either end- was displayed closer together when on different channels than others.
The fact that all channels give you an erratic TX rate does rather suggest one of two issues: either you do have a problem with wideband RF noise, or either mini or basestation are faulty.
I'm back on it now after going through each channel again ....I have noticed that when a channel is switched to another the TX rate drops to a steady low level for 5 seconds or so and then goes haywire again
( the other levels displayed stop and then resume at roughly the same level and stay steady.
Mini is back up stairs in its origanal position (also tried moving it around- slowly and on a level )
Initially I had a connection and saw in 'apgrapher' that although up and down the TX rate wasn't as 'up' as before the 'up' wouldnt go past three quarters of the way up whereas before it was off the scale
( leading me to think interferance as suggested) the
Signal strength had dropped to 40 in the scanner window.
After trying to change channels to test the various available , my connection 'timed out' and I could not re-connect , I tried turning airport off and on to no avail.
Airport display showed connection at 4-5 bars.
A restart saw me connected again.
I took a look in Activity monitor and noticed that airport info would pop onto the display momemtaraly and then dissapear and would repeat that pattern at regular intervals.
This thread took 29 seconds to load fully after clicking on it in the forum menu .
I origanally started writing this post upstairs but the connection would time out regular and so I brought the mini back downstairs and connected via ethernet .
'll take this mini to another house (out of this area) over the weekend and study APgrapher's results.
I'm not to sure about local free wifi ( not too big on that in the uk at present ,unfortunatly) but I will take it over to my friends place (who has wifi) and check the results there also.
I took the mini to another house and it performed the same as it does at my house.
I rang apple tech support yesterday and have been dealing with a tier 2 rep who has said that I have tried all the correct trouble shooting steps including an SMC reset which was the last test I did.
I have been asked to send a report to apple( system profile>file>send report to apple) which I have done .
The tech guy has been very helpful and even called me back later in the day to get some more details and do a bit more trouble shooting
He has now sent the case details to a senior engineer who will call me back within a day or so to discuss how to resolve the issue one way or another!
I usually run any computer I have had for 2 weeks before installing any other software then I can check for hardware issues and know that 3rd party software is not to blame for issues .
I generally ask on here after running Onyx if I experience any problems.
I can say with certanty that the first mini was indeed quicker, not much- but definately quicker,same system and apple RAM etc .
Maybe it was just my perception of it though as I think my faith was diminished after the first mini was DOA
ok Andy , I will follow your advice and install all my bits and bobs and thrash this puppy using a big stick ( actually known as logic express)
I'll definately give it a good work out over the next 10 days or so as I'm still within the 14 days faulty return cenario
Your not going to believe this but this replacement is acting up now
ARRRgh.
Same thing , dropping connection even though the airport icon states 4 bars ,the airport icon does fluctuate up/down.
The wierd thing is that when I try to reconnect I get the usual "problem connecting to network" so I click "ok" and then the airport bars go back to showing 4 bars and states that I am connected to my network but when I try and use the net I cannot, nor can I ping my wireless router.
Guess I'm gonna have to give up on the mac mini
Those symptoms are not uncommonly the result of a problem with the wireless access point.
Try pulling the power on it and waiting 30 seconds before plugging back in.
One way or another, I find it very odd, and somewhat unlikely, that two units would exhibit the same basic operability issues - particularly since the problem was not present out of the box with this latter system.
Andy what you said below really got me thinking and I thought to try a different electric cable on the router
With that preference pane open (the TCP/IP tab) so you can watch the IP address and ensure it remains, what happens if you try and ping the router using the ping tab of Network Utility (in Applications/utilities)? Ensure that when you open Network Utilities, in the 'Info' pane you have the correct network interface selected (it should be en1). The panel underneath there for Interface Information should show the correct IP and the status of the device as 'active'.
Then go to the Ping tab, enter the 192.168.0.1 address and have it ping 10 times. Then enter www.yahoo.com and ping that 10 times.
What happens?
I see configure IPv4 using DHCP
IP address 192.168.0.2
subnetmask 255.255.255.0
Router 192.168.0.1
There is also a IPv6 Address - is it safe to post that ? please advise.
Just to add I've ping'd both the router and yahoo again as the connection I have now has been active/useable for 7/8 minutes which is the best I have had for a while.
The only thing I have done differently is to have iTunes play a radio station.
I did this just before starting the radio on iTunes and getting this ( now nearly 35minutes ) stable connection.
I've been back into iTunes and turned off the radio and I still seem to have a stable (fingers crossed) connection .
It may be that the cable was causing a problem, dont know for sure but I will keep a close eye on it for a while.
What do you think?
While it's hard to tell if this was the case, if the ping results you got at first (the 2 packets received and 8 lost) occurred while airport was still connected (rather than dropping and reconnecting) then it points strongly to a router problem, or at the very least, would tend to indicate that before we can seriously point the finger at the mini, it is really necessary to eliminate the router as the cause.
I wouldn't expect a replacement power cord to have a dramatic effect, though of course there are instances of faulty cables so it's possible. It is more likely, if the router is the problem, that it has a faulty power adaptor, or an internal fault. Both typically needing a replacement router.
In this situation, if the change of power cable does not give you reliably improved results, I think I'd try and find another router to beg, borrow or buy and insert it in your system to replace your existing unit. Set it up exactly as your existing unit so you can connect to your ISP, and see how that performs. If you are buying a new wireless router, don't get a 'super G' or 'turbo' type, just a straightforward 802.11g 54Mbit/sec device.
Alternatively, as you did previously, take the mini to another location where a wifi is available and test it there.
Andy ,
I will keep an eye on the connection over the weekend and see what happens if it does start to falter ,then, as you suggested I will go and get another router and test it with that, if the connection remains ok I can only think that the 'issue 'was to do with the electric cable .
Been doing the ping thing this morning
PING 192.168.0.1 (192.168.0.1): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=3.148 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=2.634 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=255 time=1.307 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=255 time=1.330 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4 ttl=255 time=1.403 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=5 ttl=255 time=1.345 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=6 ttl=255 time=1.375 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=7 ttl=255 time=1.347 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=8 ttl=255 time=1.397 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=9 ttl=255 time=1.358 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=10 ttl=255 time=1.405 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=11 ttl=255 time=1.320 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=12 ttl=255 time=175.753 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=13 ttl=255 time=1.329 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=14 ttl=255 time=123.015 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=15 ttl=255 time=1.406 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=16 ttl=255 time=171.156 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=17 ttl=255 time=1.342 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=18 ttl=255 time=114.322 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=19 ttl=255 time=1.384 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=20 ttl=255 time=164.024 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=21 ttl=255 time=1.303 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=22 ttl=255 time=109.537 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=23 ttl=255 time=1.365 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=24 ttl=255 time=157.492 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=25 ttl=255 time=1.262 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=26 ttl=255 time=1.349 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=27 ttl=255 time=1.371 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=28 ttl=255 time=1.429 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=29 ttl=255 time=1.362 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=30 ttl=255 time=1.386 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=31 ttl=255 time=3.165 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=32 ttl=255 time=1.298 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=33 ttl=255 time=1.644 ms
I've had to do only 2 r 3 restarts to regain connection which certainly an improvement over every 5 minutes.
Thanks again to yourself , Boece and Daddypaycheck for the continued interest
Pretty much the same still .
Meaning that I have to reconnect by restarting the mac mini BUT not as bad as before, the connection holds for a while longer now .

Answer 1

(My suspicion is that the tiny antenna inside the
Mini is not as robust in dealing with marginal signal
conditions as the larger antennas in all the other
Mac products
There is, in fact, a reasonable consistency of reports indicating exactly that with the Mac mini. The supposition has commonly been that the nature of the mini's casing has an impact on signal, which seems reasonably possible and would account for lowered sensitivity, less reliable operation in marginal signal conditions, and higher susceptibility to interference.
Though it has to be said that Becca's situation should not, either by range or apparent signal strength, be marginal - particularly not when previous tests have been conducted with the mini in close proximity to the base station.
-- although I'm still open to the
possibility that current airport software in Macs is
less tolerant of some non-Apple routers.
The minis (and other wireless devices) I have in service in the network are variously connected via an Airport Extreme base station, an Airport Express and Belkin and Lexmark WAPs. Range varies between 15 and 55 feet and I've moved various wireless devices around to experiment. In the course of doing this I've noted marginally better signal stability at the 55 foot range between a mini and the Airport Extreme base station, but no real difference in signal quality between any of them.