Question

Mac OS 9 frequently loses network connection

Asked by: ctsmequon

Hello-

We had a router failure in our office that suddenly cut everyone off from LAN and Internet connections. After replacing the router (and at the same time one switch that had been making disconcerting fan noises), everyone is back online except one Mac. The network is running in a peer-to-peer configuration containing Mac OS X, Mac OS 9, and WinXP workstations; a Win2k3 file and font server (one box); and a Netgear ProSafe router providing DNS and DHCP.

The Mac is running OS 9 exclusively (no OS X at all) and had been working fine before the router failure. Now, whenever the user is working, the Mac drops its network connection consistently after about five to fifteen minutes of use. Rebooting is the only way I've found to make the Mac restore its connection.

I have tried moving this Mac's network connection to a different switch and even directly to the router. No luck. I have tried swapping this Mac's connection with the Mac sitting closest to it to verify that its cable hadn't become damaged. No luck.

I am wondering if it is possible that some variation of the TCP-IP stack has become corrupted during the sudden failure of the router. Is there something I can check in the OS to verify that its network connectivity funcions are working properly? Is there a repair feature that I can use to correct this? I am hoping to avoid reinstalling the operating system, but that is pretty much my next step at this point.

Any concepts that I may be overlooking would be appreciated.

Thanks.

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Asked On
2008-04-17 at 04:36:13ID23330475
Tags

Apple

,

Mac OS 9

,

frequently loses network connection

Topics

Macintosh Classic Operating Systems

,

Apple Networking

,

Network Operations

Participating Experts
1
Points
250
Comments
4

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Answers

 

by: strungPosted on 2008-04-17 at 07:30:55ID: 21377470

What flavour of OS 9? 9.0, 9.1 or 9.2? If not 9.2, then download and install free updates from Apple's download site. If that doesn't solve the problem, check with your router manufacturer to see if there are any firmware updates for the router.

What brand and model router, by the way?

 

by: ctsmequonPosted on 2008-04-17 at 08:36:08ID: 21378280

OS 9.2, router is Netgear ProSafe FVS318

 

by: strungPosted on 2008-04-17 at 08:40:06ID: 21378340

I don' t know about Netgears, but D-Links used to have a default setting somewhere of "short preamble". Changing it to "long preamble" seemed to help Macs connect.

 Sounds like the Mac is up-to-date. Have you checked Netgear for updated firmware?

 

by: ctsmequonPosted on 2008-04-25 at 15:54:34ID: 21443732

Thanks for your help, but the issue seems to have been related to a failing router. We ended up replacing the router for another reason altogether, and this issue went away during the transition. Thanks again.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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