MAC techies
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- mongo
Im trying to get internet connectivity with my powerbook in Spain. Now the service says its ADSL but it has to dial up to the service and it uses a USB instead of a network cable. Can anyone please shed some light on this for me?? Thanks in advance.
- rabattski0
you are prolly hooked up on the dsl modem directly.
- mongo0
hmm.. so do i have set up my mac to the dial up? cuz usually it automatically just detects it.
- mongo0
anyone??
- rabattski0
yes. if you are directly connected to the dsl modem you have to dial up since the modem needs to make a connection to the provider. normally the provider supplies software and/or settings for this.
- ribit0
It might seem strange if you have previously put these setting in a router/modem and connected through ethernet to the router... but this is how most USB modems work, they unfortunately use the dial-up protocols rather than the more robust ethernet. Downside is that being 'dial-up', your connection will drop whenever you put the Mac to sleep, and you have to deal with driver issues, it uses your Macs processing power and stuff like that... it's a pretty crappy way to do ADSL... so as soon as you can, throw the USB modem and go get a cheap ADSl ethernet router and use that instead with all the same settings... (ignore the ISP if they say you arent allowed to)
- rabattski0
well hells yeah is the router option a lot better but it's not wise to throw away the modem since you still need it to connect to the interweb.
- ribit0
no you cant use the USB modem if you are using an ethernet router... the USB modem only works directly with a computer (with a USB port).
You use the USB modem as a doorstop, and go get a combination ADLS modem/router/wireless base station (they are getting cheaper, and this is the best deal for all the stuf fit does). Settings all go in the router/modem thing, all other computers just choose DHCP to join the network, and you're done.
- rabattski0
maybe it depends per country. what i'm used to is that my computers are connected to a dsl router which is connected to the dsl modem (all tcp/ip wiring) the dsl modem is hooked up to the phoneline. now the dsl router controls the modem and actually giving commands for the connection etc. the dsl modems i know always have an ethernet connection if you choose to use a dsl router. you can also hook up directly to the dsl modem thru usb and/or ethernet.
- ribit0
The dial-up (ISP) settings are in the DSL modem, not the router, which is why you can use it on it's own. The router just hangs off that and provides LAN services.
But avoid separate boxes if you can... best value for money (and easiest to setup and maintain) is the single combo box like this:
http://www.netgear.co.uk/html/pr…
- ********0
I think you should you PPPoE under your Network/Built-in Ethernet configurations.. thats how i work it out..
- ribit0
but not with a USB modem...
- rabattski0
no there are routers you can configure to do that. who just use the modem to make the connection but the router has the settings (userid/pass etc).
- ribit0
seems there are a lot of combinations out there... and then there's cable...
- waynepixel0
I alway thought USB internet conectino was a pile of wank. And now I now. :-|
- ribit0
I have 2 old BT USB modems if anyone needs a green slug-like doorstop.
- rabattski0
you can use 'em as window stoppers in the summer.
- mongo0
so there's no way i can make this work by just connecting the modem directly to my powerbook?
- ribit0
ha ha.... after all that...
YES!! It should work fine (apart from USB modems being a totally crappy way to do an ASDL connection). Just follow the instructions, load the driver, then set it up like you do for an analog modem: select the driver in your Network > Modem preferences, enter the ISP details in the PPP preferences pane, select PPP and put in the DNS settings in the TCP/IP pane and connect...
What bit of the setup are you having a problem with?
- mongo0
thanks ribit.. well i keep getting.. 'crossed connection detected.. check your modem settings and try again..'
- mongo0
the problem is that the driver for this usb modem does not come with a version for the mac.. only pc. is there a generic modem that i can select?