Power Macintosh 8600/300 - CAN'T CONNECT TO INTERNET -

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Power Macintosh 8600/300 - CAN'T CONNECT TO INTERNET -

I recently picked up a vintage Power Macintosh 8600/300 and I'm having trouble connecting to the internet. I have internet through my cable company with an RJ-45 plug. For example: "can't load 'can't load http//:www.hotmail.com' error" message comes up ... Any advice or hints to get connected or I'm I wasting my time? Thanks!

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is your cable company a plug-n-go?

or does it require a DHCP ID? My Cable requires me to have a DHCP-ID in order to connect. Most likely if it's a First Gen Cable modem. Also, is it directly connected to the Modem? If it is, you will need a Cross-over cable to connect it.
Also, what OS are you running?

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8600/300

Mac OS 8.6 is the OS. Not sure about DHCP-IP. I rent and I'll have to check with my landlord. I believe its Cablevisions' Optimum Online service(Long Island, New York)...

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How are you connecting to the

How are you connecting to the computer? Through the ethernet port on the 8600 or through a PCI ethernet card? The port on the computer is only 10baseT--very slow. How much RAM do you have? Is the 300 a G3 upgrade or is it the stock processor that came with the machine? If you've not upgraded in any of these fashions, then your machine probably isn't able to handle cable internet. Spend $50 and buy a B&W G3 locally with OS X and your problems are solved.

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shoulda asked this:

does it have a router before the cable modem, or is it directly connected?
Also, is there another computer on the network, and if there is (through a Hub/Switch) is it going to a router before the cable modem?

The reason I ask this, is because some cable companies won't let more than one machine directly access the cable modem. On my network, i have to have a router (airport extreme) connected to the Cable modem, then from the Router, it goes to a switch. Otherwise, the cable company will charge me for having more than one connection (the cable modem reports that there are 2 or more connections coming from the house) and it bogs down the network as it's fighting over which computer has priority

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lots of good ideas, but why n

lots of good ideas, but why not connect your 8600 to the RJ-45 plug via the 8600's onboard ethernet.( make sure the cable is good).
Then run Apple's Internet Set-Up Assistant.
This should walk you thru any remote access and TCP configurations.
*note...I had much better luck using a PCI ethernet card in my 86/9600 macs.
Also take a look in the Apple System Profiler/network settings.
See if the onboard ethernet is recognized and/ or connected.

Dave

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another question?

if the 8600 is directly connected to the network, are you using a Cross-over cable? or are you using a straight-thru Cable? If it is connected to a switch, I ask the same question, Straight of Cross?
If it is going to a switch (especially an older one) be sure to use a straight cable.

One last question, when you go into the TCP/IP Control panel, do you get an IP Address? What is the address? I want to be sure if it's the computer that is having problems, or if it is further down the line.

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Well, you can guess away at w

Well, you can guess away at why there's no connection, especially with really old hardware and software. To begin with, it's probably the basics: you need to reset your cable modem, if you have one. That's usually the reason you get the cannot load message if all your connections are proper. But your ISP probably has minimum hardware requirements which need to be addressed if they haven't already.

Jon
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Hardware reqs generally mean

Hardware reqs generally mean nothing so long as your software can handle the protocols they want. I've personally run a 486 laptop with WFW3.11 on a WiFi card to my WiFi router with out issue. Typically it's TCP/IP with DHCP as the base connection. Some ISPs run PPPoE, but if he's got a router then that won't matter. I'm guessing the advice about checking where the cable is plugged in is the best shot so far. Make sure the setting in the TCP/IP CP is on the correct ethernet port, built-in or a PCI card. Then make sure DHCP is set, and it ought to work in almost all cases with a router involved.

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Re: Hardware reqs generally mean

Make sure the setting in the TCP/IP CP is on the correct ethernet port, built-in or a PCI card. Then make sure DHCP is set, and it ought to work in almost all cases with a router involved.

Exactly, if his built in ethernet is functional, should be able to connect ...

Dave

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Well, there's one other thing

Well, there's one other thing to consider if you do get online. I'm not sure, but doesn't hotmail require one of the newer browsers now?

It sounds like a lot of this advice may be Greek for the poster, though, so a basic OS 8.6 manual may be the best advice, and even better advice would be to upgrade to OS 9.1, if at all possible, and find a manual for that--everything will be a tad bit easier. Manuals can usually be found at the library. The cable company tech support might be a try too, although a lot of them are unfamiliar with the pre-X Mac OS's.

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Yep, I stand corrected. I jus

Yep, I stand corrected. I just checked the minimum requirements for my cable internet and it says, "If your system processor is a PowerPC 75 MHz or faster, it complies with the minimum requirements to run the Road Runner service." I had thought I remembered it being much more than that, like a G3 processor. 300mhz on a 604e should be a decent enough minimal speed. I used to do the internet on a PM7200/75mhz with a 28.8 dialup modem back in the later 1990's. Doing the internet today on 75mhz seems inconceivable, or at best, an exercise in extreme frustration.

At least, if you've got an open PCI slot, get a 10/100 Mac compatible PCI ethernet card for your 8600. I've got one in my 9600 with an 8139 chip that works pretty well. You should be able to find one on eBay for $5. There's a few threads on this site about them that can point you in the right direction.

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