Hive Mind, Make My Internet Go!

September 25, 2008 3:33 AM

What is my Mac doing that suddenly won't allow me to establish a PPPoE connection?

I've been having some odd problems with a new PPPoE connection I've been using (there's a previous question on it, as well). It used to be that it only wouldn't connect to Apple addresses--widgets and iTunes not working, etc.

Now I'm no longer able to establish any kind of connection. First, when I would enter my PPPoE information in the Network field, it would just work, as it was supposed to. Then, it started asking me to "Confirm Access to Keychain"-- 'NetCfgTool wants permission to change access permissions of item "PPP Password" in your keychain. Do you want to allow this?', and I had the options of "deny", "allow once", and "always allow" (which was greyed out). I'd choose "allow once", it would process, then when I would try to connect, I'd get the same thing--"Confirm Access To Keychain", with 'PPPD wants permission to use the "PPP Password" item from your keychain. Do you want to allow this?' I'd then choose the 'always allow' option, and it would work ... for a while. It would automatically disconnect itself if I wasn't actively poking 'net keys somewhat regularly (i.e., it would still die during ssh functions or when I had a bittorent client running).

Now, suddenly, even after I go through the first Net Config request, when I try to initialize a PPP connection, it says the connection is refused, or that it can't establish a connection.

What's going on here? I recently did an automated software upgrade, but (bad me) don't remember exactly what was upgraded. I believe the initial connectivity issues began after this, though. I've done some searching, but have limited 'net access (I'm in a town where there aren't many public access points) and haven't come up with anything yet. Hoping the hive mind has some ideas.

posted by the luke parker fiasco to computers & internet (4 comments total)

What version of OS X are you using?

Have you tried using another user account? That would be my first attempt at fixing something like this. That way you can determine if something is wonky in your user account (corrupted network preference file? A screwed up keychain?). If it still doesn't work under another user, you can start to think about hardware or ISP issues.

(BTW, why no router?)
posted by bcwinters at 6:03 AM on September 25, 2008

I'm currently on 10.4.11.

I might know someone nearby who has PPPoE through the same ISP; if so, I'll give a try using his account info. I'm hoping it's not an ISP thing (and the fact that it started so suddenly is making me hope it's not the case), as I'm not in my home country and, though I can get around well enough in my daily routine, pulling out a lot of technical language might be tricky.

(As to the "no router" question, I'm a PCV in E. Europe, and the setup I'm in was inherited from the last volunteer at my site.)
posted by the luke parker fiasco at 8:53 AM on September 25, 2008

No need to go to someone else's account; bcwinters (I'm assuming) meant to try to connect from another user account on your Mac. If it works from there, it means the problem is probably just a corrupt keychain or preference file in your account. Migrate your docs to the new account & enjoy life again. If not, then start looking farther up the food chain.
posted by sapere aude at 10:44 AM on September 25, 2008

I just updated a bunch of macs and didnt see anything pppoe or non-wireless networking related. This really sounds like an issue with your ISP.
posted by damn dirty ape at 12:04 PM on September 25, 2008