LinkSys router setup on Tiger help needed

May 1, 2005 3:51 AM

LinkSys wireless router, Mac Mini, OS X Tiger setup help needed!

Tiger didn't like my old USB modem so I've gone and purchased a LinkSys BEFW11S4 wireless 4 router. I'm completely lost as to how to set this up. So far I've plugged it into my ethernet port and, using System Preferences > Network have managed to get an IP address of 169.254.225.247, which is apparently within the right range. However, my subnet mask in 255.255.0.0 which is apparently wrong (it should be 255.255.255.0). There is no IP address listed for the router and I can't browse to it in browser via the 192.168.1.1 IP address.

Help!

posted by TheDonF to computers & internet (22 comments total)

According to Linksys, holding down the reset button on the router for more than 5 seconds should reset the router to the default settings. If the you select DHCP in the network settings, it should all come together automagically.
posted by Boo! at 4:12 AM on May 1, 2005

Hi Boo!

Nope, didn't work :( I still get the wrong subnet mask and no IP address for the router.
posted by TheDonF at 4:24 AM on May 1, 2005

That IP address looks like an Apple "self assigned" one, ie one the computer chose for itself because it was never assigned one by the router's DHCP (and the subnet mask confirms it). That probably says something isn't working, but I'm not sure what I'd try other than resetting things and fiddling with cables. Restarting your Mac won't hurt.

What you might be able to do is change the configuration to manual, set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0 and the IP address to 192.169.1.100. You should then be able to reach the router's webpage in the browser. However, since the DHCP isn't working, I have my doubts that this would.
posted by cillit bang at 4:28 AM on May 1, 2005

Hi

Tried the manual approach but that hasn't worked either (I've changed the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0, changed the IP address and added the router IP address in). There's been much fiddling of cables already and I've been trying to get this to work since yesterday so there's been at least one restart.
posted by TheDonF at 4:41 AM on May 1, 2005

Does the appropriate Link LED light up on the router?
posted by Boo! at 4:50 AM on May 1, 2005

I've got 'power' 'wireless b' and 'internet' LEDs on. Under System Preferences > Network the 'built in ethernet' listing has a green mark next to it.
posted by TheDonF at 4:53 AM on May 1, 2005

I was given a Linksys befw11s4 v.2 a while ago, and I'll be damned if I can get it to work correctly. I'm using a 10.3 laptop. I haven't found much out there, but I wonder if there is some sort of OS X issue with the thing.

The only way I've gotten to work is to have the Wireless Router route through my Desktop (a 10.2 eMac) by turning on Internet Connection Sharing in the Network Preferences. This is really a kluge though, 'cause then you have two machines trying to hand out IP addresses- the DHCP server on the cable modem, and the DHCP server in the Desktop machine. So sometimes you have to manually release the IP from the Linksys a few times, 'til you get an IP from the Desktop machine. Then, all traffic goes through the Desktop first, which makes it a little slower.

I've tried the steps you've described- manually config'ing the IP, etc. With no luck.
posted by bendybendy at 5:04 AM on May 1, 2005

Yeah, I really don't want to have to do that - I've had to fire up my XP machine to get online; I'd much rather keep that turned off and use my Mac for everything.
posted by TheDonF at 5:11 AM on May 1, 2005

I'm pretty sure that the Ethernet LED corresponding to the port that you're connected to should be lit — at least that's how it worked with the 3Com and Netgear stuff I've had.

Do you have another cable you could try?
posted by Boo! at 5:16 AM on May 1, 2005

best thing about linksys routers they have a toll free tech support line for all lynksys router owners. They have to stay the phone with you until your router is set up. I am not saying this to blow you off; I have just found it useful in the past is all. Check your manual for the number. Best of luck!
posted by Livewire Confusion at 5:21 AM on May 1, 2005

Also I am running TIGER on an iBook 14" and using a linksys router and all worked well after calling tech support.
posted by Livewire Confusion at 5:23 AM on May 1, 2005

169.254.0.0/16 isn't an Apple thing, it's everybody's thing. In particular, the range of 169.254.0.0-169.254.255.255 is assigned to "Automatic Private IP Addressing." It's there so you can build networks automatically without DHCP and without the chance of conflicting with other networks. Number are supposed to be assigned at random, and it only really works with small networks. Rendezvous uses it, for example, if there's no internet connection, and many operating systems use it if they want an IP address that isn't a loopback, but they don't have one.

If your mac is getting a 169.254.0.0/16 address, it means it wasn't assigned one manually, and couldn't get one via DHCP.

Enough background. Next answer, tips.
posted by eriko at 7:33 AM on May 1, 2005

TheDonF -- I'm going to take a bit of a different tack than the other posters, since the wording of your post hints at a few things that may make your setup difficult.

You said you were replacing a USB modem -- does that mean that you were using dial-up, or a cable or DSL modem that only supported USB? If so, using the router as a router won't help you. The BEFW11S is designed to connect to an Ethernet-capable cable or DSL modem and route that one modem connection between connections to multiple computers in your home via Ethernet or Wi-Fi.

It sounds, and correct me if I'm wrong, like you have a USB modem that's connected to your eMac, and you want to share the connection between that modem and the Mac Mini. In that case, you don't need the router -- just run an Ethernet cable from the desktop's Ethernet port to the Mini's Ethernet port, and then set up Internet Connection Sharing to connect out the Ethernet port. That's all you need to do -- the router doesn't provide you with any benefit!

If you're looking to do this wirelessly, and your Mini has the Airport Extreme upgrade, then you'd connect the Ethernet port of your desktop to the Internet/WAN port on the router, activate Internet Connection Sharing to the Ethernet port on your eMac, and then activate Airport by selecting the router's name (probably linksys) in Airport's menu car icon. I suspect that you don't have an Airport card, though -- at least, you haven't mentioned it.

If your configuration is more complex and that Ethernet port is in use on your eMac, or you have wireless cards in one or both of the machines, we'll need to know how things are wired with your setup -- what cards they have, what cables go where. If you let us know the type of modem, and what cables are connected into what ports on the router, the Mini and the desktop, we could help you troubleshoot more. But unless you have a modem that supports Ethernet -- in which case it wouldn't be a problem with your Mini -- you will still need to connect through the eMac or get a new modem. The kludge of connecting the modem to the Desktop really isn't much of a kludge, it's probably a requirement.

(Also, you can turn the DHCP server off on the Linksys once you're able to establish a connection, and you can put both the eMac and the Mini on the LAN ports instead of connecting them directly. I'm not quite sure why you'd want to do this here, though, because I get the feeling you'll need do what you want to do without the router as above.)
posted by eschatfische at 7:35 AM on May 1, 2005

Right, I've made some progress. I can now browse to 192.168.1.1 and see that, so that's good. But no internet.

eschatfische: you're pretty much on the nail. I had an old ISP-supplied Speedtouch modem that Tiger refused to play nice with so, after some (obviously not enough) research, went and got a router. My ISP says that just the router is enough to get online, LinkSys technical support say I need to got and buy another modem as well. I haven't got two Macs (I wish I could afford two!), rather an XP machine and a Mini. I would like to get the two sharing a connection, so I guess I'll have to go out and spend more money. Although I've no idea what I need!
posted by TheDonF at 7:42 AM on May 1, 2005

Did you assign the DNS address in the TCP/IP configuration patne? If you haven't it's the same IP as the router. You should be just fine after that.
posted by loyd at 7:45 AM on May 1, 2005

What port on the Linksys are you plugging your Mac into? Make sure you're not plugging it into the "Internet" port, and plugging it into one of the ports labelled 1 through 4. If you do not get a 192.168.x.x IP via DHCP plugged into one of these ports, one of three things could be wrong: 1. The Linksys is defective, 2. The cable is defective, 3. the Ethernet port on your Mac Mini is defective.

Also, if your modem was USB only, how are you going to connect to the Internet? Some kind of modem has to plug into the Internet port on the Linksys.
posted by zsazsa at 7:56 AM on May 1, 2005

zsazsa: obviously my ISP's wiring diagrams and general 'help' haven't actually been that helpful as, yes, after much help here and a couple of phone calls to people have shown that, yes, I do need a modem as well. My ISP told me that "any router will do" - obviously not the case!

So, in terms of going out and buying a modem, is there anything specific that I need/should look out for? I'm on ADSL
posted by TheDonF at 8:04 AM on May 1, 2005

On preview, never mind.

If you want one box, you'll need something that supports DSL directly, and has an onboard switch. This may be hard to find.

Since you already have this box, you can get just a DSL modem -- the SpeedStream 5100/5200 series is very popular, often sold as a SBC install set (no, you don't need SBC DSL to work with it -- I use Speakeasy, it works fine.) Many ISP use it, so your tech support will probably know how to configure it.
posted by eriko at 8:08 AM on May 1, 2005

Agh, you know what, I think I'll go back to the shop and swap it for this. It seems to be what I'm after and comes with a built in modem. Assuming no one comes back and says "no! bad choice!", I'm sorted. Thanks all for sorting this out.
posted by TheDonF at 8:27 AM on May 1, 2005

TDonF -- try this before you buy an ADSL modem if money's short. I don't think you need one.

I saw the eMac reference in bendy's post, and mistakenly thought that was yours. But even with an XP machine in place of an eMac, my advice still holds -- you can still do this without spending money so long as your XP machine has an Ethernet port

Connect the Ethernet port on your XP machine to the Ethernet port on your Mini with your Ethernet cable, then go into the XP Machine's Control Panel -> Network and Intenet Connections, and click on the "Network Setup Wizard." Select "This computer connects directly to the Internet. The other computers on my network connect to the Internet through this computer." Select your DSL modem's connection, give your computer a name and workgroup name (doesn't really matter), turn on our off file and printer sharing (depends on whether you want the Mini to share files or a printer with the XP machine), and you're done. The Mini should pick up an IP address through the XP machine and be able to connect to the net.

If your XP doesn't have an Ethernet port, then... yep. New modem. If you do buy one, your best bet is to contact your provider and make sure that the modem is compatible (and I don't know much about DSL providers in the UK, being a Yank).
posted by eschatfische at 8:32 AM on May 1, 2005

Connect the Ethernet port on your XP machine to the Ethernet port on your Mini with your Ethernet cable.

Um....wouldn't that only work with a crossover cable or with a hub/switch/router inbetween the two computers?
posted by jbrjake at 9:07 AM on May 1, 2005

Um....wouldn't that only work with a crossover cable or with a hub/switch/router inbetween the two computers?

Not these days. Many modern computers -- including the Mac Mini -- come with auto-sensing Ethernet ports that automatically self-configure for network speed and cable type. There's a chance that the kind of (or lack of) Ethernet port on his XP box may preclude using the cable that came with the Linksys to connect the two machines, but there's also a good chance that it will work. In short, it's worth a try.
posted by eschatfische at 9:33 AM on May 1, 2005