Pulling Out My Hairport

October 9, 2007 2:34 PM

How to tell if AirPort card is toast?

And/or how to tell if it's a dead card or a software issue?
System Profiler reports the card is installed, but not if it's actually working.

[Background: I have an original Airport card in my G4 Quicksilver PowerMac. It was working fine a few weeks ago (so I know it's installed correctly). It then began working intermittantly after the last OS update. Now, I'm not getting any signal at all.
(My PBook gets a strong signal though).
I've tried a lot of configuring since then to get it working, though nothing helps. PowerMac is hooked up to an ethernet cable now.]

posted by artdrectr to computers & internet (10 comments total)

And/or how to tell if it's a dead card or a software issue?

If you have an external Firewire hard drive, install Mac OS X on the Firewire drive, and boot the G4 from the external drive (restart the Mac, hold down the Option key).

If the Airport card works from the Mac OS X installation on the external hard drive, you know that the problem on your G4 is software-based.

If the Airport card doesn't work, it is almost certainly a hardware issue.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:39 PM on October 9, 2007

Thanks BP. I'll try that and report back.
posted by artdrectr at 2:56 PM on October 9, 2007

There were several early patches of Tiger that borked my wireless badly. I have had wireless troubles with the latest also (10.4.10). What OS update version did you upgrade to?
posted by mphuie at 3:37 PM on October 9, 2007

10.4.10
And I've tried removing that pesky piece of new code, after searching the Apple discussions groups. No change.
That's why I'm thinking it's hardware.

BTW, I DID AS BP ADVISED.
No luck, no Airport love.
I guess it's time to look for another first generation Airport card, or some kinda equivalent.
posted by artdrectr at 6:06 PM on October 9, 2007

Have you at least tried removing the card and re-inserting it, as well as unplugging and (firmly) re-plugging the antenna cable that's attached to it? It's possible you had a marginal antenna connection that's now disconnected and thus gotten much worse.
posted by xil at 6:56 PM on October 9, 2007

BTW, I DID AS BP ADVISED.
No luck, no Airport love.
I guess it's time to look for another first generation Airport card, or some kinda equivalent.

That sucks, as they are expensive replacements. I'd definitely try xil's suggestion to reseat the card and antenna.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:47 PM on October 9, 2007

Seconding Thirding xil. I've had mine (in my Powerbook) come loose. It still showed up, as far as System Profiler was concerned, but needed to be re-seated in order to work happily.

Looks like the old Airport cards are going for $40-$50 on eBay, which does seem a bit excessive. Ethernet's not a long-term solution, eh?
posted by mumkin at 8:32 PM on October 9, 2007

OK, I've removed and replaced the card, checking pins and and connections. Drumroll......nuttin. no signal. sigh.

The ethernet cable is temporary, it's an eyesore traveling across several rooms, and I don't want to route it thru walls. Especially when wireless has been and should be the answer.

I've found a airport card equivalent or perhaps better from afterthemac.com, they say it's 10x faster and better range for half the price. Sign me up!
posted by artdrectr at 12:24 AM on October 10, 2007

The 10.4.10 update screwed my MM Pro AirPort card. My fix was fairly simple: 1) Enter network preferences, make sure Airport was moved to the top of the list. 2) Reboot, holding down [Cmd]+[Opt]+[P]+[R] immediately (before the gray screen turns blue) and hold these keys down until the machine reboots. Do not release the keys until you hear the startup sound after the reboot.

Found this on someone's blog; can't find the original source but it helped me go from zero connection to a pretty solid working AirPort card again. At any rate, it won't cost you anything to try this.
posted by caution live frogs at 6:24 AM on October 10, 2007

CautionLF:
That's zapping the PRAM, and you had my fading hopes up.
Didn't cost anything...Didn't do anything!
But thanks anyway.

Maybe it'll help someone else who stumbles over this thread.
Dear Someone Else: Wait for the second chime before letting off on the keys.
posted by artdrectr at 10:21 PM on October 10, 2007