Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cablemodem

I just really don't want to plug another thing into the wall...

2bucksplus — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:16:34 -0800

I have a cable modem provided by Time Warner Cable of NYC (seen here). The back of the device has one 10 Base-T port (ethernet jack) and one USB type B jack. Can I connect a laptop to the USB jack and my Xbox 360 to the ethernet jack? If not, is there anyway to connect multiple devices, wired or wirelessly, to the internet without needing an additional power source?

Ideally I would like to connect:

1 Laptop (connected wired or wirelessly)
1 Xbox 360 (and I am willing to buy the official wireless adapter if necessary)
1 Wii (and I am willing to buy the USB wired adapter if necessary)

Connecting the Wii is the lowest priority for me.

Is there anything I could connect to the USB Type B port to set up a wireless network without using another power plug?

Is there an ethernet switch that does not require power? Maybe one that runs on magic?

Could I replace the cable modem with one that would do the same job, but provide a few extra ports or wireless?

FWIW, all of these devices are in about a 3 foot radius.

I am seriously out of room on my surge protector here.

PortlandInternetFilter

bhance — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:20:10 -0800

Am I really stuck with Comcast as my only cable internet provider in Portland OR? I'm moving to Portland OR (97214) - and I need my internets!

I'm used to our 3 down, 1 up speed from TimeWarner for ~$50/mo. And I've been burned by bad DSL too many times - so I'm aiming for cable.

There are previous questions in AskMe from 2006 that make it sound like Comcast had a total lock on the cable internet market out there.

Is this still the case? Has anything changed in the last few years? Is there some stellar 3rd cable-based option I'm not aware of?

Best option for internet provider in San Francisco?

jcruelty — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 10:51:56 -0800

What's the best option for high-speed internet access in San Francisco? (Moving from Castro to Potrero Hill, would like to ditch Comcast if there's a good alternative.) Apologies if this has been covered somewhere-- I googled around but there's too many hits to make sense of. Basically I want to know what people recommend for fast reliable internet service in San Francisco. We've been using Comcast (cable modem) but I don't like the company and don't need cable TV, just internet. I'm not entirely averse to staying with Comcast but I'd like to know the alternatives. Is DSL comparably fast?

I'm running a wireless network through a Belkin Pre-N router, don't know if that matters.

Testing the health of a broadband connection

hodyoaten — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 19:36:40 -0800

Is there a software program of some kind that will automatically monitor and analyze the health (i.e. transfer rate and up/down status) of a broadband Internet connection? Ideally like to see statistics graphed over the course of a week or so, tested every 1 to 15 minutes, so I can see what kind of quality I'm getting. I'm not sure if any software like this exists.

Responsible mail server use on a residential network?

Wild_Eep — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 13:51:14 -0800

How do I send email from a linux box from my residential cable modem connection? I've got a box running CentOS that fires a shell script every day. (The script backs up a friend's webserver via rsync) The log from the script is a text file that I turn into an email message. I want to send the message to my friend (at a gmail address).

When I send the messages, I get replies from gmail reading "The IP you're using to send email is not authorized."

It's implied that they want me to use my ISP's (TimeWarner) SMTP server, but I can't use that directly, mail relay restrictions and all.

I figured I could solve this problem by setting up Sender Policy Framework information for my domain. So I used I set up a TXT record for my domain with the appropriate SPF string.

Still, a few hours later, no go with GMail. Tried sending to another email address and found that my IP was listed with SpamHaus. Jumped through the requisite hoops there to attempt to remove my IP from their list.

I'm sure there's an obvious solution I'm overlooking.

Why does my wireless hub signal degrade throughout the day?

Hypnic jerk — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 11:14:46 -0800

Why does the signal and connectivity on my wireless router degrade and improve throughout the day? I have a Linksys Wireless G router daisy chained to an Apple AirPort on another floor that is wired directly to my cable modem. I have a couple of PC's linked to the LinkSys, as well as a couple of TiVo boxes. I have good wireless security enabled, and live in a reasonably remote location, so no one else is accessing it. I have been working from home a bit lately, and have noticed that my signal will degrade throughout the course of the day, sometimes improve, sometimes disappear and then reappear again in full force regardless of my level of internet activity.

Why does this happen? Is this normal? Have I not configured it correctly? Or do these things pursue mystical cyclical patterns throughout the day?

Inquiring minds need to know. It's not the worst thing in the world when it goes away, as I can always access the weaker airport signal in the basement, but it indicates to me that I have done something wrong. Can anyone help?

Broadband -> Remote Modem?

quite unimportant — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:54:40 -0800

One Computer with cable modem. Second computer far away with POTS modem. Can they talk? I'm almost embarrassed to ask this question, but it's been bothering me for some time. Is there any piece of software that will allow a broadband connected PC--whatever OS--dial across the Internet, into and through a PBX, and into a remote modem for management? I'm thinking something like Skype for data, but I can't find anything with Google.

Differences between Comcast cable modem and Bellsouth DSL?

Brandon Blatcher — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 18:55:59 -0800

Comcast cable modem or Bellsouth DSL? Currently, we have a cable modem, provided by Comcast, for our internet access. We're looking at a Bellsouth package, which includes a cellphone, landline, DSL link and satelite for less than the various seperate services we use.

But I'm curious about the whole DSL vs Cable modem thing, specifically Comcast vs Bellsouth (Georgia residents, speak up) Would you say Bellsouth DSL is "better" or at least just as good (fast, reliable, always on, easy to run 3 Macs using it)? Is there anything I should be aware of when switching to DSL?

Note: Already found the thread about DSL vs Cable modems. I'm looking for specifics about Comcast vs Bellsouth.

How can I stop the dreaded Delayed Write Error?

Servo5678 — Wed, 11 Jan 2006 06:22:28 -0800

Ever since I installed my new cable modem via a USB port on Windows XP (SP2) my computer has been experiencing "Delayed Write Error" messages nearly every time I use a web browser (IE, Firefox, and Opera) that quickly brings the computer to a locked-up halt. How do I stop this from happening? This error pops up in a warning bubble that says whatever file the computer was working on has been lost (usually a Firefox cookie file or some other temp web file). Typically there's several of these errors in a row and then the whole computer freezes and has to be turned off by the power button. If I try and restart right away Windows XP will not start and instead hangs with a "disk error" (no other details given about that). I have to keep the machine off for a few minutes before restarting in order to get back into Windows. Multiple spyware and virus scans have come back clean, too.

How do I stop these errors from happening? Google searching reveals that a lot of people have delayed write error problems with hard drives and Firewire ports, but I can't find anything regarding cable modems. The symptoms are all the same though. Any advice for me? I can't stand dealing with these errors and lock-ups any longer!

How to disconnect from wireless signal?

footnote — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 11:00:34 -0800

My LAN won't unconnect from a wireless IP address! I just got a cable modem. Everything is working properly, but when I plug my Sony laptop in with the ethernet cable, the LAN connection won't register the modem. Instead, it displays a wireless IP address. Any ideas on how to fix this? I'm running Windows XP Professional.

Did Comcast install spyware on my mac?

rajbot — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 11:04:32 -0800

I think Comcast installed spyware on my Mac. Boing Boing now redirects to ebay, through a series of URLs. Please help me debug and fix it! Comcast just came and installed cable modem service at my house. They ran some software on my OS X laptop that required me to type in my password, which seemed weird. Now when I type in http://boingboing.net, I see a series of URLs flash by in Safari's address bar and I eventually end up at ebay.com.

I tried to capture these URLs in order. They are:

http://boingboing.net

http://net.net/ebay.asp

http://www.jdoqocy.com/tj82cy63y5LNSNPVVQLOOMOSQN

http://www.apmebf.com/5f108dlutB/lsx/BB9BFDA/AFACIID/9/9/9?t=d%3c%3cq22y%3A%2F%2F555.smxzxl7.lxv%3AH9H9%2Flurlt-AFACIID-BB9BFDA%3c%3c%3cq22y%3A%2F%2Fwn2.wn2%2Fnkj7.j1y%3c

http://www.qksrv.net/7d108ox54P/x38/NNLNRPM/MRMOUUP/L/zGORxTJKQQSSPPMLSKMMOPTPPTLTTSUKQL/L?d=n%3cmty!opFn-uy5A18t%3cr33z%3A%2F%2F666.tny0ym8.myw%3AIAIA%2Fmvsmu-BGBDJJE-CCACGEB%3c%3c%3cr33z%3A%2F%2Fxo3.xo3%2Folk8.k2z%3c

http://adfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/ck/711-1751-2978-3?loc=http://pages.ebay.com?mpre=&UID=ew36c8z-557744107-1134844808879-50&AID=2202641&PID=1613994

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?RedirectEnter&partner=26442&loc=http://pages.ebay.com

http://www.ebay.com/

I might have missed some URLs.. they go by really fast, and i'm trying to stop Safari on each URL.

This doesn't happen on any other computer, just the one that Comcast touched. Did comcast really install spyware on my machine? This started happening within five minutes of the comcast installer leaving the house, and it has never happened before.. No other sites seem effected.

Hooray for broadba@#Q%j<&NO CARRIER

squidlarkin — Wed, 23 Feb 2005 08:32:27 -0800

On a fairly regular basis, even if I'm in the middle of using it, my cable modem connection vanishes. Fixing it involves unplugging the modem and router, waiting a few minutes, replugging them and crossing my fingers. I gather this phenomenon is extremely common. What can I do to prevent it, and more importantly, why does it happen in the first place?

Wireless router won't let me connect.

majikwah — Fri, 02 Jul 2004 09:28:47 -0800

Cable Modem issue. When I am hooked up to good old Comcast through my Motorola Surfboard modem using the USB connection, life is great. Flawless internet surfing. But recently I decided to hook up a wireless router and spread the love throught the house. Problem: My modem won't recognize a connection with the network adapter connection. I have a Dlink DFE-540TX adapter. All is well with it, according to MS Device manager.
The modem shows by its flashing little light that it has PC activity. But when I open a browser I get nothing but DNS errors. I need the ethernet connection to set up the wireless modem (Dlind DI-514).
I have updated the driver to the network adapter. I have uninstalled any and all the Surfboard modem drivers. Nothing.
So I revert back to USB and connect to the web and stare angrily at the new router/access point box knowing there is only little mystery thing I have missed in the connection.
Any ideas?

Why can't my computer reach certain sites? How do I fix it?

justgary — Wed, 26 May 2004 01:27:01 -0800

Cable modem problem or my computers problem? [more inside] Two weeks ago I noticed that I couldn't get to certain websites. I didn't think much of it at the time, but after I while I noticed certain patterns.

About half of the sites I frequent I can no longer get to. I can't reach them in firefox nor explorer, so its not browser specific.

I can reach some community sites (mefi) but not others (television without pity), I can't reach pair.com, nor dreamhost.com. I can reach some personal sites, and not others. I can't reach blogger or typepad.

It really seems random. For every one site I visit and can still reach, I can't reach another site. And it stays the same. I can always reach mefi, but never ebay.

When I try to reach a site that I can't connect to it just doesn't go anywhere and then goes to the google search page.

The sites I can't reach are reachable through megaproxy.com. Not sure what that says.

So tonight I finally called charter.net support, and of course the guy knows next to nothing. He couldn't even comprehend my problem, and his only solution turning the modem off for a minute. When that didn't work he told me it was my computers problem and not theirs. I told him it was theirs, so I now have a work order number for a call tomorrow from a charter tech. BUT, if it turns out to be my computers problem, they will charge me.

I have an old computer, but I fail to see why my computer will allow me to reach certain sites but not others. So does anyone know where the likely problem lies?

How can I get Comcast Cable Internet access to work with a Linksys Wireless B Router?

BlueTrain — Mon, 15 Mar 2004 11:10:37 -0800

I have Comcast Cable Internet access and a Linksys Wireless B Router. How can I get the two to work together properly? Previously, I had Verizon DSL and the router worked like a charm. But now, when I connect the cable modem through the router to the computer, nothing works. I run OSX 10.2.8 on an iMac. Thanks in advance.