Switching between Airport and wired Ethernet

In article
<df203102-f485-4bfc-bef4-3310f7f39b19.DeleteThis@i29g2000prf.googlegroups.com
>,
" " wrote:

> Hello,
> How can I switch from my wired Ethernet connection of my iMac G5,
> OS 10.4.11, to my Airport Extreme Base Station (n).
> If I simply unplug (or not) the ethernet cable to the Mac, then
> select my network's name from the Airport icon at the top of the
> screen, everything works fine. Internet access is established, though
> a bit slower than wired. However; how do I go back to wired Internet
> service? Turning "Airport" off doesn't re-establish my connection. Is
> there some set-up I need to do?
> Thanks in advance for your help. Mike, southern California

I switch between Airport and ethernet twice a day when I take my
laptop to and from work. Airport at home, ethernet at work.

In between it is sleeping and when I wake it up, it automatically
switches to the available connection.

So you might try putting your Mac to sleep and waking it back up
again.

Option 2. Using the Network System Preferences, create a 2
additional locations and give them names like "Ethernet" and
"Airport". Clicking on the "Location:" popup you will see "New
Location...".

Now For each of those new locations, under the "Show:" popup,
select "Network Port Configurations". You will get a dialog box
allowing you to check/uncheck the different network interfaces
available to this location. Uncheck everything except the
interface you wish to associate with this location.

After saving all these changes, now you should be able to go to
your Apple menu (the Blue Apple in Tiger, I think it is gray in
Leopard), and there should be a menu entry "Locations" which
should list in a secondary menu all the available locations. By
selecting the location with only ethernet, your system should
switch. By selecting the location with Airport, it should switch
back to Airport only.

Option 3. Using the Network System Preferences, change from
"Using DHCP" to "Manual", and give both your Ethernet and Airport
interfaces the same IP address (depending on your router it will
most likely be something like 10.0.1.something (Apple), or
192.168.something.something (just about everyone else). Then it
should not matter to your Router which way you connect, as it will
always be the same IP address and each interface will accept the
packets. I've used this successful to start a network copy,
unplug from the ethernet, and the transfer continued over Airport,
then plug back into the ethernet and turn off the Airport and
still the transfer continued.

Bob Harris
 >> Stay informed about: Switching between Airport and wired Ethernet 

In article
,
" " wrote:

> Hello,
> How can I switch from my wired Ethernet connection of my iMac G5,
> OS 10.4.11, to my Airport Extreme Base Station (n).
> If I simply unplug (or not) the ethernet cable to the Mac, then
> select my network's name from the Airport icon at the top of the
> screen, everything works fine. Internet access is established, though
> a bit slower than wired. However; how do I go back to wired Internet
> service? Turning "Airport" off doesn't re-establish my connection. Is
> there some set-up I need to do?
> Thanks in advance for your help. Mike, southern California

Provided both connections are set up in your current location then you
don't switch between them. They are both active simultaneously. I both
are connected then you will actually use both at the same time.

--
Clark Martin
Redwood City, CA, USA Macintosh / Internet Consulting

"I'm a designated driver on the Information Super Highway"
 >> Stay informed about: Switching between Airport and wired Ethernet 

In article ,
Clark Martin wrote:

>
> Provided both connections are set up in your current location then you
> don't switch between them. They are both active simultaneously. I both
> are connected then you will actually use both at the same time.
>

But you can only have _AppleTalk_ connectivity (if you still happen to
need AppleTalk connectivity) through _one_ of those two connections
at a time, right?

[I still use two old LaserWriter 12/640 printers, Ethernetted using
Asante adaptors, at two different locations. At one location I want to
do this through Airport; at another location through a wired Ethernet
connection direct to my laptop. So, when I move the laptop from one
location to the other, I have to change the AppleTalk settings.]
 >> Stay informed about: Switching between Airport and wired Ethernet 

In article ,
AES wrote:

> In article ,
> Clark Martin wrote:
>
> >
> > Provided both connections are set up in your current location then you
> > don't switch between them. They are both active simultaneously. I both
> > are connected then you will actually use both at the same time.
> >
>
> But you can only have _AppleTalk_ connectivity (if you still happen to
> need AppleTalk connectivity) through _one_ of those two connections
> at a time, right?
>
Correct


> [I still use two old LaserWriter 12/640 printers, Ethernetted using
> Asante adaptors, at two different locations. At one location I want to
> do this through Airport; at another location through a wired Ethernet
> connection direct to my laptop. So, when I move the laptop from one
> location to the other, I have to change the AppleTalk settings.]

In that case you might want to consider setting up two locations. Make
them the same except with different AppleTalk settings.

MacTracker shows the 12/640 has Ethernet. Does it support IP printing?

--
Clark Martin
Redwood City, CA, USA Macintosh / Internet Consulting

"I'm a designated driver on the Information Super Highway"
 >> Stay informed about: Switching between Airport and wired Ethernet 

In article
,
wrote:

> Hello,
> How can I switch from my wired Ethernet connection of my iMac G5,
> OS 10.4.11, to my Airport Extreme Base Station (n).
> If I simply unplug (or not) the ethernet cable to the Mac, then
> select my network's name from the Airport icon at the top of the
> screen, everything works fine. Internet access is established, though
> a bit slower than wired. However; how do I go back to wired Internet
> service? Turning "Airport" off doesn't re-establish my connection.

Check the Apple menu... Locations... If "Automatic" is selected, then I
believe your mac will automatically use whichever is available (airport
or ethernet).

Back the the early days of OS X, I created separate "Locations" with
network settings and port configurations, one for airport and one for
ethernet. These work fine, but I wonder if the extra effort is worth
it.

Right out of the box, I believe our Mac will switch automatically from
one to the other.

-- Sally

--
Sally Shears (a.k.a. "Molly")
-or- Sally RemoveThis @Shears.org
SallyShears (at) gmail (dot) com
 >> Stay informed about: Switching between Airport and wired Ethernet 

Sally Shears wrote:
> In article
> ,
> wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>> How can I switch from my wired Ethernet connection of my iMac G5,
>> OS 10.4.11, to my Airport Extreme Base Station (n).
>> If I simply unplug (or not) the ethernet cable to the Mac, then
>> select my network's name from the Airport icon at the top of the
>> screen, everything works fine. Internet access is established, though
>> a bit slower than wired. However; how do I go back to wired Internet
>> service? Turning "Airport" off doesn't re-establish my connection.
>
> Check the Apple menu... Locations... If "Automatic" is selected, then I
> believe your mac will automatically use whichever is available (airport
> or ethernet).
>
> Back the the early days of OS X, I created separate "Locations" with
> network settings and port configurations, one for airport and one for
> ethernet. These work fine, but I wonder if the extra effort is worth
> it.
>
> Right out of the box, I believe our Mac will switch automatically from
> one to the other.
>

I don't want to switch between Airport and Ethernet. I don't have
a cable connected to the Ethernet port. My only connection mode
is via Airport. I've not been able to make my iMac "forget" about
the Ethernet port.

At each machine boot, there is an message box which says

"Connection failed - Server may not exist..."

I eventually determined the message box was a complaint about the
non-working Ethernet en0 port. I removed the Ethernet connection
from Automatic and the other "location". There are about a dozen
com.apple.xxx files in the "...user - Library - Preferences - ByHost folder.

These files have the 6 hex digit Ethernet port address embedded in
the filename. I've deleted the folder several times but it returns
and the applications act as though they have never been initialized.

I don't understand why my computer "thinks" there *should be*
a functioning Ethernet port when it is not configured.
Maybe in "Mac OS X Update" (10.5.12) this will be fixed.

Since my computer was installed in late October last year, I've received
at least 4 software updates each month; eight in January and five in
February so far. QuickTime updates number four total, 7.3 - 7.4.1.

Another problem is my first generation Scroll Wheel FireWire connected
iPod is not recognized by iTunes. It shows up as a 400 Mb/sec device
on the FireWire Bus in System Profiler, but the iPod icon never appears
on the Desktop or in iTunes.
 >> Stay informed about: Switching between Airport and wired Ethernet 

In article ,
Sally Shears wrote:

>
> Check the Apple menu... Locations... If "Automatic" is selected, then I
> believe your mac will automatically use whichever is available (airport
> or ethernet).
>

Yes -- except if you're using an AppleTalk printer that's connected to
the Airport network at one location, and connected to the Built-In
Ethernet port at the other, you will have to use the Network pane in
System Prefs at each location to activate AppleTalk in the appropriate
one of these connections (which will deactivate it in the other).
 >> Stay informed about: Switching between Airport and wired Ethernet 

In article ,
jack ak wrote:

> Sally Shears wrote:
> > In article
> > ,
> > wrote:
> >
> >> Hello,
> >> How can I switch from my wired Ethernet connection of my iMac G5,
> >> OS 10.4.11, to my Airport Extreme Base Station (n).
> >> If I simply unplug (or not) the ethernet cable to the Mac, then
> >> select my network's name from the Airport icon at the top of the
> >> screen, everything works fine. Internet access is established, though
> >> a bit slower than wired. However; how do I go back to wired Internet
> >> service? Turning "Airport" off doesn't re-establish my connection.
> >
> > Check the Apple menu... Locations... If "Automatic" is selected, then I
> > believe your mac will automatically use whichever is available (airport
> > or ethernet).
> >
> > Back the the early days of OS X, I created separate "Locations" with
> > network settings and port configurations, one for airport and one for
> > ethernet. These work fine, but I wonder if the extra effort is worth
> > it.
> >
> > Right out of the box, I believe our Mac will switch automatically from
> > one to the other.
> >
>
> I don't want to switch between Airport and Ethernet. I don't have
> a cable connected to the Ethernet port. My only connection mode
> is via Airport. I've not been able to make my iMac "forget" about
> the Ethernet port.
>
> At each machine boot, there is an message box which says
>
> "Connection failed - Server may not exist..."
>
> I eventually determined the message box was a complaint about the
> non-working Ethernet en0 port. I removed the Ethernet connection
> from Automatic and the other "location". There are about a dozen
> com.apple.xxx files in the "...user - Library - Preferences - ByHost folder.
>
> These files have the 6 hex digit Ethernet port address embedded in
> the filename. I've deleted the folder several times but it returns
> and the applications act as though they have never been initialized.
>
> I don't understand why my computer "thinks" there *should be*
> a functioning Ethernet port when it is not configured.
> Maybe in "Mac OS X Update" (10.5.12) this will be fixed.
>
> Since my computer was installed in late October last year, I've received
> at least 4 software updates each month; eight in January and five in
> February so far. QuickTime updates number four total, 7.3 - 7.4.1.
>
> Another problem is my first generation Scroll Wheel FireWire connected
> iPod is not recognized by iTunes. It shows up as a 400 Mb/sec device
> on the FireWire Bus in System Profiler, but the iPod icon never appears
> on the Desktop or in iTunes.

Go system preference - Network.
Select ethernet on the left side. Right Mouse click or select the
'action' icon at the bottom of the column. Choose 'Make Service
Inactive'

No trick. No messing about with preference files.

As for the iPod - try the Apple site for a stand-alone updater. It
appears that your iPod itself is corrupted or something, and you may
need to update it without using iTunes.
 >> Stay informed about: Switching between Airport and wired Ethernet 

Warchild wrote:
> In article ,
> jack ak wrote:
>
>> Sally Shears wrote:
>>> In article
>>> ,
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello,
>>>> How can I switch from my wired Ethernet connection of my iMac G5,
>>>> OS 10.4.11, to my Airport Extreme Base Station (n).
>>>> If I simply unplug (or not) the ethernet cable to the Mac, then
>>>> select my network's name from the Airport icon at the top of the
>>>> screen, everything works fine. Internet access is established, though
>>>> a bit slower than wired. However; how do I go back to wired Internet
>>>> service? Turning "Airport" off doesn't re-establish my connection.
>>> Check the Apple menu... Locations... If "Automatic" is selected, then I
>>> believe your mac will automatically use whichever is available (airport
>>> or ethernet).
>>>
>>> Back the the early days of OS X, I created separate "Locations" with
>>> network settings and port configurations, one for airport and one for
>>> ethernet. These work fine, but I wonder if the extra effort is worth
>>> it.
>>>
>>> Right out of the box, I believe our Mac will switch automatically from
>>> one to the other.
>>>
>> I don't want to switch between Airport and Ethernet. I don't have
>> a cable connected to the Ethernet port. My only connection mode
>> is via Airport. I've not been able to make my iMac "forget" about
>> the Ethernet port.
>>
>> At each machine boot, there is an message box which says
>>
>> "Connection failed - Server may not exist..."
>>
>> I eventually determined the message box was a complaint about the
>> non-working Ethernet en0 port. I removed the Ethernet connection
>> from Automatic and the other "location". There are about a dozen
>> com.apple.xxx files in the "...user - Library - Preferences - ByHost folder.
>>

.....
> Go system preference - Network.
> Select ethernet on the left side. Right Mouse click or select the
> 'action' icon at the bottom of the column. Choose 'Make Service
> Inactive'
>

I did that several weeks ago before removing the Ethernet connection
from both "locations".

> No trick. No messing about with preference files.
>
> As for the iPod - try the Apple site for a stand-alone updater. It
> appears that your iPod itself is corrupted or something, and you may
> need to update it without using iTunes.

The iPod works fine with iTunes on my old iMac.

I used the iPod FireWire cable to copy my existing iMac system files
to the new iMac in October.
 >> Stay informed about: Switching between Airport and wired Ethernet 

In article ,
jack ak wrote:


> I eventually determined the message box was a complaint about the
> non-working Ethernet en0 port. I removed the Ethernet connection
> from Automatic and the other "location". There are about a dozen
> com.apple.xxx files in the "...user - Library - Preferences - ByHost folder.
>
> These files have the 6 hex digit Ethernet port address embedded in
> the filename. I've deleted the folder several times but it returns
> and the applications act as though they have never been initialized.
>
> I don't understand why my computer "thinks" there *should be*
> a functioning Ethernet port when it is not configured.
> Maybe in "Mac OS X Update" (10.5.12) this will be fixed.
>

ByHost uses your built in Ethernet Port MAC Address (the 6 hex digit
number) to uniquely identify your computer. The Airport MAC address
will never be used (with the likely exception of the MacBook Air). It
really has nothing to do with Ethernet, it's just using the Ethernet
port Mac Address as a machine serial number.

ByHost is used in the event you move your HD to another computer. It
would then create distinct preference files for that computer based on
it's Ethernet MAC Address.

--
Clark Martin
Redwood City, CA, USA Macintosh / Internet Consulting

"I'm a designated driver on the Information Super Highway"
 >> Stay informed about: Switching between Airport and wired Ethernet 

In article ,
AES wrote:

> In article ,
> Sally Shears wrote:
>
> >
> > Check the Apple menu... Locations... If "Automatic" is selected, then I
> > believe your mac will automatically use whichever is available (airport
> > or ethernet).
> >
>
> Yes -- except if you're using an AppleTalk printer that's connected to
> the Airport network at one location, and connected to the Built-In
> Ethernet port at the other, you will have to use the Network pane in
> System Prefs at each location to activate AppleTalk in the appropriate
> one of these connections (which will deactivate it in the other).

This would be an excellent example of a time to use Locations. Set up
two, one for each location or call them "Wired AppleTalk" and "Wireless
AppleTalk". Then you can just switch them from the Apple Menu.

--
Clark Martin
Redwood City, CA, USA Macintosh / Internet Consulting

"I'm a designated driver on the Information Super Highway"
 >> Stay informed about: Switching between Airport and wired Ethernet 

In article ,
Sally Shears wrote:


> Check the Apple menu... Locations... If "Automatic" is selected, then I
> believe your mac will automatically use whichever is available (airport
> or ethernet).
>
> Back the the early days of OS X, I created separate "Locations" with
> network settings and port configurations, one for airport and one for
> ethernet. These work fine, but I wonder if the extra effort is worth
> it.
>
> Right out of the box, I believe our Mac will switch automatically from
> one to the other.

Not exactly. It will in fact use BOTH (or more), simultaneously, if
possible.

--
Clark Martin
Redwood City, CA, USA Macintosh / Internet Consulting

"I'm a designated driver on the Information Super Highway"
 >> Stay informed about: Switching between Airport and wired Ethernet 

Clark Martin wrote:
> In article ,
> jack ak wrote:
>
>
>> I eventually determined the message box was a complaint about the
>> non-working Ethernet en0 port. I removed the Ethernet connection
>> from Automatic and the other "location". There are about a dozen
>> com.apple.xxx files in the "...user - Library - Preferences - ByHost folder.
>>
>> These files have the 6 hex digit Ethernet port address embedded in
>> the filename. I've deleted the folder several times but it returns
>> and the applications act as though they have never been initialized.
>>
>> I don't understand why my computer "thinks" there *should be*
>> a functioning Ethernet port when it is not configured.
>> Maybe in "Mac OS X Update" (10.5.12) this will be fixed.
>>
>
> ByHost uses your built in Ethernet Port MAC Address (the 6 hex digit
> number) to uniquely identify your computer. The Airport MAC address
> will never be used (with the likely exception of the MacBook Air). It
> really has nothing to do with Ethernet, it's just using the Ethernet
> port Mac Address as a machine serial number.
>
> ByHost is used in the event you move your HD to another computer. It
> would then create distinct preference files for that computer based on
> it's Ethernet MAC Address.
>

Ok, how do I stop the "Connection failed - Server may not exist.."
message box from appearing? It keeps some functions disabled until
it is dismissed. Zoom won't work while this message box is displayed.

Related question...
Why are there only 12 applications dependent on the Ethernet address?
 >> Stay informed about: Switching between Airport and wired Ethernet