bioneural.net » network

Resolving router issues with Be Unlimited

Bruce — Tue, 27 May 2008 07:02:48 +0000

Be Unlimited provide ADSL2+ services in the UK, supplying a Be-branded Thompson SpeedTouch wireless router called the BeBox. The Member Forum is full of complaints about router instability and errant behaviour. My 780WL had been doing well for around 6 months, then started resetting itself sometimes several times within a short period, but at least daily. Sometimes after a reset I was left with no Internet connectivity. Eventually Be sent me a replacement router, which came with replacement problems. So how do you turn a flaky BeBox into a rock-solid Internet router? Just take the "Be" out of your BeBox. Be deny any blame Be offered me a variety of explanations and solutions for the frequent disconnection/ resets I was experiencing: The router firmware was corrupt (this was suggested by each of the 4 support staff I contacted—perhaps a stock response. I explained I couldn't replace it using a Mac—see below); Local errors my router reported were indicative of a problem between the router and my computer; Local errors my router reported were likely due to line noise (despite very good data rates it seems, and a clear Quiet Line Test—17070 option 2); The replacement router was disconnecting because I was using the wrong DNS server IP addresses (I was; Be's instructions for configuring the replacement router for a static IP were completely wrong; I got no connection at all until I was given the correct gateway IP address over the phone); Ongoing issues with the replacement router indicated that the problem was "something on my network", ...

Remote assistance that works

Bruce — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:18:24 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

It can be a struggle to provide remote assistance via Windows Messenger when both parties are behind NAT routers, even when UPnP is supported by both devices and computers, and port forwarding is in use. UltraVNC SC is a custom-configured "single click" VNC server used to initiate a support request; the "expert" runs UltraVNC in listening mode and forwards port 5500 on their router (the novice doesn't need to configure their own router). More here. This worked for me where RealVNC and Screen Sharing (vnc://x.x.x.x) failed.

An exercise in wireless frustration

Bruce — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:17:34 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

Having spent the better part of two half days trying to achieve the impossible, I wish to recount an exercise in wireless frustration. The challenge was to hook up an iMac G4 (Flat Panel) with no Airport Card, located in the attic room, to my home LAN (and thus to the Internet). One purpose of this machine was to serve as a screen for streamed video that could be watched while using the exercise cycle. A TV had provided such distraction, but that had broke. To cement the challenge, the problem should be solved using equipment already to hand i.e. at no additional cost. My "BeBox", the hub of my home LAN, is actually a SpeedTouch 780WL WiFi router/ ADSL modem. The router's wireless access point (WAP) offers 802.11b/g, which is secured with Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) encryption—the earlier Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) standard is considered insecure. A slow, insecure option that worked It's worth noting that the original Apple Aiport Card appropriate for this machine can still be had on eBay for £30–40. Although this card is WPA-aware, it is only 802.11b (11Mbps) and thus not suitable for streaming. I know this to be so because the first device I tried was the Linksys WET11, a wireless Ethernet bridge. For the record, because it took me some time to discover, this device has a factory-default IP of 192.168.1.225. However, before you can connect to it using Safari (or any other browser), you need to manually assign your Mac an IP address in ...

Remote Assistance and NAT routers

Bruce — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:54:34 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

My parents have a PC running Windows XP. From time-to-time they encountered glitches, and it's been useful to establish a Windows Messenger connection and thus provide remote assistance using the tools built into the OS. The remote "expert" (that would be me) is able to see what they see on-screen, and to take control of the screen to help diagnose problems. It worked fine so long has my parents had dial-up Internet, even when I was asisting from my Mac via Parallels. But when they got broadband this functionality broke—all because of their NAT router. When Dad asked for help after conversing in Messenger the connection would fail, and I would be notified that "Remote Assistance connection could not be established because the remote host name could not be resolved. Please try again." Microsoft have a Knowledge Base article on the subject. The issue arises, apparently, because our computers are not in the same private subnet or because Microsoft Windows Firewall does not allow the computers to connect to Microsoft .NET Messenger Service servers. To resolve this the article details the process of making a custom RAInvitation.msrcincident file containing the public IP address of the computer needing help, and e-mailing this to the expert who can then use it (within a certain time frame) to make the connection and provide assistance. It's a hack, but it works. The thing is, there should be no need for a hack. Microsoft says: If the computer that sends the Remote Assistance invitation and the computer that receives ...

Keeping in touch and online in New Zealand

Bruce — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 22:46:33 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

We knew we would spend the first month of our stay in a Wellington apartment that had no phone line. We also knew that our UK-sourced mobile phones would work fine in New Zealand. Furthermore, being addicted to fond of Internet access, we knew we would want to get online as soon as possible (OK, "we" in this context means Bruce). More than two-thirds of New Zealanders have home Internet access—and you can't go back to dial-up once you've tasted the broadband fruit. So what were our options? What is Project Koru? The code name of our "great escape" from our adopted home in the UK to spend a year living and working in New Zealand. You can find an introduction to the project here together with an explanation of why we chose the koru as the symbol for our journey. Short-term Internet options Internet cafés virtually litter the streets of Wellington. As for wireless, prepaid cards for access to Telecom WiFi hotspots are available in Starbucks and other stores ($NZ10 for an hour). CaféNET is a cost-effective alternative (from $NZ10 for 24 hours) with numerous hotspots in downtown Wellington. As things turned out we didn't need to utilize these options, since we were (semi-) online in the apartment the day after arrival. Wireless options Woosh use a "3G" UMTS network that has geographically limited coverage (most of Wellington is served). A 1.6Mbps/ 125 Kbps (downstream/ upstream) connection with a 5GB monthly data and phone rental costs $NZ69.95 $NZ59.95 from 1 Nov 2006 ($NZ198 activation ...

Airport vs. Ethernet: wireless at the cost of speed?

Bruce — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 20:28:31 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

When I got my Mac mini with a built-in WiFi antennae I decided not to connect it to my network hub via Ethernet. At some point I became suspicious that my 1 Mbps ADSL Internet connection just wasn't up to par; eventually I had to do something about it. With a wired connection again I experienced a noticeable 158% speed increase. I'm not sure if I should be surprised by this, however, particularly given disgruntled reports in places such as MacInTouch concerning poor or variable Airport reception. I ran some tests using the ADSLGuide Broadband Speed Test. Airport speeds Airport speed: download 547.6 Kbps; upload 15.5 Kbps Hmmm... not good. Next step: turn off airport and re-establish wired Ethernet connection. Ethernet speeds Ethernet speed: download 866.1 Kbps; upload 243.3 Kbps Well, that's about what I would expect. Most ADSL users know they don't get quite what they pay for, since a number of variables (distance from the telephone exchange, etc.) supposedly degrade the theoretical maximum speed. Accounting for the difference I wish I could. It has been my understanding that a 802.11g (54 Mbps—yeah, sure!) WiFi connection could readily cope with a measly 1 Mbps ADSL connection. In fact I have a Dell laptop with a Linksys "Wireless-G" (WPC54G) notebook adapter sitting next to the mini (thus similar conditions) and I can't say that I have ever noticed a difference in speed comparing WiFi to Ethernet. So I'm left with a few theories: The WiFi antennae in the Mac mini really is sub-standard; Interference? I rang tech support at a local ...

Print from your HP d135 on an Intel Mac

Bruce — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 15:46:32 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

I have a d135, a multifunction printer/ scanner/ copier/ fax from HP which has caused me annoyance since we first got acquainted. More recently it stopped working when I got an Intel Mac, and proved frustrating to install as a Windows network printer. I was able to get it working on my Intel Mac running Windows, but was left unable to print from my Mac. Until now. The following instructions work on an Intel Mac mini running Mac OS X 10.4.6, with a d135 connected to an Ethernet hub via a jetdirect 200m network interface. HP software Hide your CD-ROM under a pile of old magazines; Congratulations. Your software is now correctly installed. HPIJS for Mac OS X Visit LinuxPrinting.org to download and install ESP Ghostscript (even though it is complied for PowerPC); Now download and install the hpijs-foomatic package from the same page; Open Printer Setup Utility (in your Utilities folder); if you're invited to add a printer because there isn't one installed click Cancel; Hold down the Option (Alt) key and click on the Add icon; Chose HP Jet Direct - Socket for Protocol; Type in your printer's IP address (e.g. 192.168.1.102) for Address; Leave Queue blank; At the bottom of the Add printer window, for Print Using choose HP; Scroll down and select HP OfficeJet D135 Foomatic/hpijs then click Add. Your printer should now be listed in Printer Setup Utility as follows: Print something! You can scan by logging into the jetdirect software—just point your browser at the IP address of the printer: Because ESP Ghostscript is integrated with CUPS (Common UNIX Printing System) ...

How to install a d135 as a network printer

Bruce — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 15:30:59 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

I have two Macs connected via Ethernet to an HP officejet d135 fitted with a jetdirect 200m print server, itself wired to a WiFi-equiped ADSL router/ switching hub. I have a WiFi-equiped Dell laptop running Windows XP Professional that I wanted to be able to print from - without a wired (Ethernet or USB) connection. Sounds simple. I downloaded the latest XP drivers from HP but found myself initially unable to complete the installation (despite the Mac install working without a hitch). Here is a list of the "required" steps that were ultimately successful, should you need to do the same. Maybe a picture helps? This is what we are trying to achieve: This is the installer screen I couldn't get past. Clicking next resulted in a temporary greying-out of the options, and then the same dialog: d135 driver installer from web: Next doesn't work How to overcome this? Follow these steps (or skip straight to no. 12): Go to www.hp.com, Software and Driver Downloads, and download the latest d135 drivers for Windows XP (3.20 or A.14.01.20); Run the installer and fail to get past the above screen; Go to www.hp.com, Support and Troubleshooting. Enter d135 and enter search terms to find out about this problem. Nothing is relevant in the returned results, so give up; Chose Contact HP from the Customer Care menu, and select the option to E-mail technical support after you buy. Fill in the form and send your request for help; Read the e-mail reply for HP "Total Care" (cough), advising you that as "Your ...

The utility of WiFi on a handheld

Bruce — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 07:32:01 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

WiFi on a handheld? Far from being as much use as mammary glands on a bull, a wireless PDA has additional functionality over its USB-teethered brethren. Aside from wireless synching, potential roles may include downloading, controlling, accessing, communicating, informing, entertaining, printing, and updating. I was unable to establish WiFi connectivity in my first 48 hours with the X50v. It turns out that my router was configured to accept connections on 802.11g only (since I have a Wireless-G card in my laptop). The X50v supports the 802.11b standard only: Shortly after this realisation and switching the router to "Mixed" mode WiFi was up and running using the Odyssey client (which isn't mentioned in the user guide; I gave up on Dell WLAN Utility). Here, mostly for my record (maybe it'll help you too), is how to set it up: Use the Dell WLAN utility to turn on WiFi; Close the Dell WLAN utility and open Odyssey Client; In the Settings menu tap Configure; Tap Add; Tap Scan to find your WiFi network; Select your network when it is discovered and check Infrastructure mode then OK; In the following screen tap Next; Set Association mode to Shared; Set Encryption method to WEP; Uncheck 802.1X then Next; Enter your WEP hex key with hexadecimal checked, then Next; Tap Finish; Tap OK; Select your WLAN from the drop-down menu and check Connect to; Tap OK. Your WLAN connection (Odyssey client icon) and signal strength is displayed on the Today screen: Downloading You can use Internet Explorer to download software and other files. Files of the type .cab can be downloaded direct to the Pocket ...

Prevent OS X littering your Windows network

Bruce — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 17:02:47 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

One of the annoying things about connecting a Mac running OS X to a Windows computer is that the Mac leaves .DS_Store files in every folder it navigated through. An Apple KB article on this topic offers a simple solution: Open the Terminal. Type: defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores true Press Return. Restart the computer. Update 06.12.05: BlueHarvest is an OS X Preference Pane that can prevent the creation of new Finder DS_Store files and delete them where they exist, and can automatically delete resource forks (._ files) for specific extension types (.jpg, .txt, etc.) on non-HFS volumes, such as Windows SMB shares and removable media (e.g. SD cards that you might use with a Palm or Pocket PC).