Mac Forum / General / General / May 2008

I've had this trouble before, and the various suggestions as to the
reason make sense but don't cure the problem. I have two G4 laptops
and a Windows PC which, usually, all connect to the net wirelessly
with no trouble at all. This afternoon, the two Macs started playing
up, self-assigning DCHP addresses and not connecting. When that
happened before with a previous Wallstreet laptop, I was told that the
problem had to be with the wireless modem router for some reason not
sending out correct and usable addresses so the Wallstreet was
assining itself its own. But now the PC desktop connects wirelessly
and flawlessly, one of the G4s is again online but the other G4 -
sitting right next to the first etc - is STILL self-assigning a
bullshit DCHP address and this not connecting to the net. As a
technical virgin (I don't even know what DCHP stands for) this is
utterly baffling. No amount of 'renewing DCHP lease' will get a
workable one. I know that this is not crucial as I have net access
whether the recalcitrant G4 plays up or not, but that is not the
point. I do like to know what is going on so that the next time
something like this happens, I have a fair idea as to how to solve the
problem. So suggestions/solutions/anything PLEASE before I go mad.
Would it help if I got the individual MAC addresses for both laptops
and entered then manually in the modem/router? Would it help if I
reset the router (a Netgear DG834PN). And please don't assume that
just because I can throw around the various jargon names, I know what
I am talking about - please keep it simple. PP