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iBook AOL Help

post #1 of 16
8/27/04 at 6:45pm
Thread Starter 
Ok, so i finally got my ibook G4 (14" with the superdrive and airport extreme chip). Love it, oh ya. Best computer i've ever owned. Ne way, heres the delimma...

I have a gateway PC, with a belkin router, but i have AOL for broadband. Is there any way, that I can access the high speed conncetion on the ibook? I am now fining out there may be a compatibility issue here. Is there? If so, are there ne loop holes i may get lucky with?

My ideal scenario would be to have aol work on the ibook, so hopefully i can find a way to do so.

-MM
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post #2 of 16
8/27/04 at 9:53pm
Yes, it should be easy.

"AOL" just rides on top of your internet connection. You don't need AOL to surf the web or whatever. I assume you have a DSL modem that plugs into the router? Then just plug the iBook into the router, and it should auto-configure. Plug and go, no other software needed. Use Safari to surf the web, Mail for email, etc.

If you want, you can then download AOL for OSX, and have AOL on the iBook, too. But you don't need AOL to use the internet with your iBook.
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post #3 of 16
8/28/04 at 6:57am
Thread Starter 
ok thanks
its actually cable, but hopefully that'll work the same

-MM
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post #4 of 16
8/29/04 at 12:32am
Quote:
Originally posted by Masterman
ok thanks
its actually cable, but hopefully that'll work the same

-MM

Smart to lose the AOL would be.

Overpriced uneccesary chastity belt it is.

If you buy and airport express and plug it into your cable modem you are untethered in da hawz as well.
the rev
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the rev
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post #5 of 16
8/29/04 at 5:27am
Thread Starter 
so if i got the airport express, while keeping aol, it wouldn't automatically do dialup and might actually connect to the cable?

i set up the aol software so that it has "airport connects directly to aol" and then it does step won, connecting to TCP/IP...but doesn't get ne where. I did try plugging the cable modem directly into the ibook and got nothing. Then i got to the settings and i get a lot of dialup settings.

Ne ideas? Wood the airport express be foolproof? I would like the signal boosing feature, becus my room gets some interference. Or is there an alternative?




As for losing AOL, its somehtin my whole family uses, and changing it just isn't an option.
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post #6 of 16
8/29/04 at 12:11pm
Quote:
Originally posted by Masterman
so if i got the airport express, while keeping aol, it wouldn't automatically do dialup and might actually connect to the cable?

i set up the aol software so that it has "airport connects directly to aol" and then it does step won, connecting to TCP/IP...but doesn't get ne where. I did try plugging the cable modem directly into the ibook and got nothing. Then i got to the settings and i get a lot of dialup settings.

Ne ideas? Wood the airport express be foolproof? I would like the signal boosing feature, becus my room gets some interference. Or is there an alternative?




As for losing AOL, its somehtin my whole family uses, and changing it just isn't an option.
the rev
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the rev
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post #7 of 16
8/29/04 at 6:23pm
Quote:
Originally posted by Masterman
so if i got the airport express, while keeping aol, it wouldn't automatically do dialup and might actually connect to the cable?

i set up the aol software so that it has "airport connects directly to aol" and then it does step won, connecting to TCP/IP...but doesn't get ne where. I did try plugging the cable modem directly into the ibook and got nothing. Then i got to the settings and i get a lot of dialup settings.

You confused me. You have a cable modem, a normal (non-wireless) router, a PC and an iBook, right? You have no problem getting the iBook onto the network/internet, but are now having trouble setting up AOL on the iBook?

OK, first, "Airport connects to AOL" is only for people with an Apple Airport Base Station. That unit has a built-in modem, which can dial into AOL. But you 1. don't have an Aiport Base Station, and 2. don't dial into AOL (you have AOL for broadband).

All you need to do, once the iBook is on the network, is select "Connect via TCP/IP" in AOL. That's all.

If I misunderstood, and your Belkin router is a wireless one, and your iBook is connecting to the internet wirelessly...well, nothing changes. Select "Connect via TCP/IP" in AOL. If you got an Airport Base Station or an Airport Express, again nothing changes. No matter how your iBook connects to the cable modem, once it's on the network use "Connect via TCP/IP" when you fire up AOL.
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post #8 of 16
8/30/04 at 1:50pm
Thread Starter 
thanks sry i confused u...ya its a wireless belkin router

the screen comes up on aol saying connecting vial TCP/IP or w/e and it never logs in, for some reason. i'll keep trying that tho.

thanks fer the help

-mm
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post #9 of 16
8/30/04 at 2:09pm
Quote:
Originally posted by Masterman
thanks sry i confused u...ya its a wireless belkin router

the screen comes up on aol saying connecting vial TCP/IP or w/e and it never logs in, for some reason. i'll keep trying that tho.

thanks fer the help

-mm

Hmm. If it doesn't connect, something's wrong. The doh-inducing reason could be that the iBook isn't on the network. If you fire up Safari, can you surf the web?

The more complicated reason could be the router. I seem to recall having had trouble connecting to AOL through a particular router once; it might have been a Belkin. It turned out to simply be incompatible with AOL, and I returned it for my current D-Link. The way to check that is to plug your cable modem directly into the iBook, make sure the network works (fire up Safari again), and see if you can now connect to AOL.
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post #10 of 16
8/30/04 at 2:50pm
Thread Starter 
after getting the belkin, AOL warned me it may not work...and i tried pluggin the ibook in directly to the modem...no connection

shood i switch in for airport extreme?
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post #11 of 16
8/30/04 at 4:09pm
Quote:
Originally posted by Masterman
after getting the belkin, AOL warned me it may not work...and i tried pluggin the ibook in directly to the modem...no connection

There's no reason why it shouldn't work when you're plugged directly into the cable modem. You need to get that to work first, before you can know whether or not the router is OK.

First, can you surf the web when you're plugged into the cable modem? You didn't mention if you tried launching Safari. If you can't surf the web, the first thing to try is unplugging-and-replugging the cable modem's power cord. You generally need to power-cycle the cable modem like that every time you plug it into a new device.

So plug the cable modem's ethernet cord into the iBook, power-cycle the cable modem, and wait a few moments. Open up the "Network" System Preference and see if the iBook has a proper IP address (i.e. not 169.x.x.x). If it does, try opening AOL and connecting. I assume you already created a new location that connects via TCP, and you're trying to sign on with that location.

The problem, I think, is that you haven't gotten the iBook onto the internet. Unless it's already on the internet (through your cable modem), AOL can't work. Follow these steps, and if anything goes wrong, let us know exactly what.
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post #12 of 16
8/30/04 at 4:59pm
Thread Starter 
k. will do.

the thing w/ aol is they don't let u do ne thing w/out gettin in and typin in ur password. r u sure i can start safari before loggin on w/ aol? or did i misunderstand?

MM
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post #13 of 16
8/30/04 at 7:04pm
Quote:
Originally posted by Masterman
the thing w/ aol is they don't let u do ne thing w/out gettin in and typin in ur password. r u sure i can start safari before loggin on w/ aol? or did i misunderstand?

Yes, you misunderstand. AOL is not the internet. You are connecting to the internet through your cable modem to your cable company. AOL has nothing to do with that. AOL, for you, is just like any other website. Once you're on the internet, you can connect to AOL, just like you connect to Yahoo or Google or CNN or anything else. Your problem right now has nothing to do with AOL - it is that your iBook is not connected to the internet. Once you solve that, logging on to AOL will be a breeze.

Back in the old days, when you dialed your modem into AOL, you connected to the internet through AOL. Now, with your cable modem, your connect to AOL through the internet.

d00d, j00 r 2 n3wb! u r ne thin but l33t!

Speak English. It's much easier on the eyes.
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post #14 of 16
8/31/04 at 1:47pm
Thread Starter 
oo i see. English eh?

um, well, i guess with my pc i just got used to connecting to the cable by just bringin up the aol program and stuff. U see on there, I had to do that first before I was able to pull up somethin like internet explorer. We have bright house digital cable, and one of its features is it also will install high speed cable AOL for broadband. Package deal type of thing.

Ne way, lemme try pluggin this ibook in, i corrected the settings from the directly to airport to the tcp/ip...i'll let ya kno how that works


ya, when it comes to mac i am new...its the first one ive ever had

-MM
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post #15 of 16
8/31/04 at 3:36pm
Thread Starter 
i talked to apple tech support...they said i shood be compatible

i talked to aol tech support...they said that an apple coodn't connect to aol broand


lol hehe

I'm rootin for the apple ppl...

I plugged the cable directly into the ibook...and AOL got to step 6, but coodn't connect. It said "connecting via TCP/IP" but no such luck.


Thoughts?
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post #16 of 16
8/31/04 at 6:01pm
Quote:
Originally posted by Masterman
I plugged the cable directly into the ibook...and AOL got to step 6, but coodn't connect. It said "connecting via TCP/IP" but no such luck.

OK, then we can say it's not a network issue. If you had no internet connection at all, AOL would stop at step 1 (just verified that with my own AOL). I would download the latest version of AOL for OSX and try that. If that fails, try calling Bright House for tech support. It seems that your network connections works fine with the iBook, so you can browse the web and do email or whatever. The fact that your PC can do AOL means it's not your router or Bright House's routers that are the problem; sounds like it's your Mac's AOL software.
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