iMac Wireless???

Anybody here know anything about connecting an iMac to a wireless network? I'm having a hell of a time keeping one connected on my home wireless network.

I've got a Buffalo WHR-G54S using WPA AES encryption and I'm not broadcasting the SSID. MAC filtering is active and the iMac's IP address is on the allowed list. As far as I can tell the iMac supports WPA AES because I can connect initially and everything works great, but once the machine is turned off or sits for a long time it can no longer connect. I then have to re-enter the network name/SSID and password (even if it is saved to the Keychain). Most of the time it connects, but I'll also get an error message saying the network does not support this encryption protocol (I've gotten that message using WPA-TKIP too.)

I just bought the router. Could it be a dud?? The error logs keep showing the iMac gets dropped and then re-acquired or something along those lines. I can post the error messages later tonight if anybody needs it.

Get a wire.

Unfortunately, this wasn't my decision. My roommate's girlfriend moved in with us and her iMac followed. I'll have to double check, but I don't think the POS even has an ethernet connection. This morning the bluetooth mouse and keyboard crashed and required a hard boot just to get it working again. This is her second keyboard. The first one just felt like not functioning anymore for some reason. I've been using my $25 PS/2 keyboard for about 8 years now (heh, it's a M$ keyboard too!!)

She bought an iMac "because Bill Gates is evil". What can I say, she went to UC Berkley. Focking hippie. Now I'm going to have to go join some peace loving hippie Mac forum.

Thanks for nothing guys!

What the fcuk kind of computer doesn't come with a Ethernet connect?

Anyways, usually the way we connect Macs wirelessly is thru one of those Airport POS's.

Its supposed to be simple. Set the wireless in the control panel or whatever the hell its called now. Add your key in and its done.

They make it too simple that if something goes wrong.. eh, might as well be Canadian.

Besides, Bill Gates is probably one of the most humane person in the world.

Think about it.. he takes all our money on over priced stuff we want, then goes goes out and starts helping other countries and people who we really should be helping but we want gadgets instead.

/shrug

Hey man...it's all good. There's no need for harsh language. Just relax.............*smacks face on desk*......

Fcuking hippy forums. Sorry.

To be honest, I could be wrong on that not having an ethernet conncttion. I'll double check on that later tonight. It's just that my natural defense mechanisms kicked in immediately and I was driven to reject the iMac like one does a bastard redheaded step-child the minute it arrived in the house.

@ riser, you're right. It really is that simple to initially connect. Maintaining that connection seems to be the issue. Check this out from the hippy Mac forum I just infiltrated:

Cut n Paste, word for word.

You know my old wireless network at our previous house using M$ and Linux machines worked great aside from a.....brief hardware issue. Apparently Macs just don't like to be woken up. They are quite feminine. Gotta get their beauty sleep and all.

The Buffalo is on the same level as the iMac. Distance is about 30 feet, straight shot, through 2 interior walls. It goes from my room, through 1 interior wall, through our loft (which does have a TV and PS2 in it), through the second interior wall to the room the iMac is in. I have cut the Buffalo's signal strength by 50% but the signal strength on the iMac is still at 90-95%. There is also a cordless phone base station located downstairs. The handset almost never sees upstairs (not that it matters) because we pretty much stick to cel phones. And yes, although I have not investigated it yet, I was suspicious of the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

Show her this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgZQ_It0weI

Tell her to follow the directions regarding the "boat anchor."

If that Mac doesnt have an ethernet connection it must be an old POS, even my crappy old G3 Powerbook has one, and its from the like '98 or something.

@DaSickNinja: You seem to really hate at macs today, dont you have a Mac Pro?

Running Linux and Vista. You might as well call the thing a PC.

Ubuntu and Suse.

Yeah, the first time it gave me an error stating that the Gnome system was screwed, but I just switched installation CDs and did it again. That time it worked.

That's exactly what I ended up doing mpjesse. Even if you typed in the SSID while it wasn't being broadcasted it wouldn't find it or it would give me the error about the network didn't support "this type of encryption" :? . As far as I know, she will have to manually connect to the wireless network every time the iMac "falls asleep" (how cute) or is shut down. The connection isn't always on or reacquired once the system "wakes up" (wake up sleepy head) or is turned on. The passphrase is saved in her Keychain and is setup to be used every time she tries to connect to the WAN. So all she needs to do is select my SSID from the available networks (there are others ) & wait a few seconds for it to connect.

There's no such thing these days as a secure wireless network & not broadcasting the SSID doesn't do much, but with wireless as unsecure as it is these days every bit helps.

I told her to never buy another Mac. She asked if it could be an issue with the wireless router. I slapped her in the face, told her to be silent & to never question me again.

BTW, 13 views, 0 replies in that Mac forum.

Just a little extreme. Tempers flaring pretty big over this, eh?

Can I recommend that you scrape her face off with a potato peeler. And then rub her raw bleeding head in salt.

Sadly, i know where shes coming from, i was the same way only like 30x worst for a while...I also have a macbook, im typing this post out on it, and it is pretty nice, the keyboard is awesome.

In addition to "Bill Gates being evil", my roommate's girlfriend justified her purchase by noting that Macs never get viruses.

Those absolutes have a strange way of haunting people.

That anecdote you related about the idiot mac evangelist, terminating in hers being made to lock up... 10 points, man, 10 points.

Really, though, macs aren't all that bad little machines. They're very wonderful, in fact. Very lovely. My first iMac did very well for target practice when I got my Barnett, my mac notebook was subjected to getting driven over repeatedly on the national road one afternoon, and some other mac I purchased a year back for experimenting on eventually ended up getting hard-wired to one of the phases on a 3-phase 42KW induction motor.

Mac - very good way to stop being pissed off with M$ or Linux.

They are great machines if you actually dumb yourself down, and don't have any Mac lovers around.

I am the grand master of fixing wireless networking problems like this.

Hump your room mate's girl bare-backed.

No more wireless problems and you score a half-decent root whilst at it. [/crude]