Connection Problems after 10.3.9 update
 

STUPID,STUPID, STUPID!!!! I should have known better then to update my OS as soon as a newer version was available. This happened to me before and I should have learned then.

Anyways, here's my problem. April 26 (4 days ago) I updated to 10.3.9 and since then everytime I start up my PowerBook G4 it takes anywhere from 3 minutes to an hour to get an internet connection. My airport status shows that it is connected right from the start but I still get internet connect errors.

Can this be fixed or do I have to wait for Apple to come up with a fix. PLEASE HELP

I don't think it's an OS issue. Something went wrong with your particular settings. Post them here so people can analyze them. Give as much information as you can.

what type of settings would you like to see, I haven't changed anything before or after the update.

Go to the Network preference pane in System Preferences and see what your IP Address, Subnet Mask, Router Address and DNS Servers are. Is it using Built-in Ethernet or Airport as the primary port (will be at top of Network Port configurations)

Also, is AppleTalk running?

Post the exact error message. And if there's anthing related in your system.log post that too. Also have you repaired permissions after the install? Do you have the same problem when logged in as another user?

My IP address, Subnet Mask, Router Address seem to be the same as usual. I have never used any DNS Servers. Airport is the primary port and AppleTalk is running.

How do I check system log? I have not repaired any permissions after the install as I am not sure which to repair or how to do it exactly. Maybe you can give me a crash course. I have not tried logging in as any other user, maybe I should set one up and try. In terms of the exact error, I will post that shortly as I need to restart and didn't want to lose my connection before I posted this reply.

Thanks for the help so far.

I just created a new user and found that there is no connection there either although it gives me a different error message;

the new user message says: "A modem error occured. Check your settings and try again"

my existing user message is always the same; " Could not open the communication device."

Does that tell you anything???

Yes, it does. Somethings happened to your Airport settings. Go into Network Preferences, create a new Airport port and uncheck the old one.

Oops! Don't delete the old until you get the new working.

I figured out how to repair permissions in disk utility and both verified and repaired them with no new results.

This sounds like we are on the right track but before I go deleting existing ports can you give me a detailed or step-by-step guide to creating a new port??? I am afraid to try without this info as I will not be able to connect from there at all and if i come across any problems, I will not be able to ask for help. Sorry about my lack of knowledge on these topics.

From the first step, i already got confused when asked what port to chose, internal modem, ethernet, bluetooth, etc.

Sorry, don't delete the old one yet. Just uncheck it. You do that by selecting Show: Network Port Configurations
Then click New and select Airport.

I do not have an option to select airport from there. Here is a screenshot of my options.



Also i just remembered, my printer which has been connected to the airport and always worked wirelessly stopped working as well roughly a month ago and i now have to connect thru USB to use it. Do you think that these problems are linked?

Which Airport do you have? I mean is it Extreme? Express?

Ok, let's try a different tack. I'm thinking that since your current Airport is working, let's keep it. Since it's at the top of your list, the Mac has been trying the Internal Modem first. When that fails, it tries Bluetooth, then Ethernet, and then Airport. Move Airport to the top of the list by dragging it. You can delete Airport New and you should probably uncheck everything else at least for now.

wow!!! that seemed to work. I moved airport to the top and unchecked everything else. Then I tried to check everything back and try again. This time I got the connection error but it only lasted a few seconds. Thank you soooo much for your help. This was driving me crazy. THANK YOU

and thanks for everyone else that responded.

What's the connection error?

same one as before, but like I said it only pops up and then a second or two later I'm able to connect anyways. Although I prefer that it didn't pop up at all, I can live with it. Do you think this is a problem?

If it's happening when you've only got Airport checked off, then I'd try to figure it out. If it's happening only when you've got another port checked off, it makes sense.
Unfortunately, we've reached about the limit of my Airport knowledge. I don't have it on my system, so I can't help much with Airport setups.

It's really ok, I appreciate all your help. The fact that I can connect right away is enough for me. I unchecked everything except for the airport and it doesn't give me any errors this way. Thank you very much again for your help.

Hmmm! cwtnospam is right to reorganise your network connection list - it should allow you to connect more quickly - but I'm not sure that should solve the whole problem. It shouldn't take an hour for your Mac to work your way down that list. The fact you still got an error is a little worrying.

Post back if you still get issues. Keep a eye on your signal strength (select 'Show Airport status in menu bar' in the Airport settings panel to give yourself a continuous update)

The other thing to look at (if you get still get issues) is your system.log, which you can view with the Console.app (/Applications/Utilities/) Click the 'Logs' icon and select system.log. Any lines you see begining something like

would be good to know about.

I was just thinking that you might have something in your startup items that's trying to use a port that is closed or doesn't have a physical connection. Check in the Accounts Preference pane.

I just restarted the computer to make sure that everything was working ok and as soon as it started I got 2 error messages about the connection like I was getting before. I clicked on my browser and was able to connect without any problems though. I will now check the system.log

My airport connection strength is always at 3 or 4 bars (no change). I just looked at the console logs and unfortunately there is a very long list of things that I don't understand. Should I be looking for anything specific? or should I just copy and paste the whole thing here?

When in doubt, post it all. Somebody will figure it out.
;)

BTW the very last entry in the log is;

Apr 30 17:40:09 localhost pppd[275]: Failed to open /dev/cu.Bluetooth-Modem: Device busy

that seemed odd to me, or is it because I turned bluetooth off in the network preferences?

Reboot your machine, and when everything is hunky-dory, open Console.app Select system.log. Scroll up from the bottom, looking for a line that looks like:

Copy/paste everything from then onwards down into TextEdit. The 'X's conceal my computer's real name, and the 'x's my login name. I recommend you do the same. Attach the log to a post here rather than paste it.

EDIT I don't use BT so can't answer your last question.

Probably.
Do you have a bluetooth modem, keyboard, mouse, or cell phone that you are using?

If you still have abusively long boot-times, try this:

Upon reboot, right after the Mac did it's "boing" sound, maintain both the command (Apple) and the s key until you see white-on black text.

Make a mental note of the lines where the stalling occurs, that will be another clue to the log-interpretation suggested by fellow hinters.