Doesn’t quite feel G.Q. enough so this is here. Mom’s got Comcast Cable internet. Works just fine, I’m posting on it now.
Ever since she got this a few years ago, I’ve tried to use it with my laptop when I come to visit. I mean mein godt, it’s 2007 and I still have to use dial-up? Nyet. I plug into the back of the small modem and get zip. Zero. Nada.
It is as though I am not plugged in. Mom uses a Dell PC and I am on a Mac but that has never mattered anywhere else on the planet where I have gone to plug into an Ethernet jack.
I’ve never heard of a passworded or secured home Cable Modem. Is it possible that Comcast has somehow secured it to ONLY recognize HER machine? I mean, what if she buys a new computer? She won’t have Internet until a tech comes to the house and “re-assigns” the new machine to her modem? Is this kind of thing done?
I don’t visit enough to make it worth a call to Comcast, though I am tempted to do so just to get a tech help guy on the line to find out what I’m missing.
What am I missing? IT’s a small RCA digital/Broadband cable modem. Model DCM425C
I don’t where on a mac you would check this (network settings obviously), but look around in there and make sure DHCP is enabled, and in your browser look for something to the effect of “automatically detect settings”…
Yeppers. Did that the first time this failed to find a signal. It is as though I have to manually set the DHCP but whattheheck. It’s a home Internet connection. I’ve never seen this before. If I call Comcast and they tell me they have to dictate it to me, that’ll be the answer.
Not sure what your particular problem is, but to answer one of your questions… no, Comcast doesn’t care what you plug into the ethernet port of the modem. IIRC, there was an initial setup the tech ran to initialize the modem, but once that’s done, it should work. I have a router hooked to my cable modem, but I’ve bypassed it and plugged my computer in directly and it worked, no problem.
I’d like to clear one thing up though. Are you unplugging your mom’s ethernet cable and plugging directly into the same port? Do you get (or even have) a green light next to the ethernet port on your laptop? Does it turn green? And does the cable modem have some kind of green light to show something is connected?
When I was tech support for High Speed Cable Internet (Not Comcast- ) this was nearly always because the modem, for whatever reason, will only decide to give an IP to the computer its been plugged into. Comcast doesn’t particularly care (and why should they) what computer you plug the modem into, its just a quirky thing.
It will nearly always be solved by your standard power cycle. Unplug the modem for a minute+, swap computers, plug it back in. The modem will now determine that the new computer deserves an IP and will happily oblige. Just be sure to do the same when swapping back.
If it doesn’t work, there’s probably a laptop setting somewhere that needs adjusted.
Yeah, I’ve seen this problem with Comcast before, went through a period when I had to power cycle every few weeks to keep all computers connected. Buy your mom a router.
Comcast may require that the connecting computer have a specific MAC address associated with its network card.* Usually when I install a router, I clone the MAC address of the main computer (it’s a function that’s available when you connect to the router to set it up). That way all machines in use show up as one computer with a MAC address that matches their paperwork.
Even if this isn’t the way Comcast operates, I’d definitely recommend a router. Lot less plugging and unplugging.
*Can’t post links from this phone, but google MAC address…has nothing to do with apple; every network device has one.
I didn’t have Comcast (I had Insight)… but this is exactly what I encountered. Tried connecting another computer to my cable modem - no dice. It didn’t recognize the computer and even stated that the computer that was detected wasn’t the computer that was registered (or words to that effect).
I didn’t have the time, energy or inclination to dink around with it any further, so I never figured out how to resolve the issue. Don’t know if it would have been simple or just added heartache.
When I was tech support for High Speed Cable Internet (yes Comcast- ) this also was nearly always because the modem will only decide to give an IP to the computer its been plugged into.
The IP address you’re assigned is determined by your MAC. No matching MAC, no DHCP for you (IP, netmask & gateway ← not yours) The valid MAC for the cable modem is determined by whatever asks first when the modem is first powered up. This ends up confusing people without routers but who have 2 pcs, 2 pcs and a hub, a pc and an XBox, etc. 3 years ago, if you called up and asked, we would allow you two valid MACs per modem. But don’t bother:
What The Tof and Nametag say. Recycle the modem for now, and get a router later. They improve security and are practically free.
Dazzling White Diamonds: Would have been simple, see above.
Nanoda, that’s a good-to-know thing! I would have figured it out if I’d had the time - I do all the electronics and technical setup for our family - but I was preparing to move out of the apartment I was renting and move back home (big project, long commute, etc.) and just figured it wasn’t worth digging into it. I’m laughing at myself now that I know it would have been very simple to fix.
Hi, I’m back. Thanks for the insights- why is it that when I’m at HOME with something like 4 or 5 computers hanging on a single DSL line I know I need to power cycle the modem and hub and machines in proper order, but at Mom’s it never occurred to me. :smack: :smack: :smack:
I so rarely go there that a hub or router is not worth it. I can just get a new IP address assigned by power cycling, do my work then re-address hers.
