Can't get more than two computers running on LAN at a time

I'll try to describe what's happening and our set-up, if I forget
anything, please forgive me:

LAN set up by hubby running multiple Macs (details to follow) via Cat5
connections to a Linksys 8-port ethernet hub and an RCA Cable modem.
Everything works great, all the computers get online, then suddenly one
night the college-aged daughter complains that she hasn't been able to
get online in several days (no specific details available). I run
through the usual troubleshooting routing: AppleTalk is active and set
to ethernet, TCP/IP is set for ethernet DHCP, everything is plugged in
and turned on.... Thinking it is the modem (because the modem often
needs to be reset), I unplug it, wait 60 seconds, plug it back in, and
nothing happens. We try this a number of times, complete with system
restarts on her computer, etc. We finally get her online after plugging
her into a different port on the hub, but hubby later reports that HE
can't get on the internet (I didn't change ANYTHING with his system, nor
did I swap his port or cable on the hub). We swap him around on the hub
and reset the modem and all that, and finally get him going again, but
low and behold, daughter doesn't work any more. We decided it was the
hub, live with it until we can buy another one, etc.

A few weeks later, we move into our new house. Hubby wires the entire
house for the LAN (we plan to have a computer in just about every room
of the house). Cable guy comes out for install, wants to give us a new
modem, but the one he has doesn't work, so they just hook up the old
RCA. Instead of using the Linksys hub (which we suspect is faulty), he
plugs in an old 4-port hub which we knew was good but which we outgrew
years ago. Since we're limited, we only have three computer hooked up
to the LAN right now: My BW G3, daughter's G3, and my husband's G4
PowerBook. He swaps the PowerBook out with a G3 in the garage for the
time being. So intermittently, we are all having difficulties getting
online, and we twiddle and switch around the hub and modem until whoever
is OFF can get ON. We decide it's not the hub, but the modem itself.
Just looking at it sideways makes it cut out.

We call the cable company, they replace the modem with a Motorola
"SURFboard" Cable modem. That evening, we try to get all the computers
going and daughter complains that she is still not getting online.
TCP/IP has an IP address. I can't figure it out. So we bypass the hub
with her connection (because the cable company will not give tech
support while you are connected to the hub). Still nothing and we call
cable company. The IP address in TCP/IP started with a 169, which the
tech said was a bad IP (the number indicates a bad connection of some
sort) and the computer wasn't releasing it.

The tech had me:

switch TCP/IP from ethernet to PPP
save
switch back to ethernet
save
shut down computer
shut down modem
wait 30 seconds
power up modem
power up computer
check that TCP/IP had a valid IP address

We finally get the number cleared out and a valid IP and everything's
great. I get off the phone, hubby complains that now HE can't get
online. I look, and sure enough, he has that same bad IP address. I
clear it out of his, just like I did for her, but then SHE couldn't get
online. We decided that ALL computers needed to be cycled at the same
time (as described above), so we shut everything down, waited, rebooted,
and still only two computers are getting on at the same time. After
several attempts, hubby has decided it has something to do with the hub
and collisions, but we are at a lot what to do to get everything up and
running. ANY help, ideas, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Here is a list of computers that are connected to the network at this time:

Powerbook G4 - Panther 10.3.4
BW G3 - Panther 10.3.4
Beige G3 - OS 9.2.2
Beige G3 - OS 9.2.2

In addition, we would *like* to be able to hook up the following devices
which were on the LAN at the old house:

iMac G3 - OS 9.2.2
Beige G3 - OS 9.2.2
Performa 6300 - OS 8.1
XBox
Genicom MicroLaser C4 printer


TIA....

 

Further, since you will be purchasing a router, get a wireless one (like the
Linksys WAP54G) which will allow wireless connections from the laptops at
802.11g speeds. Thus you get routing, all the machines on a private lan and
better privacy, as (the Linksys at least) the router usually has a builtin
firewall.

Good luck.
-barto

--
David Barto www.kdbarto.org

Oxymoron - 2 words which mean the opposite of each other:
Jumbo Shrimp
Military Intelligence
Microsoft Security

 

But if you DO go wireless, make sure you (1) set a secure password on
the router setup page, (2) use encryption and (3) limit connections by
hardware (MAC) address to the computers you actually own.

As a further note, if the TCP/IP settings ever show an IP address
beginning with 169., it means that the computer was unable to find
anything to assign it an address.

 

Thanks for the tips, everyone. Hubby did a little research on his own
and called me with the same conclusions. The wireless Linksys is on
order. THANKS!