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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Can't Connect to Net After Aol Uninstall Os 10.3.8

trbngr - Apr 28, 2005 - 6:36 pm

Hi,
i have a question that seems to be coming up infrequently on the net, but has no solutions. i have a g4/466, 640 mb ram running os 10.3.8. Basically, i bought a "lightly used" hard drive off of ebay which already came pre loaded with os x/classic, etc. the previous owner was an aol user. being that i am not a fan of aol at all, i deleted every single aol file that i could find on the hard drive (i had no problem connecting to the internet before deleting these files). well, now my computer will no longer connect to the internet as i am getting an error from internet connect that says "incorrect ppp options/settings set" or to that effect (note: i use a dialup connection/ppp). i viewed the system log in system profiler and found that the problem seems to stem from the system looking for a deleted aol file called com.aol.net.ppp which resides in system/library/extentions. i found a couple of suggestions on the net for deleting specific files and rebooting, repairing permissions, etc but to no avail. i dont want to have to reinstall the system software as i have too much stuff on the hard drive to back up/etc, nor do i really want to have to reinstall aol, since i do not use aol. any ideas?
thanks
jon

DeltaMac - Apr 28, 2005 - 8:41 pm

Hi, my name is Dale. I'll try to help you.

You say that you could connect to the internet with no problems BEFORE deleting the AOL software. How were you connecting if not to AOL?

Well, this is a problem with getting a hard drive (just a hard drive without any actual computer?) that is pre-loaded by whoever was using it before you. You can be boxed in by problems that other person created, with no easy way out.

I would try: Creating a new user (with administative privileges).
Go into your /Library (The main library on your hard drive), Delete the Caches folder completely. The system may require your password to do this. Go into the preferences folder in this same library, and find any files with the words network somewhere in the file name. be sure to go into the System Configuration folder, you'll find one or two to delete there, too.
Log out, then log in as the new user you just created.
Open your System Preferences, click on Network, then click on the location line. Choose New Location... Name it whatever you like.
Click on the Show line, and click on Internal Modem. Setup your modem with your ISP's dialup settings, whatever they are, and click the Apple button when it asks.
Then, try to connect...
I have seen this 'incorrect PPP Options' message come up after this, so if you do, you probably wasted your money getting a pre-loaded drive (with software that is unlicensed), your BEST path then will be an erase and reinstall, but an Archive and Install option MIGHT work (doesn't always)

Come back with what you discover -
- Dale
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trbngr - Apr 29, 2005 - 3:20 pm

hi,
thanks for getting back to me so quickly. basically, i bought the hard drive with the operating systems already on it, but had loaded a lot of my own stuff on it (i have my own paid copy of panther). the aol was on it from the previous owner as well as all his usernames/logins which i changed. i have two hard drives on my computer as a master/slave setup so i have been accessing the internet with the slave drive for now with no problems (slave drive has 10.3 on it). i access the internet through dialup set to ppp. all i do is use my username, login and password/local dialup number and then use a browser (i m using safari for now). i hope that answers your questions?
as for your suggestions, i went in and deleted the files as you had listed and i think it _might_ be helping in the right direction. but now i have "new" issues that will have to be resolved. the "incorrect ppp options" error message no longer comes up, but i still am unable to connect to the net. if you press the connect button, it will sit and think a few seconds and then do absolutely nothing. also, the option for "network" in my system preferences window has disappeared which i m sure is an easy enough fix. i m not quite sure what you meant about changing my login and password again. basically i have been an advanced mac user for many years, but have just started using os x in the last few weeks and it has been quite frustrating to get to know my way around it. so at this point, it almost looks as if it is going somewhere in the right direction. if you have any more suggestions at this point, i m all ears

thanks,
jon