Ticket Options

Question Details

TICKET ARCHIVE -> Vpn And Wireless/wired Connections

Melonhead - Jun 26, 2005 - 9:35 pm

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am a novice Mac user. My mother has purchased a Powerbook G4 for her work and has been using it to access a VPN at home. She is more of a novice than I am, as far as setup is concerned, so that's why I'm asking on her behalf.

We recently received a wireless router from our ISP. Initially, my mom had no problems connecting to her VPN via wireless or wired connection. Something happened to the settings of the computer, though (e.g. settings were erased and then re-entered) and now the VPN only works if the Powerbook is connected to the Internet via a network cable.

The computer will actually establish a VPN connection wirelessly, but attempts to use the VPN for the software are stymied. Working via a wired connection, of course, the VPN connection is established and the software works as well.

We've been in touch with the software vendor and they refuse to give support for the wireless capabilities due to security issues. Being in a very secluded area, we're not concerned with security issues, particularly with the data we're dealing with. Since the VPN used to work wirelessly, do you have any idea why it won't work wirelessly now, why it works via wired connection and how I can fix it? Thank you very much for your help.

Mark

matthewpfritz - Jun 27, 2005 - 11:58 am

Mark,
I suggest checking your Network preferences via the System Preferences. On the "Show:" drop-down menu, select "Network Port Configurations." If "Airport" is not the top most of the "Port Configurations" listed, drag it to the top of the list and click "Apply." For good measure, it wouldn't hurt to restart the computer. Some VPN software gets stuck on the ethernet connection and won't release it to access Airport...

-Matt

Melonhead - Jun 30, 2005 - 11:18 pm

Hi Matt,

Thanks for your help. Sorry for the delay in the reply. I only recently got back to the PowerBook.

It turns out that "Airport" was listed at the top most of the "Port Configurations". Is there anything else that might fix the problem?

Thanks again.

Mark

matthewpfritz - Jun 30, 2005 - 11:27 pm

Mark,
Have you tried reinstalling the VPN software? Who makes it? Which version of OS X are you using?
Matt

Melonhead - Jul 1, 2005 - 2:20 am

We haven't re-installed the software that requires the VPN since my mom had to send her computer to an off-site location to have it installed in the first place and, thus, we don't have the software on hand. The software itself is called MacMedical (HealthCare Software Inc.) and is used to access medical records from a central server. We are using Mac OS X Version 10.3.9.

This is particularly strange because it used to work wirelessly before but now does not. Thanks again for your help! I truly appreciate it.

matthewpfritz - Jul 1, 2005 - 8:28 am

Mark,
OS X (which runs on UNIX) can act strangely when certain file settings get corrupted. One way to handle this is to run Disk Utilities (in the Applications>Utilities folder) and select "Repair Permissions." Another option is to use a program called "Cocktail" available here:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/18282

Cocktail will fix permissions issues as well as run a number of UNIX maintenance utilities. Download and run Cocktail... It takes several seconds to load so be patient... then click on "Pilot." Select all of the check-boxes on the left-hand side and click "Run." Now, go get a cup of coffee... ;-)

Once Cocktail is finished doing its thing, the computer will restart. Just for giggles, I'd open up Network preferences and delete the Aiport and Ethernet port configurations then re-add them. Turn off all ports (using the check-boxes) except Airport and give the VPN client a whirl.

If these steps don't solve things, the next step would be to delete the preference file associated with the VPN software. That can be found by performing a "Find" in the Finder (go to the "File" menu and select "Find".) Type "MacMedical" and look for a file ending in "plist." Deleting that file SHOULD delete your VPN settings. When you run the VPN software, you'll need to re-enter password and log-in information.

The LAST step would be to have the company reinstall the software... :-(

Matt

Melonhead - Jul 2, 2005 - 9:38 am

Hi Matt,

Thanks for your help, again! Running Cocktail seems to have solved the problem. Things are as they were before. Thanks very much for your perseverance! I appreciate it very much. Incidentally, how is it that those file settings become corrupted? Is there a 'best practices' method to avoid that type of problem?

Mark

matthewpfritz - Jul 2, 2005 - 12:05 pm

Mark,
Glad to help! I generally will run Cocktail once a month. The reasons for permissions errors are many. I don't know enough to give you an accurate answer... My best guess is that many problems are the result of not--so-good programming in third-party software. The VPN software I use (made by Cisco) is finicky, too. Maybe that is inherent in VPN... A number of the utilities that Cocktail runs are usually done automatically, late at night. But that assumes the machine has not been shut down over night. Cocktail is a great little program, worth the nominal fee.

Again, glad to help!!

Matt

Melonhead - Jul 13, 2005 - 1:06 pm

Hi Matthew,

Just another question about the VPN. The VPN still establishes a connection just fine, but the actual time for the software to connect and boot up seems to vary a lot (sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes >30 minutes). Is this purely the software's problem? Or, is there something that could be tweaked? Thanks again!

Mark

matthewpfritz - Jul 14, 2005 - 2:56 pm

Mark,
I would guess it is the VPN software. Mine connects within a few seconds. You may wish to check settings with the IT admin people to make certain it is configured correctly. Also, check for updates from the manufacturer.

Matt