What's up peeps! Just saying hi!

[marcleonti]

Excited to be a part of this forum! Been playing with computers since I was 14 (back in 1991), but I'm fairly new to *this* game, & trying to learn more about modified modems, routers, and hacking in general. (not illegal type hacking - getting more out of my computer type hacking!) I'm open to unsolicited advice, so feel free to offer!

[mudmanc4]

well depends on what you want to start messin with , there's a lot of people here , that are into a lot of different things/ tweaks  , so put something out there, and away we go

[marcleonti]

Okay, then. I just bought a pre-modified DD-WRT WRT54g v8 router. I used to be able to access my Mac over an internet connection by navigating to ftp://c-75-66-000-000.hsd1.tn.comcast.net/ (IP modified for privacy) but now I have a new IP address (the router's address) & I don't know how to access the computer through the modem. Any suggestions?

[mudmanc4]

 you said access the computer through the modem , does that mean your trying to set up a vpn , or am i reading that backwards , and you cant seem to access the router ?

[marcleonti]

I don't know what vpn stands for. What I used to be able to do is from my work computer, using internet explorer or some other FTP client, I could log on to my computer to access my files and also to transfer files to my computer. How can I access my computer remotely via FTP through the router?

[mudmanc4]

I don't know what vpn stands for. What I used to be able to do is from my work computer, using internet explorer or some other FTP client, I could log on to my computer to access my files and also to transfer files to my computer. How can I access my computer remotely via FTP through the router?

If FTP is what you want to do, then there are several different client/sever's, but if you want free , nd reliable, then go with filezilla, works good.

I don;t know if that is the way you were doing it before, are you familiar with installing FTP as a server ?

[marcleonti]

I understand how to FTP. Internet explorer has a built in FTP client that is really simple to use. The problem is that I don't know what my computer's FTP address is anymore. From my work computer, I could type "ftp://c-75-66-xxx-xxx.hsd1.tn.Comcast.net/" (IP address partially hidden for privacy) then hit enter, then a new window would open which would look like a "my computer" window, or a "my documents" window. Then I would click file>login and log into my home computer. After that, I could navigate my home computer's file system and simply drag & drop files between my home computer and the computer I was actually sitting in front of. The problem is this: I've installed a router between my modem and home computer. Also connected to this router is another computer, my Xbox360, and my Wii connects wirelessly (all other connections are made with a Cat5e ethernet cable). I can no longer connect to my home computer using the old IP address because now that I have this router, there is a new IP address. My question is how can I connect to my home computer, through my router, from work?

[mudmanc4]

well if nothing has changed on the system you were accessing before, then set a static IP on the machine your trying to access, you'll also need to open the proper ftp ports in the router and forward them to that machine.

What ftp server are you using on your machine  , just out of curiosity.

[marcleonti]

I have a Mac. FTP server is built in. Windows computers have an FTP client built in, so it works out pretty good. How do I set a static IP address on my Mac? How do I open the proper FTP ports in the router & forward them to the Mac?

[mudmanc4]

I have a Mac. FTP server is built in. Windows computers have an FTP client built in, so it works out pretty good. How do I set a static IP address on my Mac? How do I open the proper FTP ports in the router & forward them to the Mac?

Cool, you set the static Ip in preferences > network > then depending on the connection, probable ethernet, click advanced, then in the "tcp/ip tab " hit the drop down menu for " configure IPv4 " and set that to manually "  type in the IP that is within your range , with the subnet your using, if it;s default then it will be 255.255.255.0 , and the router or gateway will be the routers IP .

You'll have to go into the router , and set the same IP you set in there mac the same.

You have me on the "built in ftp " because Iv'e always used a third party software, so maybe you can fill me in on that once we get this done.

[marcleonti]

I did what you said, but it wouldn't work. Instead, I opted to "Use DHCP with manual address" and typed in the current IP to keep it permanent. Then I went to the router's setup page by typing it's IP address in my browser window and set "static DNS 1" to the permanent IP I entered in my network settings on the mac. Now what? Also, are you unfamiliar with using windows' built in ftp client, or mac's built in ftp server?

[mudmanc4]

I did what you said, but it wouldn't work. Instead, I opted to "Use DHCP with manual address" and typed in the current IP to keep it permanent. Then I went to the router's setup page by typing it's IP address in my browser window and set "static DNS 1" to the permanent IP I entered in my network settings on the mac. Now what? Also, are you unfamiliar with using windows' built in ftp client, or mac's built in ftp server?

Actually I have been using smb to get to local servers, I haven't used any ftp from mac since tiger because it stinks, there's no upload support, even in finder it still stinks on ice, so if you have a good way then please, share ?

I don't understand why setting the static didn't work, I must be missing a step that i normally take  :/

  So are you able to connect doing it that way ? Iv'e never even tried to set up a static IP that way.

[marcleonti]

Okay. I've been messing with this thing ALL day. I've got some things working, but some things still aren't working. I'm frustrated & ready to smash something. Let's take it from the top. Here's what I'm working with and my dilemma:

Computer #1: Mac Power PC G4 Quicksilver 2002 running OS X 10.5.8

Computer #2: Dell "old piece of crap" running Windows XP Version 2002 Service Pack 3

Router: Linksys WRT54G V8 router running DD-WRT v24 (05/24/08) micro - build 9526, restored to factory defaults

Modem: Motorola Surfboard SB4200 flashed with Sigma v1.5b

Printer: Lexmark P4350 color inkjet USB printer, connected to the Mac

Both computers and an Xbox 360 are connected to the router via Cat 5e ethernet cable.

Lastly, I have a Wii connects to this router wirelessly.

The Wii & Xbox work fine, and there are no problems there. My Mac is in the house, and is my main computer. My old Dell is in the garage & I only have it to read service manuals, look up part numbers over the internet & a few other work related things. (I run a small motorcycle repair operation out of my garage.) The Dell is old & slow, but it serves it's purpose & I don't mind if it gets greasy or even ruined. Problem is, I have many manuals & files that I store on my Mac that I would like to access from the garage. I also keep customers' invoices on my Mac, but I would like to be able to update them from the garage. Also, if I'm looking at or working on something on the Dell, I would like to be able to hit the print button and simply walk in the house & grab it off the printer. Finally, if I'm somewhere away from my house, I need to be able to access the files on my Mac via the internet. Before I bought the router, I could use any windows machine, open Internet Explorer and type "ftp://c-75-66-220-210.hsd1.tn.Comcast.net/" and a new window would open. I could log in to my computer using my regular name & password, then have access to my files. I could drag & drop files between the Mac & whatever computer I was sitting at.

Now, plugging everything in allowed both computers & both video games to access the internet, but I couldn't accomplish any of the other things I desired. I started by assigning my Mac a static IP address of 192.168.1.10 in the Network panel under System Preferences (DCHP with manual address). Then, I enabled all the sharing options under the Sharing panel of System Preferences (File Sharing, Printer Sharing, Web Sharing, etc.)

On the Dell, I opened my network connection and manually assigned it the static IP address 192.168.1.11, subnet mask 255.255.255.0, and gateway 192.168.1.1, which allowed me to FTP my Mac at "ftp://192.168.1.10", but I lost my internet connection. I had to manually enter my primary & secondary DNS, so I used the DNS 1 and DNS 2 listed on the router's DD-WRT configuration page (68.87.68.166 & 68.87.74.166). Now I can FTP my Mac from the Dell, and access the internet from both computers, although I think I might should have set the DNS on the Dell to 192.168.1.1

On the WRT54G, the only settings I changed is I changed the login & password, assigned static ip leases to the mac addresses associated with my Mac & Dell, enabled Wake-On-Lan for each, and I unchecked the box "Block Anonymous WAN Requests (ping)"

I still can't access the Dell from the Mac. This isn't a big deal, because there really isn't anything on the Dell that I'd need to access from the Mac, but it just seems that it should work both ways. This may be related to the fact that the Mac OS has a built in ftp server, not an ftp client, and the Windows OS is the opposite with a built in ftp client, but no ftp server.

I found an article on using a Mac's usb printer from a remote Windows PC on a home network ( http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20021101062604548 ) and followed the instructions exactly, but it doesn't work. I don't get any error messages when I try to print from my Dell. It just doesn't work. Nothing prints, and the print queue on both computers remains empty.

Finally, I need to be able to access my Mac's files from locations outside my network. I don't know if this works at present or not because I haven't got any idea what to type in Internet Explorer's address bar from a remote computer. If I do it the way I used to, only substituting the new IP address where the old one was, I get my router's configuration page. I imagine I might have to forward a port, or something like that, but I know very little about this process and I still wouldn't know what to type in the remote computer's address bar.

Here are my questions:

1. What settings must I change to access my Mac's files remotely?

2. What do I type in the remote computer's address bar to access my Mac?

3. How can I print from my Dell to the printer that is connected to my Mac via usb?

4. Can I access the Dell's files from the Mac?