Member Avatar for markipoos

Hi ,
I have an G5 tower which is a replacement for an identical elderly machine, Duel 2GHZ PPC.I cloned the old HD (running Tiger) to one of the replacement G5's. On the other HD I installed Leopard. Everything works great apart from internet connection when booted from the Tiger disk. All settings are as they should be, I can only think that only one HD slot is capable or that a HD has to be assigned internet connectability. I want to work in Tiger since my apps are old and it's a familiar environment.

I can't afford the time and anguish of upgrading or migrating my files to the Leopard HD regardless of how "easy" it's supposed to be, and I have no money to spend either.These are not options! I want things as they were and as the hardware is pretty much identical I am really puzzled. All help really appreciated!

Regards,
Mark

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by edbannon

Dani AI

Generated

A few targeted checks will usually resolve a case where one OS boots and has network while the other does not. As suggested, start by confirming whether the problem appears on Ethernet or Wi‑Fi and whether the router is using MAC filtering or DHCP reservations — those router-side settings are the most common reasons an otherwise-identical machine behaves differently when you boot a different system. ’s prompt is also a good cue to verify whether any interim troubleshooting has already been done.

Quick, conclusive tests (run these from the non-working OS):

ifconfig -a
networksetup -listallhardwareports
ipconfig getifaddr en0
ping -c 4 8.8.8.8
nslookup www.apple.com
netstat -rn

Interpretation: if ifconfig shows no link or no IP, it’s a link/DHCP problem. If ping to 8.8.8.8 works but nslookup fails, it’s DNS. networksetup -listallhardwareports or System Profiler shows the NIC’s Ethernet ID (MAC) to compare against the router’s lease/filter list.

Common quick fixes

  • Create a fresh Network Location in System Preferences -> Network, set IPv4 to DHCP, apply and test.
  • In Network prefs use the gear menu to “Set Service Order…” and ensure the correct interface is first.
  • If DHCP seems sticky, back up then remove these files and reboot (this resets saved adapters and leases): /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/NetworkInterfaces.plist and /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/preferences.plist. Make backups before removing.
  • Check the router’s DHCP client list and MAC-filter table; remove stale reservations or add the MAC shown by the non-working OS.
  • If it’s Wi‑Fi, verify the SSID/security type and passphrase in the Tiger settings — saved profiles can be wrong after a clone.

Cautions: deleting system network prefs clears saved Wi‑Fi networks and custom settings. Avoid copying plist files blindly between OS installs that are different builds; instead recreate settings or export only verified values. These steps resolve configuration mismatches far more often than hardware slot failures.

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Member Avatar for BigPaw

How is it connecting to the 'net? Wired or Wifi?

Which Router are you using? Is your Router secured to accept only specific MAC addresses? How are IP addresses allocated?

Member Avatar for markipoos

Hi and thanks. The router, if that's the thing with antenna is a D-Link. I'm afraid although I looked up IP addresses I have no idea how they are allocated or where to look. I don't know about specific MAC addresses either, I'm afraid!

Member Avatar for edbannon

have you gotten your question answered?

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