I recently bought an Asante router (3004LC) to use primarily as a firewall and also as a convenient way to synch my laptop (Wallstreet 300) to the iMac (333Mhz - 512Mb - OS 8.6).
I recently had installed an AT&T cable modem and thought that a firewall would be a good move. Alas, the router has been a disaster from day one. When I hook it up according to the Asante directions (kind of thin although they do cover Macs), it does not work. When I called Asante's tech line, a message told me that if I followed the instructions and also turned off the cable modem for three minutes, that the modem would reset with the router's TCP/IP numbers. Sounded good - didn't work. Asante's message also said that they cannot help users unless the user first calls the user's service provider to ascertain the provider's "WAN." No explanation given as to what a WAN is (that's important - see below) In fact, this unplug, replug process REALLY didn't work. After that endeavor, the cable modem didn't work, either. (Even after several unplugs for over thirty minutes to allow for 're-sets'). So I called Asante. Great service: "It can't be our fault as we have NEVER heard of this before. It must be an AT&T problem. There must be an outage in your area. When that gets fixed, call us back and we can help." My comment in return: ""can't" be your problem? even when the modem worked perfectly 1 second before I followed your 3 minute unplug advice. Hmmmm.... what's the statistical likelihood of that?" Asante comment: "it can't be our fault." My thought: why do so many people use the word "can't"? That's not only wrong, it makes the speaker seem kind of dumb.....grrrrr. So I called AT&T, asked if there was a local problem, asked what AT&T's WAN is, and asked about why my cable modem didn't work after I had turned it off and then on again while attached to the router. AT&T comment: "You're networking computers? (I try to yell in a "NO!" but was talked over by tech person). We cannot help you. We never help people who use cable modems for networks. And by the way, there is no service problem in your area, and finally, (after asking her boss), we have no idea what a WAN is and have never heard that term." (in other words, "go away and don't bug me.") My comment: "I'm not networking, there is only one computer in my office." AT&T comment: "You must be networking. Anyway, we don't help people with routers. You must call the router people." My comment: "there is no router in this system. I put it in my truck 35 minutes ago. There is no router. There is no network." AT&T comment: "We don't help people with routers. You must call the router people." My thought: I may as well have called and practiced speaking German about Germany's recent election. My action: rip hair out of head. Can't get on-line and waiting for an important email attachment. So I wait a few hours, then call AT&T back, hoping to get a more with-it person and this time do not mention that there has ever been a router in my office. This guy actually tries to help, runs some tests, then suggests waiting a several hours and if it doesn't come back on-line, then scheduling a service call. Not what I wanted to hear but at least helpful. I wait six hours, then try again. Doesn't work. Unplug power to modem, wait ten seconds, it works. Now I'm scared to even try the router again after losing a whole day the last time. Further, AT&T apparently does not know what thier WAN is (nor do I), and Asante will not help me unless I have that. I plan to return the router to MacConnection but I still like the IDEA of a firewall and a method to synch the PowerBook w/o unplugging the cable modem. Also, I may someday actually network the other mac in the office to the iMac but that's last on the priority list. Suggestions? This has REALLY been frustrating. I only seldom need to call anyone for tech help (friends and clients at Microsoft usually can walk me through problems), so maybe this is normal? It still pisses me off when people say "can't" though....... -- Matthew D. O'Conner, Attorney at Law Seattle, Washington, USA - mailto:mdo@;oconnerlegal.com _____________________________________________ -- The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:imac-list@;mail.maclaunch.com> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:imac-list-off@;mail.maclaunch.com> For digest mode, email: <mailto:imac-list-digest@;mail.maclaunch.com> Subscription questions: <mailto:listmom@;lemlists.com> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- >The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
