Stupid modem

[Smooth*{MEOW}*]

Having problems with my modem.  When I got this cable, I had that Motorola modem, but the guy couldn't get it to work so he just gave me one and I returned that one to the store.  Every day, as much as 3 or 4 times I have to unscrew the coaxial and pull the power from it, wait, then reattach.  All of a sudden it will stop working and I'll have to do that.  I don't think I'm paying a rental fee for it, I think the guy just hooked us up with it.  Worth contacting my company to see about another one?

[Kitty*{MEOW}*]

if it were me i would go to wal mart pick the motorola back up and use it. as long as your cable company uses the doc-5 signal it will work. Most Every company uses the doc-5 so i don't know could have been a faulty modem from start.


   U can call them but if its not their modem and they have to come out it will cost U a service fee and all that BS.

[Smooth*{MEOW}*]

Something about the MAC ID not going through when he tried it with that Motorola.

[THEKATZ*{MEOW}*]

Okay, your Mac address is the ID of your ethernet card.  Each and every ethernet card is specific. 
To find your computers Mac address (also known as Physical adreess) and is in a dual octaves of 6.  Looks like af:2a:34:a6:b3:34 or something like that.  Most of the time where you have to input it does not require the :
If you are running a router, you will need to "Clone" your computers Mac.  This will keep your IP longer and keep you from having to re-associate a connection.  You do not need to ever shut down the modem.  Keep it active.  This will also help keep your IP the same longer.  Once in a while at least once every few months you may want to pull the power on that modem for a few minutes, plug it bact in an re-associate. If any new firmware was available, it will pick it up by doing this method.  Most firmeare are done from the home office in which they manually update your modem.  You probably are not luky enough to catch them.  If you are, you would see your modem reset it self, meaning it shut down and restarted all by itself.

You do not need to ever shut down the modem.

Well, this may not always be true here.  You may need to unplug (power down) the modem and pwoer it back up to initialize the router.  I have had to do this once in a while.

[Kitty*{MEOW}*]

well TK your modem has a Mac ID which the home office uses to input and make sure they can look and see if your modem is connected and no problems with it. I had to give my ISP my Mac ID when I installed my Modem and whenever i put a different modem on i have to call and have it changed. Not sure if thats what smooth is refering to.

[Smooth*{MEOW}*]

Yep, there were 2 ID's on the modem, he tried both.

[Raidien{MEOW}]

some cable companies only support certain types (brands/makes/models), so this may also be something to look into. my cable company sent me a list a while back of supported cable modems. another issue that i have after a cable co. outage is that my router is set for a static ip so that I pick up a dynamic one from the cable co. and my router keeps grabbing it. however, if that ip is already taken (such as the case after an outage), then it will keep failing.

[Smooth*{MEOW}*]

I had called ahead of time before I bought the modem to see if they supported it and they said yes.

[Kitty*{MEOW}*]

I would purchase another sounds like just a bad modem to me. If doesn't work U can always take back. Unless u don't have the money.

[THEKATZ*{MEOW}*]

I am pretty sure this is nailed here.  I did not know this was a 3rd party modem.  Most ISP's lease these for a few $ more a month and are already set up.  This of course does make a difference as the ISP would need an identifyer and it would be the MAC or Physical ID of the modem.  Never the less, some ISP's need or modems do need to have an ethenet identifier as well.  I noted this above in one of my last posts

[Smooth*{MEOW}*]

The one I'm having problems with, and using now, is from the company.  They gave me this one because they could not get the Motorola I bought to work.

[THEKATZ*{MEOW}*]

Through a router?

[Smooth*{MEOW}*]

Yes, WRT-54G

[Raidien{MEOW}]

usually after an IP change from the ISP i need to re-configure my router (requires several router reboots) to get it back up and running... for testing purposes, have you tried setting your computer for auto dhcp and connecting it directly to the modem (bypass the router all together)?

[THEKATZ*{MEOW}*]

Well, the router should be set as a DHCP host and the computer as the DHCP client. 

usually after an IP change from the ISP i need to re-configure my router (requires several router reboots) to get it back up and running... for testing purposes, have you tried setting your computer for auto dhcp and connecting it directly to the modem (bypass the router all together)?

Now most all routers get there information automatically from the ISP through the modem.  You really shouldn't have any issues with the router when a IP changes if it is set up as DHCP host. 

Back to the mac address.  I do beleive that you need to clone that mac address in the router settings.  This will pass through the modem and make the connection at the ISP.  Not having a mac address assigned to your ISP will be like the no dial tone on your phone, you will not get out.