Networking the whole biz together

[PanamaMan]

I have three DVD/TiVo units in my house - two Pioneer's and one Toshiba. All use the phone for updates and I realize that that's old and ridiculous and a waste. So for the holidays I figure I'll treat myself to a nice new network. I have a cable modem for my PC and laptop, and a wireless network and all.

So should I get the wireless adapters from TiVo (G) that you have, or the Dlink's, or the Powerline's? I can't really figure out why/when I'd use each of these things. The prices seem about the same except that I might need some USB's for the Powerline's if I'm reading it right.

Do you have any hints/suggestions for me?

Muchas gracias

[WK-Jeff]

We've got some decent information about networking here:

http://www.weaknees.com/tivo-networking2.php

We are fans of the PowerLine adapters, because they provide a reliable connection, without any installation issues.

Take a look at that page, and if you have further questions, post them and we'd be happy to help out.

[lantern123]

I'm trying to network my iMac to my new series 3 TiVo using your networking package (Netgear wireless router and PowerLine adapters). I can't get it to work.

Only two LED lights (Power and LAN) are lit up on PoweLine adapter for the TiVo. All four on the PowerLine for the Mac are lit. The TiVo does not detect a network. I can reach the internet and get email on the Mac.

I am a novice at networking and do not know where to start to try to fix the problem- hardware, settings on the computer, etc.?

Help! Thanks.

[WK-Michael]

Is one of the PowerLines connected directly to the router?

[lantern123]

Is one of the PowerLines connected directly to the router?

Yes, the one that ultimately is connected to the computer.

[WK-Michael]

Not sure how that works . . . one should be connected to a wall outlet, and only to the router. That's the one that passes internet into the power lines to enable the other ones to get access. How is it also connected to a computer?

[lantern123]

Not sure how that works . . . one should be connected to a wall outlet, and only to the router. That's the one that passes internet into the power lines to enable the other ones to get access. How is it also connected to a computer?

It is cconnected throught the router to the computer. All four LEDs on that one are lit. However, the Powerline connected to the TiVo shows only four lit LEDs. ALso, a IP and MAC numbers show on the Tivo, so apparently there is not problem with the conncection between the TiVo and the PowerLine.

The problem seems to be that the TiVo PowerLine can't detect a network.

[WK-Michael]

What is the IP address that the TiVo has now? If it has one at all, that generally means that it sees the router and got one over DHCP, but tell us what it is so we can see if something might be strange there.

[lantern123]

What is the IP address that the TiVo has now? If it has one at all, that generally means that it sees the router and got one over DHCP, but tell us what it is so we can see if something might be strange there.

The Tivo and computer IP numbers were different. I just tried changing the Tivo IP to the same as the computer's. That did not work, but my computer was kicked off the internet and I got a message saying"

##### in use by WWWWWWWW, DHCP server XXXXX

Help!

[lantern123]

Not sure how that works . . . one should be connected to a wall outlet, and only to the router. That's the one that passes internet into the power lines to enable the other ones to get access. How is it also connected to a computer?

Also, the same IP connection message keeps flashing on and off my screen now.

[WK-Michael]

Right - the numbers should be different, but only in the last three digits. That puts them on the same subnet.

[WK-Michael]

Let it go back to DHCP rather than a hardcoded IP. Then force a connection. What error message are you getting?

The PowerLines seem to be working perfectly. This sounds like a router configuration issue potentially.

Does your computer see the internet?

[lantern123]

I'm not sure what you mean by going back to DHCP. I did get rid of my manually configured settings. However, I keep getting IP connfiguration error message. I even tried retsarting the computer, router and modem and uplugging the PoweLines. The message won't go away and I periodically lose the internet.

[WK-Michael]

If you unplug the TiVo from the PowerLine, does the message go away?

[lantern123]

Yes, and the internet is now working very nicely.