Setting up a MAC OSX Machine for internet

The Internet Setup Assistant is designed to simplify the setup and configuration of a Macintosh for Internet access. There are times, however, when it would be convenient to modify these settings without going through the Internet Setup Assistant. This article will describe where the information gathered by the Internet Setup Assistant is stored.

All the information necessary for an Internet connection is managed by several control panels. All of these control panels are conveniently accessible from the Remote Access menu when the Remote Access control panel is open.

1. Open the Remote Access control panel.

2. Select Configurations from the File menu (or type Command-K). This displays the list of existing configurations.

To modify an existing configuration, select it from the list and click the Make Active button.

To create a new configuration, select an existing configuration and click the Duplicate button. Click the Rename button to give the new configuration a unique name. Click the Make Active button.

The Remote Access control panel contains the following:
- User name (for your ISP account)
- Password (for your ISP account)
- Access phone number (access number for your ISP)

If you make any changes you are prompted to save them when closing the Remote Access control panel.

3. Click on the Remote Access menu while the Remote Access control panel is open. This menu lists several other control panels. The other control panels of interest for configuring an ISP connection are Modem and TCP/IP.

4. Open the Modem control panel.

Note: The Configurations option described above in the Remote Access control panel is also available in the Modem control panel.

5. Select the port that the modem is connected to in the Connect via: pop up menu.

6. Select the modem script in the Modem: pop up menu.

Other settings include enable/disable modem sound, tone/pulse dialing, and whether the dial tone should be ignored.

7. Open the TCP/IP control panel and make the selections listed below.

Note: The Configurations option described above in the Remote Access control panel is also available in the TCP/IP control panel.

Connect via: For most ISPs this should be set to PPP.
Configure: For most ISPs this should be set to Using PPP Server.
Name server addr: Enter the domain name server (DNS) addresses here.
Search domain: Enter the domain name here.

The Apple Location Manager 2.0 provides a convenient way of grouping the settings in the Remote Access and TCP/IP control panels. For further information open the Location Manager and click the question mark for online help.