🚀 go-pugleaf

Marc Morris <marc@vidmarc.demon.co.ukNOSPAM> wrote:

> Why does my Appletalk control panel keep changing to Printer Port whenever
> I start up, when it was previously set to Ethernet?
> 
> Any suggestions?


Do you have any other 'funnies' happening, like the date and time
changing?  If so then you need a new battery on the motherboard to keep
the PRAM data intact.

Is your ethernet port connected to a hub?  Is the hub always switched on
and stable before the Mac is started up?

If there is no valid ethernet connection then Appletalk will revert to
the Printer Port (usually with an error message).

The problem you describe is very common if one is trying to do an
ethernet on the cheap by using a crossover cable between two Macs
instead of having a hub.  Each Mac starts up looking for a valid
ethernet connection to a live ethernet port on the other machine.
However, the first Mac to start will find the other Mac has not yet
established its ethernet port and so will switch to Printer Port. When
the second Mac now tries to establish its ethernet port it too finds no
valid connection (as the first machine is using the Printer port) and
defaults itself to Printer port.  Neither machine will switch to
Ethernet since neither can 'see' the other in order to do so.