With my new iMac on 10.6.4 I cannot display the Ethernet status in the menu bar. There does not seem to
be a box to set in Network Preferences.
When I use Airport it does show the status in the menu bar, and I did set it using a box in Network Preferences.
Have I missed something ?
No, the ethernet menu (actually, the PPPoE menu) was part of Internet Connect - now just part of Mac OS X's history. Internet Connect was discontinued as of 10.5 Leopard, and it's functions rolled into the overall Network preferences pane. You can still make the PPPoE menu appear, but you do it in the Network preference pane now. In the first network pane (pain?), you should se your various network services in a list on the left - Airport, Ethernet, PPPoE, etc. Select your PPPoE connection from the list, and you can then tick off the box "Show PPPoE status in menu bar" on the right hand side of the same pane.
Happy Mac'ing!
Dan
Thanks for the replies,
but in the Network Preferences window I see Ethernet Connected, Airport Connected, Firewire Not Connected.
There is not a PPPoE entry.
Network Preferences > Ethernet > Configure IPv4 > Create PPPoE Service
Well, are you still using a PPPoE connection to connect to the internet? If this is the only computer that connects to the internet, and an ethernet cable goes directly from that computer to a modem, and you are a Bell(DSL-over-copper) customer, then you may need to use PPPoE to make a connection to the internet. If, on the other hand, you are using a router, or are a Rogers customer (~DSL-over-cable), then you do not need PPPoE anymore.
If you need to add a PPPoE connection, open System Preferences, select Network, and in the first pane that appears, with the list of connections on the left, click the "+" button below the list and a small dialog window opens requesting you to "Select the interface and enter a name for the new service". You can select "PPPoE" directly from the list of options, choose the ethernet interface, and name it "Bell" or whatever. The new service will then be added to the list, and you may enter your username/password for the service AND click the "show PPPoE status in menu" box.
Does any of this help?
Happy Mac'ing!
Dan
I added PPPoE and it came up with the <...> in the menu bar.
But it does not help, as I still use the internet over Ethernet (via Primus DSL - i.e. Bell DSL)
even when PPPoE is not up.
So the <...> symbol does not show the status of the Ethernet connection.
I am not the only computer on the DSL router, as my wife connects via Airport.
In that case, since you are connecting through a router, you don't need PPPoE on your Mac anymore. The router connects to the modem with PPPoE, so that is where your PPPoE client info and login get used - in the router. The router then allows multiple clients to share that one connection, which is why your wife can be connected at the same time as you without the signals getting crossed. The router can then automatically assign individual addresses and routes for each device connected to it. This connection type is called DHCP - which you can choose by clicking the network type in the Network preference pane - the router does all the work of getting you all connected and keeping your traffic routed to you. A router also has a firewall function which provides users with both security and anonymity that a direct PPPoE connection cannot provide.
It is possible that each of you could be using PPPoE on your computers, which is what adding the PPPoE interface does, and both getting connected, by essentially bypassing the router. I hope this helps you discover a bit more about the nature of your missing <•••> icon...
Happy Mac'ing!
Dan