[Doublej]

I have a 2008 imac running El Capitan. The wireless card has heat related issues so I am using a cheap router as a wireless bridge connected through the Ethernet port of the imac. Two questions related to this.

1. How do I disable the automatic startup of the wireless connection? Even though I have chosen ethernet as #1 in the service order the wifi connection still starts up.

2. In order to get the ethernet connection to connect every time I start the machine I need to click > System Preferences > Network > Ethernet > Assist me > Assistant  > Continue > I use a cable modem to activate the connection. How can I get it to automatically connect upon start up?

[JohnR]

Hi, I haven't installed El Capitan but on your question 1, I'd suggest just turning off the Wifi (System Preferences -> Network -> Wi-Fi). That might help with question 2  as well - ?

[Doublej]

No joy. I turned off the wifi as you have stated but it seems to turn itself back on after a few reboots.

What odd about the wired connection is that is connected according to system preferences and shows an IP address but to something in a browser I need to click on Assist me and then click on I connect using a cable modem. Once I do this it asks me to reenter the admin password on the imac and then changes the ipaddress to a different one and connects.

 

[GentleBender]

Have you ever done a "clean" install of the OS? If you've been upgrading the OS since the beginning, you may have some software related issues. Not that starting from scratch is fun, but I find that I rarely have the problems some people have after upgrading. Let me know if you are interested.

[avta]

Have you tried deleting the WiFi service in Network? ( System Preferences> Network> select WiFi> delete using minus sign )

[Doublej]

Have you tried deleting the WiFi service in Network? ( System Preferences> Network> select WiFi> delete using minus sign )

Yes. The imac seems 'smart' enough to know it's still there though and sometimes reactivate the wireless connection.

I am definitely interested in understanding how to do a clean install of the OS.

[cody69]

I have a 2010 iMac running El Capitan and recently re-configured the network to use an ethernet cable connected to the back of an airport extreme router instead of running on a wireless connection. As mentioned above, I went to System Preferences, Network, and turned off Wi-Fi using the list of network connections on the left-hand side. I re-booted the system and made sure it came back up with only the Ethernet connection showing Green and Connected.

Good luck

[GentleBender]

Yes. The imac seems 'smart' enough to know it's still there though and sometimes reactivate the wireless connection.

I am definitely interested in understanding how to do a clean install of the OS.

First make sure all important stuff is backed up using Time Machine or whatever else you may be using! Here is how I do a clean install. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372 Here is another option http://mashable.com/2015/10/01/clean-install-os-x-el-capitan/#G3ZATnAnREqr so you can choose the one you are most comfortable with. Follow these directions exactly and you can find if it is just software problems plaguing you.

What makes you think it is heat related problem with the wifi card?

[Doublej]

First make sure all important stuff is backed up using Time Machine or whatever else you may be using! Here is how I do a clean install. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372 Here is another option http://mashable.com/2015/10/01/clean-install-os-x-el-capitan/#G3ZATnAnREqr so you can choose the one you are most comfortable with. Follow these directions exactly and you can find if it is just software problems plaguing you.

What makes you think it is heat related problem with the wifi card?

I am running Mac Fan Control on the machine and I notice when the temperature is low, 40 degrees Celsius, wifi seems to work fine. As the temperature climbs towards 50 degrees performance degrades and then wifi cuts in and out.

I haven't done the clean install yet. I don't use the machine for much except for music streaming so I need to go through it and make sure I have everything I want backed up.