 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
t0002: Connections
00666: Connections: Why can't I
connect at 28.8 even though I have a 28.8 modem?
Revision Date: 08/29/97
Telephone Line Quality
Generally, people have become accustomed to the way the
telephone can alter a person's voice. We have even accepted that
music we hear while on hold will have a sound quality that rivals
the Victrola. In fact, this comparison is not unmerited, since
POTS, or plain-old-telephone-service, is in many areas using the
same technology that was present when the Victrola was still in
use. Though older telephone technology is being replaced
piece-by-piece, many areas have yet to be updated.
The fact that current telephone technology alters the sound it transmits (by adding noise, or leaving out frequencies) is significant because a modem turns your computer's data into sound. Alter the sound ... alter the data.
The Modem Initialization
String
Adjusting the initialization string used by your
communications software can improve your modem's ability to deal
with less-than-perfect line conditions. Please, check the manual
that came with your modem for suggestions. You might also take a
look at our Modems for Windows, MacOS documents.
The Modem
The next consideration is the modem itself. While most Modem
advertisements promise top connection speeds, experience shows
that some modems are more consistent than others in achieving
these speeds. Many of our customers who own the US Robotics
Sportster 28.8 modems have had consistent success in achieving
solid, high-speed connections. To satisfy your curiosity, it may
be worth your while to borrow a different modem in order to
compare its performance with that of your own. Note that if you
have an internal modem, you will likely need to un-install it
before installing the borrowed device.
The Telephone Line
Finally, there are ways to test the link itself. Your
telephone line is in three major segments: the cable connecting
your modem to the wall, the wiring inside the walls of your home,
and the route between your home and the location you are dialing.
The most simple test to perform here is with a telephone.
Unplug the telephone line connected to your modem, and plug it into a phone. then pick up the receiver, and listen carefully to the dial tone. Does the dial tone sound distorted, does it crackle or hiss? Or does it sound smooth? Next hit any key on the phone pad to clear the dial tone. Do you hear any hiss, or low hums, static or other interference like radio noise or other people speaking on the phone? Any irregularity you hear can be indicative of local problems.
If you do hear interference in your phone line, try using a different cable to plug the phone into the wall. If the line runs through a surge protector, try temporarily bypassing it. Next try plugging into a different phone jack in your home. If at any time during these tests, the audio quality is measurably improved, you may have found the weak link. If the quality does not improve, the situation may warrant a call to your phone company's residential repair line. Note that this may involve a visit to your home, which, depending on your service contract, may also involve a charge. Be sure to investigate this before agreeing to a home visit.
If your phone line does not display any measurable quality-loss, or if the phone company gives your local wiring a clean bill of health, the weak link may be in the route your call takes from your home to our modems. This gets tricky.
Most phone companies do not guarantee a line quality for normal residential service that supports high speed connections. However, you may still be able to have them test your call's route; they will need both your phone number and the number you are dialing to perform these tests.
One quick way for you to determine if the problem is in your local route is to pick a different MindSpring POP which would be a long distance call. Since long distance calls are routed differently than local calls, if the connection has a marked improvement, you have proven that your modem, and home wiring are not at fault. Of course, since this will be a long distance call, it is not a permanent solution.
Again, here we must stress the importance of our Poor Connections form. In the past, we have been able to isolate areas where users are having particular difficulty, and provide the phone company with data that helps them remedy the problem quickly. This has been the case mostly in instances where line quality was suddenly and dramatically affected. We do not have any control over the quality of your telephone connection; but we will try when possible to provide information to your telephone company.
Note: A MindSpring representative cannot call your phone company for you.
00667: Connections: Why does my
connection drop?
Revision Date: 08/29/97
It is one of MindSpring's top priorities to provide you with a rock-solid connection. In fact, it has become the norm, by far, for our customers to be able to maintain an uninterrupted connection even during heavy use. There are occasions, however, whether by automation, or as a result of an error, that your connection may be dropped.
Firstly, if you have a dial-up account with MindSpring, and if your connection is completely idle for thirty minutes, you will be disconnected from our servers. This automated response is intended to make resources available for other customers who are actively using their connection.
Secondly, you will want to make sure that your communication software is not set to timeout automatically.
Thirdly, you may try lowering your port speed. Your modem may be able to maintain a faster connection while sitting idle, than it can sustain under heavy use. Dropping the port speed a notch may result in a slightly slower, but more stable connection. The port speed is usually determined by the application which establishes the connection. Your port speed will be set in the MindSpring or PipeLine+ Access Panel.
Lastly, you may be experiencing general connection difficulties. Please refer to the question: Why can't I connect at 28.8 even though I have a 28.8 modem?
00688: Cannot connect to sites outside of MindSpring's domains
Revision Date: 08/29/97
MindSpring maintains redundant, high-speed, connections to the Internet Backbone through various providers. This redundancy ensures that should one of our providers lose their Internet connection, we will still have access, though with reduced capacity.
What happens beyond our own Internet connection, however, is out of our control. If a site you are trying to reach is temporarily unavailable, it could be that the site itself has been isolated from the Internet.
Occasionally, one of the major providers (such as those from which we obtain service) will experience a temporary interruption of service, isolating the segment of the Internet community it serves. In such an instance, it could be that many sights you are accustomed to reaching will be unavailable.
If you are able to connect to sites within the mindspring.com or pipeline.com domains, but not other sites, there are several things you can do to determine the nature of the problem.
Use a Ping or Traceroute program to test the route to the site.
Check MindSpring's Network Status message ( http://help.mindspring.com/netstatus/ ), or the mindspring.alerts newsgroup for any known problems.
Try the site again later.
00689: Error: Could not log into
the mail server. Check your username and password.
Revision Date: 08/29/97
.
This message indicates that the Access Panel was unable to check for new mail and retrieve the Message of the Day. This is usually due to an invalid password in the MindSpring configuration. Re-enter your password by clicking on the Password button in the Configuration window.
00690: Error: Can't initialization
your modem. Please check your modem initialization string.
Revision Date: 08/29/97
This misspelled error message indicates that an early version of the MindSpring Access Panel is unable to find your modem. Make sure no other communications, voice mail, or fax software is running. These programs take control of your modem and do not allow other communications software to access it.
00691: Error: No Carrier Detected.
Please check the phone number used to dial MindSpring.
Revision Date: 08/29/97
There may be a problem with the phone number the Access Panel is trying to dial. Check the phone number and try again. If you are using a dial prefix to disable call waiting, try removing it.
Problem: The Checking for new mail message does not go away.
This is caused by a driver or a winsock conflict. Check for the presence of multiple PPP drivers or winsock.dll files. You might also be experiencing a problem with the modem's current initialization string. Try using one of the following initialization strings, which are standard, and work well with most modems:
Initialization Strings
00692: Error: The communications
port specified was not found. Please check the modem comm port
configuration.
Revision Date: 08/29/97
The Access Panel cannot find your modem. Disable any fax or other communications software that may be running. If you still have problems, you will need to tell MindSpring Access where the modem is located. Refer to the document, MindSpring Access 2.0x for Windows: Fixes, available at the MindSpring Help Desk ( http://help.mindspring.com ) for this procedure.
00693: Error: Error while dialing.
Revision Date: 08/29/97
This error may be the result of poor telephone line conditions, or a telephone-service-outage.
00694: Error: Error bringing up
PPP. Please check your modem initialization string, username and
password.
Revision Date: 08/29/97
This error message is caused by using the wrong username and/or password. Compare the settings in the Access Panel with your account information which accompanied your MindSpring Starter Kit. Be sure to use all lowercase for your username. Remember, passwords are case-sensitive.
00695: Connections: Error Message:
No dialtone detected. Check your phone line connection
Revision Date: 08/29/97
This error is the result of someone else being on the phone, or a bad phone-line connection. Make sure the phone line is connected to the modem, and that it is in the proper jack in the back of the modem. Check the telephone service, and verify that everything is in working order by placing a local call using a standard telephone. Try dialing the MindSpring Access number using a standard phone and listen for a modem tone.
00696: Connections: Related
Documents
Revision Date: 08/29/97
