SETTING UP WINDOWS ME DIAL-UP NETWORKING
This document explains how to set up Windows ME Dial-Up Networking for
use with your World account. Dial-Up Networking is PPP software that
comes with Windows ME. It allows Internet programs such as Netscape,
Microsoft Internet Explorer, Eudora, etc. to operate via your modem.
These instructions may seem long, but most of the content is dedicated
to troubleshooting which will be unnecessary for most customers. The
core of the instructions is relatively short and straight-forward.
IMPORTANT: If your computer is currently on a local TCP/IP network,
Dial-Up Networking may not work properly. See the Troubleshooting
section for more details.
This document is split up into the following sections:
I Setting Up Your Connection
II Modifying the New Connection
III Connecting
Appendices:
A Installing Necessary Components
B Mail and News Settings
C Troubleshooting
Part I - Setting Up Your Connection
First, check to see if you have Dial-Up Networking installed by
double-clicking the "My Computer" folder on the Desktop.
Double-click the "Control Panel" folder next. If you do not see
another folder labeled "Dial-Up Networking" within the "Control
Panel" folder, then it is not installed and you must install it
before preceding. (See Appendix A.) Otherwise, continue with
this section.
Next, double-click on "My Computer" > "Control Panels" >
"Network". The "Network" control panel may not be visible at
first; if not, click on the "view all Control Panel options" link
on the left side of the window. Under the "Configuration" tab of
the "Network" control panel, you should see "Dial-Up Adapter" and
"TCP/IP" in the installed components window. (If you have other
adapters besides the Dial-Up Adapter installed you may see an
arrow "->" indicating that TCP/IP is bound to the Dial-Up
Adapter.) If either of these components are not installed,
proceed to Appendix A. Otherwise, close the Network Control Panel
(typically, no changes at all are needed in the Network Control
Panel), and continue with this section.
1. Double-click the "My Computer" icon on your desktop, then
double-click the "Control Panel" icon, and choose "Dial-Up
Networking". (If a window called the "Welcome to Dial-Up
Networking" opens at this point, just close it and continue
with these instructions.)
2. Double-click "Make New Connection".
3. Name the connection something descriptive like "The World"
in the name field.
4. Make sure you have the appropriate modem selected in the
"Select a device" list.
5. Click "Next".
6. Type in the access number you use for World. Click "Next".
7. Click "Finish". The icon for the new connection should
appear in the Dial-up Networking window. If you get a
window telling you that "Dial-Up Networking needs to
install the Microsoft Dial-Up Adapter...", click on the OK
button. Clicking OK will automatically install the
Dial-Up Adapter in the "Network" control panel.
Part II - Modifying the New Connection
1. Double-click on "My Computer" > "Control Panel" > "Dial-Up
Networking", then right-click (i.e., click using the right
mouse button) on the icon for your connection and choose
"Properties".
2. Click on the "Networking" tab.
3. For "Type of Dial-up Server:", choose "PPP, Internet,
Windows 2000/NT, Windows ME".
4. The only boxes below that should be checked are "Enable software
compression" and "TCP/IP".
5. Click on "TCP/IP Settings..."
6. Check "Server assigned IP address".
7. Check "Server assigned name server addresses".
8. Both "Use IP header compression" and "Use default gateway
on remote network" should be checked on (normally they are
already turned on when you create a new connection, but if
either option is not on, turn it on).
9. Click "OK" twice to save all changes -- now you're ready
to try your new connection.
Part III - Connecting
1. Double-click the "My Computer" icon on your desktop,
double-click the "Control Panel" icon, and choose "Dial-Up
Networking"
2. Double-click the icon you created for World.
3. The "User name" and "Password" are important, so make sure
they contain your World login_name@theworld.com and
password respectively. ("theworld.com" must be lowercase.)
4. Click "Dial Properties..." and make sure they are correct.
For all calls made in MA area codes, except 413, click on
"Area Code Rules..." and check "Always dial the area code
(10-digit dialing)". Click "OK" two times.
5. Click "Connect".
6. If all goes well, after a few seconds, you should have
successfully started a PPP connection.
You should now be running PPP, which will allow you to run
Netscape, The Internet Explorer, and other Internet utilities and
clients.
If your connection is not functioning properly, please read Appendix C.
Appendix A - Installing Necessary Components
Step 1. Install Dial-up Networking
1. Double-click "My Computer" > "Control Panel" > "Add/Remove
Programs".
2. Click the "Windows Setup" tab.
3. In the "Components" window, click "Communications".
4. Click "Details".
5. Check the check box for "Dial-Up Networking" and click "OK".
6. Click "Apply" (Make sure to insert the Windows CD or diskette).
Step 2. Install TCP/IP Protocol
1. In the "Network" configuration window (under "My Computer" >
"Control Panel" > "Network"), check for "TCP/IP" in the
installed components window. If it is listed, proceed to
Part II. Otherwise, click the "Add" button.
2. From the "Select Network Component Type" dialog box,
double-click "Protocol".
3. From the "Select Network Adapter" dialog, click "Microsoft"
under "Manufacturers" and double-click "TCP/IP" under "Network
Protocols".
Appendix B - Mail and News Settings
There are too many Internet mail and news programs to try to give
explicit setup instructions for each. Most mail and News programs
only need a few key settings to work properly.
Mail Settings:
Outgoing (SMTP) Mail Server: smtp.theworld.com
Incoming (POP) Mail Server: pop.theworld.com
POP username: freduser
Email address: freduser@theworld.com
(Replace "freduser" with the actual name of your World account.)
News Settings:
News (NNTP) Server: nntp.theworld.com
In Netscape Mail, you can find these settings under Options > Mail
and News Preferences > Servers. In Eudora, look under Tools > Options.
Appendix C - Troubleshooting
1. To disable call waiting:
Double-click the "My Computer" icon on your desktop,
double-click the "Control Panel" icon, and choose "Dial-Up
Networking"
Double-click the icon you created for World.
Click on Dial Properties.
Put a check in the check box "To disable call waiting, dial"
In the box type, "*70," (Star Seven Zero Comma with NO quotes)
Click OK.
2. The most common error message is returned by Dial-Up
Networking is "Dial-Up Networking cannot negotiate a
compatible set of network protocols...". Most importantly,
make sure the correct World login_name@theworld.com and
password are entered in the "Connect To" window -- the first
Dial-Up Networking window you will see when starting up a
connection to World. "theworld.com" must be lowercase.
3. Check settings in the "Network" Control Panel.
Double-click on "My Computer" > "Control Panel" > "Network",
and look at the installed network components. If your
computer is on a local network or has a network adapter
installed (such as that for an Ethernet card) and TCP/IP is
bound to *both* the network adapter *and* the Dial-Up Adapter,
Dial-Up Networking may not work. If this is the case, please
proceed to the section below entitled "B. If your computer is
on A TCP/IP Network:". If your computer is not a TCP/IP
network, please continue.
A. If your computer is *not* on A TCP/IP Network:
Double-click on "My Computer" > "Control Panel" >
"Network" > "Dial-Up Adapter".
Click on "Bindings". "TCP/IP" should be checked. Click "OK"
if any changes were made or "Cancel" if no changes were made.
Double-click on "TCP/IP". We are only interested in "DNS
Configuration".
Under "DNS Configuration":
"Disable DNS" should be checked.
Click "OK" twice, and reboot when prompted.
B. If your computer is on A TCP/IP Network:
Double-click on "My Computer" > "Control Panel" >
"Network", then highlight the TCP/IP that is bound to the
Dial-Up Adapter (should appear as "TCP/IP -> Dial-Up
Adapter"), and choose "Properties".
Under "DNS Configuration":
Put a bullet next to "Enable DNS".
Under "DNS server search order", enter
"192.74.137.112" and click on "Add"
Under "Domain suffix search order", enter "TheWorld.com" and
click on "Add"
Click "OK" twice, and reboot when prompted.
There are many ways in which to configure a network, and
the interaction between your Internet setup and your
internal network is very complex. So, if after making
these changes, your Internet connection still does not
work, you may need to see your system administrator for
further assistance as Software Tool & Die technical
support cannot know the peculiarities of your particular
network.
4. Check your Connection settings:
First, reread Part II to verify that you have entered the
correct "Networking" settings in Dial-Up Networking.
Double-click the "My Computer" icon on your desktop,
double-click the "Control Panel" folder, then the "Dial-Up
Networking" folder. Right-click on your World icon and select
"Properties" from the menu that pops up. Then click on the
"Configure" button. In the "General" area, you should have
the following:
Port = whatever port your modem is on.
Maximum speed = 19200 to 57600 for a 14.4K modem
38400 to 115200 for a 28.8K or 33.6K modem
57600 or 115200 for a 56k (v.90) modem
"Only connect at this speed" should *NOT* be checked
Under "Connection" you should have:
Data bits: 8
Parity : None
Stop bits: 1
"Wait for dial tone before dialing" - checked
Now choose "Advanced", where you should have *ONLY* the
following boxes checked:
"Use error control"
"Compress Data"
"Use flow control"
"Hardware (RTS/CTS)"
Note: If "Use error control" and its sub-choices are
grayed out, don't worry about it.
Click "OK"
Under "Options" you should have the following:
"Display Modem Status" should be checked
Back all the way out by clicking "OK".
5. Checking for multiple "winsock.dll" files:
If your connection is still not working, you may want to check
your system for multiple "winsock.dll" files. Dial-Up
Networking uses the "winsock.dll" file that is located in the
"Windows" directory of your system. If there are any other
"winsock.dll" files on your system, they may interfere with
the one in the "Windows" directory. (There is not necessarily
any winsock.dll in Windows ME, but if there is one from a
company other than Microsoft, that can conflict with Dial Up
Networking.)
From the "Start" button, choose "Search" > "for Files or
Folders...", and type in "winsock.dll". Make sure that you
are searching from the root directory (usually C:\) and that
you are including sub-folders. If you have more than one
logical hard disk drive (D:\, E:\, etc.), check the others as
well. If you find any "winsock.dll" files other than the one
in the "Windows" directory, rename them to "winsock.old".
If, after checking all of the above, you are still having problems
establishing or maintaining a connection, please contact Software Tool
& Die technical support at 617-783-9753.