Using More
Than One
Modem at a
Time |
(Win98,
WinME and
Win2000)
If you have
two phone
lines in
your home
and want to
use them
both to dial
out,
you can use
MultiLink,
which will
effectively
double your
connection
speed.
Create a
dial-up
connection
like your
normally
would.
Right click
on the icon
and select
Properties
Click on the
Multilink
tab
Click on Use
additional
devices
Click on the
Add
Click on the
other modem
you would
like to use
If your ISP
allows, you
can use the
same phone
number,
otherwise
enter an
additional
phone number
to dial.
You should
now connect
with both
modems.
You can
confirm this
by opening
up your dial
up
connection
in the
System Tray
after you
connect. |
|
Seeing
Servers Your
Are
Connected To
When OnLine |
To see what
servers you
are
connected to
when on the
Internet
Simply run
Netstat |
|
Backing Up
Your ISP
Settings |
|
If you want
to save your
ISP settings
(name,
phone, login
id etc.) for
future
installations:
Start
Regedit
Go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
\
RemoteAccess
Select
Registry /
Export
Registry
Make sure
Selected
branch is
checked
For the
name, enter
any name
that will
help you
remember the
purpose of
the .reg
file
Now if you
need to
restore your
ISP settings
after a new
installation
of Windows,
you just
need to
import this
file |
|
Forcing
Alpha-Numeric
Passwords |
|
In order to
force
passwords
that just
use
alpha-numeric
characters
Start
Regedit
Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
\ Software \
Microsoft \
Windows \
CurrentVersion
\ Policies \
Network
Create a
DWORD entry
called
AlphanumPwds
Give it a
value of 1
|
|
Speeding Up
Internet
Searches |
When you go
to a web
site, the
first thing
that happens
is that a
query goes
out to the
DNS server
for IP
address of
the web
site.
In order to
eliminate
this query,
you can
simply add
the IP
address and
web name
into the
HOSTS file
in the
Windows
directory.
To find the
IP address,
just PING
the web name
(ping
www.microsoft.com)
For example,
Microsoft
would be:
207.46.130.149
www.microsoft.com
#.url
You can do
this for all
the sites
you
regularly
visit. |
|
Auto-Dial
Internet
Connections
(Win98) |
|
If Win98 is
not
automatically
dialing your
Internet
Connection:
Open up
the Dial Up
Networking
box
Click on
Connections
/ Settings
Uncheck
Prompt for
information
before
dialing
|
|
Opening the
Make New
Connection
Dialog Box |
|
This command
line will
pop up the
"Make new
connection"
window.
rundll
rnaui.dll,RnaWizard
/1 |
|
Help Stop
Modem
Disconnects |
|
If you modem
goes offline
frequently,
it may be
due to a
temporary
lost
carrier. To
lengthen the
time the
modem will
go offline
after the
carrier is
lost, change
the modem
properties.
Open up
the Control
Panel
Double click
on the Modem
icon
Click on
Properties /
Connection /
Advanced
In the Extra
Settings,
enter S10=10
This will
enable the
modem to
stay
connected
without a
carrier for
up to 10
seconds. |
|
Speeding Up
Your Modem's
Dialing |
|
For Win95,
to make that
modem dial
much faster:
Open up
the Control
Panel
Double click
on the Modem
icon
Click on
Properties /
Connection /
Advanced
In the Extra
Settings
enter S11=x
, where x is
how many
milliseconds
each tone
sounds. Try
S11 = 1,
then dial,
you'll be
surprised.
|
|
Showing Your
Actual
Modem's
Connection
Speed |
Normally
when you
open up the
modem icon
in the
system try,
it shows the
port connect
speed.
So see your
actual modem
speed:
Go Control
Panel
Open up the
Modems icon
Click
Properties
Click on the
Connection
tab
Click the
Advanced
button
In the Extr
Settings,
put ATW2L0
(the last
character is
a
zero) |
|
Increasing
Modem
Performance |
|
To increase
modem
performance
when
connecting
to the
Internet:
Disable
compression
on your
modem
In
SYSTEM.INI
under 386enh
section put
in:
COMxBUFFER=1024
(x is your
modem port
number )
Add AT%C0
(that's a
zero),to the
extra
settings
line of your
modem's
properties.
Switch
errror
correction
off
|
|
To Find Your
IP Address |
|
To find your
IP address
when
connected:
Open
Explorer
In the
Windows
folder find
the file
WINIPCFG.
Drag a
shortcut
onto your
screen.
Now when you
are online
you can
double click
the shortcut
to see your
IP address
and other
data. |
|
Using UNC
Network
Names with
Files |
As already
mentioned,
you can use
long file
names in an
MS DOS Box.
But you can
even use
UNC-style
network
names.
Example: DIR
\\server\share1\dir1
will give
you all
files on the
computer
named
"server", in
the share
named
"share1" and
in the
directory
"dir1".
This does
not work
with CD, but
it will work
with MD, RD,
DIR, COPY,
MOVE, REN,
and so on.
I use this
in
combination
with a batch
file to copy
files to a
number of
computers on
a network |
|
Changing the
Number of
Rings Before
Dial-Up
Server
Answers |
|
To change
the number
of rings
before Dial
up
Networking
Server
answers:
Find the
INF file for
the modem in
the
\WINDOWS\INF
directory.
The filename
will begin
with "mdm"
and end with
characters
desciptive
of the
manufacturer,
ie. "supra"
for Supra
Express
modem.
Make a copy
of this
file.
Edit this
file with
notepad and
look for a
string "HKR,
Answer, 1,,
"ATA<cr>".
Change to
HKR, Answer,
1,, "None".
A few lines
up from this
should be
the line
HKR,
Monitor, 1,,
"ATS0=0<cr>"
Change the
value of the
S0 register
to the
number of
rings you
would like
to have the
modem answer
on.
Remove the
modem by
using the
Control
panel |
System |
Device
Manager.
Reinstall
the modem
using the
REFRESH
Button.
This should
install the
modem using
the updated
INF file.
|
|
Resetting
Forgotten
Dial-Up
Server
Password |
If you
forget the
password you
set for you
Dial-Up
Server
simply
delete (or
rename) the
RNA.PWL file
in the
WINDOWS
directory |
|
Monitoring
Your Dial-Up
Connection |
There are
some system
checks you
can use to
see how good
your ISP and
Phone lines
are.
You either
net OEM SR2
or the ISDN
Accelerator
Pack 1.1
installed
Make sure
SYSMON is
installed.
You can add
this through
the Control
Panel / Add
New Programs
Run SYSMON
Select Edit
/ Add Item
Click on
Dial-Up
Networking
Adapter
Select CRC
Errors
Click on OK
If you have
lots of CRC
errors,
either the
phone lines
or your
modem is
having
problems.
You can also
add Framing
Errors and
Timeout
Errors if
you are
still having
problems and
your phone
line appears
ok |
|
Fixing a
problem with
Shortcuts
that keep
network UNC
connections |
By default,
when you
create a
shortcut to
a network
application,
both the
Drive letter
and UNC
connection
are stored
as part of
the
shortcut.
The
reasoning
that if the
drive letter
gets
reassigned
or deleted,
the UNC
connection
will serve
as an
additional
way to
ensure that
the
application
is
available.
This can
also be a
problem
because when
you want to
re-assign
the drive to
a new
server, it
will still
make the
connection
to the old
one through
the UNC
To
disable this
feature,
there is a
program
called
SHORTCUT.EXE
in the Admin
/ Apptools /
Envvars
directory.
Execute the
program with
a -? to see
a
description
of the
available
switches. |
|
Starting a
Dial-Up
Connection
from the
Command Line |
You can dial
your ISP
from a
command
line. This
can make it
easy to
create a
batch file
that will
do things
like dial,
start your
e-mail and
web browser.
The syntax
is:
rundll
rnaui.dll,RnaDial
connectoid
Note: The
RnaDial and
connectoid
components
of the
command line
are case
sensitive |
|
Device
Contention
when trying
to use a
Modem |
|
Occasionally,
when trying
to use your
modem, you
might get
the
following
errors:
Another
program is
using the
selected
Telephony
device. Try
again after
the other
program
completes.
or
Cannot
initialize
port
The state of
Windows 95
device
contention
is
determined
by the value
for the "COM
n
AutoAssign=x"
setting in
the [386Enh]
section of
the
System.ini
file,
where n is
the number
of the
serial port
and x is a
value from
-1 to 1000.
The default
setting in
Windows 95
is -1. This
setting
causes
Windows 95
to not
release a
serial port
previously
used
by a
non-Windows-based
program.
If you need
hot-swapping
capability
between an
MS-DOS-based
communications
program and
a
Windows-based
communication
program,
add the
following
entry to the
[386Enh]
section of
the
System.ini
file:
Com n
AutoAssign=0 |
|
Unable to
Browse the
Network |
If you do
not have a
logon
password,
Windows95
might have
problems
when you try
and browse
the network.
Try the
following
steps to
solve the
problem.
Start
REGEDIT
Go to
Hkey_Local_Machine
\ Software \
Microsoft \
Windows \
Current_version
\ Network \
Real mode
net
Delete the
line that
says
AUTOLOGON=0
Save the
changes and
reboot the
system
|
|
Auto-Dialing
for 32-bit
Internet
Applications |
If your
32-bit
Internet
applications
do not
automatically
invoke your
Windows 95
Dialer, here
is a way I
found to
enable this
feature.
First,
bring up an
internet
application
such as
Netscape or
Internet
Explorer.
Next,
manually
dial into
your
internet
provider by
double-clicking
your
connection
icon.
Once
connected,
go to the
Control
Panel and
double-click
on the
Internet
icon.
Once the
window open,
uncheck the
checkbox
titled "Dial
whenever an
Internet
Connection
is needed".
Click the
check box
again and
make sure
there is a
check in the
checkbox.
Next, click
the APPLY
button.
Finally ,
click the OK
button.
Once you do
this, close
your
internet
application
and
disconnect
from your
internet
provider.
Re-start
your
Internet
application
and the
Windows 95
dialer
should start
up.
NOTE: From
my
experience,
all Internet
applications
will be
effected and
will
automatically
start the
Windows 95
dialer. |
|
Changing
your Modem's
Initialization
String |
Start
REGEDIT
Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
\ System \
CurrentControlSet
\ Services \
Class \
Modem \ 0000
\ Init
Change the
settings to
the values
for your
modem |
|
Increasing
the Modem
Timeout |
If your
modem it
timing out
during file
transfers or
loading Web
Pages,
you might
try
increasing
the timeout
period.
To change
it:
Start
Regedit
Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
/ System /
CurrentControlSet
/ Services /
Class /
Modem / XXXX
/ Settings
Where XXXX
is the
number of
your modem
Move to the
right panel
and double
click on
Inactivity
Timeout
The number
of minutes
for a
timeout
should be
entered
between the
brackets.
For example,
a US
Robotics
Sportster
could have
S19=<30> to
set it to 30
minutes. |
|
Potential
problems
leaving
16-bit
winsock.dll's |
If you re
having
problems
getting some
of your
winsock
applications
to work
under Win95,
make sure
you delete
any old
16-bit
winsock.dll's.
If this file
is in the
directory
were the
application
resides, it
could
cause
problems.
Programs
that could
have
problems
like this
are:
Ewan.exe
(Telnet app)
WSIRC.exe
(IRC app)
WSGopher.exe
(Gopher app)
NX.Exe
(NewsXpress)
Netscape
v.1.0
We found
that if the
software
listed above
is in the
same
directory as
the
Trumpet
Winsock.dll
file, then
they will
NOT work
under the
MS-TCP/IP
stack. |
