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If you have a question that does not have an answer on his page please e-mail FunnelWeb
Internet.
Questions:
Q. What can I do about disconnections?
A. Disconnections are caused by a number of reasons. Listed below are the most common causes and cures:
Older style Telstra touch phones are known to draw current from phone lines, which cause modems to drop out. To test if this may be your problem, simply remove the phone from the line whilst connected to the Internet.
This causes a lot of problems for people, as the soft beep from call waiting is enough to confuse a modem and cause it to hang up. The best solution is simply disable call waiting whilst on the Internet.
To do this simply pick up the phone, wait for the dial tone and dial #43#. You should hear the Telstra voice inform you that your call-waiting feature has been disabled.
To re-enable the call waiting feature, pick up the phone, wait for the dial tone and dial *43#. Again you should hear the Telstra voice inform you that your call waiting feature has been enabled
If you use the email program Outlook Express and find that you seem to disconnect just after you send and receive mail please check the following setting. Open Outlook Express and go to the Tools pull down menu, click Options.
Click on the Connections and make sure the tick box labelled "Disconnect after sending and receiving" is not ticked. This setting is sometimes turned on by default in some versions of Outlook Express.
Although it sounds bizarre, bad weather can affect your connection. The number of users that call the
FunnelWeb Internet Help Desk with connection problems always increases after rain. This is because certain elements of the telephone network infrastructure are
susceptible
to changes in temperature and humidity levels. When you consider that much of this infrastructure is wires running through the ground, it doesn't seem so strange.
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Q. Why can't I log on?
A. There are a number of reasons why you may not be able to log on. The most common error message received is Incorrect UserName or Password (Windows) or Authentication Failed (Mac). This is due to:
- Either the UserName or password passed to our system is not recognised. This could be because you have misspelled or mistyped your UserName or password by accident.
The far more frequent occurrence is the accidental typing of the password in capitals. Please remember that both your UserName and password are case sensitive and should always be in lower case.
Please note that as security feature of our system if you incorrectly type in your UserName or password 3 times in a row you will automatically be locked out for a period of 40 minutes. This means you cannot access your account within this time even with the correct details. This system was put in place to prevent brute force password cracking attempts. If you think you may have locked your account out accidentally please contact the FunnelWeb Internet Support Desk to unlock the account manually for you.
- Or, your account has been temporarily suspended for non-payment or for those on the block plans, your amount of hours may have run out. Please contact FunnelWeb Internet if you think you may have received the error for either of these reasons.
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Q. Why does it take so long for Windows to log on?
A. This is a common problem in Windows 95/98 as the software is set to a default feature. To change this feature, double click the My Computer icon on your desktop.
Double click the Dial Up Connection folder and right click on your FunnelWeb Internet connection icon. Select Properties.
Select the Server Types tab and un-tick the ‘Log Onto Network is currently ticked’ tick box. This is the cause of the long and sometimes unsuccessful logins. Click OK and the setting will take effect immediately.
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Q. How can my modem deliver better performance?
A. The best way to ensure that your modem delivers maximum performance is to make certain that you have the latest modem drivers installed correctly. Using old or incorrect drivers is the easiest way to degrade your modem’s performance.
Adding an initialisation string to your modem setup may improve your connections. Instructions for installing an initialisation string can be found in the dropout section of this FAQ.
Switching your external modem off when it’s not in use is also a good idea, because that will ensure that it’s always freshly reset when you turn it on and dial. Adding the initialisation string “ATZ” should also reset your modem.
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Q. Why does my connection drop out every 15-20 minutes?
A. Check to see if any phones in your house are of the Telstra Touchphone variety. If there are any, you should try disconnecting these phones from the line while you are using the Internet as they are know to cause the line to drop out.
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Q. Why does my connection drop out Intermittently?
A1. If you have the 'Call Waiting' or 'Message bank' service installed on the phone that you use to connect to the net, you may find that you are disconnected every time someone attempts to call you. You can enter a code into the telephone keypad to disable these features before you dial in, and enter another to re-enable it again afterwards. If you do not know these codes, refer to the 'EasyCall features' page in your White Pages.
A2. Dropout is some times an indication that you have a 'noisy line'. This is particularly prevalent in older suburbs that have not had their old telephone infrastructure modernised. If you suspect that this may be your problem, you can ask Telstra to check your line for 'noise'.
A3. Your modem may be malfunctioning. The best way to check this is to swap modems with someone for awhile. If your problems persist, the problem is probably one of environment or configuration.
A4. Refer to the 'Other things to check' and 'Other things to try' sections below.
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Q. Why does it take multiple attempts before I establish a successful connection?
A1. You may need to untick "Log on to Network" in your dial-up connection settings. Double click on My Computer, then Dial-Up Networking. In here you should see an icon that represents your connection to FunnelWeb. With your right mouse button, click on this icon once. A pop-up menu will appear, and you should select 'Properties' from it. Click on the 'Server Type' tab (this may be a button in older versions of Windows 95). In this screen there is a 'Log on to Network ' check box. Remove the tick if it is there.
A2. Your modem settings may need to be adjusted. Click on the Start button and choose Settings. This takes you to the Control Panel. Double click on the Modems icon, you should see your modem driver listed here. Select your modem, then:
- Click on the Properties button
- Click on the Connection tab
- Click the Advanced button
Check to see if the "Use Error Control" checkbox is ticked. If it is, see if "Compress Data" underneath it is ticked. If "Compress Data" is ticked, un-tick it and see if the problem is resolved. If it isn't ticked, try un-ticking "Use error control". Please note that if you are using the "Standard Modem" drivers that come with Windows 95/98, these options will be disabled.
A3. Your modem may require an initialisation string. Appropriate modem initialisation strings vary from modem to modem. We have found that the following strings are successful in many cases, but if they do not work for you, consult your modems documentation for an appropriate string. The strings we suggest you try are:
1. ATZ
2. AT%C0 (The last digit is a Zero, not the letter 'O')
3. ATX0 (The last digit is a Zero, not the letter 'O')
To enter an initialisation string, Click on the Start button and choose Settings. This takes you to the Control Panel. Double click on the Modems icon, you should see your modem driver listed here. Select your modem, then:
- Click on the Properties button
- Click on the Connection tab
- Click the Advanced button
Enter the initialisation strings into the 'Extra Settings' text box, and press OK all the way until you are back to the control panel. Now try out your connections with the various strings in place to see if connection reliability has improved.
A4. The most common cause of this problem is having extra network protocols installed. Refer to the 'Other things to check' and 'Other things to try' sections below.
Other things to check
1. Check that no extraneous networking components are installed under the Network Icon in the Control Panel
Click on the Start button and choose Settings. This takes you to the Control Panel. Double click on the Network icon. You will see a list that says at the top 'The following network components are installed'. There should be a maximum of three things in this list being:
- Client for Microsoft Networks
- Dial-up adapter
- TCP/IP
The last two are really all you need, but the first will not interfere. If there are any more than these three, and your PC is not connected to a LAN, then remove the excess components.
2. Check that no extraneous networking components are selected in your FunnelWeb Dial-up connection.
Double click on My Computer, then Dial-Up Networking. In here you should see an icon that represents your connection to FunnelWeb. With your right mouse button, click on this icon once. A pop-up menu will appear, and you should select 'Properties' from it. Click on the 'Server Type' tab (this may be a button in older versions of Windows 95). In this screen there is a 'Allowed Network Protocols' section, make sure
only TCP/IP is checked.
Other Things to try
1. Reduce the size of the send and receive buffers
Click on the Start button and choose Settings. This takes you to the Control Panel. Double click on the Modems icon, you should see your modem driver listed here. Select your modem, then:
Click on the Properties button
Click on the Connection tab
Click the Port Settings button
Set both the send and receive buffers to low, to see if your connection problems improve. If so, try to increase these over a period of time to determine a balance of good performance and reliability.
2. Reduce the maximum connection speed
Click on the Start button and choose Settings. This takes you to the Control Panel. Double click on the Modems icon, you should see your modem driver listed here. Select your modem, then:
Click on the Properties button
Click on the General tab
Lower the maximum speed setting to 19200 to see if connection reliability improves. If so, you may wish to consult your modem documentation or vendor to find an initialisation string that allows you to limit your connection speed to a specified parameter. You can then gradually increase this parameter until a balance between performance and reliability is found.
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