Windows 95 Logon Problems
(Updated 2-19-98)

Note: This page assumes you are using the dialer that comes with Microsoft Windows 95. If not, the statements below still apply, but fixing the problem may require different steps.

If you have Voice Messaging from Verizon, your modem may be confused by the stutter dial tone which signals a message waiting.  To cure this, type a capital "W" in front of the phone number so it will wait for a regular dial tone.

Modem not installed correctly

1. Actually, before you can do any other troubleshooting of a connection problem, it is a good idea to make sure your modem is working correctly and that it is configured correctly. Modems are one of the hardest accessories to install correctly in a computer so it is not surprising that incorrect installation and configuration is the number one cause of connection problems. Plug 'n' Play modems frequently conflict with legacy ISA cards in the computer. To solve the problem it is necessary to manually block out the IRQs of all legacy device and then have the computer's BIOS reconfigure the Plug 'n' Play devices. Also, Windows may have a Plug 'n' Play modem listed as conflicting with a non-existent legacy device in the Device Manager. Lastly, the Add Hardware program may not have correctly detected the modem and may have substituted a generic (read poor) driver for the modem.

Busy Signals

1. Busy signals as a result of no open lines is EXTREMELY rare on our system.   Occasionally customers have received busy signals not because our service was busy, but because the GTE switches were busy.  This is most common when the radio stations are running contests.
2. If this is the first time you are calling in or if you have just installed a new modem and you are calling from an exchange outside the city you are calling, then the dialer may be trying to place the call as a long distance call rather than as a local call. This causes the call to be intercepted by the phone company and you get a busy signal.
   • To cure this problem, from the Desktop, open the My Computer icon, then open the Dial-up Networking folder.  Click on the TurboNet or similar icon with the right-hand mouse button, and select Properties from the pop-up menu. On the resulting page, look for a checkbox that says 'Use country and area code'. If this box is checked, uncheck it. Click OK buttons until you are back to the TurboNet icon.
3. It may also happen that all of the phone circuits between your community and our net servers were busy at the time you called.
4. If you are in Latah county, the phone line you are using may not be on GTE's Community Plus program.

Dials but no Answer

1. Check that you are dialing the correct phone number. 
   Albion - 592-4020
   Bovill - 826-4138
   Cora - 668-0138
   Deary - 877-2167
   Elk River - 826-4138
   Garrison - 872-5116
   Genesee - 285-2116
   Moscow - 874-4042
   Potlatch - 875-2139
   Pullman – 592-4020
   Wellesley - 858-1138
2. Check that you are actually dialing. If you do not hear a dial tone immediately before your modem starts producing the touch tone signals, you are not actually dialing anywhere. This is also true if you do not hear the touch tone signals or the dialer tells you there is no dial-tone.
   • If you have just finished hooking your computer up to the phone line, it is possible that you have plugged it into the wrong jack on the back of your computer. Do not run the line cord from the wall to the jack that is marked "phone". The correct jack should be marked "line", "wall", or "telco".
   • If you have a laptop computer, you may not have the line cord plugged in firmly at both ends - a common problem.
   • Your modem may not have hung up from your last call. In this case, shutdown Windows and turn the computer completely off. Wait 15 seconds, and turn it back on again. If you can now dial and connect, it is possible that your modem is not installed correctly or it may be defective.

Keeps asking for user name and password

1. If you have mistyped your user name or password, you may be asked three times to supply the correct user name and password. If the dialer has not saved your password then you most likely have the Caps Lock key on. (9 out of 10).
2. Another possibility is that your account has expired for lack of payment or we may have mistyped the expiration date, for example, the year may have been mistyped.  Check with us to make sure your dates are correct.

Connects but cannot do anything

1. You may have multiple copies of TCP/IP installed.
   • Go to the Start menu, then Settings and select Control Panel. If you have two copies of just TCP/IP (not TCP/IP-->Dial-up adapter) then you need to delete one copy of TCP/IP and restart Windows 95.
2. If you can connect and get to our home page by typing http://216.98.224.132 into your web browser, but cannot get to the home page by typing http://www.turbonet.com then your computer probably does not know how to find our DNS servers.
   • To cure this problem, from the Desktop, open the My Computer icon, then open the Dial-up Networking folder, click on the TurboNet icon with the right mouse button, and select Properties from the pop-up menu. Click the Server Type button, then click the TCP/IP Settings button. Click on the Server assigned name server addresses radio button.
3. If you can connect to our home page by typing http://www.turbonet.com but cannot get to Yahoo by typing http://www.yahoo.com then your computer does not know where the Default Gateway to the Internet is located.
   • The IP address of the Default Gateway is supplied by our server automatically, but your computer has to be told to use it. To cure this problem, from the Desktop, open the My Computer icon, then open the Dial-up Networking folder, click on the TurboNet icon with the right mouse button, and select Properties from the pop-up menu. Click the Server Types button, then click the TCP/IP Settings button. At the bottom of the page is a checkbox named Use default gateway on remote network. This box must be checked. Click on the OK buttons until you are back to the TurboNet icon.
4. You may already have DNS information installed in the regular networking section of your computer that is conflicting with access to our DNS servers. (Micron computers are likely candidates for this problem.)
   • Cure:  Go to the Start menu, then Settings and select Control Panel. Double-click on the Network icon. Select TCP/IP from the list and and click on the Properties button. Select the DNS tab. The "Disable DNS" radio button should be checked.

Modem Fails to Negotiate Connection with our Modems

1. You will hear your modem dial, our modem answers, the modems start screeching at each other but the screeching never stops. The only cause we have found for this behavior is a defective modem. Zoom 14,400 PC modems are known to fail in this manner. Also, you may have a V.FC or V.FAST protocol modem. V.FC and V.FAST never became standards are are not recognized by your dial-in server.
2. You will hear your modem dial, our modem answers, the modems start screeching at each other, but the screeching goes on for more than 40 seconds.  You get a message something like "unable to negotiate a compatible set of network protocols".  
   • Cure:  reconfigure network protocol settings.
3. You may have AOL on your computer.  AOL replaces the winsock.dll that comes with Windows 95 with one of their own.
   • Cure:  See three below.
4. Your Windows 95 CD may not be the correct one for your computer.  When a manufacturer gets the latest copy of Windows 95, they start putting it on all their computers.  However, if they still have old copies of the Windows 95 CD, they may include old CD with the computer.  This means you may have different versions of Windows 95 on the computer and the CD.  When you install Dial-up Networking, the incompatibility in versions prevents the computer from negotiating a TCP/IP connection with our server.
   • Cure:  Go to Microsoft's site (www.microsoft.com).   In their download section you should find the latest version of winsock.dll and Dial-up Networking for Windows 95 (version 1.3 at the time of this writing).  Install the winsock.dll first and then Dial-up Networking.
5. You may not have TCP/IP installed.
   • Go to the Start menu, then Settings and select Control Panel. Double-click on the Network icon. In the configuration list, you should have both Dialup Networking Adpater and one copy of TCP/IP (or if on a LAN, TCP/IP->Dialup Networking Adapter). 
     Cure: If this is the case, click on the Add button, select Protocol, Microsoft and TCP/IP.   Place your Windows 95 CD in the CD-ROM drive.  When done you will need to reboot the computer.
6. The modem may be conflicting with another device, the modem may be set up incorrectly or it may be defective.
7. The phone line may be too noisy or have a weak loop current.

   Note: Just because a modem can connect to AOL's BBS system, for instance, but not to us does not mean that the modem is OK. A true Internet connection is much more demanding of a modem than the low speed connections to AOL.

Modem Connects but Fails to Establish a Network Connection

1. Your modem connects but you get back the error message that your computer was unable to establish a network connection.
   • The most common cause of this is an improperly installed modem. Either there is a port/IRQ conflict or the initialization string is wrong.
   • The modem uses the Rockwell RPI chipset and requires a special driver that has not been installed or, if installed, is not usable by Microsoft's Shiva dialer. If you reduce the maximum speed setting on the modem to 9600 baud, the modem may work since no high speed functions would be invoked.
     Note: Just because a modem can connect to AOL's BBS system, for instance, but not to us does not mean that the modem is OK. A true Internet connection is much more demanding of a modem than the low speed connections to AOL.
2. You may have AOL on your computer.  AOL replaces the winsock.dll that comes with Windows 95 with one of their own.
   • Cure:  See three below.
3. Your Windows 95 CD may not be the correct one for your computer.  When a manufacturer gets the latest copy of Windows 95, they start putting it on all their computers.  However, if they still have old copies of the Windows 95 CD, they may include old CD with the computer.  This means you may have different versions of Windows 95 on the computer and the CD.  When you install Dial-up Networking, the incompatibility in versions prevents the computer from negotiating a TCP/IP connection with our server.
   • Cure:  Go to Microsoft's site (www.microsoft.com).   In their download section you should find the latest version of winsock.dll and Dial-up Networking for Windows 95 (version 1.3 at the time of this writing).  Install the winsock.dll first and then Dial-up Networking.
4. You may not have TCP/IP installed.
   • Go to the Start menu, then Settings and select Control Panel. Double-click on the Network icon. In the configuration list, you should have both Dialup Networking Adpater and one copy of TCP/IP (or if on a LAN, TCP/IP->Dialup Networking Adapter). 
     Cure: If this is the case, click on the Add button, select Protocol, Microsoft and TCP/IP.   Place your Windows 95 CD in the CD-ROM drive.  When done you will need to reboot the computer.

Copyright © 2008 Cactus International, Inc.
cactus@turbonet.com
1-208-883-5500