connect

Dial Up and Connection Tips

Speed Up Dial-Up Networking

Dialing up with the built-in Dial-Up Networking in Windows 95 is straightforward, but can seem to take an eternity. You'll notice that a connection is established long before Dial-Up Networking finishes connection. Here are some tips to speed up this process:

Part 1: Double-click on the Dial-Up Networking icon in My Computer. Right-click on the connection, and select Properties. Click Server Type, and turn off support for NetBEUI and IPX/SPX. (make sure to leave TCP/IP turned on) Next, turn off Log on to network in the same box. Click OK and then OK again.

Part 2: Double-click on the Network icon in Control Panel. Highlight the Dial-Up Adapter, and click Properties. Click on the Bindings tab, and uncheck all items in the list other than TCP/IP. Click OK and then OK again. This should speed things up considerably.

Are you Connected

Click on the "Start" button, then "Run." In the form that will appear type:
ping seidata.com
Press "Enter". It will go very fast but you should see some information returned from SEI Data. If you do not see anything or the program hangs, then you have not actually connected.

Trace Internet Routes

Included with Windows 95 is a program called Trace Route. Open a DOS window and type
tracert location name.
The location name can be any ip address or number, for example www.yahoo.com. The program will then trace the route from your Internet provider to that location, and show you every computer system along the way. Watch as you jump from coast to coast and over oceans via satellites and high speed connections instantly. Also very useful for when you can't connect to a site - it will show you if something is down along the way.

Internet Utility

Windows 95 has a built in Internet utility called IP Configuration that lets you check out all the vital stats of your Internet setup. Go to the Start button, then Run, and type WINIPCFG, then click on the More Info button.

Ping

While connected to the internet via dialup or in a networked environment, open a DOS window, and at the DOS prompt type "ping" and the internet address you wish to check. ie.
ping www.seidata.com.
Windows95 will tell you how fast the connection is to the address given.

It's STILL Not Working!

If (even after following the instructions you're still having connection problems, try some of the steps on this page.

Before Changing Any Settings

Before you start changing settings, check to see just how "connected" you are. If you can dial up, go to the Command Prompt (the DOS Prompt), and type ping 192.41.3.129 (that's the WinFiles.com server). If you get a response, then try typing ping www.winfiles.com. If you get a response, then your DNS settings are correct and working. Your problem is probably user error or an application error. You computer is connected to the 'Net just fine!

If your Connection Isn't Working Properly

If you have a PPP account, make sure the server type in the connection properties is set to PPP, not SLIP or CSLIP. You can also try disabling software compression in the Server Type... dialog box.

For SLIP users: If you can use PING, but you can't use Winsock applications after you're connected, you probably need to switch the server type. Try changing the server type in the connection properties from SLIP to CSLIP or CSLIP to SLIP, depending on the current setting.

A Winsock App Is Not Working

First, check to see if the application requires a specific WINSOCK.DLL file. Some Winsock apps out there copy their own WINSOCK.DLL file into their directory, which may be the cause of your troubles. Rename the application's WINSOCK.DLL so that Windows 95 only uses the Windows 95 winsock (it's called WSOCK32.DLL). If the application doesn't work with Microsoft's Windows 95 winsock, you may have to rename Windows 95's winsock, and copy the application's WINSOCK.DLL file into the Windows directory. Caution: this will probably cause other Winsock applications not to work, so I only recommend it as a last resort, and only if you really want to run that application. Try contacting the application's vendor and ask if they can send you an updated version that will work with Windows 95's WINSOCK.DLL.

Make sure that a version of WINSOCK.DLL doesn't show up in the path. If Windows 95 encounters the Trumpet WINSOCK.DLL file, for example, intstead of its own, 32-bit apps have a tendency to crash.

If you're getting an error like "Can't Find TCPMAN.EXE" then WIndows 95 is finding the Trumpet Winsock before it can find the Windows 95 winsock file. Rename the old WINSOCK.DLL file.

Other TCP/IP Issues For current release notes on using TCP/IP and Dial-Up Networking with Windows 95, double-click on the Windows 95 Release Notes icon on your desktop. If you deleted it (like I did!) you can use NOTEPAD to view the README.TXT file in the Windows directory.