This document explains what you can do to avoid being disconnected immediately after dialing into our service. If you are experiencing problems with disconnections, but they are occurring after you've connected with your accounts, please see our standard disconnections guide.

A common misconception of new customers is that when you get disconnected immediately after connecting (or during the "Verifying Username and Password" portion of the connection) is that our system is busy. When all of our lines are full, you will not get disconnected immediately, you'll receive a busy signal before a connection could ever be made.

An immediate disconnection can be caused by a large number of reasons. The most common, and easy to fix reason for an immediate disconnection is to ensure that your modem's port speed (or "maximum baud rate") is set to a speed appropriate for your modem. We recommend the following:

To change this setting:

• In Windows 95/98, go into My Computer -> Dial-up Networking, right-click on your CoreComm icon and select Properties. Click on Configure, and adjust it in the Maximum Baud Rate setting.
• On a Macintosh using FreePPP, go into your FreePPP Setup Control Panel, select the modems tab, click on Edit, and adjust the Port Speed there. PPP or Remote Access on a Mac does not allow you to change the port speed. We suggest you switch to the FreePPP dialer if you need to do this. If you do not have a copy of FreePPP, but have an alternate Internet connection, you can download it from the Macintosh Connection section at TUCOWS (http://www.AllMacintosh.com/dialmac.html). Otherwise contact our Technical Support for this software at 1-800-715-7873.
• On Windows 3.1x using Trumpet Winsock, go into File -> Setup, and change the Baud Rate setting. In the ShivaPPP dialer, another Windows 3.1 dialer, go into Properties -> Modem, and adjust the Baud Rate there.

Also, if you are using Windows 95/98, make sure that you have TCP/IP installed in your network control panel, and that WINS resolution is disabled. Go into Start -> Settings -> Control Panels -> Network, and see if TCP/IP is in the list of installed network components. If it is, double-click on TCP/IP, select the WINS Configuration tab, and make sure that it is set to "Disable WINS Resolution". If TCP/IP is -not- listed, make sure you have your Windows 95/98 installation disk(s) handy, and go into Add -> Protocol -> Microsoft -> TCP/IP, click on OK, and then follow the procedure above to ensure that the WINS setting is correct.

The next step to take depends on whether you literally always get disconnected when you dial in, or whether you are able to get in after multiple attempts. An immediate disconnection can occur if you have run out of time on your account (if you do not have an unlimited account), or if your account is closed due to your subscription being expired.

If you have followed the above steps and can never log in, please call our technical support department at 1-800-715-7873 for advanced troubleshooting. If you can get on after multiple attempts, however, please do not call technical support yet -- follow the below instructions first.

It is possible the disconnections are being caused by a malfunctioning port on the server that you're dialing into. Since we have literally thousands of incoming lines, however, simply reporting to us that you are receiving immediate disconnections will likely not result in immediate action. Hunting for the cause of disconnections without knowing where they are occurring is like finding a needle in a haystack. However, you can make a change to the software you use to dial in that will tell you specifically which servers and which lines the disconnections are occurring on -- and if you report the problems to us with those specifics, we'll be able to take immediate action. The identity of the server and the line you're dialing into is contained in a code called the port number.

You can see this port number by dialing into us with a terminal window and manually entering your login name and password. To log in with a terminal window:

In Windows 95/98: Go into My Computer -> Dial-up Networking, right-click on the CoreComm icon and select Properties. Click on Configure, then click on Options, and select "Bring up Terminal Window after dialing." Click on OK, and exit out of Dial-up Networking. Connect as you normally would. You'll notice a black box appear with the server/port code and a login prompt when you connect. Write down the server/port code, then enter your login name and password at the login: and password: prompts. After you enter your password, you'll see "gibberish" on the screen -- click on the Continue button or hit F7 to establish your connection.

In the ShivaPPP dialer in Windows 3.1: Double-click on the Netscape Dialer, select properties, then select the General tab at the top of that screen. Click on the option to "Manually login each time". When you dial in, the terminal window will appear with the server/port code and a login prompt when you connect. Write down the server/port code, then enter your login name and password at the login: and password: prompts. After you enter your password, you'll see "gibberish" on the screen. Just click on the Continue button to complete your connection.

In the Trumpet Winsock "Internet dialer" for Windows 3.1: Trumpet Winsock always logs in with a terminal window, although it may be hidden. To check the terminal window after dialing in, select [ALT][TAB] until you see the Trumpet Winsock name on the screen. Let up on [ALT][TAB], and the terminal window will appear and show you the server/port code.

Macintosh: Go into your FreePPP Setup Control Panel, go to the "Accounts" tab and click on the "Edit" button. Then, change "Connect:" from "Directly" to "Manually". When you dial in, the terminal window will appear with the server/port code and a login prompt when you connect. Write down the server/port code, then enter your login name and password at the login: and password: prompts. PPP and Remote Access on a Mac do not allow you to access a terminal window after dialing. We suggest you switch to the FreePPP dialer if you need to do this. If you do not have a copy of FreePPP, but have an alternate Internet connection, you can download it from the Macintosh Connection section at TUCOWS (http://www.AllMacintosh.com/dialmac.html). Otherwise contact our Technical Support for this software at 1-800-715-7873.

If you get a terminal window where a login prompt is not displayed, chances are that there is a problem with your modem configuration. If this occurs, Contact our Technical Support at 1-800-715-7873 with what specifically you see (or don't see) in the terminal window when you log in.