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Connecting To Internet Texoma FAQ
Q = Question A = Answer
S = Solution
1.Q What phone numbers are available for connecting
to the Internet?
1.A A list of dial-up numbers are
available at Internet Texoma's Access
Number page.
2.Q Does Internet Texoma have a toll free number
(800, 888, etc.) for connecting to the Internet?
2.A Currently Internet Texoma does
not have a toll free number for connecting to the Internet.
2.S One
option is to have a toll free number installed in your home. When you are out of
Internet Texoma's service area, have the toll free line forward incoming calls to one of
Internet Texoma's login numbers. You could call the toll free number to your home,
the call would be forwarded to one of Internet Texoma's login numbers and you could
connect to the Internet.
3.Q I am connecting at extremely slow rates. Why is
this and what can I do to improve my connection speed?
3.A Slow connection speeds are nearly
impossible to avoid. If you do not have a digital connection such as ISDN, then you are
95% assured to get less than maximum connection speeds. Most of the time this will not
solely be your hardware/configuration or our hardware/configuration. The phone companies
have millions of customers, and with everyone using phones at once things get a little
bogged down. Nevertheless, we have given you some steps to try which may at least increase
your connection speeds and bandwidth.
First, it must be noted that if your modem says you are connecting at 24k, for example,
you will NOT stay connected at that speed throughout your session. The speed increases and
decreases as the load on the phone company, and Internet Texoma, increases and decreases.
So even if you are connecting at 28.8k consistently, that will probably not be your
speed throughout your session.
If you are getting slow connection speed, meaning you have a 28.8k modem but connect at
lower speeds, one reason may be line noise. Line noise is due to bad phone line
conditions, causing the data to be transferred improperly. To help fix this, ask your
phone company to "data condition" your lines; this is usually free. However, if
you live fairly far away from a city, data conditioning your lines probably will not
significantly help your problem.
You also may have your software configured improperly. Look over all the modem settings
and verify that they are correct.
Another problem, and probably the least likely, is that you have incompatible hardware. If
you have a generic modem then you probably aren't communicating with our modems at the
highest capacity.
To connect to Internet Texoma at 56k speeds, your modem's firmware version must be 1.0
or higher. To check using Windows 95/98, move your mouse to START, SETTINGS, CONTROL
PANEL. Double-click the MODEMS icon. Click the DIAGNOSTICS tab. Highlight the COM port
that has your modem listed next to it. Click the MORE INFO... button. A list of
responses about your modem will come up on the screen. Look for ATI3 on the left, and look
directly to the right for its value. If the number isn't 1.0 or higher, you can either
search for a firmware upgrade on your modem manufacturer's Web site, or contact the
Support Desk and we'll help you out. Also, be sure you are either using a V.90 or K56 Flex
modem. We do not support X2 technology.
Several modem manufacturers now have test facilities you can call to determine if a
problem you are experiencing is with your telephone line. If you would like to test your
modem's connectivity, please visit Internet Texoma's Modem
Manufacturers' Test Numbers Page.
4.Q I keep getting disconnected. What is wrong?
4.A There are several causes to being
disconnected from the Internet.
4.A1 Password And User Name
- If the computer asks for your user name and/or password repeatedly before you receive
the message "You have been disconnected from the computer you dialed", your
disconnection is due to a wrong user name and/or password being entered into the
"Connect To" window.
4.S1
Return to the "Connect To" window, retype the user name and
password, and reconnect. For detailed instructions, please visit Section 2 of Internet
Texoma's How To Directory.
4.A2 Call Waiting -
If your phone line has call waiting and you do not have it disabled in the modem
properties, an incoming call on your phone line will cause your modem to disconnect from
the Internet.
4.S2
For detailed instruction on disabling call waiting, please visit Section 2 of Internet
Texoma's How To Directory.
4.A3 Idle Time Disconnection
- Internet Texoma will disconnect your connection to the server if there is no activity
for 20 minutes on dial-up accounts, 2 minutes on ISDN accounts. We do this to keep
unused lines free for other customers.
4.A4 5 Hour Limit -
Internet Texoma limits each dial-up connection to 5 hours. The server will
disconnect your connection to the server if you have been connected for 5 hours
straight. We do this to give all customers an equal opportunity to connect to the
Internet and keep Internet access as affordable as possible. You can reconnect if you
wish. Note: Automatic mail runs or other robotic activity which make your
connection appear to be active are disallowed. Accounts which are found to be using
such techniques will be considered eligible for termination or mandatory upgrade to our
Dedicated Access Status and billing. If you need dedicated access or intend to run
automatic processes, please see our Dedicated Access offering.
4.A5 Hardware Settings
- If your modem is not properly installed, you may experience connection
difficulties. The support staff sees more connection problems when a modem is of a
different brand name than the computer. It's like taking the brakes off a '54 Chevy
pickup and putting them on a '98 Corvette. The brakes will still stop the
Corvette...but only 50% of the time.
4.S5
Locate the newest drivers for your modem and reinstall your modem following the
manufacturer's instructions with the new drivers. You can do this by going to a Web
site that locates or provides drivers for users to download, and can be found on our Hardware Driver Information page. If you have a
"no-name" brand modem or drivers cannot be located for it, look in the user's
manual for a reference to compatibility with another modem. (i.e., 100% Hayes
compatible) and install the modem as this modem. Note: This method is
to be considered only after all other possible causes have been eliminated (i.e., last
resort situation). Internet Texoma strives to give the best possible
service at a reasonable and competitive price. We try to update our equipment with the
newest drivers, firmware updates, and even replace older equipment in an effort to utilize
the newest technologies available. In doing so, modems that have been discontinued by
their manufacturers and are not supplied with updated drivers may become incompatible with
Internet Texoma's equipment. In this situation, the best option is to replace the
outdated modem with a new modem utilizing the latest technology.
4.A6 Limited System Resources - If
you are trying to run multiple applications at the same time that you are connected to the
Internet, this drains your computer's resources so it is not able to run any of those
programs very well. Similarly, if you are running just one program
simultaneously with the Internet, this may still cause problems if the program uses a lot
of your system's resources. Programs that are heavy on graphics, such as Photoshop
or some games, should be closed if possible while your modem is trying to connect to the
Internet. Remember, even if you're just checking your e-mail, you are still making a
connection.
4.S6 Try running fewer programs, or if you must
for some reason run lots of programs at once, you should look into installing more memory
or a faster processing chip for your computer.
4.A7 Software Settings
- If the software you use to dial and negotiate the connection to Internet Texoma is not
properly configured, you may experience connection difficulties.
4.S7
For detailed instruction on verifying dialer settings, please visit Section 2 of Internet
Texoma's How To Directory. For detailed instructions on verifying network
settings, please visit Section 6 of Internet Texoma's How To Directory.
4.A8 Phone Line Quality
- The quality of the phone lines inside and outside of your house can play a major role in
disconnections from the Internet.
4.S8
To help eliminate this possible cause, ask your phone company to "data
condition" your lines; this is usually free of charge.
4.A9 Other Phone Equipment - If you
use fax machines, answering machines, additional phone extensions or other home networking
equipment, you are creating a drain on your phone lines which makes it more difficult for
your modem to maintain a good connection.
4.S9
You can test to see if removing some of this equipment helps your modem by unplugging
their phone connections from the wall jack and connecting to the
Internet. If you unplug an appliance and your modem stays connected successfully,
you may have found the major culprit to your connection problems.
4.A10 Human Interference - In some
cases, homes with multiple telephones may experience modem disconnection if a person picks
up another phone while the modem is connected to the Internet.
4. S10 The
only way to avoid this disconnection is to make sure that no one disturbs the phone line
in the house while someone is connected to the Internet. Or, you may consider
installing another phone line just for your computer, although the phone company will bill
you as with any other phone line.
4.A11 Electromagnetic Interference -
Modem connections are more sensitive to noise interference than simple voice
communication. Even if you do not hear any extra "noise" (popping sounds,
static, etc.) on your phone line, this does not mean that the line is clear enough for
modem use. Sometimes this noise can be caused by old phone lines (common in old
houses), or other times it can be the result of interference from electrical or mechanical
appliances. Electronics such as other computers, CD players, TVs, radios, or any
other appliance that has a motor (such as a fan), florescent light bulbs, or uses a lot of
power can cause disturbances on your phone lines.
4.S11 Try to avoid
running phone lines past these appliances if at all possible, or talk to your phone
company about having new higher-quality lines installed.
5.Q I only have one login ID to connect, but wish to give multiple
computers access at the same time; how do I do this?
5.A There are a couple different ways to do
this. If you are using Windows 98 SE (second edition), then the easiest thing to do
would be to set up Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). This comes built-in to Windows
98 SE. The other option would be to use a piece of 3rd party software such as Wingate. Please note that we do not provide
support for these pieces of software. In either case you will have to network
the computers that you want to share the connection. This involves purchasing
additional equipment. Again, we do not provide support for setting up your own local area
network (LAN).
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