Now that you've seen all the great things you can do with Internet Explorer 3.0, you're probably champing at the bit to get on the Internet and start exploring for yourself.
If you already have the right type of Internet connection (SLIP or PPP), and if you've already configured your computer to establish a connection, you can skip ahead to Chapter 5, "Installing and Configuring Internet Explorer 3.0," and set
out
on your electronic journey.
If you don't even know what SLIP and PPP connections are, or where to find one, this chapter gives you all the details. You'll find out whether your computer is properly equipped to handle the Web, how to find an Internet service provider, and how to
set up your software to connect to the Internet. And if you have trouble connecting for the first time, the troubleshooting section at the end of this chapter will help you track down and fix the problem.
To connect to the Internet and tap into the World Wide Web, you need four essential items: a computer equipped with a relatively fast modem or a network connection, an Internet service provider (who provides a connection to the Internet), TCP/IP
software (which establishes the Internet connection), and a Web browser (Internet Explorer 3.0).
The following sections will help you determine whether you have what you need to get started.
You can navigate the Web with an old 286 PC and a 2400bps modem, but it won't look like much. All you'll see are pages of text with links. Nobody wants to go through the trouble and expense of connecting to the Web for that.
To do the Web right—to play audio and video clips, display graphics, run applets, and download files—you need a fairly powerful computer with a connection that transfers data quickly. A 286 with a 2400bps modem doesn't qualify.
Is your system Internet-ready? Check the following list to be sure:
Tip
Although a 28,800bps modem is faster than a 14,400bps, don't expect to connect at 28,800bps. Because of the limitations of standard phone lines, your connection will typically be slower—24000bps or 19600bps. If you want a faster connection via modem, you'll need to upgrade your modem and phone lines to ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network). An ISDN connection typically offers speeds of up to 128kbps (128,000bps). Although the service can be costly (ask your phone company), ISDN gives you two separate phone lines—one of which you can use for voice calls while you're cruising the Internet. If you plan to get a second line anyway, consider going with an ISDN connection.
After you've established that your computer has what it takes to do the Web, make sure you have the software you need to connect.
First, you need a TCP/IP program to dial into the service provider's computer and establish a connection. This program doesn't display anything on the Internet; its job is to ensure the flow of data between your computer and the Internet. After the
connection is established, the TCP/IP program steps behind the curtain where it belongs. Internet Explorer 3.0 takes front stage, acting as your window to the Internet.
Windows 95 comes with TCP/IP support, so you don't need to search for additional software. With Windows 95 and a copy of Internet Explorer 3.0, you have all the software you need.
If you're stubbornly holding out with Windows 3.1, you can't run Internet Explorer 3.0; in fact, you can't even run Version 2.0. If that's not enough to convince you to step up to Windows 95, you can run Internet Explorer 1.6 (the 16-bit version). In
addition to Internet Explorer 1.6, you need a TCP/IP program, which you'll learn to install and configure later in this chapter.
Likewise, if you're connecting with a Mac, you'll need Apple Open Transport or MacTCP and Thread Manager (for multithreading) to establish the Internet connection. You'll also need Drag Manager to support Internet Explorer 3.0's drag-and-drop feature.
Tip
If you're one of the many people who is waiting for the next version of Windows 95 to come out before switching from Windows 3.1, maybe the Internet will convince you to make the switch. The latest versions of most Internet programs are designed to work under Windows 95, which is much more capable than Windows 3.1 at handling the Internet. So, make the switch.
To connect to the Internet, your computer has to dial into another computer that's on the Internet. These computers are set up by private companies called Internet service providers (or ISPs or IPs), and they charge a fee for using their service
(typically about $20 per month for 100 hours or more of connect time).
Note
You can connect to the Internet using most commercial online services, such as America Online, CompuServe, The Microsoft Network, or Prodigy. However, these services are typically more expensive than an Internet service provider, and most require that you use their Web browser. To learn how to establish an Internet connection using MSN and Windows 95, see Chapter 4, "Configuring Windows 95 for the Internet."
The following section tells you how to shop for an Internet service provider, give the service provider the information he needs, and get the information you need in order to configure your system to connect.
Note
After you've chosen a service provider, it takes the provider one or two days to set up your account. You might not be able to connect to the Internet on the same day you find a service provider.
As more and more people are connecting to the Internet, Internet service providers are popping up in almost every city and town. With all these service providers to choose from, how do you find the best one?
First, you want a service provider that is local (within your calling area). If you have to make a long-distance call to establish your connection, your connect charges will be much more than the twenty bucks or so you pay your service provider each
month.
Second, your service provider shouldn't oversell the service. If the provider sells more accounts than its computers and Internet lines can support, you'll have trouble connecting, especially during the day. The best way to check is to ask friends and
colleagues for their recommendations, ask your local computer store, or even call the Better Business Bureau in your area to see if anyone has filed complaints with the service.
Finally, make sure the service provider will give you the help you need to connect. Some service providers will supply you with configured software; you install the software as you would any program, and you're up and running. Other providers will give
you the basic instructions you need to connect. Stay away from service providers that offer no help at all. Again, recommendations from friends and colleagues are the best way to determine how helpful a provider will be.
If you don't know of any Internet service providers in your area, check the Yellow Pages under Communications or Computers.
Tip
If you can't find a service provider in your calling area, you can connect using The Microsoft Network, as explained in Chapter 4. Or, look for a service provider that offers 800 service. You'll pay extra for 800 service, but it won't cost you nearly as much as long distance calls.
Internet service providers commonly offer several options for connecting to the Internet. If you need only an e-mail account, you can set one up for less than ten dollars a month. If you want to do the Internet with a barbaric menu system, you can
establish a shell or terminal account (an indirect account). These types of accounts let you dial into the service provider's computer and use an archaic menu system on the service provider's computer to transfer files, navigate the
Web, and use computers at remote locations.
However, you will be exploring the Web with a high-powered Web browser, so neither an e-mail nor a shell account will do. What you need is a direct Internet connection. With a direct connection, you use programs on your computer to
navigate the Internet. Internet Explorer 3.0 needs a direct connection.
There are two types of direct connections: SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol) and PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol). If given a choice, pick PPP, especially if you're using Windows 95. Windows 95 has built-in PPP support, which makes it relatively easy
to
configure Windows 95 for a PPP account. Although you can connect Windows 95 using a SLIP account, you have to jump through a few more hoops to do it. Chapter 4 explains how to use both types of accounts.
In order to set up your account, your service provider is going to ask you some questions. These people usually talk fast, and they expect you to know what you're talking about. It's a good idea to prepare in advance. Before you call, be ready for the
following questions:
Keep your credit card handy. Most service providers will give you several billing options; you can pay by check, have the money deducted from your bank account, or charge it to your credit card. However, you might need to secure your account with a
credit card number.
If your service provider agrees to send you preconfigured TCP/IP software for connecting to the Internet, you won't need much information to connect. All you really need is a user ID and password. If the service provider expects you to configure the
software yourself, have a pen and paper handy, and write down the following information:
With Windows 95 and the information you've gathered, you're ready to connect to your Internet service provider's server and start cruising the Internet. Skip ahead to Chapter 4.
If you're using a PC with Windows 3.1 or a Macintosh with System 7, the remaining sections in the chapter show you how to install and configure the TCP/IP software to establish your connection.
Windows 95's built-in TCP/IP support is quickly becoming the standard for connecting to the Internet. However, many people are still using Windows 3.x on PCs and System 7 on Macs. If you're one of these people, you'll need to install a special
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) program on your computer and use it to connect to your service provider's computer.
The most popular TCP/IP program for Windows is Trumpet Winsock. For the Mac, look for a program called MacTCP or Open Transport. Your service provider should supply the TCP/IP program you need and configure it for your computer. When you call your
service provider to set up your account, be sure to ask for this important software.
Trumpet Winsock is a shareware program, and it is readily available on the Internet and from most service providers. You must pay a registration fee of $20 to use it. (If you have an online service, use its FTP feature to get the file from
ftp://ftp.trumpet.com.au/winsock/
The file should have a name similar to twsk21f.zip.)
MacTCP is Apple's TCP/IP program for Macs. If you have System 7.5 or later, you already have MacTCP. If you don't have System 7.5, you can find a copy of MacTCP at your local computer store; it's marketed as TCP/IP Connection for the Macintosh, and it
costs about sixty dollars.
Tip
The CD at the back of this book contains a TCP/IP program for Windows 3.1 and for the Mac. The files are compressed, so you must decompress them. See Appendix E, "About the CD-ROM," for details about using the files on the CD.
If you get a TCP/IP program off the Internet, from your service provider, or from the CD at the back of this book, the file is probably compressed. To install the program, you have to copy the file to your hard disk, decompress the file, and possibly
run a setup program. You can use one of the utilities on the CD to decompress the file. The following sections explain the basics.
To decompress files in Windows, you need a program called WinZip. Change to the WinZip directory on the CD that accompanies this book, and copy the file Wz60wn16.exe to a temporary directory on your hard drive. Then, run Wz60wn16.exe, and follow the
on-screen installation instructions. This installs WinZip on your hard drive and creates an icon for it. Take the following steps to run WinZip and use it to decompress your TCP/IP program:
Depending on the TCP/IP program, you might or might not have to run the program's setup utility to install it. Look in the directory in which you placed the decompressed files for a Setup or Install file, and run the file, if necessary.
Also, open you AUTOEXEC.BAT file, and type the drive and directory of your TCP/IP program at the end of the Path statement. For example, if you installed Trumpet Winsock in the \WINSOCK directory, type ;c:\winsock. Exit Windows, and reboot your
computer.
To run Trumpet Winsock, enter Program Manager's File menu and select Run. Type tcpman.exe and click OK.
On a Mac, you perform similar steps to decompress the MacTCP file using the program Stuffit Expander. Find the Stuffit Expander file on the CD that accompanies this book, and copy it to your hard drive. Then, double-click on the file. This installs
Stuffit Expander and creates an icon for it on your desktop. Copy the MacTCP file from the CD that accompanies this book to your hard drive. Then, drag the MacTCP icon over the Stuffit Expander icon and release the mouse button. Stuffit Expander
decompresses the MacTCP file and provides an icon for running it.
TCP/IP software has improved over the years. People have made it more foolproof, giving it the power to basically configure itself. I'm not saying that it's easy to configure TCP/IP software. It's just easier than it used to be.
This section explains the connection settings you need to enter in your TCP/IP program. The figures show the settings being entered in the Setup dialog box in Trumpet Winsock. The Setup dialog box for MacTCP and most other TCP/IP programs is similar.
If
you're using some other TCP/IP program, the steps might differ, and the program might not require you to enter so much information.
When you first start your TCP/IP program, it might display a shareware licensing agreement. Read the agreement and then click the Accept or OK button to close the dialog box. Now the program should display a Setup dialog box, as shown in Figure 3.2. If
you don't see a dialog box like this, look for a Setup menu or command and enter it.
Enter the following information:
Figure 3.3 shows the Trumpet Winsock Setup dialog box with some sample entries. After you enter the requested information, click OK, exit your TCP/IP program, and then start it again. This time, you'll see a blank window, which you can use to log in.
Figure 3.3. The Trumpet Winsock Setup dialog box with sample entries. Click OK to proceed.
After you've configured your TCP/IP program, you can use it to dial into your service provider's Internet server and connect to the Internet. Don't expect any fireworks. Dialing in merely establishes the connection. You have to run another
program—a Web browser, newsgroup reader, e-mail program, or FTP program—that uses the connection to perform some useful task.
Chapter 5 shows how to run Internet Explorer 3.0 over your TCP/IP connection.
The following two sections explain how to establish your connection manually and how to automate your connection with a login script. A login script automatically enters information you would normally have to type yourself, such as your user ID and
password.
Any decent TCP/IP program comes with a built-in dialer, which dials the phone number for your service provider and establishes the connection.
The first time you attempt to connect, you might want to log in manually, to meet the service provider's login screen face to face. What you learn by logging in manually can help you write your own login script or troubleshoot connection problems.
To log in manually, take the following steps. These steps use Trumpet Winsock as an example. The steps can differ slightly if you're using a different TCP/IP program or dialer.
If you ran into trouble trying to log in manually, skip ahead to "Troubleshooting Common Connection Problems," later in this chapter. If you connected without running into any problems, you're fortunate. Now, move onto the next section to see
if you can configure your TCP/IP program to establish the connection for you.
When you are connected to the service provider, you're using up your connect time, and the phone line you're using cannot accept incoming phone calls. To hang up the phone (and terminate the connection), open the Dialler menu and select Bye.
Note
If you have call waiting on the same line you use for your Internet connection, you should disable it if you do not want incoming calls to disconnect you. To disable call waiting, you can usually type *70 before the phone number. (Check with your local phone company to be sure.) When you hang up, call waiting will automatically be turned back on.
The easiest way to create a login script is to let the TCP/IP program do it for you. Most TCP/IP programs (including Trumpet Winsock) have a login script with blanks for unique information, such as your user ID and password and the phone number to
dial.
In most cases, you can enter this information one time only, and you're set. In other cases, some of the variables in the script might differ from those that your service provider uses. You can fix most problems by making a few minor adjustments to the
script, but that's still much easier than writing a script from scratch.
Caution
If your computer is easily accessible to colleagues, roommates, or family members, whom you do not want using your Internet account, don't write a login script. This script will include your username and password, making your Internet account accessible to anyone who sits down at your keyboard.
The following steps show how to cheat your way to a login script with Trumpet Winsock. If your TCP/IP program does not offer a script for you to start with, see the next section, "A Sample Script," to learn basic login commands.
If you see the message Script Aborted, and you had no trouble logging in manually, there's a glitch in the script. The problem is usually in one of the variables in the script. (A variable lets you customize the script for differences in how
your
service provider handles logins.) For example, your service provider might prompt for your username by displaying Login:, but the script expects to see Username:. By changing the variable Username: to Login:, you enable the script to recognize your
service
provider's way of doing things.
To fix the problem, edit the script. Open the Dialler menu and select Edit Scripts. In the dialog box that appears, click login.cmd and click OK. This opens the Login script in Windows Notepad.
Scroll down until you see the area that contains the variables, as shown in Figure 3.9. For example, $userprompt = "sername:" is a variable. Wherever $userprompt appears in the script, the TCP/IP program will read it as "sername:".
Edit the variable name after the equal sign so it matches the prompt used by your service provider. For example, you might have to replace "sername:" with "ogin:". (First characters are commonly omitted in variable names to avoid
discrepancies in capitalization. Be sure to include the quotation marks.) See Figure 3.9.
Figure 3.9. Most problems with login scripts can be corrected by changing the names of variables.
Check the other variables, such as "assword," and enter any changes as needed. Then, enter the File | Save command. Also, check for typos in your user ID and password. If you still have trouble, see the next section, "A Sample Login
Script," or skip ahead to "Troubleshooting Common Connection Problems."
Tip
If you need to change the service provider's phone number, or your user ID or password in Trumpet Winsock, you can redisplay the dialog boxes that appeared when you first ran the script. Open Winsock's Dialler menu and select Setup. Use the dialog boxes that appear to enter the new information.
If you must write your own login script, the easiest way to do it is to model your script after an existing script. Following is a sample script that you can adapt by entering your service provider's phone number and your login name and password.
Remember to type the variables, such as "ogin:" or "sername:," as your service provider uses them.
Following the script are descriptions of the commands used in the sample.
output atz\13 input 10 OK\n output atdt259-5060\13 input 30 CONNECT wait 30 dcd input 30 ogin: output jsmith\13 input 30 assword: output oglio\13 input 30 to address 30
Note
If you're editing a script that came with the TCP/IP software, or a script that your service provider gave you, you might see additional command lines preceded by the pound sign (#). These lines provide descriptions to help you understand the function of each command line. The dialer skips over them.
Table 3.1 lists the common login commands used in the sample script.
| Command | Description |
| output atz\13 | Reset the modem.; atz is a common modem command that clears any other commands from the modem. \13 is a code that says "press Enter." |
| input 10 OK\n | Wait 10 seconds to make sure the modem is responding. |
| output atdt259-5060\13 | Dial 259-5060. This tells your modem to dial the phone number of the service provider's computer. Replace 259-5060 with the number your service provider gave you. If you have to dial a number (such as 9) to get an outside line, enter it, followed by a comma (for example, atdt9,555-5555\13). If you need to disable call waiting, enter the code to turn it off (for example, atdt9,*70,555-5555\13). |
| input 30 CONNECT | Wait at least 30 seconds for the modem to send the command indicating that the connection has been established. |
| wait 30 dcd | Wait for a Data Carrier Detect signal from the modem. This command might not be necessary. |
| input 30 ogin: | Wait up to 30 seconds for the login: prompt. If your service provider displays a username: prompt instead, type input 30 sername: in place of this command line. |
| output jsmith\13 | Enter the username required to log in to the system. Replace jsmith with your username or login name. |
| input 30 assword: | Wait up to 30 seconds for the password: prompt. |
| output oglio\13 | Enter the password required to log in to the system. Replace oglio with the password you use. |
| input 30 to | Wait for an address. Your service provider will supply an IP address at this point. |
| address 30 | Store the IP address for future reference. This gives Winsock the address it needs to establish the Internet connection. |
Anything can keep you from establishing a connection. The service provider's computer might be too busy to accept your call, noise in the phone lines can disconnect you prematurely, or you can mistype the phone number or password.
Wait about five minutes and try connecting again. Don't start changing any settings until you're sure that the problem is on your end and that the problem is being caused by a setting you entered.
If you've tried several times and the connection still fails, check your phone line first. Plug a regular phone into the phone jack that your modem uses. Lift the headset, and listen. Call a friend and listen for any static. If there's static on the
phone line, it might be disconnecting your modem calls. Call the phone company.
If the phone line is clear, ask yourself the following questions:
If you still have problems, call your service provider.
This chapter is mostly for the poor unfortunates who don't have Windows 95. For those who have Windows 95, the next chapter shows how to use Dial-Up Networking to establish a connection with your Internet server.
If you're using Windows 3.1 or System 7 on a Mac, skip ahead to Chapter 5 to learn how to install and configure Internet Explorer 3.0 on your system.
