Microsoft Knowledge Base

• The Microsoft Network, version 2.51

SUMMARY

This article contains a copy of the information in the Readme.txt file included with MSN, The Microsoft Network, version 2.51.

MORE INFORMATION

         README for The Microsoft Network 2.51
                         September l997

        (c) Copyright Microsoft Corporation, 1997

For the most current information about MSN, always check online at http://memberservices.msn.com.

HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT

To view Readme.txt onscreen in Notepad, maximize the Notepad window.

To print Readme.txt, open it in Notepad or another word processor, and then use the Print command on the File menu.

Thank you for joining The Microsoft Network. This document contains information that will help you solve common problems and get the most out of The Microsoft Network.

Table of Contents

1. System Requirements

Disk Space Requirements Internet Explorer 4.0: 45 MB The Microsoft Network: 20 MB

MSN Setup:       5 MB

To uninstall Internet Explorer 3.02 or earlier: 1. Click the Windows Start button, then click

   Settings, Control Panel.

MSN is compatible only with Windows 95 or later. It does not run on Windows NT or on Windows 3.1. MSN is considering future support for Windows NT.

In order to fully experience MSN you will need a sound card and speakers. MSN will function properly without them, but audio is an integral part of the full experience.

1. Video Cards and Display Problems

If you experience problems with display colors, check your color configuration: 1. Click the Windows Start button, then click Settings,

   Control Panel.

MORE THAN 256 COLOR: MSN is designed to look even better at higher color settings. You will find that much of the text is more readable and the images much clearer when you set your display resolution to 16 bit (65,536 colors) or higher.

Some video cards may encounter problems when using accelerated video drivers, video drivers with more than 256 colors, or high resolution video drivers.

If you run into display problems: 1. Try switching to a driver supplied with Windows 95 or later. 2. Change to a different display mode. An alternative to using a

   different driver is to change your video mode to a standard
   video mode such as 640x480 resolution with 256 colors.

NEC computers using the Alliance Promotion video card do not work well with the MSN setup program. Please contact your computer dealer for assistance.

1. Hard Disk Location of MSN Program Files

If you do not have enough space on your system drive, Setup will notify you. You will need to make room on your system disk in order to install MSN.

1. Microsoft Internet Explorer Installation

WARNING: Do not install a previous version of Internet Explorer over Internet Explorer 4.0. If you need to install an earlier version of Internet Explorer, you must uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0 first.

You should always uninstall your current version of Internet Explorer 4.0 before installing a newer build.

INSTALLING IE 4.0 WINDOWS DESKTOP UPDATE The Internet Explorer 4.0 Windows Desktop Update brings true Web integration to Windows: a Web-enhanced Active Desktop, taskbar, Start menu, and folders.

To install the IE 4.0 Active Desktop: 1. Click the MSN Quick View icon (the small hand

   icon next to your clock in the Windows task bar).

INTERNET EXPLORER 4.0 FULL INSTALLATION Included on the MSN CD are the files for a "Full" installation of Internet Explorer 4.0. After installing MSN 2.51, reinsert the MSN Setup CD and click the "Browse the CD" button. The IE 4.0 setup program is in a directory labeled "IE40." Run "ie4setup.exe" and select the FULL installation.

1. Installation Problems

PROGRAMS RUNNING DURING SETUP: During MSN Setup, we notify you of any running programs that may interfere with the MSN installation. Before continuing, we recommend that you close those programs. This better ensures a successful installation. Some programs, such as anti-virus applications that load automatically at startup, may be more difficult to close than others. If you are unable to close these programs, you can continue with MSN Setup by clicking the Next button and selecting "Yes" when you are given a "Do you want to continue anyway?" prompt. In most cases, MSN Setup will complete successfully. However, should you run into problems, for example, your system stops responding for several minutes during Setup, please try the steps below to disable all running applications prior to installing MSN.

Recommended steps to disable programs that load during startup: 1. Restart your computer. 2. While Windows is loading, hold down a Shift key. 3. After booting up, but before running other programs,

   press the Ctrl-Alt-Del keys together ONCE.
   If there are programs in the list other than Explorer and Systray
   select them and click the End Task button.

1. Known Problems with This Release

There are two ways to prevent this from happening: * Close all Internet applications after you disconnect from the

   Internet.

   will require that you first start your MSN connection before using
   Internet applications. To do this:
     1. Click the MSN Quick View icon (the small hand
      icon next to your clock in the Windows task bar).
     2. Click MSN, then Connection Settings.
     3. Click the Options tab.
     4. Uncheck the Use this service for all dial-up Internet access

SIGNUP OR REQUEST NEW PASSWORD SERVERS ARE NOT AVAILABLE: When you sign up for a new MSN account, or if you want to change the password on your current account, MSN will step you through a process that puts your computer into "kiosk mode" (the IE 4.0 browser with no user interface controls). If there are Internet server problems while you are in kiosk mode, you can use the Alt-F4 keyboard command to cancel the operation and close out of IE 4.0.

IE AS DEFAULT BROWSER: Internet Explorer launches when you click e-mail, chat, or history links. MSN does not replace your default browser and will be activated only if you double-click the MSN icon on your desktop or click the MSN Quick View icon in the Windows system tray to connect to MSN.

JAVA SCRIPT OR VB SCRIPT ERROR: Java or Visual Basic script errors could occur in the MSN Program Viewer for a couple of reasons:

1. The MSN Program Viewer does not support the "window.open" command, which is supported by IE 3.0, IE 4.0, and Netscape 2.0, 3.0 & 4.0. Pages that use this command will cause a script error in the MSN Program Viewer.

2. MSN is now based on IE 4.0, which includes higher security safeguards that will prevent some script commands from executing on your machine.

Even if you close MSN Quick View, it will be restarted if you visit a Web page that requires its functionality. For example, MSN's On Stage and Communicate home pages use MSN Quick View to display your new e-mail count.

REMOVING MSN QUICK VIEW FROM STARTUP: If you do not want MSN Quick View to start when you turn on your computer, you can remove it from your Windows Startup group.

To remove MSN Quick View from your Startup group: 1. Click the Windows Start button, then click Settings, Taskbar. 2. Click the Start Menu Programs tab. 3. Click the Remove button. 4. Click the plus (+) sign next to the Startup folder that appears

   in the list.

   with Windows.

MSN QUICK VIEW BEHAVIOR WHEN USING A LAN TO CONNECT TO MSN: If you connect to MSN using a LAN, MSN Quick View will be unable to tell when you are done using MSN. If you want to disconnect from MSN, you will need to select that option from the MSN Quick View menu.

Otherwise, MSN Quick View will restart anytime you visit a page that uses MSN Quick View's services. MSN Quick View will detect that you are configured to connect over a LAN and start a "sleep" timer, which will count down and put MSN Quick View to sleep. When MSN Quick View is running, it will notify you of Friends Online, e-mail and software updates. You will not be notified of these events when MSN Quick View is asleep.

MSN Quick View's sleep timer is set by the Idle Disconnect value in your Internet browser properties.

To change your sleep timer settings: 1. Click the MSN Quick View icon. 2. Click MSN Options, then Internet Properties. 3. Click the Connection Tab, then click the Connect to the Internet

   using a modem check box to enable the Settings button.

   if idle for ____ minutes.

   area network.

MSN QUICK VIEW BEHAVIOR WHEN CONNECTING WITH DIAL UP NETWORKING OR PROPRIETARY DIALER: The MSN dialer starts MSN Quick View once a successful connection has been made, and it turns it off once the modem disconnects. While MSN Quick View is running, it will provide intermittent notice of e-mail and friends online status, and it will estimate how long you have been connected.

If you use a proprietary dialer (like AOL), or you start your connection by clicking on a Dial-Up Networking icon, then MSN Quick View will only start when you visit a page that uses MSN Quick View's services. MSN Quick View cannot detect the end of a dial-up connection started by another service and may still be active after you have disconnected. MSN Quick View will detect that you are configured to connect via non-MSN connection and start a "sleep" timer which will count down and put MSN Quick View to sleep. To change the interval used to put MSN to sleep, refer to the instructions for changing the sleep timer interval in the LAN connection section above.

1. Outlook Express Mail and News

If you choose to upgrade (recommended), MSN 2.51 will replace your previous mail account with a new MSN Internet mail account, and you will no longer be able to use Exchange, Outlook, or Windows Messaging as your MSN e-mail program.

If you have MSN installed on another computer and you want to be able to access your MSN e-mail account on that computer, you'll need to install MSN 2.51 and Microsoft Outlook Express there as well.

CHANGES IN EXISTING MSN E-MAIL ACCOUNT ADDRESSES: You may note, as you receive replies to the messages you send, that your e-mail address is listed as MSN_Member_ID@email.msn.com, instead of MSN_Member_ID@msn.com. This DOES NOT mean that your e-mail address has changed. The addition of the word "email" after the "@" sign is simply a behind-the-scenes mechanism used to ensure higher levels of performance on the new MSN mail platform. Your e-mail address is the same as before the upgrade.

1. Connection Problems

To turn off the autodial functionality, complete the following steps: 1. Click the MSN Quick View icon (hand icon in the system tray). 2. Click MSN Options, then Connection Settings. 3. Click the Options tab. 4. Uncheck "Use this service for all dial-up Internet access."

     Then complete the next procedure on configuring AOL to use
     TCP/IP access.

You can now use both MSN and AOL by starting your connection through MSN first, and then starting AOL.

AT&T WORLDNET USERS WHO INSTALL MSN 2.51: AT&T Worldnet should work fine after installing MSN 2.51. If there are any problems getting connected to AT&T Worldnet or using AT&T Worldnet to access the Internet check the "Connection Configuration of MSN" section for instructions on how to manually configure your Internet connection. If you are unable to fix the problem manually, then you should re-install AT&T Worldnet to reset your connection configuration.

PRODIGY USERS WHO INSTALL MSN 2.51: Users of Prodigy may find that the Prodigy Internet browser does not work after installing the MSN 2.51. This is because MSN 2.51 installs the latest version of Internet Explorer (4.0), which includes new security features that conflict with the Prodigy browser. You will need to uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0 from your machine and then reinstall Internet Explorer 4.0 from the Internet. This will allow both MSN 2.51 and Prodigy to be used on the same PC.

CONNECTION CONFIGURATION OF MSN: To reconfigure any of the connection settings in the following chart, first: 1. Click the Windows Start button, then click Settings, Control Panel. 2. Double-click the "Internet" icon. 3. Click the Connection Tab.

DESIRED CONNECTION   SETTINGS IN INTERNET PROPERTIES
CONFIGURATION      CONNECTION TAB

Dial Up Using MSN   In the Connection section, check the
         "Connect to the Internet using a modem"
         option. Click the Settings
         button and make sure that "MSN" is the
         highlighted connection.  Make sure that
         "Connect using a proxy server" is
         unchecked.

Dial Up Using       In the Connection section, check the
other RAS Service   "Connect to the Internet using a modem" option.
(eg. MCI, AT&T)      Click the Settings button.  Select the service
         you want to use. (If the service you use
         is not listed, see the next topic about
         proprietary ISPs.)  Make sure that
         "Connect using a proxy server" is
         unchecked.

Dial Up Using       In the Connection section, check the
Proprietary ISP      "Connect to the Internet using a modem" option.
(e.g., AOL, Netscape)   Click the Settings button.  If your service does
not
         appear in the drop-down list, then click
         the Add button and follow the steps to
         create a connection for your service.
         Make sure that "Connect using a proxy
         server" is unchecked.

Direct Connection   In the Connection section, check the
to the Internet   or,   "Access the Internet via a Local Area
Remote Winsock Proxy   Network" option and make sure that
Connection via LAN   "Connect using a proxy server" is
         unchecked. Note: Only Remote Winsock Proxy 2.0
         or later is supported.

LAN Proxy Connection   You can configure IE or MSN to
(cannot access       use LAN Proxy by checking the
 MSN via proxy until   "Connect through proxy" box in
 Q4 1997)      the Proxy Server section.

To turn off Remote Winsock Access: 1. Click the Windows Start button, then click Settings, Control Panel. 2. Double-click the "WSP Client" icon. 3. Uncheck the "Enable WinSock Proxy Client."

Additionally, you will need to uncheck the Proxy server in your Internet Explorer Connection Properties, as described above.

WHICH CONNECTION CHOICE TO SELECT This 2.51 version of MSN ships with a new dial-up connection manager that replaces the dial-up manager from previous versions of MSN. The new dial-up connection manager creates an entry in your Dial-up Networking folder called "MSN" but does not delete your old entries, "The Microsoft Network" and "The Microsoft Network (backup)." Either of these old entries will still work with the new MSN dial-up connection manager, but they will disable the autodial support for IE and Mail. So when you access dial-up networking within either Outlook Express Mail, Exchange Mail, or Chat, you will be presented with all three choices for connection to MSN. You should select the connection entry "MSN" for all dial-up access to MSN.

1. Removing MSN Files and Shortcuts

To uninstall MSN 2.51 from your computer, please complete the following steps:

1. Click the Windows Start button, then click Settings, Control Panel.

   then click the Add/Remove button. Be sure to remove the components
   in the order that they appear in this list.

   Note: Depending on whether you chose the typical or full installation,
   you may not have all of the items listed below.
   If you are prompted to remove files, click Yes.

   Components to Remove
   ------------------------------------------------
   - Connection Manager
   - Microsoft Chat 2.0
   - MSN Optional Controls
   - MSN 2.5
   - RealPlayer 4.0
   - Microsoft Netshow Player 2.0
   - Outlook Express
   - Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 (optional)