THE TIA COMPANION FOR WINDOWS Version 1.21, 1/18/95 To obtain the latest version of this document, send blank e-mail to tia-win-setup@marketplace.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- This document provides detailed instructions on choosing and installing TCP/IP communications software and TCP/IP client applications. This file assumes that either you or your access provider has obtained and installed a copy of TIA, and that it is running properly on your shell account (the TIA Single User Installation Instructions explain how to verify proper function). If not, contact the addresses below for more information, beginning with tia-info@marketplace.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ***INTRODUCTION*** Cyberspace Development and InterMind Corp. provide this document as a service to users of The Internet Adapter (TIA), a new tool that lets you run SLIP-based software such as Mosaic with an ordinary UNIX shell account. This file introduces new SLIP users to TCP/IP communications and applications software, and assists them through the oft-vexing task of selecting and setting up this software on their Windows PCs. For more information about TIA, please send blank e-mail to the following addresses: tia-info@marketplace.com (for general information) tia-single@marketplace.com (for a Single User Order Form) tia-single-install@marketplace.com (Installation Instructions for the Single User Version of TIA) internet-basics@marketplace.com (Internet Basics, including how to obtain a shell account) tia-directory@marketplace.com (for a list of all TIA-related documents and addresses) These documents are also available via: FTP marketplace.com Gopher marketplace.com WWW http://marketplace.com/ CSD and InterMind would like to thank the principal author, Steve Wilmart (tia-steve@intermind.com), and also Dave Menges, Chris Bogart, Art Smoot and Johan Vromans. Since we will be updating this document periodically, we strongly encourage *your feedback*, particularly if you have a problem/solution you think should be included. Please send all suggestions to: tia-feedback@marketplace.com and let us know if we may acknowledge you in the credits. ***CHOOSING SOFTWARE*** This section provides a checklist of the key software you will need, whether commercial, shareware, or freeware. The latest version number is listed (hopefully). Much of this software goes through frequent minor updates. While it is not critical that you always have the very latest version, it is almost always the most stable and the easiest to support. Once you're on the net you can keep yourself up to date by checking on-line archives occasionally. TCP/IP STACKS AND UTILITY SOFTWARE TCP/IP - As discussed elsewhere, you need a TCP/IP stack on your computer. The two most popular dialup TCP/IP packages for PCs seem to be Trumpet Winsock and Netmanage's Chameleon, so they are the two we will cover in this document. This is not an endorsement, just a reflection of the questions we are getting in tech support. Trumpet Winsock: This is shareware and version 2.0b is the latest release. It is available via anonymous ftp to ftp.trumpet.com.au in the /pub/winsock directory. Because that site is not always available we have placed a copy at marketplace.com in the /tia/shareware/windows sub-directory (the file name is twsk20a.zip). ***This is the version used to test the instructions in this document.*** Chameleon: The Chameleon Sampler from Netmanage is available via anonymous FTP to ftp.netmanage.com in the directory /pub/demos/sampler -- sampler.exe is the self-extracting zip file you want. The Sampler is also distributed in many Internet books and "kits" geared towards new users. FILE COMPRESSION SOFTWARE: “PKZIP” and and “PKUNZIP” from PKWARE, Inc. are the standard programs for compression/decompression of files on the network. Most of the PC software you will find on the net has been compressed using this utility, and must be decompressed by you in order to be made usable. As of this writing the latest version of PKWARE is v204g, and can be found via ftp at marketplace.com in the /tia/shareware/windows sub-directory. The self-extracting file pkz204g.exe includes the latest version of PKUNZIP as well as other useful utilities. To expand pkz204g.exe merely double-click on its name in File Manager or, from DOS, change directories to the one containing the file and type "pkz204g" at the command line. After expanding the file, please read the included documents carefully. Files compressed with PKZIP come in two forms - ".zip" files which require PKUNZIP to expand, and ".exe" files which are self-extracting (as pkz204g.exe itself ). You will need to have the PKUNZIP utility to "expand" or "unzip" any files you may get off the net ending in .zip. TCP/IP CLIENT SOFTWARE Clients are the programs that run under Windows and allow you to explore the various services available on the Internet. Examples are FTP and Telnet clients, e-mail readers, newsreaders, Finger utilities, Gopher clients, World Wide Web browsers (Mosaic, Netscape, etc.) and so on. Below is a short list of some of the most important client packages. Commercial versions of many are now available (e.g., the Eudora e-mail client). We describe the shareware versions and leave it to you to decide whether to upgrade to the more feature-laden commercial products. Information on the commercial versions is generally available in Internet magazines and other periodicals, and of course from the manufacturers, so no space is devoted to them here. TRUMPET WINSOCK CLIENTS - At the mirror sites where Trumpet is stored (like ftp.utas.edu.au for instance) there is usually a file called winapps.zip (and now there's winapps2.zip). This file contains some basic clients to be used in conjunction with Trumpet, including an FTP client, Telnet client, etc. They are useful for testing purposes but have minimal functionality compared to better-known clients. FTP - ws_ftp 2.02 is a solid ftp client written by John A. Junod. In addition to having a high level of functionality and being easy to install, the price is right (free). You can find it in the /tia/shareware/windows directory at marketplace.com (ws_ftp.zip). As a bonus it comes pre-configured with lots of good FTP sites hard-coded in -- so you can use it as a launching pad to get Mosaic and other great software without having to know where to look. (Thank you John!) NEWSREADERS - WinVn version 0.93.11 is another solid freeware client written by Mark Riordan (and a host of others). It beats the heck out of rn! You can find it at marketplace.com in /tia/shareware (winvn_92.zip). GOPHER - HGopher Version 2.3 is the last public-domain version of this fine gopher client (it has been licensed for commercial use - so this will be the last "free" version). While it has a pretty interface -- it's not always the most intuitive-to-use client. Once you get used to it, though, it is pretty slick. Hgopher is available at: "lister.cc.ic.ac.uk" in the /Pub/wingopher sub-directory. E-MAIL READERS - Eudora Version 1.4 is the last freeware version of this most excellent POP-mail client, which is written by Jeff Beckly and Jeff Gehlheer (it is now a *great* commercial product with many added features). Easy to configure (just go to Special/Configuration ... and Special/Switches... and fill in the blanks) and great for organizing your mail. Eudora is available at: "ftp.cica.indiana.edu" in the /pub/pc/win3/winsock sub-directory. WWW (World Wide Web) - There are now several competitors for top dog in this catagory. The most visible are the much-touted Mosaic from NCSA and its challenger Netscape from Netscape Communications Corp. Netscape v1.0 for Windows is one of what promises to be a wave of new Web browsers. Just like Mosaic, Netscape allows you to graphically browse the World Wide Web, a hypertext system that spans the Internet. Also like Mosaic, with the proper add-ons Netscape allows you to view pictures (GIFs, JPEGs, etc.), watch movies, and even (if you have a sound card) hear embedded speech and music. In addition to these benefits, however, Netscape also has a built in newsreader (which some might argue is even better than WinVN)! Add to that the fact that Netscape is a 16-bit application (doesn't require the Win32s software libraries), is easy to setup, is easy to customize (you can use menus instead of manually editing the .ini file), and allows you to send mail -- well it's hands-down our favorite Web browser (so far). To obtain a copy, FTP to mcom.com. NCSA Mosaic 2.0a8*: Mosaic is the original WWW client and the one that will most likely remain 100% in the public domain. Many companies have licensed Mosaic, including Netscape Communications Corp. (see below), so expect a variety of commercial versions soon. Widely considered the "killer app" that brought the Internet broad public attention, Mosaic allows you to graphically browse the World Wide Web, a hypertext system that spans the Internet. With the proper add-ons Mosaic allows you to view pictures (GIFs, JPEGs, etc.), watch movies, and even (if you have a sound card) hear embedded speech and music. Many resources available under older protocols (such as archie and gopher) are now accessible via WWW, so it may soon become "the" interface of the net. It's important to note that in order to use this newest version, you will also need to download the most current version of the Win32s software (as explained in the FTP README files). Also, take special care to edit the mosaic.ini file before you try it. Be sure to include valid sites in the NNTP and SMTP server lines. See the documentation for details. Both Mosaic, Win32s, and selected add-ons are available at "ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu". *NOTE: Mosaic 2.0a8 requires win32s while version 2.0 alpha 2 is the last version produced which does not. 2.0a2 also seems to use fewer resources, and on many systems is much more stable. So, although 2.0a2 has less features, some users may prefer it. 2.0a2 can be found at "ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu" in the /Web/Mosaic/Windows/old sub-directory. ***OBTAINING SOFTWARE*** Once you have an idea of the software packages you want, there are basically four options for actually getting it onto your hard disk: 1) DOWNLOAD PUBLIC-DOMAIN SOFTWARE: You can use FTP to download public-domain programs (i.e. freeware or shareware) from an archive (like ftp.ncsa.uuic.edu above or marketplace.com in /tia/shareware) to a shell account (on your provider's host computer), and then then use the Zmodem program (or Ymodem, Xmodem, Kermit--typically available on most personal computers) to transfer them down to your PC. In this case you'll probably want to just grab the basics such as a TCP/IP stack and perhaps an FTP client. Then, once your SLIP link is up, you can use FTP running on your personal computer to download the rest directly to your computer. Several good FTP sites where you can start looking for software for your Windows-based PC are: marketplace.com look in the /tia/shareware directory wuarchive.wustl.edu start in the /pub/systems/ibmpc dir oak.oakland.edu start in the /pub/msdos dir ftp.cica.indiana.edu start in the /pub/pc/win3/winsock dir Be sure to look for "installer" programs coming soon to MarketPlace.com for both Windows and Mac client computers. These programs will install popular TCP/IP software packages on your computer. See the readme files for further information. 2) BUY AN INTERNET BOOK: More and more appear every day (which is part of the problem), but all the good ones include all the software you need on disk, even if some of it is one or two minor revisions out of date. Although undoubtedly many are worthy, one we can personally vouch for is Adam Engst's "The Internet Starter Kit for Windows Version 2.0". DISCLAIMER: Although Adam is in the credits, he did *not* suggest that we mention of his book here, nor do any of us have any financial interest in his books. We mention it only because it is one the easiest and cheapest ways to get the software you need, and it happens to be an excellent guide for new Internet users. 3) CALL SOFTAWARE: SoftAware in Los Angeles sells Adam's book (which retails for US$29.95 and includes TCP/IP stack and client software) plus TIA and disks with SLIP login script in a package called "Cheap Sunglasses" for US$65. For this price SoftAware will also install and certify TIA in your shell account. You can reach SoftAware at (310) 314-1466 (9-5 PST, M-F) or via e-mail at eroth@netcom.com. 4) PURCHASE COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE: Yes, some people actually do it, and in many cases it really does save them hours of time. Of course, it's not quite as _fun_ as freeware and shareware, but then some people have other ways of entertaining themselves (we can't imagine what). ***INFORMATION YOU NEED FROM YOUR PROVIDER*** Installation will go much easier if you gather all this information from your provider ahead of time. (Note that some of this information is available from TIA itself using the "tia -address" command as described in the Installation Instructions. It is probably much faster to try using this method than calling your provider. However, this command does not work on all provider's machines.) Item Comment ------------------------------------------------------------------- Phone number(s) confirm speed & type of modems login and password get EXACT spelling in upper/lowercase login sequence description of prompts and responses (often you will have to record) domain name either their domain or your own gateway address where your PC should send packets to the world DNS server names/IP addresses for your provider's primary (and preferably secondary) name server POP/SMTP server name for e-mail NNTP server name for news (Dont worry if your particular TCP/IP software doesnt require every piece of information listed here - were just covering all the bases.) ***PRELIMINARY INSTALLATION*** 1) HARDWARE Power everything off (paranoia). Connect all hardware. Make sure the phone cord is in the modem's port called "line" or "wall", not "phone". Make sure the modem is properly installed. Power everything on. 2) MODEM Although the modem init string can be entered later, during SLIP configuration, we'll talk about it now. You *must* use RTS/CTS and you *must not* use XON/XOFF, or answer mode. This is very important -- an ill-configured modem can cause all kinds of "hidden" problems. Nothing beats a manual here. In case you're inside a PBX remember to prefix the phone number with a "8," or "9," to get out; many PBXs just do not work for data (and can even smoke a modem), so you might want to talk with your PBX person first. If you have call waiting add a disable string (*70 in most cases; check with your local phone company) to block it for the duration of the call. If you need pauses in your dialing sequence, add one or more "," (comma) characters in the dialing sequence as needed. ***TCP/IP AND SLIP INSTALLATION*** EXAMPLE #1: TRUMPET WINSOCK First of all, most of what follows is from the Trumpet Winsock documentation itself. Primarily what we've done is removed extraneous sections and added comments where necessary. If you'd like more details or context than we refer you back to the Trumpet installation file. A) Setup 1) Before you start you should check and make sure you dont have any other copies of a file called "winsock.dll". In File Manager use the "Search..." function under the "File" menu to search all your directories for "winsock.dll". If you do find other versions of this file and feel the need to keep them around, please ensure they are not in your path. 2) Create a directory for Trumpet Winsock -- like C:\trumpet. Move the compressed file to this directory and unzip it. 3) Put this newly created directory in your path by editing the path statement in your autoexec.bat file to include this directory (e.g. path c:\dos;c:\windows;c:\trumpet) 4) Reboot to make this change take effect. 5) Start Windows 6) From Windows File Manager, choose File/Run, type "tcpman", and choose OK. If this fails, the path is probably not set up correctly (go back to step 4, do not pass go). Later on, you can install it as an icon to use it directly. 7) Assuming you are a first time user, a setup screen will appear giving you a number of options to fill in. If this is not your first time using tcpman, or if for any reason this screen doesnt appear on start-up, dont fret. Just choose File/Setup and the same screen will appear. Now, the fun part. 8) First, click on Internal SLIP. Some of the parameters will be grayed and others ungrayed. The gray stuff is irrelevant, so don't worry about it. 9) IP address: This is an easy one. With TIA, you don't have a real IP address -- TIA uses the IP address of the host you connect to. But since your SLIP and TCP applications require one, we suggest a special "dummy" IP address of 192.0.2.1. (NOTE: On some systems it has been reported that the address 0.0.0.0 will actually produce much faster DNS -- Domain Name Server -- response. But some SLIP or TCP applications may not accept this address, so try it and see.) 10) Name sever: This is where you put the IP address of the Domain Name Server(s) that your provider uses. This is very important! If you don't already have this information from your provider but you do have TIA installed on your host, try this: dial up, get to a UNIX prompt, and type "tia -address". This should return the IP address of the name server(s), and also your host's gateway address (this does not, however, work with all providers). You can enter more than one IP address in this field by separating each of them with a space. 11) Time server: You can leave this blank. 12) Domain suffix: You can leave this blank also (see the Trumpet install doc for details on how this could be used). 13) The following settings control the flow of data between your machine and the Internet. The Trumpet install documentation has rules for setting these. Supposedly you can get better performance by tweaking these numbers. The default values (listed below) work fine on our test setup. We suggest setting them this way initially and then, just when everything is working, tweak them to your hearts desire! (For more info on how to tweak them read the Trumpet install document.) MTU: 1500 TCP RWIN: 4096 TCP MSS: 1460 TCP RTO MAX: 60 Demand Load Timeout: 5 14) SLIP Port: This is your modem's com port 15) Baud Rate: This is your modem's baud rate - if you use a 14.4K modem set this to 19200. 16) Hardware Handshake: This box should be checked if your modem can handle it. (SLIP usually *requires* hardware handshaking.) 17) Van Jacobson CSLIP Compression: DO NOT check this. TIA may support CSLIP in the future but for now this will only cause you much pain and suffering. 18) Online Status Detection: DCD or DSR, if your modem can handle it (check your modem manual for details) -- but "none" should also be okay. 19) Hooray -- you've configured Trumpet! Click on the O.K. button and close tcpman. Before you login, however, we suggest you get Mosaic or another client installed, configured and ready to run - that way there will actually be something to do once you make your connection. B) Manual Login We suggest manually logging in initially as opposed to creating a login script right off the bat. Creating a login script is a chore in itself, and besides, youll need to do a manual login to know what to script anyway! 1) Start tcpman. Use the File/Run method as before or create an icon for it (see your Windows manual for instructions) and launch it that way. 2) Choose "Manual login" from the "Dialler" menu. You should see a message in the tcpman window ending with the line: "SLIP DISABLED". 3) Assuming that your modem is properly configured* (see the MODEM section above) you can simply enter the AT command string "atdtxxx- xxxx" where "xxx-xxxx" is your local providers phone number, and press ENTER. This will start the dialling process. *If you need to enter other modem commands (like &f to reset your modem to factory settings, for example) so that you meet the conditions mentioned in the MODEM section above - this is the place to do it. 4) At this point tcpman acts like a generic terminal program. You should be able to connect to your shell account like you would normally. Follow your typical login procedure and negotiate all the obstacles your provider has put in front of you until you reach a UNIX prompt. On some systems this just means entering your login and password; on others you must navigate through menus (often there is a "system" or "shell" option to get you to a command prompt -- if you are unsure ask your friendly sysadmin how to reach a shell prompt). 5) Type "tia". If TIA is installed correctly (and we are assuming for the purposes of this document that it is) you should see the copyright message followed by: "Ready to start your SLIP software". If not, refer to the TIA Single User Installation Instructions. 6) THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP OF ALL -- hit the **ESCAPE** key to start SLIP! 7) That's it -- you have a SLIP connection! Fire up Mosaic or any other client application and start surfing. (If you have problems see the troubleshooting section below.) 8) When you are ready to exit TIA choose the "Manual login" option from the "Dialler" menu again - this takes you out of SLIP (on the PC side). Then, to end your TIA session, type five consecutive CTRL-Cs in moderate succession (you may need to try this more than once). This should leave you back at the UNIX prompt where you began. If you want to continue on in your shell account, keep in mind that tcpman is not very good for this and you may see garbled characters on the screen. I would suggest logging off and reconnecting with a "real" communications program (e.g. Procomm) to work in your shell account. 9) To cleanly exit from your host, go through your normal log off procedure on the host, and then hit the ESCAPE key again and choose the "Bye" option from the "Dialler" menu. This will run the bye.cmd script and disconnect you cleanly. C) Login Scripting Creating a login script for Trumpet can be a *relatively* simple task if you know your login procedure well. Of course, since the procedures to login to various hosts are so different from one another, it is impossible to give any but the most general guidelines. The trumpet.zip file in the marketplace.com archive includes a document entitled "script.doc" (in MS Word format) which has all the rules and regulations for creating your own login script. Also included in that .zip file is a simple sample script entitled "login.cmd". One last note. Trumpet is not free. If you use it for more than 30days PLEASE pay the registration fee to the author. That's what supports more shareware development. EXAMPLE #2: CHAMELEON SAMPLER The Chameleon Sampler is a very good choice -- if you can get it scripted to work on your system (Chameleon does not offer a manual login option). It comes with several good clients and seems to work reliably once you get it set up. Getting it set up, however, is not always a simple task. 1) Before you start you should check and make sure you dont have any other copies of a file called "winsock.dll". In File Manager use the "Search..." function under the "File" menu to search all your directories for "winsock.dll". If you do find other versions of this file and feel the need to keep them around, please ensure they are not in your path. 2) Move the Chameleon sampler.exe file to a temporary directory (i.e. a blank one you create for this purpose). It is a self-extracting archive so you can just double-click on it in File Manager or type "sampler" from the DOS prompt in the temp directory. 3) From within Windows, run the setup.exe program located in the temp directory you created (or just find the file in File Manager and double- click on it). 4) Follow the installation instructions (for the rest of this example well assume you used the default installation directory of c:\netmanag). 5) After you get the "Installation is Complete" dialog box, exit Windows and reboot (necessary because Chameleon has added itself to your path in your autoexec.bat file and also modified your win.ini file). 6) Restart Windows and then start the "Custom" utility (found in your new "Chameleon Sampler" group). 7) The first step in the configuration of Chameleon is to create an interface. Choose "Add..." from the "Interface" menu item. In the "Add Interface" dialogue box select "SLIP" from the "type" box and enter some descriptive name (like the name of your service provider, e.g. MedComm) in the "name" box. Choose OK. 8) Next choose "IP Address..." from the "Setup" menu and enter the value 1.1.1.1 (Note: you dont actually have a true IP Address with TIA, but since Chameleon and your TCP client applications expect one, you need to enter something. 1.1.1.1 is the standard "dummy" IP address recommended for Chameleon, but if you have any problems with it, you can also try 192.0.2.1, which is a safe address in a special unused "test" network.) 9) Next choose "Domain Name..." from the "Startup" menu and enter your providers domain name (e.g. provider.com) 10) Next choose "Port..." from the "Startup" menu and enter the following values: Baud Rate Your modems fastest baud rate (if you have a 14.4.modem choose 19200) Data Bits 8 Stop Bits 1 Parity None Flow Control Hardware Connector This is the com port your modem will be using (typically either comm1 or comm2) You can safely leave both Parity Check and Carrier Detect unchecked 11) Next choose "Modem..." from the "Startup" menu. Click on your modem type in the "Modem Type" box (most modems today are Hayes compatible - so its usually a safe choice if you are unsure). You can usually leave everything at the default setting -- although we do recommend you put the value "atz" in the "Exit" box -- this resets your modem when you exit Chameleon. 12) Next choose "Dial" from the "Startup" menu. Enter the phone number of your provider in the "Dial" box. The rest of the options are up to you -- but we suggest upping the "Timeout..." box to 120 seconds and checking the "Open log when connecting" box. 13) Next choose "Login..." from the "Startup" menu. The first two settings should be self explanatory. In the "Startup Command" box type "tia" (without the quotes). 14) Finally, choose "Domain Servers..." from the "Services" menu. This is where you put the IP addresses of the Domain Name Server(s) that your provider uses. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! If you don't already have this information from your provider but you do have TIA installed on your host, try this: dial up, get to a UNIX prompt, and type "tia - address". This should return the IP address of the name server(s), and also your host's gateway address (this does not, however, work with all providers). 15) Youre done with the easy part! Exit out of "Custom" and save your changes. 16) Now you need to bring up the "slip.ini" file found in your netmanag directory into a text editor such as Notepad. A shortcut is to find the "slip.ini" in File Manager and double-click on it -- by default ".ini" files are associated with Notepad. 17) Scroll down to the bottom of the file and find the entry for the interface you just created - in this example it would be *something* like this: [MedComm] SCRIPT=login: $u$r word: $p$r TYPE=SLIP The elements of this script are as follows: SCRIPT=login: Chameleon is waiting to "see" the string "login:" before it starts executing the commands immediately following. $u$r After Chameleon receives "login:" it sends the value you entered in the "User Name:" field during setup ($u) followed by a return ($r) word: Chameleon is now waiting to receive the string "word:" as in "Password:" $p$r After Chameleon receives "word:" it sends the value you entered in the "Password:" field during setup ($p) followed by a return ($r) Unfortunately, most logins are not nearly this simple. The following example is from TIA tech-support -- it illustrates the kind of difficulties that might be involved (this script was devised to help a TIA user navigate through his host's menu system): SCRIPT=name> $u$r keys: $fEnter2$r login: $u$r word: $p$r {#1} $c$r TYPE=SLIP These are excerpts from the support message that explains the script: "I used your "Capture of Actual Login" below [deleted for privacy] to set these parameters. I assumed that under the "Setup" menu "Login" choice you have "User Name" set to "xxxxxxxx" and "password" set to your password and "Startup Command" set to "tia" (w/o the quotes, of course)." "A brief explanation: When Chameleon "sees" "Enter username>" (name>) it will enter the value you entered for "User Name" in the config followed by a return. ($u$r)" "When Chameleon "sees" "Enter number of selection or use arrow keys:" it will give you a box (titled Enter2) in which to enter a number. ($fEnter2$r) Enter the number "2" (or whatever happens to be necessary to get to the machine that you want)." "When Chameleon "sees" "login:" it enters your "User Name" again. ($u$r) and when it "sees" "Password:" it enter your "Password" (from the config). ($p$r)" "Finally, when Chameleon "sees" the Unix prompt (I took {#1} to be your unix prompt - if this is incorrect you can change it...) it enters the value you placed in "Startup Command" in the config (tia) followed by a return." The $f function, which gives you a pop-up box in which to enter values, is particularly useful for negotiating menus. Always watch the log window when trying out a modified script - it will give you the clues you need to fix any problems. ***TROUBLESHOOTING*** The first step in troubleshooting should always be to RTFM (Read The *Fine* Manual). In this case, besides the instructions that come with either Trumpet or Chameleon, this means you should also take a look at the following documents available at Marketplace.com: Single User FAQ tia-FAQ-single@marketplace.com Host FAQ tia-FAQ-host@marketplace.com Single User Install Instructions tia-install-single@marketplace.com Host Install Instructions tia-install-host@marketplace.com Personal IP Help File tia-tcpip-info@marketplace.com DNS RESOLUTION The single most common problem people have with their SLIP connection is the dreaded "DNS Lookup Failed" or "Unable To Resolve Host Name" name resolution problem. If you have followed the instructions above and have no other problems (i.e. TIA is running and you have established a SLIP connection) EXCEPT that none of your client software can connect to remote hosts - you have the DNS blues. There are several possible causes: 1) You left blank or did not enter the proper IP addresses in the "Domain Servers" or "Name Servers" section of your SLIP software. See the installation instructions above for more details. 2) Your modem is set to XON/XOFF flow control. See your modems manual for instructions on how to disable this. 3) Your port is configured incorrectly in Windows. Go to Control Panel and select the "Ports" applet. Select the port your modem uses and choose "Settings". Make sure that these settings are the relatively standard 19200(for 14.4 modems), 8 data bits, No Parity, and 1 stop bit - and be SURE that "Flow Control" is set to "Hardware". 4) You do not have an "8-bit clean" connection to your host. TIA requires an 8-bit clean connection in order to run. Determining if this is the cause is time-consuming but fairly easy: a) Dial up your provider using conventional communications software (i.e. dont use SLIP software) and ftp (in binary mode) the file "ascii.bin" from marketplace.com (its in the /tia directory). b) Next save a copy of this file on your host machine. Call it ascii.old -- to do this type "cp ascii.bin ascii.old". c) Then, using zmodem (if your communications software supports it) first download and then upload the file "ascii.bin" in binary mode (on the unix side the command is "sz -b filename" to send and "rz" to receive. *Remember to set binary mode* from your PC communications program when you upload the file too -- this is very important. d) Finally, back on your host, compare the up/downloaded file (still called ascii.bin) with the saved copy (ascii.old) using the "cmp" command (i.e. type "cmp ascii.bin ascii.old"). If nothing happens -- great, youve got an 8-bit clean connection. e) If they differ, chances are you dont have an 8-bit clean connection -- and DNS (or any kind of full SLIP protocol) will NOT work. At that point you need to check with your provider to see if s/he can provide you with a way to get one. OTHER TIPS * First, make *sure* you've read the TIA Single User FAQ (tia-FAQ- single@marketplace.com). A number of the most common problems are covered there. * If your modem won't connect, start fiddling with your modem init string. This can be a lot of fun (not), but sometimes your modem manufacturer can help (not not). * If your last login attempt failed, your modem may be confused. Turning it off and back on will reset it. * Sometimes rebooting will help, especially if you have an internal modem that is not easy to reset. * If your login script is failing, see which message it last posted, then log in manually and follow that sequence meticulously (in Chameleon, make sure to open the Log window). * If Telnet can handle an IP address but not a domain name, your domain name server (DNS) information in your SLIP software is highly suspect. * If programs start but you get the errors similar to "Host or gateway not responding", check your gateway information. It is preferable to use an IP number for your gateway. That way, if your DNS is not working for some reason, you can still connect to sites using IP numbers. * Ask folks who have working SLIP or TIA connections for help -- especially those using your same access provider, as they can confirm addresses and SLIP scripts. * Ask on the appropriate newsgroups (alt.winsock and alt.dcom.slip- emulators are good places). Do this _after_ reading the frequently asked question (FAQ) file for that group, however. * Last but not least, if you are really, really stuck, write TIA Tech Support (you didn't think we'd suggest that _first_, did you??) tia-support@marketplace.com (for Registered TIA users) tia-eval-support@marketplace.com (for Evaluation TIA users) Happy Surfin! (c) 1994, 1995 by Cyberspace Development, Inc. and InterMind Corp. version 1.2 (1/18/95)