Copyright: Copyright © Quarterdeck Corp. 1995


"502 mork NNTP server can't talk to you.  Goodbye."

Most NNTP news servers only allow access from inside their own domain.  This means you cannot log in to one Provider and access the news server of another Provider.  If you attempt to do so, you may see the curious message "502 mork NNTP server can't talk to you.  Goodbye."

To access newsgroups, login to the Provider whose news server you want to access.


"Another operation is already in progress." message
"Another operation is already in progress."

When downloading message headers (as opposed to full message text), QMC will not allow you to make another request of the server.

If QMC is configured to retrieve full message text, you can read previously downloaded messages while other messages are being downloaded.


"Cannot Resolve Host Address"
"Cannot Resolve Host Address" or "Failed DNS Lookup"

In order to connect to a remote host, your Winsock application sends out a request to a Domain Name Server (DNS) asking for the address of that host.  If your application cannot communicate with the DNS, the request fails and an error message is displayed by your program.  Common error messages are Failed DNS Lookup and Cannot Resolve Host Name or Address.

This error message can appear for a wide variety of reasons, ranging from an unplugged modem on your desk to a malfunctioning machine halfway around the world.  You can use Quarterdeck Winsock Ping (which was installed with Quarterdeck Mosaic) to determine whether Quarterdeck Mosaic is unable to communicate with any remote host or if the problem is limited to a single site. More likely, however, your Winsock driver is not loaded, your network connection has been interrupted, or your modem is not turned on or communicating properly.  In such case, the problem will occur with all sites.

Start by checking whether you are connected to your Internet Provider. If you are using Quarterdeck Winsock, look at the messages in the Quarterdeck Winsock console window, using the scroll bars on the sides of the window to review the history of the connection if necessary.  If you are not connected to your Provider, try to establish a connection.  If you are unable to do so, see Problems with Quarterdeck Winsock.

If you are able to connect to your Provider, make sure that the DNS server used by your Provider is correctly listed on the General/Provider Settings page of Location Manager.  Next, try to reach a remote host by sending a request to the host's IP address.  For example, at the time of this writing, the machine with the hostname qdeck.com has the IP address 149.17.8.10.  If you can Ping successfully using the IP address but receive an error when Pinging qdeck.com, your DNS server is either incorrectly listed in Location Manager or is down and unable to respond to requests.

If you are unable to Ping a specific site only, verify the spelling of the hostname.  Remember that UNIX, the operating system run by most machines on the Internet, is case-sensitive.  Be sure to use the exact mixture of uppercase and lowercase.

  If you are connected to a local area network (LAN) that is separated from the Internet by a firewall, you need an HTTP proxy server on the firewall to let you reach the outside world.  To talk to a proxy server, you need to know the hostname of the machine on which the proxy software is running and the port number that the proxy uses to listen for requests.  Go to Location Manager's Provider/Proxy screen and place the hostname and the port number in the HTTP Proxy Server field with a colon between them (for example, "pserver:7401").  Your LAN administrator or Internet provider can give you the hostname and port number of your network's HTTP proxy.

In most cases, you will have to worry about firewalls only if you connect to the Internet through a LAN or through a non-commercial provider.  If you are using the HTTP Proxy Server field properly and you still cannot reach the Internet beyond your firewall, ask your LAN administrator or Internet provider to check whether your proxy server is properly configured.

  If you are talking to the Internet through an HTTP proxy server, you may not be able to reach computers on your local network unless you use the Don't Proxy field on Location Manager's Provider/Proxy screen.   Your LAN administrator or Internet provider can give you the name of the domain inside the firewall, which you should put in the Don't Proxy field.


"Cannot find MSGSTORE.DAT." message
"Cannot find MSGSTORE.DAT."

In order to find your MSGSTORE.DAT, NEWSGRP.DAT, and ADDRBOOK.DAT files, you must tell QMC where they reside on your hard drive.  You do this by specifying the directory that contains these data files in the Data Directory field in Tools/Preferences/Advanced.  After changing the setting, restart QMC.


"Connection Refused"

This error indicates that your Winsock application is unable to connect to a site, very often because the remote site is already accommodating the maximum number of connections allowed.  If you receive a Connection Refused error, try again.  Your next attempt may be successful.  If you continue to experience difficulty connecting to the site, you might want to try later, perhaps during off-peak hours.


"Error Loading Quarterdeck Winsock"

You are probably already running a Winsock driver other than Quarterdeck Winsock.  Only one Winsock can be loaded at a time.


"File Transfer Failed"

If you see this message while trying to upload a file to a host computer, you probably do not have permission to upload to the current directory on the host machine.

Try uploading to the "incoming" or the "upload" directory, if either of these directories exists.  If they do not, contact the System Administrator of the remote system for assistance.


"General Protection Fault in module WLIBSOCK.DLL" with LAN WorkPlace
"GPF in module WLIBSOCK.DLL" (LAN WorkPlace)

Make sure that the file VTCPIP.386 (which is included with the LAN WorkPlace package) is in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory and that it is included in the [386Enh] section of the Windows SYSTEM.INI file as follows:

    DEVICE=VTCPIP.386


"Host Not Found"

In order to connect to a remote host, QFTP sends out a request to a Domain Name Server (DNS) asking for the address of that host.  If QFTP cannot communicate with the DNS, the request fails and the error message "Host Not Found" is displayed.

This error message can appear for a wide variety of reasons, ranging from an unplugged modem on your desk to a malfunctioning machine halfway around the world.  You can use Quarterdeck Winsock Ping (which was installed with Quarterdeck InternetSuite) to determine whether QFTP is unable to communicate with any remote host or if the problem is limited to a single site. More likely, however, your Winsock driver is not loaded, your network connection has been interrupted, or your modem is not turned on or communicating properly.  In such case, the problem will occur with all sites.

Start by checking whether you are connected to your Internet Provider. If you are using Quarterdeck Winsock, look at the messages in the Quarterdeck Winsock console window, using the scroll bars on the sides of the window to review the history of the connection if necessary.  If you are not connected to your Provider, try to establish a connection.  If you are unable to do so, see Problems with Quarterdeck Winsock.

If you are able to connect to your Provider, make sure that the DNS server used by your Provider is correctly listed on the General/Provider Settings page of Location Manager.  Next, try to reach a remote host by sending a request to the host's IP address.  For example, at the time of this writing, the machine with the hostname qdeck.com has the IP address 149.17.8.10.  If you can Ping successfully using the IP address but receive an error when Pinging qdeck.com, your DNS server is either incorrectly listed in Location Manager or is down and unable to respond to requests.

If you are unable to Ping a specific site only, verify the spelling of the hostname.  Remember that UNIX, the operating system run by most machines on the Internet, is case-sensitive.  Be sure to use the exact mixture of uppercase and lowercase.

  If you are connected to a local area network (LAN) that is separated from the Internet by a firewall, you need an HTTP proxy server on the firewall to let you reach the outside world.  To talk to a proxy server, you need to know the hostname of the machine on which the proxy software is running and the port number that the proxy uses to listen for requests.  Go to Location Manager's Provider/Proxy screen and place the hostname and the port number in the HTTP Proxy Server field with a colon between them (for example, "pserver:7401").  Your LAN administrator or Internet provider can give you the hostname and port number of your network's HTTP proxy.

In most cases, you will have to worry about firewalls only if you connect to the Internet through a LAN or through a non-commercial provider.  If you are using the HTTP Proxy Server field properly and you still cannot reach the Internet beyond your firewall, ask your LAN administrator or Internet provider to check whether your proxy server is properly configured.

  If you are talking to the Internet through an HTTP proxy server, you may not be able to reach computers on your local network unless you use the Don't Proxy field on Location Manager's Provider/Proxy screen.   Your LAN administrator or Internet provider can give you the name of the domain inside the firewall, which you should put in the Don't Proxy field.


"Host was unable to execute command." message
"Host was unable to execute command."

QMC was able to reach the mail or news server but could not complete the operation for some reason.  The news server may have rejected the login request because it came from outside the domain of its Provider (as most news servers will do when an outside request is received) or the server may require a password.  It is also possible that the message you attempted to retrieve no longer exists on the server.  By enabling the Communications Log (under Tools/Preferences/Advanced) you can see the commands being sent to and from the server. This will help you determine the cause of the problem.

In some unusual cases you might get this error if the news server you are talking to is an INN (InterNet News) Version 1.4 server, which requires an extra command that other news servers do not need.  To retrieve news from an INN 1.4 news server, edit the QMC.INI file in your Windows directory as follows:

1.  In the [Advanced] section, change the default setting "ModeReader=no" to "ModeReader=yes".

2.  Save the change, then restart QMC.


"Message does not exist." or "Message no longer available."

Because of the large number of news articles posted each day, news servers keep articles for a limited amount of time.  (The length of time articles are stored is determined by the System Administrator or Provider.)

If you downloaded the header of a message some time ago, it is possible that the article is no longer available on the news server.

To avoid this problem, download the full text of any messages you want to read and configure QMC to retain the messages until you have had sufficient time to read them.  (To change the length of time that newsgroup messages are retained, select Tools/Preferences/News and change the settings under News Purge Options.)


"Message store failed." message
"Message store failed."

The message databases are corrupted.  You should rebuild the databases with the options on the Tools/Rebuild Databases screen to correct the problem.

This problem can occur if there is insufficient free disk space to store incoming messages.  If this is the case, free up more disk space and then rebuild the databases.


"Modem Not Responding" or "Error Opening COMx"

1.  If you have an external modem, make sure that your modem is plugged in and turned on (the modem lights should be on if the modem is active) and that the modem cable is attached securely to both your computer and modem.  Try turning the modem on and off (or rebooting the system if you have an internal modem) in order to clear the modem registers.

2.  If the modem still does not respond, check Location Manager's Location/Modem screen to make sure that the "Modem is connected to" drop-menu correctly displays the communications port that the modem uses.  Also make sure that another device, such as a mouse, is not using the same communications port or hardware IRQ setting as your modem.

On the same screen in Location Manager, make sure that the "Type of modem is" drop-menu correctly displays the brand of modem that you are using.  If you are not sure what kind of modem you have, try selecting the "AT Compatible" choice that matches the maximum speed of your modem.  When you have the correct modem type setting, select the Advanced button to go to the Advanced Modem Settings screen, then select the Defaults button to reset the modem strings on that screen to the default settings for your modem.  On the same screen, make sure that the Dial Prefix field is set to ATDT if you have a tone connection and ATDP if you have a pulse connection.  Select the OK button to save the settings on each screen in turn.

3.  A FAX program or other resident communications software may be blocking access to the comm port used by your modem.  If you are loading FAX or communications software, remove it from memory and try to dial again.

4.  If your baud rate is set to a high value (such as 115200) on Location Manager's Provider/Connection screen, try changing the baud rate to 57600 or less.

5.  If you still cannot dial the modem, try a simple communications program like Windows Terminal to determine whether the computer can communicate with the modem.  If other programs are unable to reach the modem, you may have a hardware problem or a cabling problem.


"No Server Specified in the URL"

Quarterdeck Mosaic is trying to retrieve mail or news from your Internet provider, but there is no POP3 or NNTP server listed on the Location Manager Provider/Mail/News screen.

Refer to the Location Manager online help for information on how to fill in these fields.


"Unable to Initialize UDP Socket." message
"Unable to Initialize UDP Socket."

You may see this message if you are connected to the Internet through a LAN and QMC is trying to use a WINSOCK.DLL that does not belong to your underlying TCP/IP (LAN) software.  You may have multiple WINSOCK.DLL drivers in directories that are included in your PATH statement, and QMC is finding the wrong one.

To resolve this problem, make sure you are using the WINSOCK.DLL that comes with your network software by placing it in your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory or in a directory listed early in your PATH statement.


"Unable to open MSGSTORE.DAT file." message
"Unable to open MSGSTORE.DAT file."

This error may occur if the database files become corrupted.  To eliminate the error, rebuild the databases with the options on the Tools/Rebuild Databases screen.

The error can also occur if the read-only attribute is set for the database files.  If the files reside on a local drive, check the attributes that are set on each file by typing the following from a DOS prompt:

attrib filename

If DOS reports that a file is read-only (by displaying the letter "R" before the filename), remove the read-only attribute by typing:

attrib -r filename

If QMC's data files are stored on a network drive, you must have read-write permission to the drive.  If you do not know how to check your network rights, talk to your System Administrator.


"User Not Found"

The host is not accepting your username or password.  Try typing your username and password again.  If the problem persists, get in touch with the host computer's Administrator.

NOTE:  Many FTP sites allow "anonymous FTP" access.  If a site allows anonymous login, give your username as "anonymous" and give your email address as your password.


"Windows sockets transport library could not be initialized." message.
"Windows sockets transport library could not be initialized."

Make sure that the PATH statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file includes the directory where WINSOCK.DLL resides.  You can also copy your WINSOCK.DLL to the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory to correct the problem.

If a Winsock driver is not found, you can still use QMC as an offline reader, but you will not be able to connect to your news or mail servers.


Auto Disconnect on WSACleanup

This setting determines whether Quarterdeck Winsock drops its connection to a Provider if it thinks that all applications using the connection have finished with it. By default, Quarterdeck Winsock drops the connection if all open Winsock-using applications have made a WSACleanup call, a standard Windows API call which indicates that the application has finished using Winsock.

Some applications, however, make the WSACleanup call and still intend to use the connection later.  If you have a mail or news reader that seems to cause Quarterdeck Winsock to drop the phone connection each time it finishes sending or retrieving messages and you do not want to wait for Quarterdeck Winsock to re-establish the connection each time the reader requests information, disable "Auto Disconnect on WSACleanup."


Cannot Access WAIS Server

Quarterdeck Mosaic does not include internal support for the WAIS (Wide Area Information Server) protocol.  You can only retrieve files from WAIS servers if your provider or network has an HTTP proxy server that supports WAIS.

You can configure Quarterdeck Mosaic to talk to such an HTTP proxy server on Location Manager's Provider/Proxy screen.


Cannot find a newsgroup in the newsgroup list
Cannot find a newsgroup in the newsgroup list.

Most Internet Service Providers carry several thousand of the 10,000+ newsgroups available on the Internet.  The list of newsgroups in the Newsgroups dialog box includes all the newsgroups that were available when you last retrieved the list from your news server.

New groups are added daily, so if it has been awhile since you retrieved the list, use the Update Lists button in Folder/Newsgroups to update the list of newsgroups on the news server.  If you do not see a particular newsgroup on the latest list, ask your Internet Provider to add the group to the news server.  If there is sufficient interest in a newsgroup, the Provider may add it.


Changing the Backspace and Delete Keys

If you make a typo and are having problems correcting the characters that you type, you may want to change the values of the Backspace and Delete keys. Whether you set your Backspace key to send a Backspace or Delete character depends on your preferences and how the remote computer uses these keys. Setting Backspace to act solely as a Backspace key implies that Backspace and Delete are recognized as two different characters:

Backspace = Control-H, Decimal value 8, Hexadecimal value 0x08

Delete, Decimal value 127, Hexadecimal value 0x1f

The result of using these keys depends upon your terminal settings on the remote host, and how the remote application responds to these keys. You can use the stty erase command on a Unix computer to change the delete character for the current shell (see the Unix manual page for the stty command for more information).


Connection Helper and Location Manager

Connection Helper was designed as a quick tool to help you configure your Quarterdeck Internet software for an initial Location and Provider.  As you respond to the questions posed by Connection Helper, a new Provider profile is created.   The Helper also presents information about your current Location such as Location name, area code, etc.  You can change any of these settings, but such changes will affect your currently configured Location.

The first time you run Connection Helper, you may want to change some of these settings.  If you later run Connection Helper to add another Provider, you will probably not find it necessary to make additional changes.

If you want to continue using a previously defined Location, you may find it easier to add a new Provider directly through Location Manager.  In addition, changes to existing Location or Provider profiles should always be made through Location Manager.  When adding or changing Location or Provider information, extensive online help is available for every screen by selecting Help.


Contents
  Troubleshooting Quarterdeck InternetSuite

Contents

General information:

Learning More About the Web

Questions Regarding Internet Providers

Solving common problems with:

Connection Helper and Location Manager

Quarterdeck Winsock (QWinsock)

Quarterdeck Mosaic

Quarterdeck Message Center (QMC)

Quarterdeck QTerm (Terminal Emulation)

QFTP (Quarterdeck Graphical FTP)

For Help using the online help, press F1.


Corrupted Files

If you download a file and it does not work on your computer or it contains strange characters at the end of each line, you probably transferred the file using the wrong transfer method.

Go to the Options menu, where the two file transfer modes are listed, and you will see a check next to the mode being used.  The ASCII selection is for text (alphanumeric) files, and the Binary selection is for other kinds of files.  If you are not sure what kind of file you are downloading, try changing the transfer method (select ASCII if Binary is checked, or vice versa) and transfer the file again.

Alternatively, you can use the ASCII or Binary buttons on the Toolbar to change transfer modes.  The button for the current transfer method is highlighted on the Toolbar.

If you continue to experience a problem with a corrupted file, the copy of the file on the remote host may be damaged.  Contact the System Adminstrator of the remote system for assistance.


Credits

Troubleshooting Quarterdeck InternetSuite

                         Online Help File

                Designed by Kathy Hand

        Text by Dan Sallitt and Kathy Hand


Excessively large .DAT Files

Over time, messages, address entries, newsgroups, etc., are added and deleted to QMC's database files, creating holes in the database files and making them larger than they need to be.  If your MSGSTORE.DAT file grows, for instance, to 10 megabytes in size, it will still be 10 megabytes even after you delete and purge all messages unless you also compact the files.

The Compact Files option under Tools/Rebuild Databases recreates and rewrites all records for the three QMC database files in order to reduce their size.


Learning More About the Web

Continually updated text files on a wide variety of subjects are available on the Internet.  These documents, referred to as FAQs (for Frequently Asked Questions), provide answers to commonly asked questions on a particular subject.  With interest in the Web growing every day, it is not surprising that a WWW FAQ is available.

As of this writing, you can obtain the latest version of the WWW FAQ by accessing the following URL:

http://sunsite.unc.edu/boutell/faq/www_faq.html


Message text incorrectly formatted
Message text incorrectly formatted.

If other mail readers are breaking up the lines of the messages you send, you may want to shorten the line width of your messages.

If you enable the Word Wrap option in Tools/Preferences/Editor/Settings, the length of the lines that QMC sends depends on the Line Width setting on that same screen.  If word wrap is not enabled, the length of the lines depends on the size of the editor window in which you are writing the message.  You can change the length of the lines in the messages that you send by adjusting the Line Width setting or the size of your editor window.


Modem dials intermittently without being instructed to do so
Modem dials intermittently without being instructed to do so.

You have probably selected the "Enable Automatic Check for New Mail" option under Tools/Preferences/Mail, which tells QMC to check your mail server for new mail at regular intervals.  If you prefer not to dial your Provider on a scheduled basis, disable this feature.


Newsgroup message retrieval takes too long
Newsgroup message retrieval takes too long.

By default, QMC retrieves not only the headers of newsgroups items, but entire messages.

You can reduce the amount of time that QMC spends online by configuring QMC to "Retrieve Only Headers when Checking Newsgroups" by selecting that button on the Tools/Preferences/News screen.  After reviewing the list of headers, including subjects and authors, you can mark for retrievel only those messages you want to read.

If you retrieve only newsgroup headers, a question mark appears under the Size column, because the size of a message cannot be determined until the text is downloaded.


Performance Problems

Many of the Web sites to which you will connect are thousands of miles away, and when you first begin to experiment with Quarterdeck Mosaic you may be in awe that you have nearly instant access to so much information from far away places.  We quickly become spoiled, however, and before long you might become impatient with the length of time it takes for documents -- particularly those that include sound or video -- to reach your browser.  Here are a few points to keep in mind if you find yourself losing patience:

Some files, especially those including sound or video, are very large.  It can take a while to transfer large amounts of data, regardless of the speed of your Internet connection.

The faster your Internet connection, the faster documents will appear on your screen.  A direct connection or ISDN line is much faster than a connection that involves a modem using standard phone lines.  When dialing up via a modem, anything less than 14,400 bps will seem slow, particularly when transferring large files.  If your provider allows 28,800 bps connections and you can afford a modem that supports this speed, go for it!

The type of computer you use, the amount of memory and type of video card installed, and the resolution in which you run Windows all affect overall performance.  To maximize your system's memory:

  Close Windows applications you are not using.

  Close Quarterdeck Mosaic browser windows you are not using.

  Reduce the length of time that entries are retained in Quarterdeck Mosaic's global history.

  Increase the size of your Windows swap file if you are running Windows in 386 Enhanced mode.  (See the Virtual Memory settings in the Control Panel's 386 Enhanced section.)

Many of the images displayed by Web sites require a 256-color display.  When viewed on systems running in 16-color mode, their appearance will be distorted.

Certain hours -- normally 5 to 10 pm -- are considered "peak hours" by service providers because they tend to be the busiest.  More people online means slower performance.

The Internet is growing in popularity at a phenomenal rate.  As more people jump on the Information Superhighway, providers must struggle to keep up by adding new equipment.  If you begin to experience performance problems that did not previously exist, send a polite email message to your service provider asking if they are aware of the problems.


QFTP (Quarterdeck Graphical FTP)
Problems with Quarterdeck QFTP

QFTP does not dial your Internet Provider.  This is done by the dialer component of a SLIP/PPP communications package such as Quarterdeck’s QWinsock, NetManage’s Chameleon Sampler, or Trumpet Winsock.  You can configure some SLIP/PPP packages to automatically dial your Provider when a Winsock application such as QFTP makes a network request, but it is the dialer, not the Winsock application, that calls the Provider.

If you experience difficulties in connecting to your service Provider, see Problems with Quarterdeck Winsock.

The following is a list of error messages or problems you might encounter as you use QFTP:

"Host Not Found" message

"Connection Refused" message

"User Not Found" message

"File Transfer Failed" message

Corrupted Files


QWinsock dials your Provider, but the connection fails
QWinsock dials, but the connection fails.

1.  Check the location and Provider listed at the top of the Quarterdeck Winsock window to see if you are calling the right Provider and are in the same location that Quarterdeck Winsock thinks you are in.

2.  Quarterdeck Winsock posts your Provider's responses, including prompts, in its window.  If you never see a response from your Provider in the window, you should check the information on the Location Manager Provider/Connection screen. If the Provider's phone number in the "Dial this number" field is not correct,  select the Override button and make corrections on the Override Phone Number screen.  Also, check that the baud rate and communications settings are the ones your Provider uses.  If you are not sure what settings to use, check with your Provider. (After making changes, be sure to save them by selecting the OK button on each screen.)

3.  If your Provider responds to the call but the connection fails, check the information on the Location Manager Provider/General screen.  If your username and password are not correct, your login will fail.  The Connection Type drop-menu indicates whether you are using SLIP or PPP to connect and whether you are using VJ (Van Jacobson) compression.  As you watch the login process within the Quarterdeck Winsock console window, you may see messages indicating whether the Provider expects SLIP or PPP and if compression is being used.  (You must have either a SLIP or a PPP account with your Provider to use the Quarterdeck Internet products, and you and the Provider must be configured to use the same connection type.)

4.  If your Provider's login process is very slow, Quarterdeck Winsock may think the connection has failed and hang up before the login completes.  You can see how much time Quarterdeck Winsock is allowing for the connection by watching the countdown on the status line at the bottom of the Quarterdeck Winsock screen or by checking the entry in the "Connect time (in seconds)" field on the Quarterdeck Winsock Settings screen, available from the console window's menu.  If your Provider needs more time for the login process, increase the number in this field.

5.  Line noise (interference on the phone line) can sabotage your connection.  In some cases, you may see garbage characters on the screen when the line is noisy.  With newer, error-correcting modems, however, you may simply lose the connection.  If you believe that line noise may be causing your connection to fail, try the call again or wait for the lines to clear.  If you continue to have problems with poor connections, try using a different modem, if one is available, and replacing the phone wire between the modem and the phone jack.  If the problem disappears, your modem or phone wire is defective. If the problem continues, ask your local phone company to test your line for excessive noise.

6.  If you have call waiting, an incoming call can sever your connection.  You can disable call waiting on the Location Manager Location/Dialing screen.

7.  Your Provider's gateway machine may be down.  If you do not hear a modem tone from the Provider when you dial the Provider's number, wait for service to be restored or report the problem.


QWinsock login script does not work properly.

1.  Try to login manually to determine if there is a problem with your script.

To use the Manual Login feature, select the Location Manager option from Quarterdeck Winsock's control menu.  Select Edit Locations & Providers, then click on the Providers tab and select Settings, then Advanced.  Click in the Manual Login check box, then select OK, then Done.

When you use this option, Quarterdeck Winsock pops up a Manual Login window as you connect to your Provider.  The Provider's login prompt appears within this window.  At the bottom are fields for your IP address, DNS server, SMTP server, POP3 server, and NNTP server.

If your Provider displays any of these addresses or names during the login process, enter them in the proper fields.  When you finish logging in, select Connect on the Manual Login window.

2.  If the manual login fails in the same way the login script did, see QWinsock dials your Provider, but the connection fails.

3.  If you are able to login manually, watch the Quarterdeck Winsock console window at connection time to see if the login script is giving the correct responses at the correct times.  Also, check that your username and password are correctly entered on the Location Manager Provider/General screen.

For further information about login scripts, see Writing a Script for an Existing Internet Account in the Quarterdeck Winsock and Location Manager online help file.  To view this file, select Help from the QWinsock control window menu or press F1 from within Location Manager.


Quarterdeck Message Center (QMC)
Problems with Quarterdeck Message Center

Quarterdeck Message Center does not dial your Internet Provider.  This is done by the dialer component of a SLIP/PPP communications package such as Quarterdeck’s QWinsock, NetManage’s Chameleon Sampler, or Trumpet Winsock.  You can configure some SLIP/PPP packages to automatically dial your Provider when a Winsock application such as QMC makes a network request, but it is the dialer, not the Winsock application, that calls the Provider.

If you experience difficulties in connecting to your service Provider, see Problems with Quarterdeck Winsock.

The following is a list of error messages or problems you might encounter as you send and retrieve personal email messages or read and respond to newsgroup postings with QMC:

"Windows sockets transport library could not be initialized." message.

"Unable to Initialize Windows Sockets" with FTP's PC/TCP.

"Unable to Initialize UDP Socket." message.

"General Protection Fault in module WLIBSOCK.DLL" with LAN WorkPlace.

"Host was unable to execute command." message.

"Another operation is already in progress." message.

"Unable to resolve the specified host." message.

Unable to connect to port on specified host." message.

"Cannot find MSGSTORE.DAT." message.

"Unable to open MSGSTORE.DAT file." message.

"Message store failed." message.

Excessively large .DAT Files.

Cannot find a newsgroup in the newsgroup list.

"Message does not exist." or "Message no longer available."

Message text incorrectly formatted.

Newsgroup message retrieval takes too long.

Modem dials intermittently without being instructed to do so.


Quarterdeck Mosaic
Problems with Quarterdeck Mosaic

Quarterdeck Mosaic does not dial your Internet Provider.  This is done by the dialer component of a SLIP/PPP communications package such as Quarterdeck’s QWinsock, NetManage’s Chameleon Sampler, or Trumpet Winsock.  You can configure some SLIP/PPP packages to automatically dial your Provider when a Winsock application such as Quarterdeck Mosaic makes a network request, but it is the dialer, not the Winsock application, that calls the Provider.

If you experience difficulties in connecting to your service Provider, see Problems with Quarterdeck Winsock.

The following is a list of error messages or problems you might encounter as you explore the World Wide Web with Quarterdeck Mosaic:

"Cannot Resolve Host Address" or "Failed DNS Lookup" message.

"Connection Refused" message.

"No Server Specified in the URL" message.

"502 mork NNTP server can't talk to you.  Goodbye." message.

Cannot Access WAIS Server

Performance Problems


Quarterdeck QTerm (Terminal Emulation)
Problems with Quarterdeck QTerm

QTerm does not dial your Internet Provider.  This is done by the dialer component of a SLIP/PPP communications package such as Quarterdeck’s QWinsock, NetManage’s Chameleon Sampler, or Trumpet Winsock.  You can configure some SLIP/PPP packages to automatically dial your Provider when a Winsock application such as QTerm makes a network request, but it is the dialer, not the Winsock application, that calls the Provider.

If you experience difficulties in connecting to your service Provider, see Problems with Quarterdeck Winsock.

The following is a list of error messages or problems you might encounter as you use QTerm:

Terminal Emulation Problems

Changing the Backspace and Delete Keys

"Cannot Resolve Host Address" or "Failed DNS Lookup" message.

"Connection Refused" message


Quarterdeck Winsock
Problems with Quarterdeck Winsock

Quarterdeck Winsock (QWinsock) is the component of Quarterdeck's Internet products that dials your modem and establishes a network connection with your Internet Service Provider.  Whether you start Quarterdeck Winsock yourself or another program starts it, QWinsock will display its console window on the screen.

NOTE:  If you are using some other (non-Quarterdeck) and you want to switch to QWinsock, close out any Winsock-using applications that may be open, then double-click on the QWinsock icon in your Quarterdeck program group.  When you are finished using QWinsock, close any open Winsock applications, then close QWinsock by selecting Close from the console window's menu.  The next time you run a Winsock application, your non-Quarterdeck Winsock will be loaded.

Within the console window, Quarterdeck Winsock posts useful information that can help you pinpoint the source of any problem with your modem or your connection to your Provider.  The scroll bars on the right side and bottom of the window allow you to review Quarterdeck Winsock's activity since it started up.  (When troubleshooting a problem, you may want to copy and paste this information into a text file for later reference.)  In addition, the status line at the bottom of the window tells you the current state of a connection.

The following are common problems involving modem connections to Internet Service Providers:

"Error Loading Quarterdeck Winsock" message.

"Modem Not Responding" or "Error Opening COMx" message.

QWinsock dials your Provider, but the connection fails.

QWinsock login script does not work properly.

Successful connection is broken unexpectedly.


Questions Regarding Internet Providers

As interest in the Internet grows, so does the number of companies who are anxious to provide your connection to this growing online community.  How do you choose a service provider?  The following list of questions will help you determine whether a particular company offers the services you want or need.

1.   Do you currently have access to the Internet?

Many companies and universities maintain direct connections to the Internet, and employees and students often have access to that connection.  Before you sign up with a commercial service provider, find out if you qualify for a SLIP or PPP account through such an affiliation.

2.   What modem speeds does the provider support?

The minimum recommended modem speed for use on the Web is 9600 baud, with 14,400 providing greatly enhanced performance and 28,800 rapidly becoming the norm.  In addition, ISDN lines are becoming more affordable and, as a result, more attractive to users.  If you spend a great deal of time online, you may be tempted to upgrade your equipment.  Select a provider who will be able to service your needs down the road.

3.   How many newsgroups does the provider carry?

As of this writing, there are over 10,000 active newsgroups.  Most service providers carry several thousand of these.

4.   What sort of technical support is available from the provider?

Is the provider willing to spend the time to help you properly configure your system for use with your account?  Does the provider offer 24 hour a day phone support?  How long should you expect to wait for a response to email requests?  If you are an experienced user, you may be willing to live without on-the-spot support in order to obtain a better access rate. If you are a beginner, however, the level of technical support you receive from your provider can be crucial to your ability to fully utilize and enjoy the Internet.

5.   Can you access this provider via a local phone number?

With so many providers offering access to the Internet, you should be able to find one or more who offer local phone access to your area.

6.   What is this going to cost?

Many providers require a start-up fee at the time your account is opened. In addition to any start-up fees that might be required, you will find providers who offer a flat rate with unlimited usage while others charge a flat fee for a set number of hours, with additional charges for online time above the allotted hours.  Other companies forego monthly fees, instead charging only for time spent online.  Additionally, hourly rates may vary depending on the time of day you access the system.

Give some thought to how often you will use the system, and the time of day you are likely to log on, when evaluating the various rate schedules offered by providers.


Terminal Emulation Problems

If the output from an application on the remote computer system displays incorrectly, try selecting a different terminal emulation mode. In general, you should start with VT220 terminal emulation mode and work your way down through the other modes until you find a terminal emulation mode that works with the application you are trying to run. The VT220 terminal emulation mode is more advanced than the VT100 terminal mode, which is more advanced than the VT52 terminal emulation mode.

When you change the terminal emulation mode that QTerm is using, you should also reset the value of the terminal emulation mode that you are using on the remote system. If you are familiar with Unix, you can change this using Unix shell commands, as shown in the following examples:

If you are using the Bourne shell, type "set term=vt220; export $term"

If you are using the C Shell, type "setenv TERM vt220"

If you are using the Korn Shell, type "export term=vt220

You can also simply close the current telnet connection, open another one, and supply the new terminal emulation mode when prompted by the remote system.

Contact the System Administrator of the remote system if you need to know which Unix shell you are using on a host computer system.

NOTE:  If you make a typo and are having problems correcting the characters that you type, you may want to change the values of the Backspace and Delete keys.


Unable to Initialize Windows Sockets with FTP's PC/TCP.
"Unable to Initialize Windows Sockets" (FTP's PC/TCP)

Make sure that the file VPCTCP.386 (which is included with the FTP PC/TCP package) is in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory and that it is included in the [386Enh] section of the Windows SYSTEM.INI file as follows:

    DEVICE=VPCTCP.386


Unable to connect to port on specified host." message
"Unable to connect to port on specified host."

The connection to your Internet provider has been broken.  You must re-establish the connection.

If you cannot reconnect, see Problems with Quarterdeck Winsock.


Connection is broken unexpectedly.

1.  Line noise (interference on the phone line) can sabotage your connection.  In some cases, you may see garbage characters on the screen when the line is noisy.  With newer, error-correcting modems, however, you may simply lose the connection.  If you believe that line noise may be causing your connection to fail, try the call again or wait for the lines to clear.

If you continue to have problems with poor connections, try using a different modem, if one is available, and replacing the phone wire between the modem and the phone jack.  If the problem disappears, your modem or phone wire is defective. If the problem continues, ask your local phone company to test your line for excessive noise.

2.  If you have call waiting, an incoming call can sever your connection.  You can disable call waiting on the Location Manager Location/Dialing screen.

3.  Quarterdeck Winsock tries to keep your connect time to a minimum by releasing the connection during idle periods and reconnecting when an application makes another network request.  By default, 300 seconds (or 5 minutes) of idle time must pass before the connection is dropped.

If you do not want Quarterdeck Winsock to drop your connection during idle periods, disable this feature by putting a zero ("0") in the "Linger time (in seconds)" field on Quarterdeck Winsock's Settings screen.

4.  If you have an application that causes the connection to drop whenever you perform a particular action (for instance, a mail or news reader that drops the phone connection whenever the reader goes off line), try disabling the "Auto Disconnect on WSACleanup" option on the Quarterdeck Winsock Settings screen.

5.  If your baud rate is set to a high value (such as 115200) on Location Manager's Provider/Connection screen, try changing the baud rate to 57600 or less.  If you must use a low baud rate in order to remain connected, contact your Provider and report the problem.

6.  If these suggestions do not help, contact your Provider for assistance.