DIPS (Dynamic IP Server) - visit http://DIPS.home.ml.org/ to find out more...

Trouble Shooting

Installation Problems

95% of all problems can be tracked to either missing files or wrong versions! Please make sure that you have all the files listed in the section Requirements on your system. Then try to go through the following list of tips before you send me e-mail. Also, a fair number of people have bad registry entries that can potentially prevent you from installing DynamIP. It is a good idea to get RegClean (Freeware from Microsoft; the latest version is v4.1) and clean up your registry every now and then. You might also want to check out the DynamIP discussion group. Thanks in advance for your consideration!

Application removal logfile 'C:\WINDOWS\STxUNST.yyy'not found

I believe that this problem is caused by a bad registry entry. Get RegClean and run it.

If this doesn't help, you can do a manual install of DynamIP. Figure out which files you don't have on your system yet, then use DOSexpand.exe to expand the missing files and simply copy the files into the appropriate directory. As DOSexpand can't handle long filenames you will end up renaming some of the files before you can expand them - please do not forget to change the file names back to the original names after expanding those files.

When I start DynamIP it complains about some file missing or not being registered
Write down the name of the file and then try to determine whether you have it on your machine or not. If you can't find it (check out the files and their locations in the section Requirements) you might have to reinstall the appropriate distribution file. Note that ActiveX controls must be registered (see instructions here).
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System Error / Unspecified Error
If you get something like "System Error &H80004005 (-2147467259). Unspecified error [OK]" when you try to start DynamIP, you have most probably corrupted registration information in your registry. Manually unregister all the ActiveX controls (OCX files) listed on the Requirements page and then reregister them to solve this problem.
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Cannot load/register .ocx file
Verify that you have all the files from the table in the section Requirements (including the file in question) in the appropriate locations on your computer. Before you delete (or rename) old versions of ActiveX controls you should unregister them (see instructions here). Then you should make sure that you downloaded the correct version (compare byte count!). Reboot your computer. Make sure that no other programs are running and then try to register the library again (see instructions here). If this doesn't help than I'm at the end of my wisdom (my apologies, but you probably won't be able to run DynamIP...).
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RT13 or RT380
You are probably using an old DynamIP.INI file. Rename your file to DynamIP.OLD and then restart DynamIP (this will generate a new/clean file DynamIP.INI). Now you have to reenter all the settings. If you feel like it you can try to copy your old settings back into your new file DynamIP.INI and figure out which parts are causing the problem. If you find out where the problem is please drop me a line at cmu@bigfoot.com. Thanks in advance.
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RT31037 "Error Loading From File"
Most likely you don't have the correct version of the file "tabctl32.ocx" registered. Or the file was installed in the wrong directory. Unregister your current version, copy the file "tabctl32.ocx" that comes with DynamIP into your ...Windows\System directory, and then register this new version (see instructions here).
It is also possible that the DynamIP installation program copied some files to the ...\Windows directory instead of the ...\Windows\System directory (see Requirements for a list of files and their installation directories).
As a last measure you can try the following:

1. Uninstall DynamIP.
2. Unregister the 6 OCX files used by DynamIP (cmuTCP.ocx, tabctl32.ocx, richtx32.ocx, comdlg32.ocx, comctl32.ocx, msinet.ocx) [see instructions here].
3. Delete these 6 OCX files.
4. Reinstall DynamIP.
5. Start DynamIP.

Setup Problems

This section describes some common problems and their solutions. If you can't even start DynamIP then you got ahead of yourself: check the section Installation Problems first. If you think you installed everything correctly but can't clear the last hurdle, please read the following section carefully before you send me e-mail. You might also want to check out the DynamIP discussion group. Thanks in advance for your consideration! If you do send e-mail please follow these simple rules:

Having said the above, here's my e-mail address: cmu@bigfoot.com. Thanks in advance for not abusing it!

General Problems

• After installing DynamIP my Dial-Up Networking stuff doesn't work anymore. DynamIP v3.0 installed a new version of Rasapi32.dll that disabled DUN on some machines. If you didn't make a backup copy of your old version before you installed DynamIP you can either install this older version Rasapi32.dll v.4.0 into your ...\Windows\System directory or install the Dial-up Networking Upgrade for PPTP Windows 95. Either method should fix your DUN.
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• There are no notification sounds. Make sure that the file path/name you entered into the appropriate fields are correct (click the provided button to test your settings). Also, you might want to check the volume settings? Or could it be that your sound card is in "mute" mode?
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• DynamIP does not correctly detect my IP address (or does not detect that I am connected at all). Try to change the IP Method.
  

Problems with the Uploader (Dynamic IP address poster)

• DynamIP does not respond while it is uploading the file. This is currently a problem in DynamIP v3.x (mutli-threading does not work properly). Wait until DynamIP has finished uploading the file or use the Async upload method (see Setup|Uploader for details).
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• DynamIP does not update any fields. Make sure that the file name for your template (e.g. DynamIP_.htm) and your local file (e.g. DynamIP.htm) are different! DynamIP does not work properly if these two file names are identical. If you are a GeoCities user, keep in mind that it can take quite a while before GeoCities updates your file on the web server AFTER you finished uploading (I've seen anything from a few seconds up to 40 minutes...).
  Some people have also managed to overwrite their template with an updated file. If this has happened on your system, DynamIP is obviosly not updating any fields anymore because the dummy fields are gone. Use a backup copy of your template, or reinstall DynamIP to get back the original templates with all the dummy fields.
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• If only some of your fields don't get updated properly then you should verify your entries. DynamIP does not work properly if you have the exact same string for IP, DateTime, HTTP Server and FTP Server. Another potential problem is that there are some extra characters in the middle of your dummy string (e.g. your HTML editor might feel like adding some extra CR/LF in the wrong place...).
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• You can specify paths for both the local file and the remote file (e.g. C:\Program Files\DynamIP\DynamIP.htm for the local file and public_html/DynamIP.htm for the remote file). Note, however, that the remote directory must exist on your FTP server as DynamIP will not create new directories.
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• What the heck is the path of my remote file? This problem (and many other problems related to your FTP server) can often be resolved with the help of a proper FTP client (e.g. CuteFTP). For example, if you don't know the exact path of your remote file use your favorite FTP client and connect to your FTP server. Then go into the subdirectory where your web pages reside. Now you should be able to retrieve the correct path from your FTP client and then copy it over to DynamIP. See also below. If you are a GeoCities user, you should NOT specify any remote directories (use the file name only).
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• The remote path should be specified together with the remote file name, and NOT together with your FTP host. It is also not possible to specify the host name together with the path and file name in one line. Please note that in most cases, you don't need an initial slash "/" if you're uploading to a subdirectory of your root. Here's a simple example:

  Field	Correct (this works)	Wrong (will NOT work)
  RemoteHost	ftp.domain.edu	ftp.domain.edu/~joe/public_html
  RemoteFile	public_html/DynamIP.htm	DynamIP.htm

• If you get time-outs, FTPerrors or even crashes while uploading files, try to reduce the "traffic" while DynamIP is uploading the file (e.g. refrain from downloading e-mail, etc. at the same time) and/or increase the time out periods for "going ONline" and "going OFFline" (both can be up to 65 seconds). This setting can currently only be changed in your file DynamIP.INI. You can also fiddle around with the settings of "Immediate Retry on Failure" and "#Retries".
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• Please note that I have not figured out yet how to set File Permissions of the uploaded file to specific values using the MS FTP control. This implies that I can't set them according to your wishes. If you feel like doing some research on this, please have a look at the information here. DynamIP uses FtpPutFile to write the upload file to your FTP server. If you figure out how to set File Permissions drop me a line at cmu@bigfoot.com. In the mean time you can try whether unchecking the DEL box next to the Remote File entry in your Connection Setup leaves your file permissions unchanged.
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• If you don't like the HTML format for the HTTP/FTP server entries you can make use of the fact that DynamIP will replace multiple instances of the IP Dummy with your current IP address. Simply write something like ... HTTP Server at <NOT.ON.LINE.NOW> ... in your local file and DynamIP will automatically insert your IP address (obviously you would have to uncheck the options HTTP Server and FTP Server). Note that with this method your entries will NOT be in HTML format and hence not clickable in your web browser).
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• I get the message "LocalFile NOT found" but I'm positive the file exists. Probably your upload file is too big. It might not be such a good idea anyway to let DynamIP handle your huge files (like your mega home page): if anything goes wrong with your "going ONline" or "going OFFline" processes your visitors will miss out on a lot of information.
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• DynamIP connects to the FTP server and gets authenticated, but then it just sits there displaying "uploading...". Most likely you misspelled the entry in "Remote File". Remember that the directory must exist as DynamIP will not create directories.
  If you installed IE4, please continue reading here.
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• DynamIP uploads the file but then the file permissions are all screwed up. Try to uncheck the DEL box next to the Remote File entry in your Connection Setup. When this box is unchecked DynamIP will overwrite the old remote file (assuming the FTP servers does not mind...) which should preserve your old file permissions.
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• DynamIP uploads the file but the file name is all CAPS. Uncheck the Async box in Setup|Uploader. This problem is currently unresolved (one of the many bugs in the MS VB5 FTP control).
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Problems with the POP mail checker

• If the e-mail checker doesn't work then you should verify that at least one mailbox is active (check box!). Try to enable logging and check the messages you get from your POP server (they are also shown in the status bar) to figure out what's going wrong.
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• There is no notification sound. Make sure that the file path/name you entered into the field "Notify Sound" is valid (click the button "Notify Sound" to verify). Volume high enough? Is maybe your sound card in "mute" mode?
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• My e-mail client does not start even though DynamIP says I got new mail. First of all you should make sure that the appropriate box is checked. Depending on your e-mail client it might be tricky to get a working command line. Here are some tips to get it to work.
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Problems with the PC clock synchronizer

• Time synchronization does not work. There are many potential problems, e.g NTP server is down, NTP server not properly specified (wrong name/ip?), response from NTP server is trashed (or bad format), NTP server is too slow (delay too big - timeout). Choose a different NTP server to solve these kinds of problems. A link to a list of servers is provided in Setup|Time.
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Problems with IPchat

• DynamIP does not show my own computer in the chat list. Sometimes the chat engine gets tangled up and does not receive any packets anymore (even though it might be sending and scanning ok). If "Flush Chatlist" doesn't solve the problem then you might have to exit DynamIP and restart it for a proper reset of the chat engine.
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• DynamIP doesn't find my friend although I'm scanning her/his IP address. First of all, it definitely helps if your friend also scans you (just in case your UDP packets get lost...). Furthermore, remember that checking the option "by invitation only" means that only those with IP addresses within the scanning range can join. For example, if your friend has this option checked and you are not within her/his scanning range then you cannot join although your are scanning her/his IP address (and vice versa!).
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• Other chat participants can't start my NetMeeting client. You obviously must have MS NetMeeting installed for this to work (version 1.0 and version 2.0 work fine). You might also want to make sure that CNF files are properly associated with MS NetMeeting. You can check this by creating SpeedDial and then double-clicking it. If you've lost this file association you must reinstall MS NetMeeting to fix the problem. And most obviously you should check the box "Accept NetMeeting Requests"...
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Problems with WEBchat

• Sometimes I get WEBchat messages but the connection closes before I have a chance to type anything. There is unfortunately not much you can do about this; if the remote browser has a very short timeout it won't wait for a reply from DynamIP. There is really nothing you can do on your side to increase the timeout on another machine...
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• I changed the WEBchat template but DynamIP still sends back the default document. First of all, double check the entry of WEBchat Template in Setup|WEBchat. Next, make sure that the place holder dummies in your template match the ones in Setup|WEBchat.
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• Some of my links and images in the WEBchat template don't work. Please note that the WEBchat reply page is served from a non-standard port. This implies that relative links (e.g. /images/mypic.jpg) don't work properly because DynamIP is not a full blown HTTP server. You must define all links as absolute links starting with http:// so that your browser gets everything else from the HTTP server.

Problems with HTTPscan

• DynamIP does not find any web servers at all. First of all, it could indeed be that there are no web servers at the addresses you specified in the IPDB file. However, depending on the speed of the web servers and your Internet link you might have to increase the timeout to make sure DynamIP gets a response within the specified time.
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Problems with Logging

• Did you activate the logging options in Setup|Options? Is there enough free space on your disk for the log file?
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Problems with DIPS

• Please direct all questions and problem reports regarding DIPS to DIPS@bigfoot.com.
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If you encountered and solved a problem not mentioned here please drop me a line at cmu@bigfoot.com so that I can add your solution to the above list. Thanks.

IE4

IE4 and DynamIP v3.02 have coexisted nicely on my system (which obviously doesn't mean that they will do the same on yours, but at least it's worth a try if want to give IE4 a shot). You should be aware of the following, however: if you install Internet Explorer 4 (Platform Preview) the file WinINET.DLL gets upgraded from version v4.70.1300 (299,280 bytes) to v4.71.0544.1 (332,048 bytes). This new version issues a SYST command after connecting to your FTP server. As long as your FTP server supports the SYST command, everything will work just fine. If your FTP server does not support the SYST command, however, you will not be able to use DynamIP's Uploader anymore (sorry, but there's not much I can do about this; I'm using high-level commands to upload files and I haven't figured out how to disable the SYST command). If you want to go back to the old version of WinINET.DLL then you can download the file from http://DynamIP.home.ml.org/files/WinINETv4.70.1300.zip.

Other Problems

Compatibility Problems with other Programs

• HotDog Pro
  (a big Thank You! to Tim L. Pearson for the following instructions)
  Some older versions of HotDogPro v3.xxx install and register an ActiveX control called tabctl32.ocx to the install directory. In reality, however, the ActiveX control installed is tabdlg32.ocx renamed to tabctl32.ocx which you can verify by looking at its Properties. Because DynamIP uses the real tabctl32.ocx, DynamIP will not work if you have HotDogPro installed on your system. On the other hand, if you register the tabctl32.ocx that comes with DynamIP, HotDogPro will not work. Get the latest version of HotDogPro and things should work fine.

Beta Version Problems

Please make sure that you have the latest beta version installed - don't try to fiddle around with old betas as I could not reproduce your problems anyway.

Unresolved problems with the current beta version are listed here.

DIPS (Dynamic IP Server) - visit http://DIPS.home.ml.org/ to find out more...

e-mail

cmu@bigfoot.com http://cmu.home.ml.org

hits since February 01, 1997
Last modified: July 27, 1997