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IAP.FAQ
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1996-04-02
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The Internet Access Pack FAQ v2.00 (2 April 1996)
Compiled by Denesh Bhabuta. Thanx to all the people who asked the
questions and also answered them, hence contributing to this FAQ. This
FAQ will be updated when more questions are asked and we answer them.
:-)
dbhabuta@cix.compulink.co.uk
dbhabuta@mag-net.co.uk
danny@micros.hensa.ac.uk
======================================================================
1: What is this package?
A: This package is the Internet Access Pack. It contains most things
that you will need to make use of Internet services using your
Atari setup.
The package currently contains:
STiK: Internet connectivity software
Setup: Set up STiK the easy way
CAB : Crystal Atari Browser - HTML reader
CAB.OVL: Allows you to browse the WWW on-line using CAB
Antmail: POP3 E-mail program
Telnet: Remote login software
======================================================================
2: What hardware and software do I need to make use of this software?
A: A minimum of 512K and Low Resolution is required for STiK. Yes,
that's all. You can connect onto the site, and use IRC. If you want
to use CAB however, you will need at least 1Mb of memory. And if
you wish to use a font engine such as SpeedoGDOS or NVDI 3, then
you will need more.
So you can use the software from a 512K ST through a 4Mb STe, a
14Mb Falcon to a 20Mb TT. It is also possible to use it under
MagiCMac!
The software is fully Multitasking friendly.
It is recommended that you use HS Modem 6 if you use STiK, as it
gets rid of many problems you may have with connecting. Falcon
owners should in addition use FPATCH2
======================================================================
3: I have got STiK to connect on to my ISP and can use IRC, but when I
try and connect to a site using CAB, it doesn't work, giving me the
error message that it can't find the path or ERROR READING PAGE.
A: You need to change the path of the cache directory within CAB.
Go to the "Options" menu and select "Paths"
And thanks to Tony Greenwood (stosser@airtime.co.uk) for the
comments below who has used STiK and CAB with a floppy only system:
---
THE MAIN REASON FOR THE BOMBS is the cache settings, if you are
running on a floppy system then make yourself a folder named cache
on drive A and set your paths accordingly, this was the tip from
Steve Adam the author after speaking to him on IRC using his very
own STik, it can still bomb?, but this will sort most of it out.
The program as far as I can tell doesn't seem to clear the cache
folder after a bomb out I look inside and its full of folders and
files from previous links,
I am manualy using an accessory to delete the files every now and
again, I dont suggest you do this at all, I am just pasing on what
I am doing, EVERYONE is getting a crash now and then, but the above
helps.
I have tried all the above on a ste, fm and mega,
---
======================================================================
4: Why do I always get bounced out of irc.tos with a prompt saying:
"user authorization denied"?
A: If you get bounced out of irc.tos with a prompt similar to the
example shown above, it doesn't mean you've done anything wrong -
it's simply that the host computer has too many users online and
there are no lines open at this time. Try again later, or try one
of the following sites instead of the ones listed in the
default.cfg file. Try either of the following sites: irc.sdsc.edu
or irc.ais.net - they have less traffic so you are more likely to
get in. I'm sure there are _many_ other suitable sites - perhaps
someone will post them. Please note that there is also a _typo_ in
the original default.cfg file that goes as follows:
# irc.rutgers.edu - Use this one if you're in the US.
IRCSERVER = irc.rutgers.com <---This is WRONG and must be changed to .edu!
IRCPORT = 6667
======================================================================
5: I've gotten hold of the STIK web browser, but haven't quite tried it
out yet- my first problem is the SLIP thingy...
Is this something that every net provider has? I know my provider
has PPP, but there's nothing mentioned about SLIP.
A: Most Internet Service Providers (ISP) provide SLIP (Serial Line
Internet Protocol), with nearly all of them providing PPP too
(Point to Point Protocol) and some CSLIP (Compressed SLIP).
STiK requires a SLIP connection. PPP and CSLIP support are planned
for future upgrades.
Unfortunately, a few ISPs are moving away from SLIP and providing
only PPP. So in the meantime if your ISP only provides PPP then you
are unable to use STiK.
======================================================================
6: On my Falcon, I have HSMOD06 installed, and have edited the STiK
DEFAULT.CFG to comment out any SERIALPORT lines. The docs in
DEFAULT.CFG state that if you've only one serial port (like the
Falcon), and don't supply SERIALPORT =, then STiK will take the
first one found. This is fine, and works. Click on CONNECT, and
off it goes, and everything is fine.
The modem status box of STiK tells me UNKNOWN at all times.
Connected or not connected. I've heard people mention FPATCH2... do
I need this, or does HSMOD06 take care of that, also?
A: First, I would suggest that on the Falcon you specify
SERIALPORT = Modem 2
ST users specify SERIALPORT = Modem 1
As for the modem status, there is a line in DEFAULT.CFG:
CDVALID =
Set this to FALSE if your modem doesn't assert carrier detact
correctly, else TRUE. If set to FALSE, you will get the message
UNKNOWN.
======================================================================
7: STiK seems to grab the serial port in a strange way. Even though
Connect works, displayed characters are dropped. They are still
sent and received from the modem, but not displayed. No big
problem, since I have to type less than 20 characters to login...
A: Stik has its own serial routines which are incompatible with other
comms programs. For this reason, the latest version of STik is
disabled upon boot up. You have to enable it to use it (just a
click on a button in the STiK window). STiK is disabled when you
disconnect from your ISP. This way you are able to use other comms
programs.
======================================================================
8: What _should_ happen if I get CAB to work properly? What will the
screen look like?
A: To get CAB to work properly, you must have Stik.acc loaded in
memory _and_ enabled. I (and some others) have found that you can
either run Stik as a normal acc from your boot drive (normally C:)
or you can load it through Chameleon (the acc loader). If you use
Chameleon, be sure to get the patched version. It's included with
the Freedom file selector package and I got permision from
Chameleon's author to upload the patched version by itself. It's
on Delphi and Atarinet if you can't find it elsewhere.
Once Stik and CAB are loaded, run Stik to get your connection
working to your I-net provider. If all goes as it should, Stik
will run through the init string you gave it (e.g. ATZ) and your
login prompt. The final message Stik will give you is "connected"
if all works as it should. Once connected, Stik will time out and
you are ready to run CAB. If you want to use irc.tos, load Stik but
not CAB and once you get connected, run irc.tos. But most folks
want to run CAB, so back to that topic. With Stik connected and
CAB running, try accessing one of the sites on the "hotlist".
You'll see first a "resolving host" prompt followed by "connecting
to host" and then "receive data (0/0 bytes)". If all keeps working,
the received bytes number will increment (get larger) until all the
data for the first link is received. If there are graphics
included, you'll get a prompt something like "converting image" and
another prompt "formatting text". Then the whole process will
repeat for _each_ link on the page. So be patient and just let it
happen - with my 14.4K modem it still takes a few minutes for all
the links on a page to be processed and the more links there are,
the longer it'll take. If you have space on your hard drive to
store any previous pages you've downloaded (in your WWWCACHE
folder) the process will be faster, since any page that CAB can
access locally will not have to wait for the data download from the
host computer.
Once all the links are processed the page you've accessed will
appear. It looks, uh, like a page, the sample included that loads
when you run CAB is a good example. You can scroll up and down it
and select links from the page you're reading to other pages, but
if you do select a link to a new page, the whole process of
resolving/connecting/download of data/converting image/formatting
text will have to occur for _each_ page. That's how the WWW works,
so the faster your (and your host's) modem work, the faster the
whole process will go.
======================================================================
9: It works beautifully. Unfortunately, CAB doesn't seem to want to
find my proxy server when I try to connect to any homepages. It
just gives me a 'Connecting to host...' message and then times out.
Any ideas?
A: This could be to do with the proxy server being down. Also, if you
can, specify the proxy server in its numerical address with the
port number. If you still have problems then don't use a proxy
server at all. Proxy servers only make connections a bit faster due
to caching on the proxy machine.
======================================================================
10:I have configured the startup so that I can dail and connect and
receiver my session address. Then I run the HTML.APP to run the
browser part of the setup. I can then click on and "resolve host -
connect to host" but nothing else happens.
A: Sounds like you don't have the DNS set properly in the config file.
You'll need tto find the IP address of your provider's name server
(DNS) and enter that into the DNS portion of the config file. A
similar problem occurs when you enter the Gateway IP instead of the
DNS, so nothing was getting resolved.
======================================================================
11:I got CAB/Stik to work once, but it bombed out and then I couldn't
make it work again - why is that?
A: Why it did/does that, I'm not qualified to say (not a programmer)
but once Stik/CAB bombs out, the memory in your cpu is corrupted
and even unloading Stik/CAB and reloading it won't help - you must
_re-boot_ your computer to clear out the memory. And I mean _cold_
boot, AC power off to the cpu and wait 15 sec. to boot. I've also
found that Stik/CAB prints a paths followed text called domain.txt
in the CAB folder and if the domain.txt includes a failed
connection, it will interfere with getting a new (good) connection.
Some people have also found that if you have any zero-length files
in your WWWCACHE folder, this will also prevent a good connection
the next time you try. The zero-length files are generated when a
connection fails, so the best thing to do is delete them before you
try again.
======================================================================
12:I can get in with Stik/irc.tos and type /join #atari. Then it
works and I'm on #atari, but I can't scroll back or save text or
any of the things I normally do with my telcom software - why is
that?
A: Irc.tos was a fast knock-up by Steve (?) to make sure Stik worked
and give folks fast irc access. It wasn't intended to be a
full-featured program, 'though I'm told Steve wants to add more
features. If you want to do more with irc, follow the trail of
breadcrumbs to your local Unix manual. Remember, your I-net
connect is also a Unix connection, so your regular telcom software
will get you to any irc channel you want - just learn these few
simple commands... :P :P :P Don't ask me for help here - I'm in
the same boat, learning Unix by trying to get my web browser
working...
======================================================================