Media Depot 5

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Media Depot 5 / mediadepotvolume51993.iso / FILES / 03 / PSSA411.ZIP / SAPPHTS.DOC < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1996-07-10 | 46.6 KB | 946 lines

█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ █ HOW TO USE THIS TROUBLE-SHOOTING GUIDE █ █──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────█ █ █ █ This guide is contained in the file SAPPHTS.DOC. You can print it out, but █ █ it works best if you view it via the SYSOP menu, which uses our SEE program. █ █ To do that, enter SYSOP at the DOS prompt, select INFO, then select TROUBLE. █ █ This lets you search the guide for keywords whenever you have a problem. █ █ █ █ Each problem described in this file is preceded by a list of keywords, each █ █ of which is preceded by a slash character (/). Thus, if you had a modem █ █ problem, you could press "F" (for Find) then search for /MODEM. By repeat- █ █ edly searching for /MODEM (press F3 after the initial search) you can █ █ quickly scan the file for any related problems. █ █ █ █ When in doubt about which keyword to choose, use the shortest one that can █ █ describe your problem. For example, if a user has trouble connecting, look █ █ for /CONNECT rather than /CONNECTION PROBLEM, since /CONNECT would match on █ █ /CONNECT or /CONNECTING or /CONNECTION and so on. Most important, avoid any █ █ plurals: search for /MODEM, not /MODEMS. █ █ █ █ You can also search major categories. See the INDEX section, below. █ █▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █ █ █ == INDEX == █ █ █ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ Major categories in this guide are presented in alphabetical order, as follows: ■ COMMANDS (STANDARD) ■ COMMANDS (SYSOP) ■ DISPLAY ■ DOORS ■ EVENTS ■ FILE TRANSFER ■ FRONT END ■ INPUT ■ MAINTENANCE ■ MESSAGES ■ MODEM ■ NOISE ■ PROGRAM FAILURE ■ SIGN ON Specific headings are preceded by two equals signs and a blank (see INDEX heading, above). Thus, to find the NOISE section, press F for Find, type "==", then a blank, then "NOISE". ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █ █ █ == COMMANDS (STANDARD) == █ █ █ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ KEYWORD: /COMMANDS/SET/NAMES/TEXT PROBLEM: How do SET, NAMES or TEXT work? These commands "tune" other commands to restrict or control what they report. SET controls them by time, NAMES by the name of the person or file being referenced, and TEXT by any text (apart from name-oriented text) that might be presented by the command. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █ █ █ == COMMANDS (SYSOP) == █ █ █ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ KEYWORD: /COMMANDS/USERS/CLEAN/CLEAN-UP/CLEANUP PROBLEM: How do I access clean-up mode? To clean up the user list, you have to be in UltraMode (turned on and off with Alt-F10). Once you're in UltraMode, select the USERS command. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █ █ █ == DISPLAY == █ █ █ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ KEYWORD: /SEE/VIEW/43/50/EGA/VGA PROBLEM: When viewing text files with SEE, I no longer switch to 43- or 50-line mode The version of SEE that accompanies Sapphire is a custom version designed for Sapphire. If you find a more recent version of SEE, don't install it in your Sapphire directory. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █ █ █ == DOORS == █ █ █ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ KEYWORD: /DOORS/OTHER BBS/INTERFACE PROBLEM: How do I use doors that weren't specifically designed for Sapphire? Several interface programs are available which will interface doors for one BBS to another BBS. For example, the shareware program DOORMASTER can be used. An evaluation copy of this program may be obtained from our support system. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEYWORD: /DOORS/REMOTE PROBLEM: The door comes up but the users don't see anything Here are a few things to check out: 1. Are you running a "FOSSIL" driver? If so, why? Does the door NEED the fossil? Can you disable the fossil when it's not being used? If the door documentation doesn't explicitly say that it needs a fossil driver, try removing the fossil COMPLETELY before trying the door (i.e. reboot and don't install it). Then, if that proves that the fossil was the cause of the problem, read the fossil documentation to see if there is some way to disable the fossil when it is not needed. 2. Does the door know which port it is supposed to be using? You may have to use a door interface program (described above) to let it know. 3. Some programs (such as Pinnacle Software's Pyroto Mountain program) can accept the port information on the command line, in which case you should make sure that you are not pointing at the console. Taking Pyroto as an example, if the command line specifies a port of 0 (zero), it means the console. If it specifies a port address, it means the serial port. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEYWORD: /DOORS/RETURN PROBLEM: How does Sapphire know we are coming back from a door? When Sapphire creates the batch file EXTERNAL.BAT, it writes the part where it starts itself back up as follows: SAPPHIRE DOOR This lets Sapphire know that it should not initialize the modem. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEYWORD: /DOORS/START/DOS/ PROBLEM: When a door is called, I am returned to DOS. The following applies only to doors that are not stock files. The proper way to start up Sapphire is via the SYSOP menu (i.e. type SYSOP at the DOS prompt). You can then select DEMO, LOCAL, or STANDARD mode. A quick way to run in STANDARD mode is to type SAPPHIRE at the DOS prompt. This runs the batch file SAPPHIRE.BAT. If you run Sapphire by typing SRUN (i.e. running SRUN.EXE directly), doors and events will not work correctly. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █ █ █ == EVENTS == █ █ █ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ KEYWORD: /EVENTS/RETURN PROBLEM: How does Sapphire know we are coming back from a event? When Sapphire creates the batch file EXTERNAL.BAT, it writes the part where it starts itself back up as follows: SAPPHIRE EVENT This lets Sapphire know that it should not initialize the modem. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEYWORD: /EVENTS/START/DOS/ PROBLEM: When an event is called, I am returned to DOS. The proper way to start up Sapphire is via the SYSOP menu (i.e. type SYSOP at the DOS prompt). You can then select DEMO, LOCAL, or STANDARD mode. A quick way to run in STANDARD mode is to type SAPPHIRE at the DOS prompt. This runs the batch file SAPPHIRE.BAT. If you run Sapphire by typing SRUN (i.e. running SRUN.EXE directly), doors and events will not work correctly. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █ █ █ == FILE TRANSFER == █ █ █ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ KEYWORD: /DOWNLOAD/UPLOAD/ABORTS PROBLEM: File transfer does not work correctly, or aborts immediately Here are a few things to check out: 1. If you are running on COM3 or COM4, you must tell DSZ this by specifying the DSZPORT parameter. For example, if you are on COM3, you would have to enter the DOS command SET DSZPORT=3. The DSZ manual explains more. 2. While the Sapphire program itself does not use "hardware interrupts", the file-transfer engine (DSZ) does. Thus, if Sapphire is running fine, but the file transfer is not, it may be because you have more than one hardware device trying to use the same interrupt line. On most computers, COM1 interferes with COM3, while COM2 interferes with COM4. If, for example, you have your modem on COM3 and a mouse on COM1, you should move your modem to COM2 if possible. Sapphire is not affected by "interrupt contention", but DSZ uses interrupts to provide the fastest performance possible -- an important consideration for a file-transfer engine. 3. Check your paths (SYSOP:CONFIG:BASIC:GENERAL:PATHS) and make sure that you have all the correct directoy paths specified. Sometimes people copy Sapphire to another computer, along with the config- uration information (in the file SAPPHIRE.CFG). As a result, the new copy of Sapphire might point to non-existent directories. Fortunately, when you view the paths via CONFIG, then press F10, the CONFIG program will create the directories -- if that is possible. It may not be possible if, for example, the path is C:\XYZ\FILES and there is no C:\XYZ directory. 4. Are you running a "FOSSIL" driver? If so, see the discussion of fossils in the DOORS section. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █ █ █ == FRONT END == █ █ █ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ KEYWORD: /FRONT END/FIDO/NETWORK PROBLEM: Does Sapphire support Fido or other networks? Not at the moment. We are looking into the possibility of creating a truly maintenance-free network. We have heard from some Fido sysops that they spend up to 3 hours a week keeping their Fido system up to date. This is not in keep- ing with the "install and forget" design of Sapphire. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEYWORD: /FRONT END/INSTALL PROBLEM: How do you install a front-end program (to answer the modem)? Another program can call Sapphire with the command: SAPPHIRE FRONT <baudrate> This will start up Sapphire without touching the modem. If the baudrate is 0 (zero) or omitted, it means that the user is at the console. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █ █ █ == INPUT == █ █ █ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ KEYWORD: /USER/ENTER/INPUT/FREEZE PROBLEM: User has to press Enter twice after each input. The symptom is that the user will type some input, hit Enter, and the cursor will "freeze" in column one -- before doing a linefeed -- and will not move on until he hits another character. This happens when the user sets his terminal program to send a CTRL-S whenever he presses Enter. For some reason, some Macintosh terminal programs seem to come pre-configured this way. Over the phone, it is very difficult to explain to a user how to solve this problem. In brief, however, he should look through his terminal program's configuration section for something labelled "handshaking" or "ASCII protocol", or something like that, and disable handshaking there. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEYWORD: /USER/INPUT/CHARACTERS/MISSING PROBLEM: Some of the characters the user types are lost. Sapphire can have problems with multi-tasking software such as DesqView. The Sapphire serial routines are poll-driven rather than interrupt-driven. What this means is that, if you're running multi-tasking software, your users may lose characters when they type. Poll-driven I/O offers total port compatibility with all hardware platforms upon which Sapphire is likely to be run, but it does make it inappropriate for multi-tasking machines. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █ █ █ == MAINTENANCE == █ █ █ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ SEE ALSO: COMMANDS (SYSOP) ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ KEYWORD: /FILE LIST/FULL/DISK/SPACE PROBLEM: File list is full In most cases, the file list is self-maintaining, but if ALL of the files have been on the list for less than 14 days, auto-maintenance is disabled. When this happens, you can manually delete some files, using the FILES command (when logged in at user level 8), or you can wait for a few days for some files to time out. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █ █ █ == MESSAGES == █ █ █ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ KEYWORD: /MESSAGES/READING/MISSING/NEW PROBLEM: The number of "new" messages reported is different from what is actually shown. 1. If the message just before the first one in that message base is yours, yours will be diplayed, in order to put the replies in context. This is not, however, a "new" message, so it isn't counted. 2. Messages with no viewable text (or just the summary line viewable) due to use of <<privates>> or ><exclusives>< are not displayed, though they are counted in the "new" messages. (It would take too long for Sapphire to look at each message in the message base, in advance, to see which ones are visible.) 3. If you physically delete message files (instead of using the ERASE command), Sapphire will keep them listed in the message file, but won't be able to open the file when it is time to display it. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEYWORD: /MESSAGES/READING/MISSING/NEW/MINE/MOVE PROBLEM: When I send a message, I can't see it, even if I use the MOVE command to move it to a date ahead of my read date. In normal reading, Sapphire avoids showing you your own messages unless they serve to put other messages in context (see the previous item). You can see your own message if you do a Temporary SET, however. But since SET can't be entered before you logon, this means that you never see your own logon messages (unless somebody else is also writing logon messages). If you wish to check your messages, use the REVIEW or CHANGE command. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █ █ █ == MODEM == █ █ █ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ This categories is divided into the following sub-categories: ■ CONNECTING ■ DISCONNECTING ■ MISCELLANEOUS ▄█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█▄ █ = CONNECTING = █ ▀█▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█▀ KEYWORD: /MODEM/ANSWER/CONNECTING/CALL PROBLEM: Modem doesn't answer incoming calls. This happens if the modem is not configured correctly, either in hardware or modem settings. Check all of the following suggestions; one of them may solve your problem. ∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙ HARDWARE PROBLEMS ··············································································· 1. If, when you start up Sapphire, it does NOT have an error-free dialog with the modem (i.e. if it complains about a carrier, or modem not ready, or if the modem never responds "OK"), refer to the trouble- shooting section concerned with those problems (do a keyword search for (slash)CARRIER, (slash)NOT READY or (slash)OK). 2. If you have an external modem (a box outside your computer, as opposed to a card inside your computer), check the following: A. Is your modem plugged in? (Are lights glowing on the front panel?) B. Is the modem plugged into the phone line? C. Is the phone line plugged into the CORRECT plug on the modem? (Some modems have one plug for the line and one for a handset) 3. As an aid to understanding the problem, try calling the modem on a voice phone. Does it pick up the line? If it does pick up the line, do you hear a carrier? ∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙ MODEM SETTINGS ··············································································· 1. If you have an external modem, it may have some lights which indicate how it is set, or what signals it is receiving. Check these lights and settings, and compare them with the informatin in your modem manual. LIGHT USUALLY AFFECTED LABEL MEANING BY MODEM COMMAND RELATED ITEMS IN THIS GUIDE ───── ────────────── ──────────────── ─────────────────────────── AA Auto-Answer ATS0=1 Search for (slash)DIP MR Modem Ready AT&D1 Search for (slash)DIP TR Terminal Ready N/A OH Off-hook ATH0 Should be OFF, not on. LIGHT LABEL MEANING COMMENTS ───── ────────────── ──────────────────────────────────────────────── SD Send Should flash when modem receives your commands RD Read Should flash when modem replies to your commands 2. If you have an internal modem, you still have to make the settings correctly, but you won't see any lights to indicate if your commands have been accepted. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEYWORD: /MODEM/ANSWER/CONNECTING/SPEED/9600/V32 PROBLEM: Modem answers incoming calls okay at some speeds but not at others. 1. In configuring your modem, you must take care to set the X setting (i.e. the ATX command) properly. For example, some settings may not show the baud rate properly. In general, use the highest X setting supported by your modem. 2. If you are having trouble at baud rates of 9600 or more, you will have to consult your modem manual. A sample problem: the other person might be trying to connect an HST (old-style US Robotics) modem at 9600 to a V32 modem at 9600; the two methods are not compatible. 3. Some modems, when initialized at one speed, will not jump to higher speeds. In such case, try initializing the modem at the highest speed it supports. 3A. If you are using a 9600+ baud modem, and you have a machine that runs at 8 Mhz or faster, try initializing it at 9600 baud. If that works, AND you have a V32bis modem AND you have a machine that is 16 Mhz and faster, you can try initializing it at 14400. Do a search on <slash>HIGH SPEED for some additional notes on this topic. 3B. If your machine is slower than 8 Mhz, you will probably have to initialize at 2400 baud. On some modems, this will make it impossible to receive calls at 9600 baud because the modem assumes that your initializing baudrate is the maximum you can attain. This is a flaw in the design philosophy of the modem, and there is nothing that Sapphire can do about it. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEYWORD: /MODEM/ANSWER/CONNECTING/SPEED/HIGH SPEED/9600/V32/DTE/LOCKING/BAUD PROBLEM: Users get nonsense characters when connecting to my high-speed modem. Some "Fax Modems" claim to support 9600, but the 9600 may refer to their fax function, not its data rate (caveat emptor). Moreover, not all 9600 bps modems are compatible. A "non-dual standard" V-Hayes, Telebit PEP or CompuComm modem will communicate with a different model at 2400 baud, but can attain higher speeds when talking to the same kind of modem. If you're thinking about getting a high-speed modem, get a V32 model (or one of its descendants, such as V32bis, V32terbo etc.), as this has become the accepted standard. (Nevertheless, not all V32 modems are created equal and sometimes different brands refuse to communicate at more than 2400 baud.) If you are having other problems with your high-speed modem, read the following article... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOW HIGH SPEED MODEMS WORK -- BECOME AN INSTANT MODEM GURU BY READING THIS -------------------------------------------------------------------------- High speed modems support something called "locked baud rates". This means that no matter what speed the caller dials in at, the modem will talk to Sapphire at a specific speed. When a modem is advertised as supporting more than 14400 baud, it usually means that it is connected to the remote system at a lower speed, hooked up to the local computer at the higher speed, and uses data compression to try to achieve the higher throughput. Each modem has a limit on the highest physical baudrate its communications hardware can support; this is always lower than the claimed highest speed. For example, a V32bis modem may claim it can achieve a throughput of 38400 baud, but this makes use of compression (typically V42bis compression) to boost a 14400 baud connection as high as 38400. In normal use, you will rarely get 38400 baud throughput. Nevertheless, in such a case the connection between the modem and the computer is locked at 38400 baud. When data comes in from the phone line (at, say, 14400 baud) the modem decompresses it and sends it on to the computer at 38400. In other words, the session between the modem and the remote end (known as the "DCE Session") is NOT at the same speed as the session between the modem and the local computer (known as the "DTE Session") By the way, DCE stands for "Data Communication Equipment" and DTE stands for "Data Terminating Equipment". Let's take another example, using a V32 modem (which has slightly less throughput than the more advanced V32bis modem). In such case, the baud rates are a bit lower, but once again, they are not the same on either side of the modem. A typical V32 session looks like this: REMOTE USER --- 9600baud ---> MODEM --- 19200baud ---> SAPPHIRE So far, so good. But let's see what happens when data goes the other way, as in this example: REMOTE USER <--- 9600baud --- MODEM <--- 19200baud --- SAPPHIRE If Sapphire is sending data at 19200 baud, how can it squeeze all that data through the 9600 baud connection? The answer is: it can't. The modem has to buffer (i.e. save up) the incoming data and let it out a bit at a time (at 9600 baud). While the modem is doing this, it needs some way to tell Sapphire to stop sending new data (in other words, the modem says, "Please wait -- I'm busy!") It does this by "handshaking" with Sapphire, using the CTS (Clear To Send) hardware line. (If you have an external modem connected to your computer by an RS-232 cable, one of the wires in the cable is the CTS line -- assuming your cable is complete. If you have an internal modem, the CTS line is built in to the card.) Handshaking is automatically enabled when you set "Locked DTE Speed?" to Yes in SYSOP:CONFIG:BASIC:MODEM:SETTINGS. When setting up your high-speed modem for Sapphire, don't set its initializing baudrate (SYSOP:CONFIG:BASIC:MODEM:SETTINGS) to a value higher than your computer can handle. Here are some general guidelines for maximum baudrates: MAXIMUM INITIALIZING TYPE OF COMPUTER BAUDRATE ---------------- ------------ 4.5 Mhz XT 9600 8.0 Mhz XT 14400 8.0 Mhz AT 19200 33.0 Mhz 386 38400 60.0 Mhz 486 57600 (See Note#2) Note#1: These figures are based on the assumption that you are not multi- tasking or running Sapphire under Windows, neither of which are recommended. Note#2: The default connection baudrates are defined via the CONFIG program, in SYSOP:BASIC:MODEM:CONNECTIONS. The highest baudrate defined is 38400, but you can modify the list to include 57600 (at the expense of ignoring 300 baud connections). ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEYWORD: /MODEM/ANSWER/CONNECTING/SPEED/300 PROBLEM: Modem doesn't work properly on 300 baud calls Some 9600 baud modems can't support the higher baud-rates and 300 baud at the same time. Under some circumstance, the Telebit T1600 exhibits this behaviour. There is no way to fix this problem except to experiment with the modem's internal settings. Be sure to record your modem's present settings before you start experimenting. ▄█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█▄ █ = DISCONNECTING = █ ▀█▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█▀ KEYWORD: /MODEM/HANG UP/ECHO PROBLEM: When user hangs up, modem endlessly echoes back to Sapphire. Some modems don't have time to drop the carrier while characters are being sent. For this reason, you have to configure the modem not to echo command characters. This can cause an echoing loop when somebody hangs up. ┌·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┐ | The solution given here applies to most modems, but check your modem manual | └·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┘ ┌·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┬·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┐ | MODEM HAS | | | DIP SWITCHES? | ACTION TO BE TAKEN | ├·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┼·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┤ | YES | Set switch 4 to NOT echo characters | ├·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┼·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┤ | NO | Include E0 - not E1 - in your modem initialization command | └·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┴·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┘ ▄█▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀█▄ █ = MISCELLANEOUS = █ ▀█▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█▀ KEYWORD: /MODEM/CARRIER PROBLEM: Sapphire says that the modem is presenting a carrier. You must set your modem so that it does NOT present a carrier -- unless some- body has dialed in and is connected. ┌·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┐ | The solution given here applies to most modems, but check your modem manual | └·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┘ ┌·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┬·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┐ | MODEM HAS | | | DIP SWITCHES? | ACTION TO BE TAKEN | ├·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┼·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┤ | YES | Set switch 6 to use CD line | ├·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┼·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┤ | NO | Try including &C1 in your modem initialization command | └·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┴·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┘ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEYWORD: /MODEM/NOT READY/READY PROBLEM: Sapphire displays the message "MODEM NOT READY" 1. If you have an external modem, are all wires of the modem cable connected properly? A. If you have a "null modem cable" (pins 2 and 3 cross-connected) Sapphire simply can't talk to the modem. Null modem cables (and break-out boxes) may also interconnect certain important wires, resulting in the "MODEM NOT READY" message. B. Using a volt-ohmeter (or some wire, a flashlight battery, and a flashlight bulb) as an electrical continuity tester, check that the important pins and wires are connected end-to-end: 25-pin connector 9-pin connector PIN DESCRIPTION PIN DESCRIPTION --- ----------- --- ----------- 6 Data Set Ready (DSR) 6 Data Set Ready (DSR) 20 Data Terminal Ready (DTR) 4 Data Terminal Ready (DTR) The pin numbers are usually written in tiny letters on one of the connectors, or pin 1 is marked with a little arrow. ··············································································· 2. Make sure that the modem is configured to use the Terminal Ready line. ┌·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┐ | The solution given here applies to most modems, but check your modem manual | └·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┘ ┌·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┬·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┐ | MODEM HAS | | | DIP SWITCHES? | ACTION TO BE TAKEN | ├·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┼·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┤ | YES | Set switch 1 to use DTR line | ├·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┼·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┤ | NO | Try including &D1 or &D2 in modem initialization command | └·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┴·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┘ ··············································································· 3. Make sure the modem's DSR behaviour is configured properly. Most modems allow you to set the behaviour of the Dataset Ready (DSR) signal. The proper setting is "always on", but some modems use DSR to indicate whether or not there is a carrier. Some modems default to "always off". Some modems have internal DIP switches that let you set DSR behaviour. On most modems, however, the AT&S0 command sets the corrects behaviour. Try accessing the modem with the TERM batch file, included with Sapphire. 1) Start by turning your computer and modem off. 2) Turn them back on, boot up, and switch to your Sapphire directory. 3) Assuming you are on COM1, enter the following command at the DOS prompt: TERM 1 2400 (if you are on COM2, use TERM 2 2400). 4) When the terminal program ("Nifty Term") starts up, type this: ATV1<enter> The modem will reply OK if it is properly connected. 5) Enter the following permanent (but resettable) configuration command: AT&S0&C1&D2&W<enter> The modem will reply OK if the command was successfully executed. Look up these commands in your modem manual for a better understanding of what this is about. For example, AT&S0 normally sets the modem to "Ready". Also, look up the command AT&F in your modem manual -- it may help you. 6) If you see nothing when you type these commands, type ATE1V1<enter> while in "Nifty Term" and try again. If you still see nothing, you may be on the wrong com port. If you see ERROR, check your modem's manual to see if you are entering a non-valid command. 7) If all of the preceding steps worked, yet Sapphire still shows "Modem Not Ready": A) You may have pointed Sapphire to the wrong com port (in SYSOP:CONFIG:BASIC:MODEM:PORT). B) You may be resetting your modem to factory defaults (AT&F) in your modem initialization string (CONFIG:BASIC:MODEM:COMMANDS). The ATZ (reset) command could also do the same thing if you left out the &W part of the command in step 5. Either way (AT&F or ATZ) can turn off the AT&S setting you specified in the TERM utility, which puts you right back where you started. Incidentally, you can check the Dataset Ready condition of the modem by entering this command at the DOS prompt: MODEM 1 DSR (if you are on COM1) or MODEM 2 DSR (if you are on COM2). You can use this, in conjunction with the TERM utility, to find out which command turns DSR on. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEYWORD: /MODEM/OK/AT COMMANDS PROBLEM: The modem seldom or never responds "OK" to the commands I send it. 1. Try configuring the modem at a lower baud-rate -- it may be missing some of the responses. The initialization baud-rate is set via SYSOP:CONFIG: BASIC:MODEM:SETTINGS. 2. If the problem happens only after you've used another modem-oriented program, turn the modem off and on before starting Sapphire. The method by which some modems figure out their command baudrate may make it impossible for Sapphire to reset the modem. Technical explanation: Modems determine their command baudrate by looking for an "AT" after a reset. Some modems reset on a DTR transition; some don't. In such case, the easiest way to do a reset is to turn the modem off and on. 3. Your modem may be responding slowly. Sapphire waits 1.5 seconds for a modem response to begin, but for some commands (especially the ATZ reset command), it may take your modem longer than that. You might be able to solve the problem by modifying the Command Pacing value in SYSOP:CONFIG: BASIC:MODEM:SETTINGS. If that does not solve your problem, watch the process carefully to deter- mine if your modem is, in fact, accepting the command -- but that for some reason Sapphire is simply unable to obtain the response. If everything else works fine (i.e. users can call in), then you may decide to simply put up with the fact that Sapphire will attempt each command three times. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEYWORD: /MODEM/DIP SWITCHES PROBLEM: Modem has DIP switches. Older modems have tiny DIP (dual-inline-package) switches (sometimes you have to open the modem to find the bank of switches). In most cases, they are set as follows: ┌·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┐ | The solution given here applies to most modems, but check your modem manual | └·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┘ Switch 1 UP: Computer should use the Data Terminal Ready (DTR) line Switch 2 UP: Result codes sent as words Switch 3 DOWN: Result codes are sent to the computer Switch 4 UP: Echo incoming characters Switch 5 DOWN: Don't answer incoming calls Switch 6 UP: Computer should use the Carrier Detect (CD) line These modems may also have switches 7 and 8; check your manual to see how they should be set. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █ █ █ == NOISE == █ █ █ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ KEYWORD: /NOISE/RANDOM/CHARACTERS/GARBAGE/CONNECTING PROBLEM: Users see some random characters when they connect. 1. If only one user has this problem, ask him to try on a different modem, or to try from another location. 2. If everybody has this problem, disconnect ALL phones at your house (even those on other lines) except the modem. If this cures the problem, it may indicate the problem. Some conference phones, for example, cause leakage between lines, which causes line noise. 3. If you have this problem during early testing, make sure that the other person has called other BBS's before, at the baud rate being attempted, and that the baud rate being attempted is within the capabilities of both modems. 4. See also the CONNECTING items in the MODEM section. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █ █ █ == PROGRAM FAILURE == █ █ █ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ KEYWORD: /PROGRAM/FAILURE/ERROR CODE/RUNTIME ERROR/IO ERROR/BUG PROBLEM: Program fails with an Run-time error code. The following table may help you determine the cause of the error: ┌·─·─·─·─·┐┌·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┐ | ERROR # || COMMENTS | ├·─·─·─·─·┤├·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┤ | 2 and 3 || File/Path not found. Are all file paths in SYSOP:CONFIG valid? | ├·─·─·─·─·┤├·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┤ | 4 || Too many open files. Increase your FILES= value in CONFIG.SYS. | | || See your DOS manual for an explanation of the CONFIG.SYS file. | ├·─·─·─·─·┤├·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┤ | 5 || File access denied. For some reason, Sapphire is trying to write | | || to a read-only file or a directory. Check SYSOP:CONFIG carefully. | ├·─·─·─·─·┤├·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┤ | 100 || For some reason, a file is shorter than Sapphire thought it would | | || be. Check your Sapphire directory for any zero-length files. If | | || you find one, and it is a file that Sapphire creates (i.e. it is | | || obviously a Sapphire data file but did not come in the original | | || Sapphire package), back up your Sapphire directory, delete the | | || suspect file, and run Sapphire again to see if it creates the | | || file correctly. | ├·─·─·─·─·┤├·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┤ | 101 || Your disk is full. Clear some space before restarting Sapphire. | ├·─·─·─·─·┤├·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┤ | 150 || Your disk is write-protected, so Sapphire can not write to it. | ├·─·─·─·─·┤├·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┤ | 152 || Disk drive not ready -- may be a hardware malfunction. | ├·─·─·─·─·┤├·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┤ |154 - 162|| Probably a hardware malfunction. Have your computer checked for | | || proper operation by qualified service personnel. | └·─·─·─·─·┘└·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·─·┘ If the table above does not help you solve your problem, dial in to our BBS at 514-345-8654 and have a look around; we may have a copy of SAPPHTS.DOC that covers your problem or a new version of SRUN.EXE that solves it. If that doesn't help, call our voice support line at 514-345-9578. If you think you've spotted a bug in Sapphire, the most helpful thing you can do is learn how to make it happen on demand. That is to say, before you report a problem, try to understand it well enough to make it happen on purpose. Here's a checklist to help you assess the problem: 1. What do you think causes the problem? 2. How often does it happen? 3. Does it happen to everybody or just certain people? 4. Did it start just recently or has it always happened? 5. If it just started, what changed just before it started? 6. What have you done to try to solve the problem? ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █ █ █ == SIGN-ON == █ █ █ ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ KEYWORD: /SIGN-ON/CONNECT/LOGOFF/LOGO PROBLEM: User connects, sees the sign-on logo, and is then logged off Sapphire has an "announce only" feature, which is turned on by pressing the ALT-F5 key while "Waiting for Visitor". In announce mode, only the logo is shown. You can turn this off by pressing ALT-F5 again. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEYWORD: /SIGN-ON/SIGN-UP/FULL/USER LIST/ROOM PROBLEM: Sapphire does not accept any more sign-ups 1. As a security feature, you can specify the maximum number of sign-ups that can happen in a row (between visits by members who are already signed up). This is set by SYSOP:CONFIG:ADVANCED:SECURITY:NEW USER:MAXIMUM SIGN-UPS. For details, go to that field in the CONFIG program, and press F1. 2. Sapphire lets you specify which user-levels can "time out". This is set by SYSOP:CONFIG:ADVANCED:SECURITY:TIME-OUTS. At least ONE of these levels must be set to "Y" (i.e. Yes, this level can time out). Otherwise, when a new user signs up, Sapphire is not permitted to discard any inactive users to make room for the new one. 3. Sapphire can have up to 1000 users on the user list. If you actually have this many active users, you might consider creating a GUEST account so that common operations can be carried out on a "generic" account. To specify a GUEST account, see SYSOP:CONFIG:ADVANCED:SECURITY:SIGN-ON:GUEST ACCOUNT. Press F1 when you are on the GUEST ACCOUNT field for additional details. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── KEYWORD: /SIGN-ON/CONNECT PROBLEM: User connects, but Sapphire does not see it happening 1. On some machines, at high speeds, the screen saver may cause incoming calls to be missed. If you have this problem, set your screen saver delay to zero in SYSOP:CONFIG:ADVANCED:PRESENTATION:BLANKING. 2. You may have set your initializing baudrate too high for your computer. (Initializing baudrate is set by SYSOP:CONFIG:BASIC:MODEM:SETTINGS) Most AT-class computers can handle an initializing baud-rate of 19200, but if you have doubts, try 14400. For a detailed discussion of initializing baudrates, see the section in this trouble-shooting guide entitled "How High Speed Modems Work". 3. You should make sure that your modem is designed for the speed at which you initialize it. Some older fax modems advertised "9600 baud" but this referred only to their fax performance; their data speed was actually 2400. 4. You may be multi-tasking. For various reasons (economy, efficiency, compatibility, ease of installation) Sapphire is designed to work best when it has the computer to itself. Consider this: Each additional program you run under multi-tasking slows you down a bit, so it makes sense to off-load the task of running the BBS from your expensive main machine to an old DOS machine. Sapphire runs just fine on even an old XT. Sapphire should not be run under Windows, DesqView or any other multi-tasking operating system.