Most of the time everything works, but there's this fellow named Murphy, and he has this law, and it states that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.
That's the reason for this file, which should answer some of the common questions about configuring MacTCP, InterSLIP, and the Northwest Nexus SLIP accounts. You can retrieve the latest version of this file by sending email to:
tisk-faq@tidbits.com
Unfortunately, for the price of a book, we can't offer technical support, and since we didn't create the software on this disk, we make no warranties with respect to it. The folks at Northwest Nexus can help with troubles related to your account, but they know Unix, not the Mac, so please don't ask them about Mac-specific problems. For problems with Eudora, Fetch, and TurboGopher, check the online help and balloon help, and if it doesn't answer your questions, contact the developers or ask in the comp.sys.mac.comm newsgroup or in the Info-Mac Digest via email at info-mac@sumex-aim.stanford.edu (make sure to ask for responses via email).
This file currently has four sections. The two modem sections contain lists of modems that have worked without special configuration and those that may require some tweaking. These lists will grow with time. The Conflicts section lists extensions that may cause problems - if you run into a Control Panel or Extension that conflicts with MacTCP or InterSLIP, please let me know at ace@tidbits.com, and I'll add it to the list. Finally, the General Troubleshooting section has some suggestions for things to try and ways to troubleshoot problems. Good luck!
Modems that needed no tweaking/12-Sep-93
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Telebit WorldBlazer
Hayes ULTRA Smartmodem 9600
Supra v.32bis FaxModem (although one tester found that he had to hang up the modem manually - InterSLIP didn't hang up when he disconnected)
Apple PowerBook Modem
Apple PowerBook Express Modem
Modems that may require tweaking/12-Sep-93
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Abaton InterFAX
Conflicts/12-Sep-93
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The extensions for MacTOPS, an old peer-to-peer networking package, appear to conflict with MacTCP such that when you click on the Connect button in InterSLIP, nothing happens. Try removing MacTOPS (and use System 7 File Sharing instead).
Eudora 1.4 requires System 7. You can get System 7 from your Apple dealer.
In general, be wary of extensions that modify a network or a modem, including fax software.
General Troubleshooting/12-Sep-93
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Try to figure out where the problem lies. Does the modem dial the phone? Does InterSLIP start the login process on Northwest Nexus? Does the login process succeed? Can you use Fetch to connect to an FTP site? Once you have determined where the problem lies, you stand a better chance of fixing it.
If nothing happens when you click on the Connect button in InterSLIP, try removing all unnecessary Control Panels and Extensions, either via an extension manager or by physically moving those files to a folder on your desktop.
If you have messed with MacTCP in ways other than suggested in the book, try throwing out MacTCP (from the Control Panels folder in the System Folder), MacTCP DNR (from the System Folder), and MacTCP Prep (from the Preferences folder in the System Folder). Replace MacTCP from the master copy on your disk, reconfigure it, and reboot.
Reinstalling your System Software from your original disks may solve strange problems.
Make sure your modem works in general by connecting to another modem.
Make sure you have the appropriate cable. Ask your modem manufacturer for details.
If your modem seems to have trouble with the Hayes-Compatible Modem dialing script, call the manufacturer of your modem and ask for an AppleTalk Remote Access CCL script.
Leave the speaker on during dialing until you have everything working, and remember that a connection may fail because the phone lines are all busy.
If your modem connects, but InterSLIP can't seem to log in to Northwest Nexus properly, double-check your settings to make sure you have everything entered right. Then try using a terminal emulation program like ZTerm to dial the same number. Watch the login process and log in manually, using your SLIP username and password. You should see some sort of message about SLIP starting up after you enter your password, and if not, the messages (or lack of them) might provide a clue as to what's happening.
If you want to modify the Northwest Nexus gateway script, you can find some documentation for the CCL language in the InterSLIP documentation.
Keep in mind that InterSLIP is currently at version 1.0fc3, which means that it is the third final candidate for 1.0. Thus, it may contain bugs that will disappear in future releases, which will be available from ftp.tidbits.com and ftp.intercon.com.
Try three or four times before you give up, just in case.
Since the software included on the disk is all freeware or shareware (with the exception of MacTCP), it may contain bugs, and crashes may happen. If you can reproduce a bug, please tell the developer.
If Eudora sometimes refuses to send email, the SMTP server on the host machine may be refusing connections because the load average on the machine is too high. Just try again later when the machine isn't being used as heavily.
