Help when your modem disconnects
The rather abrupt looking error message you receive when you are disconnected from the internet is not as frightening as it looks! All it means is that you probably have another ISP on your computer, such as CompuServe or AOL, and you have logged into them prior to trying to logging into your i12 account. All you need to do in most cases is simply reboot your machine and then try to login again. This will allow your modem to initialise and dial out.

You may also get an error message, which says that you have been disconnected from the computer you have dialled or the remote computer. This can be for a variety of reasons. It may be that you have installed new software and this has caused your settings to be lost.

You will need to check that you have all the correct settings in your network icon in the control panel.

You may also need to check the quality of your telephone line with your telephone provider, as this can cause the line to drop as soon as you connect to the server.

Help with login problems
Most login problems occur because you may have typed your login username or password incorrectly. You need to make sure that they are typed in lowercase.

Troubleshooter for Windows 95/98
On most Microsoft Windows 95/98 machines, there are at least four key locations for setting up your internet connection, and therefore four key locations where things are not as they should be.

The first place to look when you have a problem, is with the "Modems" icon in the "Control Panel". Make sure the modem model number and speed listed under the "General Tab" are correct. Click on the "Properties Button", the "General Tab" will show the communications port it is using. The Maximum Speed setting should always be higher than the modem's top speed; it is usually safe to leave it on the fastest 115,200bps setting.

On the "Connection Tab" under "Connection Preferences", "Data Bits" is almost always set to 8, Parity is None and Stop Bits 1. Click the "Port Settings" button; the FIFO Buffer boxes should normally be checked on Pentium/Pentium II/Pentium III's/Pentium IV’s and other PCs made in the past three or five years.

The positions of the sliders will vary; it's worth trying a lower setting if you are having intermittent problems, such as dropped connections or corrupted data. Go back to the "Connection Tab" and click on the "Advanced" button and note which items have been checked. They will vary according to your Browser software.

The next stop is your Browser. Look for menu items like "Options" "Preferences" or "Internet Options". These will contain some or all of the main settings used for your modem connection.

Internet browser software is notoriously flaky; some programs can be very territorial and will not co-exist with rival software. The best advice is to have only one browser on your PC at a time. At i12, we would recommend either Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which comes free on the i12 CD, or Netscape Navigator.

There's a lot of information contained in "Dial-up Networking", right click on your i12 icon within "Dial-up Networking" and select "Properties". Once again, look and take note but don't change anything.

The "Device Manager" which lives in the "Systems" icon within "Control Panel" is a good place to check if a sudden problem arises. If you see a yellow ringed exclamation mark next to the Modem listing then there maybe a driver or resource conflict. To resolve it start the "Conflict Troubleshooter" utility by typing in "Conflict" in Windows Help.