Troubleshooting PPP Connections at UNT

A collection of known problems and possible solutions contributed by helpdesk and data communications staff members.

The following is a slightly edited version of a Web document available off of the http://www-lan.unt.edu/unt_ppp Web page. Its direct URL is http://www-lan.unt.edu/cc1/helpdesk/www/ppp/troubles.htm. This article is reflective of the page on 30 November, 1995 please check the Web page for the latest information.

Line Problems

• Problem: The general access metro lines (221-0059 and 337-0063) are not accepting PPP connections in the automatic login mode for some reason. This problem also occurs on other lines (general access AND premium) intermittently for SOME users (depends on your system and modem).
  Resolution: Windows 3.1 Use the manual login method to connect PPP to these two numbers if you cannot get in on automatic.
  • In TCPMAN, Dialer-Options, set to No Automatic Logon
  • Use Dialer-Manual login to dial the number
  • When you get a connection the terminal mode menu will appear enter ppp and press ENTER
  • When PPP starts, the characters on the screen will change to garbage characters - press ESC to switch to PPP
  • You should see Accepted followed by My IP Address = 129.120.XX.XX. Start Netscape or any other winsock application.
  Resolution: Macintosh After selecting Open on the Config PPP panel, if Waiting for menu choice appears instead of Establishment, type ppp and press ENTER and ESC(there isnt even a dialog box open to do it in!!) and the connection SHOULD go through. Resolution: Windows 95 Change the properties of the Dial-Up Networking icon for either metro line to reflect manual selection of PPP.
  • Right-mouse click on the icon and select Properties
  • In the General TAB, click on Configure...
  • In the Options TAB, Check Bring up terminal window after dialing.
  • Click OK twice to close all dialog boxes, then double-click on the icon and press Connect to start a session
  • After dialing, a Post Dial Terminal Screen window will appear; garbage characters will stream across it and stop.
  • Enter ppp and press ENTER, then click on the Continue... button

Windows 3.x Problems

• Problem: UNT PPP Installer cannot find drive a: after installing from the first diskette. Resolution: The installer is losing its focus on drive a: after the first disk for some unknown reason, on some computers. Open File Manager and click on drive a: on the drive bar to bring the focus back to a:. Then tell the installer to retry. If this does not work, open a DOS window and log on to drive a: to bring the focus there, minimize the DOS session, and continue the install.
• Problem: UNT PPP Installer GPFs after installing all four disks and before creating Internet Applications group in Program Manager. Resolution: Restart Windows and run installation again. it has taken several tries on some machines to do a successful install (load disks and uncompress software, configure TCPMAN, and create Internet Applications group).
• Problem: UNT PPP Installer installs Dallas Premium number instead of Fort Worth Premium number Resolution: In TCPMAN select Dialer Setup.cmd and change the phone number to 732-5533, the correct Premium line for Fort Worth. [This should be fixed by the time you read this ed.]
• Problem: TCPMAN gets modem not responding when trying to connect PPP. Resolution: The UNT PPP Installer sets COM port speed to 14,400 by default, no matter what setting you select for modem speed. It should be setting a valid COM port speed such as 9,600; 19,200; 38,400; or 57,600. Try placing one of these settings in TCPMAN File - Setup - Baud rate.
• Problem: If you had CompuServe (or AOL probably) installed with Web services before installing the UNT PPP software, it puts a winsock.dll in the Windows directory that conflicts with Trumpet winsock. Resolution: Rename the winsock.dll in their Windows directory to winsock.old or some other name. Then TCPMAN will find the correct winsock.dll when it activates. This may break the CompuServe or other provider software if it a) must have its own winsock.dll in a specific location to run, or b) if it is not compatible with the Trumpet winsock.dll.
• Problem: You want to click on Netscape (or some other icon) and make it dial and connect automatically as opposed to starting Winsock and then starting your application. Resolution: Change the working directory of the icon to C:\untppp\ trmpwsk. You can change the working directory by using the Windows Properties feature. Just select the icon (single click on it) and press ALT - ENTER. Then modify the working directory as mentioned previously. daw
• Problem: You connected with TCP Manager just fine, broke the connection and want to reconnect, but after it dials it says Rejected. Resolution: Trumpet Winsock doesnt always clear from memory the IP address you were assigned last time you connected. Close TCP Manager and reopen it, then try connecting again.

Macintosh Problems

• Problem: If you previously had MacPPP installed on your computer, the Internet Quick-Start for Mac installer will not over-write the existing PPP preference file. When you open Config PPP the only configurations you see are the ones you previously set. Resolution: Delete the file PPP Preferences from the Preferences folder in your System Folder. Using Internet Quick-Start for Mac, install only MacPPP using the Custom Install option.
• Problem: After successfully establishing a connection using Config PPP the control panel doesnt show that the connection has been established. Resolution: There is a bug in the MacPPP software where it wont always refresh the window once a connection is made. Close the window and re-open it. If the connection was successful, the control panel will now reflect it.

Windows 95 Problems

• Problem: Newly created Dial-Up Networking icons are unable to connect PPP. Resolution: If the Windows 95 system has stored a username for you in all capital letters (I have seen this on systems connected to Netware servers with the same username as that used for jove/PPP) then the PPP connection cannot be authenticated. Make sure that your username and password for jove are stored in each Dial-Up Networking icon in the correct case, normally LOWER case.
• Problem: Changing the selected modem for a Dial-Up Networking icon breaks PPP connectivity. Resolution: If you have a working Dial-Up Networking connection defined (as an icon) and change the modem, only the modem settings are carried in correctly. The TCP/IP settings are reset to the defaults (most of the protocol boxes checked.... and no name servers defined). You must go back into the TCP/IP server settings and UNCheck everything except TCP/IP, and re-add the name server information.

To report any problems or questions about this server please contact us by sending mail to www@unt.edu. Thanks!