Checking & Reinstalling Dial-Up Networking

Unlike TCP/IP and the other protocols found in the Network Control Panel, Dial-Up Networking rarely becomes corrupted. With that in mind, we suggest that you first check the settings under your connection icon. Finding the problem there will eliminate the need for a more complicated procedure later on.

• Close any programs that happen to be open, so that your desktop is showing.
• Double-click My Computer. Within the new window, double-click Dial-Up Networking.
• Here you will likely see an icon called "Spectranet" (it may also be called "My Connection" or "Connection to [phone#]"). Click that icon with the right mouse button, and select Properties.
• On the first screen, check the following:
  • the phone number (DUN has been known to spontaneously change the number to 999-9999).
  • the "Dial using area code and..." check-box is empty.
  • the correct modem is showing under "Connect using".
• Then click on Server Types. It may be a tab at the top, or a button towards the bottom of the window. Check the following:
  • "Type of Dial-Up Server" begins with PPP.
  • that only "Enable Software Compression" and "TCP/IP" are checked. Having "Log on to network" checked will drastically increase authorization time (up to 45 seconds longer, in some cases).
• Click on the TCP/IP Settings button. In the new window, check the following:
  • "Server assigned IP address" is selected.
  • "Specify name server addresses" is selected.
  • Primary DNS: 204.187.59.1
  • Secondary DNS: 204.187.59.2
  • Primary WINS and Secondary WINS addresses are all zeroes.
  • both check-boxes at the bottom are selected.
• Click OK on each screen until you are back to the Dial-Up Networking window. Double-click the connection icon which you've just edited to try the connection again.
• Click here for screenshots of the windows involved in the steps above.

If connection problems continue, the issue may reside with the modem settings within Dial-Up Networking. To check these settings, enter into the properties of your Spectranet connection as per the first three steps of the procedure above, and follow the steps below.

• Click on the Configure button at the bottom.
• In the new window, check the "Maximum speed" setting. Choose the value which is nearest-to but above the speed of your modem. Choosing a higher setting will not make your modem run faster (and can cause port communication lags), but having a lower speed selected will lessen the speed of your connection.
• Click on the Connection tab.
• Under "Connection preferences", the following should be set:
  • Data bits: 8
  • Parity: None
  • Stop bits: 1
• Under "Call preferences", only "Wait for dial tone before dialing" needs to be checked; the other two are a matter of personal preference.
• Click on Port Settings.... The checkbox should be marked. You can experiment with the placement of the sliders to better your connection, according to the information given on-screen. Click OK when you're done.
• Click on Advanced.... For a standard, hardware-controlled modem, use the following settings:
  • "Use error control" and "Compress data" should be checked, if they are available.
  • "Use flow control" should be checked.
  • "Hardware (RTS/CTS) should be selected.
  • "Modulation type" should be set to "Standard".
  • In the extra settings box, type in the following, without quotation marks: "at&f&c1&d2". This is an initialization string which may help the modem make its initial connection.
• If you're using an LT or USR Winmodem, an HSP modem, an AOpen FM56, Motorola SM56, or any other sort of software-based modem, try using the changes below.
  • Use "Software (XON/XOFF)" instead of Hardware (RTS/CTS).
  • In the extra settings box, use the init string "at&fx"
• Click OK on each screen until you are back to the Dial-Up Networking window. Double-click the connection for another attempt.

If nothing else helps, including reinstalling TCP/IP, then you may need to reinstall the Dial-Up Networking programs. To do this, go into the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, and follow the steps below.

• Select the Windows Setup tab from the top.
• Double-click on Communications.
• In the window that pops up, remove the checkmark from Dial-Up Networking, and then press OK. Then click Apply. This will remove the DUN program files from the computer, and get you ready for a clean installation.
• Double-click on Communications again.
• Place a check-mark back beside Dial-Up Networking, and click OK. Click OK once more in the Windows Setup screen to begin the installation.
• Windows may request the installation disk(s) so it can copy files. The progress indicator will reach 100%, and then go through a second run. Once that run is finished, Dial-Up Networking will be reinstalled. You will be prompted to restart the computer once you've finished with Add/Remove Programs. Do not restart immediately.
• Removing Dial-Up Networking also removes TCP/IP from the Network control panel, so you'll have to reinstall that as well. Click here for a guide to reinstalling the protocol. In this case, you will only need to follow the last three steps of the process.
• Click here for screenshots of the windows involved in the steps above.