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General Troubleshooting:

If you're running into any problem, the first thing to do is restart your computer.

We have not run into many problems on XP that were "dominate" on the
Win 9x platform. Most of the time problems can be fixed on XP by
deleting and creating a new dialer.


Problem: You can hear the computer dialing, but either it keeps ringing, you hear a busy signal or you hear an operator message.
Solution: Go to the sections for changing the phone number and call waiting.
Problem: When you try to connect to the Internet, the computer continually asks for your username/password or says the connection is unstable.
Solution: Be sure to enter your username/password in lower case letters, and that you are not typing "@provide.net" at the end of the username. If that doesn't fix the problem, go to the section for Username/Password.
Problem: You're consistently getting disconnected after only being on the Internet for a few minutes.
Solution: Go to the section for Connection Problems.
Problem: When you try to use the Internet, You don't hear the computer dialing, and nothing works.
Solution: Go to section for Dialer Configuration
Problem: You hear the computer dialing and you hear the connect tones, but the Internet doesn't work.
Solution: Go to the section for TCP/IP Configuration.
Problem: You have to dial numerous times before you get a connection.
Solution: Go to section for changing the phone number and switch to a different local number.
Problem: You use Internet Explorer and Outlook Express and they work fine by themselves, but when you switch programs, you get disconnected.
Solution: reinstall the Provide.net software.
Problem: You're having one or more problems sending and receiving e-mail.
Solution: Go to http://support.provide.net (Need to be connected to the Internet.)
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Error Messages

The following are solutions if you are receiving an error message. The messages may differ slightly.

Error Msg: Computer cannot detect the modem.

Solutions:

If neither of these suggestions work, there may be a problem with your modem. Consult your modem manual for instructions.

Error Msg: When you send e-mail, you get a "MAILER DAEMON" message.

Solutions:

Error Msg: When you send and receive e-mail, you are repeatedly asked for your username and password.

Solutions:

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CHANGING PHONE NUMBER

There, you'll see the phone number. Correct it if necessary or switch to a different local number if previously instructed to do so. Make sure it is a local number. Long distance phone bills can get VERY BIG! Click OK
Remember: Check with your operator to be sure that the number you choose is a local call. We are not responsible for long distance phone bills!

To change the phone number in XP:

To change the phone number in win 9X:

 

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CALL WAITING

Return to Connection Problems for more on connection problems

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USERNAME/PASSWORD
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TCP/IP CONFIGURATION

If you still encounter the same problem, go to section on Network Configuration section.

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CONNECTION PROBLEMS

Test the connection. If the connection is still not working probably, continue with this section.

Once the connection is stable, you can slowly increase both the port settings and maximum speed, testing the connection along the way. Once you reach an unstable setting, revert back to the last successful setting.

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WINS CONFIGURATION

(windows 95 & 98 only)

Disabling Wins Configuration in some versions of Windows 95/98
requires Windows CD or cab files.

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NETWORK CONFIGURATION
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DIALER CONFIGURATION
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ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY
Acceptable Use Policy rev 99.08.12
I. AUP Goals
  1. Ensure security, reliability and privacy of Provide.Net's systems and network, and the systems and networks of others.
  2. Avoid situations that may cause Provide.Net to incur civil liability. Maintain the image and reputation of Provide.Net as a responsible provider.
  3. Preserve the value of Internet resources as a conduit for free expression.
  4. Encourage the responsible use of net resources, discouraging practices which degrade the usability of network resources and thus the value of Internet services.
  5. Preserve the privacy and security of individual users
By continued use of Provide.Net services, you acknowledge that you are bound to the following terms, and agree to use Provide.Net services only under the following conditions:
II. Connectivity and Network Issues
  1. Provide.Net Unlimited Dialup Accounts are intended for use by individuals. Sharing accounts with users outside of your household is explicitly prohibited.
  2. Customers are responsible for maintaining the security of their account. All account usage is assumed by Provide.Net to be authorized by the account's owner.
  3. Duplicate logins are not permitted. Accounts that repeatedly attempt to establish multiple sessions on the same account may be suspended.
  4. Provide.Net customers may not run programs which provide network services from their dialup accounts. This includes running WWW, MAIL, IRC, and FTP servers.
  5. Provide.Net customers are prohibited from excessive consumption of resources, including, but not limited to CPU time, memory, disk space, and network bandwidth.
  6. A standard unlimited Provide.Net account allows the user to browse the Internet without time restrictions. However, connections are only permitted when the user is actively using the Internet. Accounts that maintain connections for extended periods of time by automated methods are in violation of this agreement, and may be suspended or terminated.
  7. Provide.Net is not responsible for any long-distance charges incurred when using our dial-up numbers. It is the customer's responsibility to confirm with the telephone company that they are dialing a local number.
III. General Conduct
  1. Customers are prohibited from transmitting on or through any of Provide.Net's services, any material that is, in Provide.Net's sole discretion, unlawful, obscene, threatening, abusive, libelous, or hateful, or encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any local, state, national or international law.
  2. Provide Net services may only be used for lawful purposes. Transmission, distribution, or storage of any information, data or material in violation of United States or state regulation or law, or by the common law, is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, material protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, or any other statute. Provide Net reserves the right to remove such illegal material from its servers.
  3. The customer is responsible for keeping his billing data with Provide Net up-to-date and accurate. Furnishing false data on the signup form, contract, or online application, including fraudulent use of credit card numbers, is grounds for immediate termination, and may subject the offender to civil or criminal liability.
  4. The resale of Provide.Net products and services is not permitted, unless specifically authorized and documented in a written agreement.
IV. System and Network Security
  1. Provide.Net customers may not attempt to circumvent user authentication or security of any host, network, or account. This includes, but is not limited to accessing data not intended for the Customer, logging into a server or account the Customer is not expressly authorized to access, or probing the security of other networks, either manually or by artificial means.
  2. Provide.Net customers are explicitly prohibited from executing Back Orifice, Netbus, SATAN, nmap, or other similar tools while connected.
  3. Customers may not use any kind of program/script/command, or send messages of any kind, designed to interfere with a user's terminal session, via any means, locally or by the Internet.
  4. Provide.Net users who intentionally and willfully violate any network or system security policy will be billed $125 per hour, or $250 per incident, whichever is greater, for time spent tracking, monitoring, and/or repairing damage from such activity.
  5. Users who violate systems or network security may incur criminal or civil liability. Provide.Net will cooperate fully with investigations of violations of systems or network security at other sites, including cooperating with law enforcement authorities in the investigation of suspected criminal violations.

V. E-Mail
  1. Harassment, whether through language, frequency, or size of messages, is prohibited.
  2. Customers may not send email to any person who does not wish to receive it. If a recipient asks to stop receiving email, the customer must not send that person any further email.
  3. Customers are explicitly prohibited from sending unsolicited bulk mail messages ("junk mail" or "spam"). This includes, but is not limited to, bulk-mailing of commercial advertising, informational announcements, and political tracts. Such material may only be sent to those who have explicitly requested it.
  4. Customers may not forward or otherwise propagate chain letters, whether or not the recipient wishes to receive such mailings.
  5. Malicious email, including but not limited to "mail bombing" (flooding a user or site with very large or numerous pieces of email), is explicitly prohibited.
  6. Forging of header information is not permitted.
VI. Usenet
  1. Provide.Net provides an uncensored newsfeed. As such, Provide.Net does not control the content of the newsgroups available to its customers. Provide.Net is not responsible for the content of any Usenet posting, regardless of whether or not the posting was made by a Provide Net customer.
  2. Postings to Usenet newsgroups must comply with the written charters or FAQs for those newsgroups. Advertisements should only be posted in those newsgroups whose charters/FAQs explicitly permit them. The poster is responsible for determining the etiquette of a given newsgroup, prior to posting to it.
  3. Customers are prohibited from posting chain letters of any type.
  4. Customers are prohibited from posting binary files to newsgroups not specifically named for that purpose.
  5. Customers are prohibited from forging header information. This includes attempting to circumvent the approval process for posting to a moderated newsgroup.
VII. Personal Webspace
  1. Provide.Net does not offer phone-based technical support for developing or publishing webpages.
  2. Customers are prohibited from posting adult material on any Provide.Net web server.
    3.

VIII. Technical Support
  1. Provide.Net does not offer technical support for Internet connections to other providers, support for Internet services offered outside of Provide.Net, or any other problem not related to connecting to the Internet through Provide.Net.
  2. Provide.Net does not offer technical support on using any operating system, such as Windows, MacOS, or Unix.
  3. Provide.Net cannot offer technical support for alpha, beta, or pre-release software.
Provide.Net reserves the right to modify these policies at any time. If you have any questions, please call 888.480.4200, or E-Mail abuse@provide.net. This document was last updated on Aug 12, 1999.
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