The Internet represents a modern miracle. Even at the beginning of the decade, few of us foresaw what a mighty force email and the World Wide Web would become. More miraculous, however, is the relative stability in light of the many tenuous connections that make up the Internet. Here's an idea of the elements between you and most of the Web Sites you access:

Glitches can and do occur at any point along the link. Everything from your home computer to Cyber Mesa to the big equipment that supports the inter-linking of the backbones will on occasion become problematic. For now, however, the difficulty that you face may be less glorious. In order to help you solve any issues that may be hindering your connection, we have provided a description of the most common problems.

Software

If you have had an account with a service such as AOL or another Internet provider, or if you have an older version of Quicken that supplies Internet software, there could be a conflict on your computer. In theory, you should be able to access a number of Internet services, but in practice, files can get intertwined. One remedy is to delete all references to other services, though this is not satisfactory if you want to maintain more than one connection. Please give us a call. We can probably help you figure it out.

Modem

If the modem dials, but the connection drops off right away or on a frequent basis, it is tricky to isolate the problem between the modem and the telephone line. Modems rely on initialization strings to establish reliable connections. Sometimes the 'init string' native to the modem can be improved. We have found that one of the following will often take care of such a problem:

                                                        at&C1&K3
                                                        at&F1
                                                        at&F

Windows 95 & 98

Go to My Computer / Dial-up Networking. Use the right mouse button to click on the icon for your Cyber Mesa connection and then the left mouse button to select Properties from the drop-down menu. Click on the Configure button. From the tabs across the top, select Connection. Click on the Advanced button lower right. Type the 'init string' in the Extra Settings box, and click on OK until you get back to Dial-up Networking.

Macintosh

Open the FreePPP Setup from the menu bar on the Desktop. Select the Modems tab. In the new window, click on the bottom radio button labeled Use:. A text field appears to the right. Type in the string.

After you put in a new init string, reset your external modem by turning it off for a few seconds and then turning it back on. If you have an internal modem, then you will need to restart your computer.

As mentioned above, the modem and the phone line share common symptoms when not working properly. One indication that the phone line might be below par, beyond frequent disconnects, is getting slow connection speeds. What happens is that your modem communicates with our modem, and the modems select the fastest rate at which they can reliably exchange data. If you have a 33.6 modem, for example, you should connect at 26.4 to 33.6. If you experience slower connections, then by all means call the phone company and request that it 'condition' your line.

With the exception of Pecos, Cyber Mesa maintains digital dial-up lines between our facilities and the nearest central office of the phone company. Currently, the weakest link in the Internet chain is the analog phone line between your location and the central office of the phone company. There are new technologies on the way, but in the meantime, you may experience fluctuations in line quality due to changes in the weather or repairmen making alterations at nearby junction boxes.

For best results the phone cord that serves your computer should go directly to the wall jack a short distance away. The one exception is a surge suppressor that also protects the phone line – highly recommended. You should avoid splitters or passthrough devices such as answering machines. They will almost certainly degrade your connection and may prevent it. Most modems, both internal and external, offer a second phone jack where you can connect a voice phone, a fax machine or an answering machine. By using the modem as the passthrough, the peripheral device is relegated to the end of the line. Even then, if you have difficulty, you may cure the problem by unplugging any and all peripherals.

Murphy's Law

The staff at Cyber Mesa has witnessed lots of odd problems. One very novice subscriber did not understand the importance of connecting the phone line to the computer. An angry computer whiz calmed down after we discovered that he had used a 25 to 9-pin adapter to connect his external modem to the back of his computer, thereby blocking the flow of data in one direction.

The main message is that when things go wrong, there is almost always a viable solution – and sometimes a simple one. If you cannot connect after following the instructions and rechecking your configuration, then it is time to call Cyber Mesa. Essentially, you want to access to the Internet, and Cyber Mesa wants your business. All of us benefit when you succeed. Do give us a call!