Dealing with Internet-Related Problems

Connecting to the Internet can be problematic. You can experience connection problems, of course, as well as all sorts of problems doing what you want to do online.

What kind of connection problems might you experience? First, you can hook up your modem incorrectly. Maybe you fail to seat an internal modem securely into its slot on the motherboard, or perhaps you plug an external modem into the wrong port on your system unit. It's also common to connect your telephone line to the Ethernet port instead of the modem port; the plugs are close enough in size for this to happen.

Next, you can sabotage your setup, partially or entirely, by configuring the modem's switches or Windows modem settings or both incorrectly. It's possible, too, to create a COM port conflict by designating your modem and your mouse for either the same COM port or a conflicting COM port.

If you're relying on a dial-up connection, you can also be cursed with a noisy telephone line. You'd be surprised at the amount of trouble this seemingly minor annoyance can cause everything from slowing down your connection speed to thwarting your connection altogether. Even if you get everything else right, Ma Bell can send you back to square one with just a little line noise.

Finally, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) might not be operating up to par. Now that the Internet is experiencing astronomic growth, it's not uncommon to run into "traffic jams" at popular sites, and access in general often slows down during the heaviest-trafficked times of the day.

Of course, your problems don't stop once you get connected. Read on to learn how to deal with the most common Internet problems, connection-related and otherwise.

Problem: Your Modem Doesn't Work Nothing Happens

If you attempt to use your modem but it does nothing at all, start by checking all your connections especially the connection to the phone line. A malfunctioning modem usually results from a bad connection. If you use an external modem, make sure that it's hooked to the correct port in the back of your PC. Make certain, too, that the modem is plugged into a power source (if necessary) and connected to a phone line. If you use an internal modem, check to ensure that the card is firmly seated in its slot. You should also try hooking a normal phone to the line hooked to your computer, just to be sure that you have a dial tone. After you've taken care of a poor or overlooked connection, you might need to reboot your system to recover from the problem.

Next, you should check to see if your modem is communicating with your computer. In Windows XP you can do this by going to the modem's Properties dialog box, selecting the General tab, and then clicking the Troubleshoot button. This initiates a troubleshooting sequence that, more often than not, will identify your problem.

Problem: Your Modem Is Working, but It Doesn't Dial

After you've confirmed that your modem is working and communicating with your computer but you still can't dial a number you should confirm that you're not trying to make one Internet connection while a previous connection is still open. (You can't dial two places at the same time!) Then be sure that the phone line your modem is connected to is working by disconnecting your modem and hooking a working telephone to the same phone line. If the phone doesn't pick up a dial tone, neither will your modem. Try another phone line, or call the phone company for repairs.

If you have voice mail on your phone line, some voice mail systems change the dial tone to indicate when you have messages waiting. This modified dial tone might not be recognized as a real dial tone by some modems. Answer your voice mail to change the tone back to normal, and then try dialing again.

It's also possible that you have your phone line plugged into the wrong jack at your modem. Most modems have two jacks one labeled "line" and the other labeled "phone." Be sure that the phone line is plugged into the one labeled "line."

If your problem persists and it clearly isn't caused by a bad connection, an inoperable phone line, or a defective modem, the most likely source of your woes is an incorrect configuration within Windows. Make certain that you've selected the correct COM port and check the modem initialization string. (Your modem's documentation should list the correct commands to use for your device.) Also check the Maximum Port Speed setting in the Modem tab of the modem's Properties dialog box. You might try reducing this setting if your modem is having difficulty communicating with your computer. And check for any COM port conflicts between your modem and another device, such as a mouse.

You should always check the port settings from within Windows to be sure that they're configured correctly. You can do this from Device Manager, where it pays to examine the Properties for ports COM1 through COM4.

If Windows appears to be configured correctly (or it wasn't and you've fixed it) but your modem still doesn't dial, check your hardware. Many modems have physical switches that must be set in certain positions for the device to operate. Refer to your modem's documentation for the correct switch settings for your system.

Problem: Your Modem Dials, but It Doesn't Connect

Many common causes for this problem are the same as for the previous problem either your hardware or software is set up incorrectly. If you think this is the case, see the previous problem for troubleshooting instructions.

It's also possible that your modem is dialing an incorrect phone number, or that something is screwy at your ISP. Be sure that your modem's speaker is enabled, and then listen to the connection in process. If you hear your modem dialing, dialing, dialing and it receives no answer from your ISP check the phone number you entered for your ISP. If the phone number is correct, it's possible that your ISP is having problems and temporarily can't accept incoming calls. (Dial your ISP's voice support line to confirm or report this problem.) If you hear a busy signal after dialing, that means that too many people are trying to dial in at one time, and your ISP can't accept any more incoming calls right now. Wait a few minutes and try dialing in again.

Problem: Your Broadband Modem Doesn't Connect

If your cable or DSL modem appears to be working (the lights light up, although they might be blinking) but you can't actually access the Internet, it's a sign that your modem has lost connection with your ISP's network. The solution might be as simple as unplugging your modem for about 60 seconds and then turning it back on and letting it resync to the network. If this doesn't work, either your ISP's network is down, or there is a real problem with your broadband connection. If it's the former, all you can do is wait for your ISP to fix their problems. If it's the latter, it's time to call your ISP and have it send a repairman out to fix the connection.

Problem: You Connect to Your ISP, but at a Slower Speed Than Desired

There are many factors that determine at what speed you actually connect over a dial-up line. The most common cause of slower-than-expected connections is line noise. I run into this problem a lot when traveling. Many older hotels have very noisy phone systems, which cause my modem to connect at speeds as slow as 14.4Kbps. (Man that's slow!)

In addition, the busier your ISP is, the more likely that you'll connect at a slower speed even with a broadband connection. If you try to connect during "prime time" (from just after dinner to bedtime in your specific time zone) chances are you'll get a slower connection than if you try to connect after midnight.

Problem: Your Online Session Disconnects Unexpectedly

You can get disconnected in the middle of a session if you have more than one phone in your house hooked to the same phone line. If someone picks up an extension while your modem is online, the resulting interruption can scramble the connection. Sometimes the problem can be rectified simply by hanging up the extension; other times, you must cancel the current modem session and start over again.

Call Waiting also can be the cause of disconnect problems. When the Call Waiting signal comes down the line it stands a good chance of either scrambling your modem session or disconnecting your modem completely. Although you can simply abstain from ordering the Call Waiting service, you also can turn it off while you're online by editing the settings on the Dialing Rules tab in the Phone and Modem Options utility.

Some ISPs and commercial online services (AOL is notorious for this) will disconnect you if you've been idle for too long. (They don't like users staying connected without actually doing anything.) If you want to stay connected, do something every few minutes, even if it's just checking your email inbox or clicking to a different Web site.

Sometimes a Windows-related problem can cause your modem session to shut down. If Windows is low on memory, it might not have enough resources to let your modem do its thing. If you think this is the problem, try closing a few Windows applications and then restarting your modem. If you have continual modem problems under Windows, you might need to add more memory to your system.

Another increasingly common cause of this problem is a noisy phone line. If you have frequent trouble connecting or staying connected, it might not hurt to have your local phone company check your line for excess noise.

Problem: Using Your Modem Causes Your Mouse to Act Funny Or Vice Versa

This is actually a common problem. It results from weird hardware bugs that force two different COM ports to use some of the same system resources. Fortunately, however, resolving the conflict is relatively simple.

First, check the port settings for your mouse and your modem. (You do this from the Windows Device Manager; right-click on a device listing and select Properties, and then navigate within the Properties dialog box to the port setting.) If they're both configured for the same COM port, change one of the devices' settings so that it can use a different port.

Now, check that they're not both set for COM ports with even numbers (COM2 and COM4). If so, reconfigure one of the devices to use an odd-numbered port.

At the same time, check that the two devices aren't both configured for COM ports with odd numbers (COM1 and COM3). If so, reset one of the devices to use an even number.

If you're running your modem on COM2 and there is no COM1 on your system you might not be able to get your modem to work at all. This is because Windows looks for COM ports in order, and if COM1 doesn't exist, well, you've got problems. Reassign your modem or some other accessory to COM1, and you'll fix your problem.

Problem: You Can't Connect to Your Email Server

This problem is most often caused by an incorrect configuration in your email program. Make sure you have the right incoming and outgoing mail server names for your ISP, as well as the correct username (typically your email address) and password, if required. (And remember that some ISPs use case-sensitive usernames and passwords.)

If you have everything configured properly, it's possible that there is some sort of problem with your ISP's mail server. Wait a few minutes and try connecting again. If you continue to have problems connecting, call your ISP's voice support line and report the problem.

Another cause of this problem is if your email program crashes while it's in the middle of retrieving your email. This causes all sorts of problems on the server end of things; you'll need to wait a few minutes (for the email server to reset) before you restart your program and go back online.

Problem: Your Email Program Connects to Your ISP, but You Have Trouble Sending or Receiving Email Messages

Just because you connect to your ISP doesn't mean you can actually send or retrieve messages. Again, check your email program's configuration; be especially sure that you have the right protocols (POP3, IMAP, and so on) selected.

If you receive a timeout message after connecting, there might be problems with the ISP's mail server. Things can really slow down during busy times of the day; if it takes too long to complete an action (such as downloading a list of messages), your program times out and reports an error. Try clicking the Send/Receive button again to initiate a new upload/download of messages. (If you receive a lot of timeout messages, reconfigure your email program to allow more time before timing out.)

Sometimes a really large message (or a message with a large attachment) can take so long to retrieve that it times out your email program. (Any message more than 1MB in size could cause this sort of problem on a normal 56Kbps connection.) The bad thing is, if you can't download this message, it clogs up your message retrieval so you can't grab any other message after this one, either. If you run into this sort of problem, you might have to call your ISP's voice support line and ask them to remove the extra-large message from the queue so you can retrieve the rest of your message. (And email the person who sent the large message and ask him or her to either compress it using a Zip utility or break it up into several smaller messages. )

Problem: An Email Message You Sent Is Returned as "Undeliverable"

This might be the most common Internet-related problem, period and the one with the simplest solution.

If you get an email message bounced back to you, there is a very good possibility that the recipient's email address was incorrect. (This is just like when you get a letter returned from the postal service as "addressee unknown.") Double-check the email address (perhaps by calling the recipient and inquiring by voice), correct it, and resend the message.

It's also possible that the address was correct but there was a problem with the recipient's mail server. If you're positive you have the right address, go ahead and resend the message and hope the server problem has been corrected.

You can sometimes track down the cause of the error by carefully deciphering the error message that accompanies many returned messages. You'll often find specific reasons that the message was returned, which can help you formulate your reaction.

Finally, know that Internet users often move from one email account to another as they play a game of musical chairs with multiple ISPs. It's possible that you sent your message to what was formerly a viable address, but one that has since been abandoned by the user. Again, checking with the recipient personally (not via email!) might be the only way to get their current email address.

Problem: You Don't Receive a Message Someone Sent to You

Just as you sometimes get email bounced back to you as undeliverable, people sending you email sometimes receive an "undeliverable" message in return. The causes are the same, of course the sender could have an incorrect email address for you, or there might have been temporary problems with your ISP's mail server that bounced the message back to the sender.

It's also possible that the message is still in transit. We kind of expect email delivery to be instantaneous, but sometimes ISPs get a bit of a backlog going, which can hold up email delivery anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. The solution, of course, is to be patient and to ask the sender to resend the message anyway, just in case.

In addition, don't forget that extra-large messages (over 1MB, in many cases) can screw up your mail delivery. One large message can clog your entire retrieval, blocking dozens of other messages from being downloaded to your inbox. If you think you have a message that you haven't actually received, it doesn't hurt to call your ISP's voice support and have them check on it.

Finally, some spam-blocker utilities will block email messages from entire domains. (The utilities use lists of servers frequented by spammers, and paint all messages coming from those servers with the same brush.) If your ISP is using this type of utility and if the sender just happens to be using a suspect server, the message will be automatically blocked and you'll never know it. The sender, however, should receive some sort of message indicating that the message was returned, and (sometimes) why. The only solution is for the sender to change email services, or for the blocked server list to be somehow modified. (Or, if this is antispam software you're running on your own machine, you might be able to modify the blocked-sender list or just turn off the software in order to receive the message. )

Problem: You Have Trouble Sending an Attachment to an Email Message

Most email programs let you "attach" files to your email messages. You can use this feature to send pictures, word processing documents, and even complete executable programs along with your email messages.

Note, however, that some email programs might set a limit on the size of your email attachments, and that some ISPs might not let their users receive attachments. (For example, AOL lets users select whether they want to receive attachments or not; some parents turn off the attachment-receiving option for their children's email accounts.) Also note that overly large (more than 1MB) attachments might cause retrieval problems for your intended recipient(s). It might not be a bad idea to contact your recipients ahead of time to warn them that a really large email is on its way; they can then prepare themselves for what will be an annoyingly long download.

Problem: Your Computer Acts Oddly Soon After You Download a File or Open an Email Attachment

What now? You've just pulled several files including a great new game from this new Internet site you found, and now your computer acts as though it needs to be decked out in an electronic straitjacket. It doesn't seem to have any problems with loose connections, incorrect settings, or excess line noise. In fact, your online session went without a hitch. So what's wrong?

Well, along with your nice new files, you have probably downloaded a not-so-nice computer virus! Any time you download a file, run the file, and then find your computer starting to do strange things (running more slowly, mysteriously losing files, displaying unusual messages onscreen), you might have accidentally infected it with a virus.

Even more common is the case of the unexpected email attachment. Most computer viruses today are sent (unwittingly, in most instances) as attachments to email messages. If you open a file attached to an email message, you're running a really big risk even if the message is from someone you know. (A lot of viruses hijack a user's system and send out infected email messages automatically without the user knowing.)

If you think you've been infected by an Internet-borne virus, turn to the advice I gave in Chapter 20, "Protecting Your Computer from Viruses and Internet Attacks." And get yourself an antivirus software program!

Problem: Your Web Browser Won't Connect to Any Web Site

If you try connecting to one site, and then another, and then another all unsuccessfully you know you don't have a problem with a single URL or Web server. When you can't connect to anything, there's either a problem between you and your ISP, or between your ISP and the Internet.

Try doing something non Web-related on the Internet; check your email, or try to access a chat room. If you can do other Internet-related tasks, your ISP has a problem with its gateway to the Web. You might have to wait a few minutes (or hours!) for the gateway to unclog; if the problem persists, call your ISP's voice support line and report the problem.

If you can't perform other Internet-related tasks (if you get errors when trying to check your email, for example), your problem lies in your connection to your ISP. End your current connection, and then reconnect. Oftentimes establishing a new connection solves this type of problem. If you continue to lack Internet access on subsequent connections, check your configuration information, as detailed previously. If the situation persists, call your ISP's voice support line and report the problem.

Problem: Your Web Browser Won't Connect to a Specific Web Site

The first thing to check if you can't connect to a specific site is the URL. If you entered the URL manually, it's possible you mistyped it; try re-entering the address more carefully this time. It's also possible that the address doesn't actually exist; either the URL is wrong or the page used to exist but has been taken offline for some reason or another. (Dead pages are an increasing problem on the Web.) Next, the link to the page might be incorrect (someone had to manually enter the code for the link when the page was being created; human beings sometimes make mistakes!). And, finally, the page might be temporarily unavailable (sometimes Web servers go down break and leave all the pages they host unavailable until repairs are made); trying again later is the best suggestion in this situation.

tip

One trick to try if you can't access a specific page on a Web site is to try to access other pages on the site. You can do this by truncating the URL. For example, if you couldn't access www.mysite.com/mydirectory/mypage.html, then truncate the last part of the URL and try accessing www.mysite.com/mydirectory/. If that doesn't work, keep truncating until you get to the main site URL (in this case, www.mysite.com).

Problem: Your Web Browser Gives You an Error Message When You Try to Load a Specific Page

Quite often, your browser will display an error message when it can't access a specific Web page. Learning how to decipher these messages will help you determine why the page in question is inaccessible.

Table 29.1 details the most common Web error messages, what they mean, and what to do about them.

Table 29.1. Web Error Messages

Error Message	Cause	Recommended Action
400 - Bad request	Page can't be found; URL is incorrect.	Reenter URL; check uppercase and lowercase.
401 - Unauthorized	Page is protected and you're not on the guest list or you entered an incorrect password.	If you're not on the guest list, you can't get in; if you are on the guest list, recheck and reenter your password.
403 - Forbidden	Page is protected and you're not on the guest list or you entered an incorrect password	If you're not on the guest list, you can't get in; if you are on the guest list, recheck and reenter your password.
404 - Access denied	Page is protected and you're not on the guest list or you entered an incorrect password.	If you're not on the guest list, you can't get in; if you are on the guest list, recheck and reenter your password.
404 - Not found	Page can't be found; URL is incorrect.	Reenter the URL or try going one level up in the site directory.
503 - Service unavailable	Something between you and the page is down, probably the site's server or your ISP's Internet gateway.	Wait a few minutes and try connecting to the page again.
Bad file request	Your browser isn't compatible with a form on the page.	Upgrade your browser to the latest version.
Cannot open... You do not have permission to open this item	Page is protected and you're not on the guest list or you entered an incorrect password.	If you're not on the guest list, you can't get in; if you are on the guest list, recheck and reenter your password.
Connection refused by host	Page is protected and you're not on the guest list; you typed an incorrect password; or this page is blocked to your ISP.	If you're not on the guest list, you can't get in; if you are on the guest list, recheck and reenter your password; if this site is blocked to your ISP, complain to your ISP.
Connection reset by peer	The Web site reset your connection for some reason.	Reload or refresh the Web page.
Connection timed out	Either the site or your Internet connection stopped responding.	Wait a few minutes and try reloading the page; if you get this message at multiple sites, close your current connection, wait a few minutes, and then reconnect to your ISP.
Failed DNS lookup	Page can't be found; URL is bad or there are temporary connection problems.	Recheck the URL and try again; if the URL is correct, try again a few minutes later.
File contains no data	You have the right site, but there's nothing there.	It's possible the site might be updating its pages; if so try again in an hour or so. It's also possible the site has been closed down, even though the domain name is still active.
Helper application not found	Your browser isn't capable of reading a particular file.	Update your browser to the latest version, or add the "plug-in" to read this particular file type.
Host unavailable	The site you're trying to access is down.	Try accessing the site in a few minutes or hours; if you continue to get this message, the site might have been closed.
Host unknown	The site you're trying to access is down or you have an incorrect URL.	Recheck and reenter your URL, then try accessing the site in a few minutes or hours; if you continue to get this message, the site might have been closed.
Network connection was refused by the server	The site's server is too busy to handle any more users.	Wait a few minutes, and then try again.
Socket is not connected	There's a bad connection somewhere between your PC and the site.	Try reconnecting to site; if you get the same error message, wait a few minutes, and then try again.
Too many connections - try again later	The site's server is too busy to handle any more users.	Wait a few minutes, and then try again.
Too many users	The site's server is too busy to handle any more users.	Wait a few minutes, then try again.
Unable to locate host	The site you're trying to access is down.	Try accessing the site in a few minutes or hours; if you continue to get this message, the site might have been closed.
Unable to locate the server	Page can't be found; URL is bad or there are temporary connection problems.	Recheck the URL and try again; if the URL is correct, try again a few minutes later.
Unable to open http://www.site.com/page ... The site reports that the item you requested could not be found.	The overall site exists, but the individual page you want doesn't.	Make sure you have the correct page URL; try truncating the URL to access a higher-level directory.
Viewer not found	Your browser isn't capable of reading a particular file.	Update your browser to the latest version, or add the "plug-in" to read this particular file type.

Problem: You Connect to a Web Page, But It Only Partially Loads

There can be a number of causes if a page "hangs" while loading or if parts of a page don't display properly. First, the page might actually still be loading, but it's a really big page. Click the Stop button on your browser and then try reloading the page. If the page still takes too long to load, try turning off graphics in your browser, so that you only load text. (In Internet Explorer, select Tools, Internet Options to display the Internet Options dialog box; select the Advanced tab and then uncheck the Show Pictures option.)

Also note that pages that load background sounds and music can appear to be hung, but are actually just waiting for the music file to download. If this is the case, just be patient; the page will load, eventually.

Second, the connection to this site might have gone bad in mid-load. Try reloading the page; if you still have trouble loading this and other pages, disconnect from your ISP, wait a few minutes, and then reconnect.

Third, the problem might be with your Web browser. Try "flushing" your browser's cache and history files to clear disk space and memory. In Internet Explorer, select Tools, Internet Options to display the Internet Options dialog box; select the General tab and then click (sequentially) the Delete Files and Clear History buttons.

Fourth, some Web pages incorporate advanced technologies such as Java and Macromedia Shockwave that might not be compatible with older Web browsers. If you get a blank space on your page, try reloading but then check to make sure your browser is capable of displaying these elements. (That might mean adding a plug-in to your browser, or upgrading to a more recent version.)

Finally, it's possible that parts of the page referenced in its HTML code actually aren't there. This is somewhat common when dealing with graphics files; site designers will reference .JPG and .GIF files elsewhere on the site (or on another site) that subsequently disappear. Try right-clicking on the empty space and selecting Load Picture from the pop-up menu; if the picture still doesn't load, it's a problem with the page, not with your browser.

THE ABSOLUTE MINIMUM

Whew that's a lot of problems! When you're experiencing problems with your network or Internet connection, keep these key points in mind:

• Most network problems can be resolved by rerunning the network setup utility.

• Wireless network problems are typically caused by poor reception; try repositioning either the wireless adapter or the wireless base station.

• If you're having trouble connecting to the Internet, look for configuration mistakes, incorrect settings, and noisy phone lines and try to connect when your ISP isn't so busy!

• Undeliverable email typically results from problems at your recipient's ISP mail server or an incorrect email address.

• If you can't access a particular Web site, double-check the URL and try accessing it again at a later time but if you can't access any Web page, your ISP is having trouble with its gateway to the Internet.