Setting Up Dial-Up Networking

1. Open up the Dial-Up Networking folder. To get to Dial-Up Networking, double-click on the My Computer icon on your desktop, and then double-click to open Dial-Up Networking. If this is the first time you open it, a connection wizard will run to help you enter all the information necessary for a dial-up connection. If not, you need to double-click on "Make a New Connection" (see Figure 1) and follow the instructions for creating a dial-up networking connection. When you are finished, there will be an icon in the folder that you can double-click to connect. You might want to make a shortcut to the connection on your desktop for easier access. The opening window should look like Figure 2.

   Creating a New Connection

   
   (Figure 2)

2. Refering to Figure 2, you must enter a name for this connection. Please enter Brand X Internet. Make sure the modem you wish to use is properly selected. Press "Next" to proceed to the next window. You should now see Figure 3.
   
   (Figure 3)

3. Verify that the dialup number we provided you is local. When you signed up, we most likely gave you a dialup number that we believed was local to where you stated you would be dialing in from. (Please note that Brand X cannot guarantee that any number we provide is local. Please check with your phone company by dialing 0 to make sure any number you dial is a local call.) If you find that a particular dialup number is not local, please call us back, we have local access numbers covering a great deal of greater Los Angeles and we are expanding all the time.

4. Enter a dialup number that you have confirmed is local. Press "Next" to proceed to the next window.
   
   (Figure 4)

5. You should now be at the final set-up window. Your screen should look like Figure 4. If not, select "Back" to make any necessary changes or corrections. Click "Finish" when you are done.

6. A new icon will appear in your Dial-Up Networking folder with the name Brand X Internet (see Figure 5).

   Configuring a New Connection

   
   (Figure 5)

7. You will now have to configure the new Brand X Internet connection. Please right-click (click upon using the right button of your mouse) on the Brand X Internet icon. A menu will pop-up. Select Properties.
   
   (Figure 6)

8. You should now see on your screen something similar to Figure 6, the Brand X Internet connections window. Recheck the telephone number you are dialing and the modem that you will be using. Click the "Server Type" button or tab to continue with the configuration.
   
   (Figure 7)

9. After clicking the "Server Type" button from the previous screen, you should now see Figure 7, the Server Types window. Make sure to configure your system to match the settings here. You should have PPP selected as the Type of Dial-Up Server. Your Type of Dial-Up Server MIGHT NOT match Figure 8. The only important thing is that the first three letters are PPP. For the Advanced Options, Enable software compression should be checked. For the Allowed Network Protocols, TCP/IP should be checked.

10. To ensure that your computer can correctly negotiate the proper set of protocols, the TCP/IP setting must be properly configured. Referring to Figure 7, select the "TCP/IP Settings..." button to proceed with the TCP/IP configuration.
    
    (Figure 8)

11. You should now see Figure 8 on your screen. Enter your data to closely match the settings shown here.

    Select Server Assigned IP Address

    Select Specify Name Server Address

         Primary DNS:       209. 55. 67. 2
         Secondary DNS:     209. 55. 67. 3
         Primary WINS:        0.  0.  0. 0
         Secondary WINS:      0.  0.  0. 0
    

    Both "Use IP Header Compression" and "Use Default Gateway on remote network" should be selected or checked.

    When your screen looks like Figure 8, press OK.

12. You should be back to the screen similar to Figure 7, the Server Types window. Press OK.

13. Now you should be sent back to the screen similar to Figure 5, the Brand X Internet connections window. Press OK

    Now you are ready to connect !!!!

    Connecting to Brand X Internet

    
    (Figure 5)

14. Locate and open the Dial-Up Networking folder (in "My Computer" on your desktop). Refer to Figure 5.

15. Double click on the Brand X Internet connection icon. The "Connect To" window will come up. After double-clicking, refer to Figure 9.
    
    (Figure 9)

    When you read the following paragraph, please note that you must enter a capital P before your username.

16. You should now have a "Connect To" window as shown by Figure 9. To the right of User name: enter a capital P followed by your username in lowercase letters. For example, if your username was fred, you'd enter Pfred.

    When you read the preceding paragraph, we hope you noted that you must enter a capital P before your username.

17. To the right of Password:, please enter your password exactly as you gave it to us when you signed up. Passwords are case senitive. Thus if you gave us your password as oregon983, entering Oregon983 would not be accepted. Similarly, if you gave us Oregon983 as your password and entered oregon983, it would not be accepted.

18. Click on the button for Dial Properties.
    
    (Figure 10)

19. Down at the bottom of this window is a checkbox titled Dial as a long distance call. Please check this box.

20. If you have call waiting, please temporarily skip below to the section on Deactivating Call Waiting.

21. Click on the OK button.

22. You should now be back at the window in Figure 9. Press the "Connect" button to start the login process.

If there were any problems, please see our troubleshooting section below.

FlexPop Numbers (National Dial-Up)

More numbers are available and can be found on the FlexPop website, www.flexpop.net
1. Click on the 'Locations' option in the top menu.
2. Either click on the map to get an access number,
   or enter an area code and click 'Search'.
4. Modify your dial-up connection to use the number you just obtained,
   if you need help doing this, please click here.
*  You will need to add "@brandx.net" to your user name. So if you
   normally log in as Puser, you will log in as Puser@brandx.net
   when using FlexPop numbers. The password remains the same.

DEACTIVATING CALL WAITING

The code to deactive call waiting is *70. To program Dialup Networking to enter this code when it dials, please do the following:

1. Double-click on your Dialup Networking icon for Brand X Internet just as if you were about to logon. The Connect To window should appear.

2. Click on the button for Dial Properties.

   

3. There is a checkbox to the left of To disable call waiting, dial:. Please check this box so that it is checked.

4. To the right is a box with a pop-up menu. Please select "*70,".

5. Please now go back to where you left off in the instructions or click on the OK button.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Some of our favorite sites are:

WHAT IF I HAVE PROBLEMS CONNECTING??

• Didn't use capital P in front of username despite very large type telling you to.

• Forgot to restart computer. If you installed the software you have to restart the computer, otherwise it won't work.

• Check to make sure you have your username and password correct.

• Wrong telephone number. Try calling the number. If you don't hear a modem tone, then it's the wrong number.

• You may need 9 to dial out if you are in an office. Again, you can test this by using a telephone and dialing the same number your computer is trying to dial. Usually you can add this by adding a 9 and then a comma to the phone number.

• Wrong modem port selected. Make sure everything is cabled up and working. Use another program to test the modem. Make sure you know which port it is connected to. Make sure the software knows too.

• Check to make sure you are entering in your password with the same case (UPPERCASE/lowercase) as you gave it to us. We assume all letters to be lowercase unless you otherwise specify. Usernames are always all lowercase.

• You may have some other modem software that has taken over the modem and won't let go. This kind of problem is hard to figure out. The best thing to do is to look and see if you have other programs that use the modem, and make sure they are deactivated. Fax managers and unneeded internet dialers are the most common culprits. If you have two internet dialers you are sure to get conflicts. You *MUST* delete one of them! If you have two copies of the dialer software your internet connection WILL NOT WORK! This is a very frequent problem. If you see too much Internet Software delete it all and start over.

• You may have a computer or modem that isn't working correctly. See if the modem can call anyone else besides Brand X. Try AOL or something like that and see if it works.

• Sometimes it is worth checking the modem initialization string. This is a command to put your modem into "ready" mode. With the new microsoft system it is unusual to have to play with this. If you really want to, you can access this by going into the properties and perhaps try setting it to "at&f" or check with your modem manufacturer and see what they suggest.

• If you only have 4 MB of ram, it isn't enough. You at least 8 MB. If you don't have enough memory, the Internet programs will sort of work but they will flake out and crash all the time. It will be unusable. You absolutely *must* have at least 8 MB of ram. Note also that if you have utility programs running in the background or even things like Microsoft Word or Photoshop running they may tie up memory. Close all programs that you don't need to free up the memory and see if this helps.

• If you receive an error message stating that your computer could not negotiate a compatible set of network protocols, refer back to the set of instructions under the section "Configuring a New Connection." Follow the instructions once more to make sure that your computer is configured properly.

• The dialer does not always tell you if you are logged off. If you suspect that your connection has died, try closing it, then open the connection again.

• Try restarting your computer. This can often work wonders.

CONFIGURING EUDORA

Outlook Express and other Microsoft products are written in the most confusing and non-intutive way possible with the intention of increasing Microsoft's revenue via its 900 support number. If you are determined to use a Microsoft product, please use their 900 support number for assistance in setting it up.

You can always obtain the latest version of Eudora by visiting http://www.eudora.com

Please follow the steps below. The figures reflect a username of "fred". Please replace this wherever it is shown with your username. (Please note that your username does not include a capital P. That is only used for the login script.). Please use only lowercase letters.

1. Please launch (double-click on) Eudora.

   

2. Eudora might immediately open the settings window or it may not. If it does not, please go to the Tools menu and select Options

3. Click on the Getting Started icon.

   

4. POP account: Enter "username@mail.brandx.net" after replacing username with your actual username. (Please note that your username does not include a capital P. That is only used for the login script.). Please use only lowercase letters.

5. Real name: Enter whatever name you'd like to appear to recepients of your email. Note: You don't have to put in anything if you'd rather be anonymous.

6. Return address Enter "username@brandx.net" after replacing username with your actual username. (Please note that your username does not include a capital P. That is only used for the login script.). Please use only lowercase letters.

7. Connection method: Please select the Winsock radio button.

8. Click on the icon for Hosts.

   

9. In the text box to the right of SMTP:, please enter mail.brandx.net. Leave the other fields blank.

10. Click on the OK button.

To receive email, please go to the File menu and select Check Mail.

To send mail, please go to the Message menu and select New Message. Fill in the recepient's email address, a subject, and your message. The cc and bcc fields are unnecessary.

NEWS

BRAND X TECHNICAL SUPPORT POLICIES

99% of all tech support calls involve a user's failure to follow these instructions. While you are waiting for us to call back, please go through the instructions once again, being extra careful to follow each step. If you are calling to clarify the instructions for a step, please first try your best guess. You cannot damage your computer or equipment by merely using an incorrect dialup setting.

Happy Internet Surfing!!!

Brand X Setup Instructions for Windows 95/98

Brand X Internet - (310) 395-5500 - http://www.brandx.net

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