Support Phone Line Availability
We currently have an ample number of incoming lines to service our customer base. You should not have any problems with busy signals. If you are receiving busy signals at this point it is most likely due to equipment problems. Please contact us if you get a busy signal for more than 5 minutes so that we can investigate the problem.
Configuration Information
Set your computer to dial 713/ 394-0498. If you have call waiting we suggest that you add *70,, in front of the phone number. The *70 disables call waiting for the duration of the call and the commas tell the modem to wait a few seconds before dialing the rest of the number. The phone entry should look like *70,,713/ 394-0498 Your login name and password is given to you when you establish an account. Please note that the name and password are case sensitive and must be entered in small letters only. Please make sure that "Caps Lock" is not on. If your software gives you the option of server assigned DNS please select it (Windows95/98 and NT both have this option). Should you have to manually enter a DNS number, ours is 216.118.008.135 with the secondary at 216.118.008.136 Our e-mail system includes support for POP3 (Post Office Protocol) which is a specification for how a mail program communicates with our server and SMTP (Simplified Mail Transport Protocol).
When configuring your email, the server address is sweep.net - You must use your account name and password to connect to the mail server. The mail program will ask for several things when you install it. The most common questions (and what you enter):
E-mail address: Enter your e-mail address (ie., mary@sweep.net).
POP3 Server Name: pop.sweep.net SMTP Server Name: mail.sweep.net News Server news.sweep.net Account Name: Enter the first part of your mail address (ie., mary). Account Password: Enter the password you use to log onto our server.
Troubleshooting a Connection
Modems fail to connect Check for a dial tone. Is the modem plugged in (power supply, phone line, and computer)? Is it On? All modems occasionally fail to establish a connection - try dialing again. If that doesn't work then turn the modem off and back on and try it one more time. Login Fails (The modems quit squealing and you get a message like "Login Denied") Check that you entered your user name and password as small letters (NO CAPS please) A Message like "Could not negotiate a compatible protocol" occurs. Check in the "Server Types" tab of your Dial-Up networking entry that you do NOT have "NetBEUI" or "IPX/SPX Compatible" protocols selected. The only one you want is "TCP/IP". You should also clear the check box marked "Log on to Network" -- We agree that this sounds like a strange thing to do but "Log on to Network" in this case means that you want to log onto a Microsoft Windows network, not at all what you are trying to do. Your account expired and we couldn't contact you! -- Call us Our authentication server went down (not good!) - Call us
Slow and Dropped Connections (Modems connect below their rated speed) There are a lot of variables that affect the speed of a modem connection. The quality of the phone line between your location and the phone company is the most important factor. Most phone lines in the area are pretty good but if you can hear a strong hum or crackling on the lines during a regular phone conversation you should have the phone company check the line. If the line is good then you should check the modem manufacturers web site to see if there are any driver upgrades. There is an update to the dial-up networking software that was originally supplied by Microsoft with Windows95 that fixes a few of the mystery lockups that seem to occur with the original dialer. The update can be found at Microsoft's Web Site. The files refer to ISDN adapters but the update is for all Windows95 machines including those using standard modems.
No Response from a Website The remote web server is down -- try again later. The Internet has a routing problem and can't reach the remote site. There is not much that can be done by You or Sweepnet to fix it. You asked for a site name that doesn't exist (or a link you selected did). You will get a message saying that the site cannot be found. The DNS server is unreachable. Try entering http://www.microsoft.com (or click on the link) to access Microsoft without the name server. If this works then the name service is causing problems. Try hanging up, closing the browser and reconnecting.
K56Flex and X2 Modems
We are supporting the US Robotics and K56 Flex modem standards. If you have a K56 Flex modem you may only be able to connect to our server at a maximum of 33.6K for now. The international standards body has decided on a standard for 56K modems and it is called v.90. There are upgrades released for both X2 and k56flex modems to meet this standard.
The fallacy of 56K Access (or Marketing hype strikes again)
While both vendors call the technology 56K you can't get full 56K connections with these modems. The first problem is an FCC (Federal Communications Commission) limitation on power output from our equipment that limits the maximum speed to approximately 53K. The second is that you need a perfect phone line (an elusive item). You may reach 53K but it is much more likely that you will see speeds between 36 to 50K.
56K modems connect over 33.6K when there is only one digital to analog conversion between the service provider and your modem.
Most manufacturers released modems before the K56Flex standard was finished. These modems were marketed as 56K but require a software upgrade in order for them to work at speeds over 33K. To the best of our knowledge modems with software revision numbers lower than 1.0 will not work at K56Flex rates. You can check the software revision level in Windows98 and NT by going to Start | Settings | Control Panel, pick Modems, click on the Diagnostics tab, select the COM port for your modem and click "More Info...". Check the text after the ATI3 command which should show the software revision. If you need a software upgrade you should try the manufactures web site. The K56Flex web site has links to most manufacturers upgrade sites.
Un-metered Access
Our un-metered access program allows you to use your account without per hour charges. This account is not meant for use as a dedicated 24x7 connection. Currently we have a time limit of 6 hours per session, but we do not have a maximum hourly limit per month. We reserve the right to change this policy. If you need a 24 hour connection 7 days a week, please contact us.
Sharing of Accounts Please do not share your password or your account with others. Unless you set up an account with us that allows multiple access we will limit you to a single session at a time. Our server will check for duplicate logins and will terminate a second session with the same user name. Since we assume that someone has discovered your password we will contact you and assign a new password to protect the security of your account. Continued abuse of an account by intentionally sharing passwords will lead to the termination of the account.
Contacting Us Phone support is available between 9:00am and 9:00pm. Please note that due to the size of our business it is not practical to have someone available to answer the phone at all times. Please leave a message if you reach an answering machine -- the system is set up to page us and we will call you back as soon as possible. The number to reach us is (713) 522-1718 E-Mail: support@sweep.net
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