Troubleshooting

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5

Troubleshooting

5.1

Installation

Problem:

  Any number  of different  problems

Solution:

  Be sure  that there  are no other programs  running  when  you install  r  Pro.  There may be

programs  running  even if you don t see  them  in your task bar.  Pressing    will bring  up a list of

running  programs  in Windows  95, 98, or ME.  In Windows  NT, 2000, or XP you can choose   Task Manager  after

hitting   for similar  information.   Stop any program  that you believe is  causing  the conflict.

WARNING: this  should  only be done by an experienced  user.  WARNING: Randomly  ending tasks  can lock up

your computer, lose  data  or worse.   Please  consult  with and experienced  technician  before killing  any

processes.   A clean reboot  can sometimes  also  help.  Holding  down  the shift key while  windows  is  starting  will

stop some  programs  from starting  that automatically  load at startup.  Try re running  the r  Net setup

program.

5.2

Init Strings

What is an init string?

Different modems  can t necessarily  talk to each  other as  set right out of the box.  Modems  use  many different

settings  and protocols.   In order for two modems  to communicate,  they must  agree on many things  such  as

speed,  error correction,  compression  algorithms,  etc...  By sending  a modem  an init  string, you can control

some  of these  parameters.

What do I need to put in my init string?

In general,  the modems  used  by paging  carriers  run at a speed  from 300 to 2400 baud (1200  being the most

common).   They don t typically use  any form of error correction  or data compression  protocols.   In many cases,

if your modem  tries to use  either of these  protocols, your modem  will  be unable  to communicate  with the

paging  terminal s  modem.   In your init string  you should  lude  settings  to lock you modem s  baud rate to that

of your carrier s  modem,  disable  error correction  protocols,  and disable  data compression  protocols.   In

addition  r  Net would  like  your modem  to issue  English  response  codes  (rather than numeric

response  codes),  and issue  complete  connection  information.

Do all modems use the same init string?

No, many different  modem  manufacturers  use  their  own set of modem  commands.   Init strings  may even be

different between  models  by the same  manufacturer.

My init string works  on one carrier  but not the other.

You may need a different  init string to connect  to each  carrier.  In general your init strings  will  be the same,  but

not always.

What init string should I use?

There is  no easy answer  to this.   In general,  if your modem  is a 2400 baud model  or slower  (very old models)

you won t need an init string.   These  older modems  sometimes  work best when  communicating  with the

paging  terminals.   Anything faster  (9600, 14.4, 28.8, 33.6, 56K, etc.), will probably  require an init string.   Some  of

the most  common  init  strings  are listed  below.  If you have a less  well  known brand modem,  you may need to

use  the documentation  lude  with you modem  to create an init string.

Common Init Strings

AT&FQ0V1X4&D2     Minimal settings.   Works  with most  1200 and 2400 baud modems.  Some  modems  use

&F0 rather than &F.  All  0  are zeros not oh s.

    , .