Monday, August 7, 2000		Tips & Tricks

A BUSY phone line is the biggest problem when connecting to the Internet. With the growing number of users this problem is worsening. Thus, before getting connected you may have to redial several times manually. However, by minor adjustments in your modem settings you can get rid of this problem as the device will automatically dial the number for you. Here are step-by-step instructions for making these adjustments.

CLICK My Computer> Dial-up Networking. Now the Dial-up Networking window will open. Form the menu bar select Connections tab. When you click on this, a drop-down menu will open. Click Settings, and another Dial-Up Networking window will open. In this window click the box adjoining Redial. Enter 50 in "before giving up retry" box (see illustration) and enter 0 in the 2 boxes below. Also click the Don’t prompt to use Dial-up Networking button at the bottom and click OK.

CLICK Start> Programs> Accessories> Communications. From the drop-down menu select Dial-up Networking — a new window will open. From the menu bar select Connection and click on Settings. Check mark the box adjoining Redial, fill 100 in the box after "Before give up retry," Click OK and close Dial-up Networking (for help see the illustration below).

Now you are through. No matter how long you may have to retry your ISP’s number, your computer will not bother you again.

Handling disconnection

THERE is another problem that you can solve effectively with your modem — the problem of disconnecting frequently. In majority of the cases the Internet connection gets cut due to the poor conditions of the telephone line. Though you cannot do much about your telephone lines, you can surely tune your modem to address this problem. Like the first one, the solution to this problem is also very simple.

If you use Windows 95/98

CLICK My Computer> Control Panel> Modems. Now the modem properties window will open on your screen. Select your modem and click Properties. Another window by the name of your modem will open. Select the Connections tab and click the Advanced button on the bottom of the window. This will open another window — "Advanced Connection Settings." Simply write S10=50 in the Extra settings box and click OK.

Your problem of getting disconnected will be reduced to a large extent. The modem is now tuned to tackle telephone line problems. Enjoy your surfing.