Troubleshooting tips

Contents

Introduction & updates

Troubleshooting problems during installation

Troubleshooting problems after installation

Troubleshooting problems with a dial-up connection (using a modem)

Troubleshooting problems with a direct cable connection (using Ethernet)

Replacing your UC Berkeley network settings

About your Home IP account name & password

Introduction & Updates

The following are basic procedures for troubleshooting some commonly-encountered problems when connecting to the Internet through UC Berkeley using the Mac OS software on the Connecting@Berkeley 2002 CD.

This set of troubleshooting tips was last updated on June 29, 2001. To be sure that you're referring to the most up-to-date troubleshooting instructions, see the Connecting@Berkeley web site at http://cab.berkeley.edu/. (If necessary, you can view this Web site from a computer in a microcomputer facility, office, or lab on the UC Berkeley campus.)

These instructions frequently refer to the booklet included with the Connecting@Berkeley CD. A copy of that booklet is avaliable in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) form both on the Connecitng@Berkeley 2002 CD and the Connecitng@Berkeley web site.

These troubleshooting instructions pertain to the standard software installed by the Connecting@Berkeley 2002 CD.

Troubleshooting problems during installation

  1. "Your version of the Mac OS was released after this CD was issued ..."

    At some point during installation, you encounter an error message similar to the following:

    Your version of the Mac OS was released after this CD was issued; therefore the installers you're about to run may not work properly.

    Your Macintosh may be running a version of the Mac OS after 9.2. While the software included on the Connecting@Berkeley 2002 CD should work properly with all versions of Mac OS 9 (including those later than 9.2), these versions were not available for testing at the time the Connecting@Berkeley 2002 CD was released. Therefore, before running any software installers, check for updated information on the http://cab.berkeley.edu/ (http://cab.berkeley.edu/) or consult with one of the support providers listed on the back of the Connecting@Berkeley CD booklet*.

    Mac OS X users: Automatic set-up for Mac OS X is not included on this CD. However, the CD does contain complete software installation instructions and a limited set of OS X Internet applications. If you are running OS X when you run "Install C@B Software" on the CD, you will be guided to the installation and support relating to OS X.
  2. The modem unexpectedly starts dialing during the installation process.

    During the installation process (generally after you have decided to connect to one of the UC Berkeley Modem Services), your modem may start dialing into the service you just selected.

    This is generally caused by you having one or more non-Apple pieces of software installed on your computer that want to connect to the Internet.

    In most circumstances, this is nothing more than a cosmetic bug - let your computer finish the process of dialing in, and then proceed normally with your install.

    If, however, you want to prevent this behavior, see the "The modem unexpectedly starts dialing" section below.

  3. "We're sorry, your computer does not meet the requirements necessary to run this sequence of installers... "

    At some point during installation, you encounter an error message:

    We're sorry, your computer does not meet the requirements necessary to run this sequence of installers. The installation process will now stop.

    In most cases, this means that a sequence of one or more programs or documents were about to be launched to install software (such as system software updates, networking software updates, or Internet programs) on your computer, but a pre-installation check of your computer's system resources detected one or more of the following conditions which prevented this installation from taking place:

  4. "A serious and unexpected error occurred in the function ConfigFile::GetNextInstaller ..."

    At some point during installation, you encounter an error message:

    A serious and unexpected error occurred in the function ConfigFile::GetNextInstaller. The installation process will now stop.

    This messagetypically appears after your computer has restarted. At that point, you've likely been prompted to re-insert the Connecting@Berkeley CD. (If you're installing the Connecting@Berkeley software from a file server over a network, you've likely been prompted to once again log into that file server.)

    If you cancel the dialog asking you to reinsert the CD or dismiss the dialog asking you to once again log into the file server, you'll likely see this message. This means that the MultiLauncher program, which opens multiple programs or documents in sequence, cannot access the next program or document that it has been instructed to open. In all likelihood, that program or document is located on the ejected CD or on the no-longer-mounted volume from the network file server.

    If this occurs, open the document on your Desktop named "Open this to continue install." You should once again be prompted to insert your C@B CD or to log into your network file server. Once you do so, the installation of the Connecting@Berkeley software should proceed normally.

Troubleshooting problems after installation

I can check my UC Berkeley e-mail from my commercial ISP, but I can't send outgoing e-mail

If you are connected to the Internet through a commercial ISP and you try to send outgoing mail using a UC Berkeley server (such as UCLink), you may get an error. This is becuse some commercial ISPs block access to outgoing mail (SMTP) servers other than the ones they provide for their customers.

To resolve this issue, contact your ISP and ask them for the address of their SMTP server, then enter it in your e-mail program's settings. (In Eudora, choose "Settings..." from the "Special" menu and click "Sending Mail" to see this setting.)

Two widely used ISPs that do this sort of blocking are Earthlink and NetZero. If you are using one of those two ISPs to connect, you will need to enter the following as your SMTP server address:

"Hostname"- or "Domain Name Server"-type errors

Various network programs may display error messages similar to the following examples:

Eudora: Error Involving Domain Name System -3162
Netscape Communicator: Netscape is unable to locate the server [servername] The server does not have a DNS entry.
BetterTelnet: The connection to [servername] cannot be opened because the domain name is invalid

This typically means that the name of the computer to which you're trying to connect might be inaccurate, you don't have a working network connection, or your settings in the TCP/IP control panel might be misconfigured.

The "Remote Access Status" window keeps appearing even though I don't want it to.

Apple's Remote Access Status program is an easy way to connect to and disconnect from the Internet if you are using a modem. The C@B 2002 software causes this program to run either at startup (under Mac OS 8.5 and some versions of 8.6) or each time you connect to the Internet over a modem (under later versions of Mac OS 8.6 and all version of Mac OS 9).

To disable this functionality:

I've graduated/left the University. How do I cancel my SHIPS account?

If you've graduated or left the University and want to cancel your SHIPS account (so that you no longer get charged the $10/month access fee), see:

http://internet-ships.berkeley.edu/
(You will need a working Internet connection to view this page)

for instructions on how to cancel your acocunt.

Other problems

If you have other problems with applications, see the documentation for each C@B application in the http://cab.berkeley.edu/archive/faq/Mac-CAB_Help/cab_help.html file or the documentation files installed with each application.

Troubleshooting problems with a dial-up connection (using a modem)

The first steps to take whenever you are troubleshooting modem problems

In all cases, the first step to take when troubleshooting problems with a dial-up connection is:

  1. Select Control Panels from the Apple menu, and then open the Remote Access control panel.
  2. In this control panel, click the Connect button to initiate a dial-up connection, then look for an error message that might help you identify and solve the problem.

While troubleshooting, do not start your Internet connection by opening a network program, such as Eudora or Netscape Communicator. Instead, always open your connection using the Remote Access control panel, as described above. This way, you'll see clearer and more detailed error messages that will help solve your problem more rapidly.

If your attempt to resolve your connection problem based on the specific error message you encountered doesn't work, you might next try the general modem troubleshooting procedures described below.

Second, try turning your modem off and back on again. (If you have an internal modem, you can do this by restarting your computer.) This will often solve problems.

Commonly-encountered error messages

Some common error messages you might encounter (with some suggested solutions) include:

  1. "Authentication failed" or "The connection attempt failed: User authentication failed."

    This error might have resulted from one of two causes:

    1. You've successfully connected to a campus modem service. However, your Home IP account name OR your Home IP password, or (in a few cases, both) were not accepted as valid.

    To resolve this problem:

    or

    2. You've successfully connected to the campus modems. However, your Home IP account is not authorized to use the restricted access modem service to which you've connected, such as Internet Access SHIPS or the Faculty modem service.

  2. "The connection attempt failed: the modem is not responding properly."
  3. "The connection attempt failed: The port may already be in use by another application."

  4. "Apple Remote Access: The remote side is not responding correctly. Check the configurations of your control panels and try again."

    To date, we have only seen this occur as an intermittent problem with third-party (non-Apple) external modems. To resolve this problem:


"Dropped" modem connections

Occasionally, your dial-up modem connection might "drop," or be cut off. Sometimes you may see a specific error message to this effect. Other times, you may only notice that the connection has been "dropped" by errors displayed by your Internet programs when trying to connect, or by the fact that your phone has been hung up.

There are three common reasons why your modem connection might have "dropped":

  1. Inactivity disconnect.

    The settings installed by the Connecting@Berkeley software will cause your dial-up modem connection to UC Berkeley's modem services to be dropped after 30 minutes of inactivity - time during which none of your Internet programs are exchanging data (such as checking or sending e-mail or downloading Web pages) over your network connection. (This helps makes more campus modems available to others who may be actively trying to dial in.) If this happens, you can reconnect if you wish.

    If you've walked away from your computer, or are just viewing e-mail messages or already-downloaded Web pages for a long period of time, you might encounter this error, which is identified by the message "The connection was terminated because of lack of network activity." in the Status area of the Remote Access control panel and in that control panel's Activity Log.

    To adjust this setting, choose "Control Panels" from the Apple menu and select "Remote Access.". Then click the "Options..." button, click the "Connection" tab, and change the "Disconnect if idle for [__] minutes" setting.

  2. Service connection limit.

    All UC Berkeley dial-up modem services limit the length of time that you can stay connected. For example, as of July 2001, the General and Lucent services limit your connections to 2 hours, the Warhol service limits your connections to 15 minutes, and the Internet Access SHIPS service (as well as the Faculty service, which is based on SHIPS) limits your connections to 8 hours. If these connection times are exceeded, your connection will be dropped without warning. If this happens, you can reconnect if you wish.

  3. Failure of two modems to negotiate a '56K' connection.

    If you experience a disconnection almost immediately after your modem successfully dials into a campus modem, this could be due to a failure of the two modems to negotiate the details of the connection, such as the 'modulation protocol' to be used, or due to excessive noise on the phone line.

    If you should encounter one of these situations:

Some other reasons that your connection might be dropped include:

If you're experiencing frequent disconnections:

The modem unexpectedly starts dialing

When you start up your computer, your modem may start dialing into the Internet.

This is generally caused by you having one or more non-Apple pieces of software installed on your computer that want to connect to the Internet.

In most circumstances, this is nothing more than a cosmetic bug - let your computer finish the process of dialing in, and then proceed normallyl.

If, however, you want to prevent this behavior, do the following:

  1. Choose Control Panels from the Apple menu
  2. Open the Extensions Manager control panel
  3. Click on the "Duplicate Set..." button and give the current set a new name (something including the date generally works well).
  4. Select "Mac OS x.x.x All" from the "Selected Set" menu at the top of the window
  5. Click the "Restart" button.

The Unintended dialing should not happen after you do this, but you may also lose certain functionality on your computer (such as the ability to print). To re-enable this functionality and discover which of your non-Apple extensions/control panels caused this problem, do the following:

  1. Choose Control Panels from the Apple menu
  2. Open the Extensions Manager control panel
  3. Re-enable one of your third-party extensions/control panels by clicking on the checkbox next to it.
  4. Click the "Restart" button.
  5. Repeat this process until the problem appears again. The last piece of software you enabled is the one causing the problem.

General modem troubleshooting

What to do first

First, try turning your modem off and back on again. (If you have an internal modem, you can do this by restarting your computer.) This will often solve problems.

Logging (recording) what your computer is doing during a dial-up connection

The Remote Access control panel records or "logs" what your computer is doing while it is establishing a dial-up connection to the Internet using a modem. This record is stored in an "Activity Log."

If you're an advanced user or support provider, you may be able to identify and solve many problems on your own by viewing this logging information .

If you need assistance in resolving your current problem, you can save the Activity Log as a text document and - by printing it out, copying it to a diskette, or (if possible) sending it as an attachment to an e-mail message - you can give it to someone who may be able to use it to help you solve your problem, even if they are not physically located at your computer.

To view or save the Activity Log:

Below are two examples of errors identified in the Activity Log:

9/11/98	2:25 PM	Dialing 643-9600
9/11/98	2:26 PM	Authentication failed
9/11/98	2:26 PM	Password validation failure
9/11/98	2:26 PM	Connection canceled.

(If you should encounter the above error, see "Authentication failed") 

9/11/98	3:10 PM	Dialing 643-9600
9/11/98	3:10 PM	PPP ready for TCP/IP with IP address 136.152.nn.nn
9/11/98	3:10 PM	Connection established at 38400 bps.
9/11/98	3:52 PM	The connection was terminated because of lack of network activity.
9/11/98	3:52 PM	Connection terminated.

(If you should encounter the above error, see "Dropped" modem connections".)

Replacing your UC Berkeley Internet connection settings

If none of the above suggestions resolve your problem, another effective technique is to replace your settings for connecting to the Internet through UC Berkeley. Before you do this, you will need to know your HIP username and password. See the worksheet in the Connecting@Berkeley CD booklet.*

Troubleshooting problems with a direct cable connection (using Ethernet)

Problems relating to your computer's Ethernet adapter

Your computer's "Ethernet adapter" - circuitry that allows your computer to send and receive data on an Ethernet network - as well as the "driver" software that manages the flow of data between your Ethernet adapter and your computer's networking software, must be working properly in order for your computer to connect to the Internet.

Problems relating to your IP address settings

An "IP Address" is the Internet equivalent to a telephone number: it's a number that uniquely identifies your computer on the Internet, and allows other computers to talk to it.

This address needs to be correct in order for your computer to successfully connect to the Internet.

Another address that needs to be correct is the IP address for your network's router (or "gateway"). The router is a device that connects your local network to the rest of the campus network and the worldwide Internet.

Finally, you'll need to specify a correct "subnet mask," a pattern of numbers which, broadly speaking, identifies which data will go to (or has come from) computers on your local network, and which data must be sent out through your network's router to computers located elsewhere on the Internet.

Replacing your UC Berkeley network settings

If you believe that your network settings - either your Internet settings in the TCP/IP control panel, or your remote access settings in the Remote Access control panel, or both - might be seriously messed up, it can be useful to start over.

Here's how to do this:

  1. Run the "Add UCB Internet Connections" file in the "Troubleshooting" folder
  2. At the screen where it asks you which methods you want to use to connect, select the methods that you want to replace the settings for, then click "Continue >"
  3. When you are asked if you want to replace the existing settings, click "Replace".
  4. Once you have entered all the necessary information and selected which method you want to use to connect, you will be shown a window entitled "Finished Configuring your Internet Connection".
  5. Click "Quit" in this window and "Quit" again in the next window that appears. (Ignore the stuff about a partially configured Internet connection.)

About your Home IP account name & password

Without a valid Home IP account name and password (or a similar name and password for a commercial Internet service), you won't be able to successfully dial into the Internet.

This problem is the single most common stumbling block to getting an Internet connection, affecting many people.

How to type your account name and password to avoid errors

The rules for typing account names and passwords can often be picky. If you don't type them exactly "right" (according to the computer's logic, which may not match yours), they usually won't be accepted. If they're not accepted, you won't be able to dial into the Internet.

Here are the groundrules for successfully typing your Home IP account name and password:

How to check your account name and password

If you're not sure whether you have a Home IP account, or if you're not sure if you remember its name, you can check on this by using any computer with a working Internet connection to connect to http://bilink.berkeley.edu/.

Once you have connected to BILink, you can see your Home IP account name by clicking on the "2.Do you already have an account? Check account status." link in the "Before you begin" section of the page. You will be asked for some personal information, then told the status of your Home IP account (or offered the opportunity to create one if you don't have one).

If you have forgotten your Home IP account password, you will need to contact the User & Account Services office to get it reset. (See the list of providers on the back of the Connecting@Berkeley CD booklet* for contact information.)

Background: Additional information about your Home IP account

The purpose of your Home IP account

Here's a real-world analogy that describes the purpose of this account:

You need your Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) password to verify your identity as a customer of your bank, so you can withdraw money from your checking account.

In the same way, you need your Home IP account name and password to verify your identity as a member of the UC Berkeley campus community, so that you can dial into the Internet through the campus's high-speed modems.

How your Home IP account relates to your e-mail account

Note that your Home IP account is completely separate and distinct from any account you might use to access your e-mail from - or to log directly into - any particular computer on the Internet.

This is the case even if you happen to be using the same name and password for your Home IP account and for your "e-mail account."

The analogy (not a perfect fit to the real world, but close enough) is something like this:

Your Home IP account is an extremely broad, general type of account. It "gets you into the Internet" using Berkeley's modems.

Think of the Internet world as a vast kingdom, surrounded by a high wall. Your Home IP account allows you to enter this kingdom through a door provided by UC Berkeley. You can then wander freely around this Internet kingdom, walking right into some "castles" (such as public World-Wide Web servers, the Melvyl and GLADIS library catalogs, and many more) whose gates are wide open.

You use your "e-mail" account for a far more narrow purpose: to access your personal account (including checking your e-mail) on a single computer on the Internet.

Continuing with the analogy above, entrance to certain "castles" (computers) in the Internet kingdom is restricted. These castles have private "rooms" (storage space associated with particular accounts), where you and other people store your work files, your personal electronic mail, and the like. In order to unlock the gate to your personal "room" in such a "castle" in order to read your e-mail stored there, you will need to provide your "e-mail" account name and password.

How to get a Home IP account

See the Connecting@Berkeley CD booklet* for details.