Help with problems connecting to the Internet
- Rejected username / password
- No dialtone
- Random disconnections
- Engaged tones
Help with CLI (Caller Line ID) or ISDN connection problems
- CLI withheld or ex-directory
- Symptoms that suggest you should check your Dial-up Properties (TCP/IP settings)
Help with desktop icons
- Desktop icons that 'disappear'
Help with Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall
- Enable the Internet Connection Firewall
Help with viewing when you are online with the taskbar connection icon
- How to make the connection icon appear on the taskbar
XP Connection Wizard Problems
- Fix the XP Connection Wizard
Further help
- Useful Tips from the Microsoft Knowledge Base
Help with problems connecting to the Internet
1. Rejected username / password
If you cannot connect to the Internet make a note of the error messages
you are shown. If the system is rejecting your username or password
make sure:
-
That you've entered your username and password in
the correct format (this will vary depending upon what account type
you have with us). With dial-up accounts you should simply enter your
one-word username. Broadband customers would enter username@plusdsl.net
(or username.plus.com). The word after the @ symbol is
known as your realm. This information will have been given to you
during the signup process - you can check that yours is correct at
the Control Panel.
- That you have dialled the correct number for your Plusnet account.
The full
list of access numbers, plus instructions on how to change
yours if necessary can be found in our dial-up
set up guide
- That you have presented Caller Line ID. Many of our accounts require
that we know the number from which you are dialling. If you have CLI
disabled and/or are ex-directory we may not be able to do this. In order
that we know who you are, you should place the prefix 1470 in front
of the number that your modem is dialling - more
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2. No dialtone
Check your equipment and cables. Most commonly this is due to an unplugged
cable or extension lead. Check that no-one else is using the phone for
voice calls. Try picking up the phone. Can you hear the dialtone? What
happens if you dial the modem access number? If you can hear a modem
squealing at the far end you know that your telephone line is OK and
that the problem must lie with your PC or modem.
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3. Random disconnections
This is most commonly due to line noise, although you should check that
your Dial-up Properties are set correctly. There can be several reasons why your telephone line might
be subject to line noise - cold weather even can affect the quality
of some lines. The symptom of a noisy line is random disconnects, so look out for this. If your modem disconnects as soon as you dial
then your settings will generally be incorrect. If you suffer disconnections
frequently you should contact your phone operator and ask them to investigate.
Telephone engineers can alter the gain and balance of your line so that your Internet connection can become
more reliable.
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4. Engaged tones
Customers subcribed to our unmetered Connect service should be aware that the service is 'contended' - i.e. the port your modem connects to is shared with other customers. In fact, we base our Connect products' design on the concept of contention. When you choose your type of Connect account you choose the contention level and this in turn defines how often you would be expected to use the service. Contention is measured as a ratio: for example 10:1 means that you would share the service with up to 9 other people.
Because you share the service, you might imagine that at peak periods when most people want to use the service (we generally find this to be late afternoons (4pm-6pm) and early evenings (8pm-10pm), you'll get the occasional engaged tone. If you do get an engaged tone we recommend that you wait a short while before attempting to redial (the exchange equipment we use for our Connect service requires to reset after issuing a busy tone). Please ensure that you are dialling the correct number for your particular account type.
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5. CLI witheld or ex-directory
If you are ex-directory or have number withheld service enabled, you
should enter the prefix 1470 in front of the area code. E.g.
your access number entered into the Dial Up Networking settings for
your connection might read 1470,0808,9933000 (see here).
ISDN users need to have CLIP (Called Line Identification Protocol)
enabled on their line in order to connect successfully to us when using
their Connect account. This will ensure that you present the number
dialled so that the call can be routed correctly. CLIP can be enabled
by calling BT on 150 (152 for users with a business line with BT).
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6. Symptoms that suggest you should check your Dial-up Properties and TCP/IP
settings
If you find that any of the following symptoms occur then you should
check that your TCP/IP (Dial Properties) settings are correct:
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7. Desktop icons that 'disappear'
Windows XP will, (unless you tell it otherwise), clean up your desktop
by removing unused icons every so often. This may mean that
you might lose a shortcut to your Plusnet connection if you haven't used it for some time. To stop this from happening you can turn off the
automatic clean-up process.
- Open the Control Panel (Click on Start and then Control Panel. Make sure you are viewing the Control
Panel in Classic mode).
- Double-click on the Display icon.
Selecting the Desktop tab, click on Customise Desktop.
- Now,
under the Desktop Cleanup option, remove the tick from the box
which says 'Run desktop cleanup wizard every 60 days'.
- Click on OK.
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8. Enable the Internet Connection Firewall
Windows XP has a firewall built into the Dial-up Properties section.
A firewall gives your computer additional protection from hackers and
intrusive network data packets whilst you are connected to the
Internet. Whilst we would recommend that you use a separate third party
firewall application such as ZoneAlarm, you can enable Windows XP Internet
Connection Firewall as follows.
-
Open the Control Panel (Click Start then Control
Panel. Make sure you are viewing the Control Panel in Classic
mode)
-
Double-click the Network Connections icon
-
Right-click on your Plusnet icon. From the displayed
menu click Properties with your left mouse button. The Plusnet
Properties panel will open.
-
Click on the Advanced tab. Place a tick in
the small box next to 'Protect my computer and network by limiting
or preventing access to this computer from the Internet'.
-
Click
on OK.
You can find out more about Firewalls here
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9. How to make the connection icon appear on the
taskbar
 If
you have ever used another version of Windows to connect to the Internet
with a modem, you may be familiar with the icon that shows
when and for how long you have been connected. This sits in the lower
right-hand side of your computer screen.
With Windows XP you may find that this icon doesn't appear - this is optional, however we recommend that you switch it
on. This will always know when you are online and incurring call
charges (if you use lo-call rate access), or using your weekly usage hours
(if using the Connect unmetered service). The connection icon can also
show you your Internet connection speed.
To make the icon appear:
-
Open the Control Panel (Click Start then Control Panel. Make sure you are viewing in Classic View
mode).
-
Double-click the Network Connections icon ·
Right-click on your Plusnet icon.
-
Click on Properties. The Plusnet Properties
panel will open.
-
Make sure that you are viewing the General page - note the tab at the top of the panel
-
At the bottom of this screen place a tick in the
small white box next to "Show icon in notification area when
connected".
-
Click OK.
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10. Fix the XP Connection Wizard
(Please note that this fix is conducted
at the user's risk. No liability will be accepted for damage occuring
as a result of following this guide. No additional support wil be provided
for this issue).
Some customers have reported the problem of 'Connect using a dial up
modem' being greyed out and unselectable whilst manually setting up
a new connection with the 'New Connection Wizard'. This results in Windows
XP responding with error message 711 and the creation of the new connection
is halted.
Error 711: Cannot load Remote
Access Service Connection Manager.
The reason for this can be a one of two things:
1. Telephony services, Remote Access Connection Manager and/or Remote
Access Auto Connection Manager are disabled in Win XP Home/Pro.
2. Corrupt registry.
Those experiencing this problem should initially investigate the first
possibilty. The Microsoft Knowledge Base has an article on this error:
Error
711: Cannot Load Remote Access Service Connection Manager
Only if this fails to activate the "Connect using a dial up modem"
radio button then would you have to investigate the following method
of editing the Registry:
Run: regedit
Select folders in the following order:
-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
-SYSTEM
-Current Control Set
-Services
-RasMan
-PPP
-EAP
-when you get to this point, you should see 4 folders (numbered 4, 13,
25, 26)
-DELETE: folders 25 and 26
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