• What you can do about call waiting kicking you off.
• Celticweb's 20 minute inactivity timeout.
• Timeout connections that may be in your software.
• Busy signals, Ring No Answer
• The frustrating problem of line noise.
• Software & Hardware configuration settings can cause a wide range of problems.
• Communications overflow can cause problems for older computers connecting at high speeds.
• Reducing modem I/O buffers can improve reliability under Windows95.
• Modems themselves can have defects in them.
• Old ROMs on USR Sportsters
• Overheating in PCMCIA modems
• If you have one, there may be a problem with your digital line.
• Dialing through a PBX system can cause connection problems.

1. Call waiting:
A common cause of a modem disconnection is call-waiting. If you have call- waiting active and your connection freezes up for a period of time, or you are disconnected suddenly and the phone starts ringing, this the most likely culprit of your problems. It is possible to deactivate call-waiting for outgoing phone calls by dialing "*70" before dialing a number. If you wish to reconfigure your computer to disable call-waiting, you can enter "*70," at the beginning of your phone number. For example, if you normally entered "4420001" as your phone number, you could instead enter "*70,4420001". If you configure your script manually, your dial string would read: ATDT*70,4420001

2. Celticweb's 20 minute inactivity timeout:
If you leave your connection unused for 20 minutes or more, our terminal server will disconnect the line. We do this to allow other users to access the line should you forget and leave your unit connected for a long period of time. This does not mean that you have any limit on your online time, and connect again immediately if you were unintentionally disconnected.

3. Other inactivity timeouts:
In addition to Celticweb's own inactivity timeout, your connection software may have an inactivity timeout of it's own. For example, The idle timer in the Win95 dialer is set to 5 minutes by default. You can consult your software's documentation to correct this if you suspect it to be the problem, and you can call us as well and we will do what we can to help you.

4. Line noise:
Line noise is perhaps the most difficult of these problems to solve. When you place a telephone call the data, be it your email or your voice, is transferred through different exchanges within the phone company and eventually routed to us. Anywhere along the way something can cause line noise, which is characterized by the sound of static, or intermittent popping, which you might hear when your modem is dialing in. This line noise can result in low connect speeds, and frequent disconnects. If you are concerned about the line quality in your area, contact your local phone provider.

5. Busy signals, Ring No Answer:
Celticweb has an 8:1 user:line ratio. While logon should be no problem, at times you will get busy signals. These should last through no more than ten-fifteen minutes of successive dialup attempts. If you are consistently getting longer wait times, let us know of the pop that you are trying to access, and we will double check the number of users per line for that pop. Ring no answers occur when there is either a modem that has gone bad or a modem that needs to be reset. When the call comes in, it just hunts to that line again and again. This only occurs when the bad modem is the only one left. The best way to solve this is to manually cancell the line if it rings more than five times, and attempt to connect again.

6. Configuration problems:
The configuration of your communications software may also cause problems with your connection. A few of the things that you can double-check are that you have hardware handshaking active, or set to CTS/RTS. This ensures that communication between your computer and your modem are properly regulated. As well, you should avoid selecting any option that says "Connect at this speed only" which may force certain modems to disconnect under noisy conditions rather than change to a slower speed. NOTE: Simply unsetting this option in Windows95 is not sufficient, you should delete and re-install the driver in question.

7. Communications overflow:
If you are using an older computer, it may be possible that your computer is incapable of handling higher speed connections, in which case you might try lowering your transmission rate, or DTE settings. It may be possible to upgrade your computer's UART chip to handle the speeds of modern high-speed modems.

8. Buffer size:
By reducing your transfer buffer size under Windows95, you can improve communications reliability. To decrease this buffer size, go to the "Modems" control panel. Select your modem and go in to Properties. On the Connection page is a button for Port Settings ... select this and slide the sliders in the pop-up window over to the left some. Say "OK" a bunch of times and hopefully you'll have a more reliable connection.

9. Modems:
Some modems have design problems that cause them to among other problems, sometimes drop connections. If you have a modem that you suspect might have some internal trouble, you can contact the manufacturer directly, or you might contact us as well to see if we know of any problems we've heard of with your particular model. Some problems we've found include;

• Some earlier USR Sportster modems have shipped with bad ROMs in them. These can be replaced through US Robotics for better reliability. US Robotics Technical Support can be contacted at (847)982-5151 or by emailing support@usr.com.
• PCMCIA modems, especially earlier models, have shown a tendency to overheat. This problem will result in bad performance after the modem has been in use for some amount of time. This problem can be alleviated by providing better ventilation (cooling) to the area, and by contacting the manufacturer.

10. Digital lines:
If you are using a digital line, it may have a damaged relay or SCR. If you suspect this may be a problem, contact your phone company or other professional for support.

11. PBX systems:
If you are experiencing problems when connecting to us through a PBX or similar such system frequently used in office environments, it may be that the this equipment is adversely affecting your modem's line quality. The more switches and relays and equipment on the line that you are using, the more opportunities there are for potential connection problems and line noise. If you suspect that your internal phone system may be causing problems, try testing your set up on a standard line if you can. Ideally, your data communications should go through dedicated lines and not through office switching equipment.

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webmaster@celticweb.com