1. It’s Great When It Works, but...
Browsing
the Internet is great fun and very useful. In fact, watch as I
instantly transfer millions of dollars from my secret Swiss bank account
to... wait a minute, what’s a “404 Server Not Found Error”? What’s
going on? Did the modem disconnect? Is the IRS closing in on me? Help!
Where’s my money?
If you’ve used the Internet for any length of
time, this scene might seem all too familiar—except for the bit about
the Swiss bank account. (A guy can dream, can’t he?) Connecting to the
Internet and using the Web is an amazingly user-friendly experience, yet
we can’t escape that it’s a staggeringly complex system. If something
goes wrong at any step along the way between your fingertips and a
server in cyberspace, the whole system comes to a crashing halt. Where
do you begin to find and fix the problem?
2. Before You Run into Trouble
The
best tool to have on hand when you’re diagnosing Internet problems is
information about what you should expect when your connection is working. If you collect this information in advance of running into trouble, you’ll save yourself a lot of time, trouble, and grief.
For starters, gather the information that your
ISP provided when you set up your Internet connection. This might
include the following information:
The customer support telephone number for your ISP. The type of service you’re using: dial-up modem, DSL, cable modem, satellite, or other type of service. For
dial-up service, the dial-in telephone number(s) for your area and the
URL of the web page that you can use to find other dial-up numbers in
other areas. For DSL or cable service, the make and model of the DSL or cable modem that you were given. The
login name and password used to connect to the service. (This usually
does not apply to cable Internet service; your provider will tell you if
it does.) The usernames and passwords used to access the email accounts you have with your ISP. The
names or IP addresses of any servers provided by your ISP, including
outgoing mail (SMTP server), incoming mail (POP3 server), and news
reader (NNTP server). If your service
provides you with a static IP address, you need to know your IP address,
your network mask, your gateway address, and two or more DNS server
addresses.
I suggest that you collect, type, and print all
this information and store the printout in a handy place near your
computer. You can use WordPad (click Start, All Programs, Accessories,
WordPad) or your favorite word processor. The important part is to print the information
so it’s available even if your computer is acting up. Keep the printout
in a manila file folder labeled “Internet Connection Information.”
It’s also helpful to collect the correct output
of the TCP/IP diagnostic programs and store copies of the output in your file folder for
reference. You can use the PrntScrn key to take snapshots of the output
and setup windows, and then paste the pictures into a word processing
document so you can print it. Again, it really helps to have this
information available when trouble occurs—but you have to prepare it in
advance.
Here are some things to record:
The output of the tracert command-line program showing the results for a sample website. The tracert
tool records all the intermediate steps that Internet data passes
through between your computer and a site on the Internet. Knowing what
the route looks like when things are working can later help you
determine whether a problem is in your computer or out on the Internet,
beyond your control. To
record this output, open a Command Prompt window (click Start, All
Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt) and type this command: This
command might take about 30 seconds to display several lines of text,
ending with “Trace complete.” If it does run successfully, type this
command: tracert www.sonic.net > goodtrace.txt This
time, you will not see any output but the command is running. After the
same 30 seconds, the command prompt returns. Now type this: This is the saved output of the successful tracert command, which you can now print and put into your Internet Connection Information folder. The output of ipconfig /all, run on each of your computers while you’re successfully connected to the Internet. ipconfig lists all your networking settings, so you can check for mistakes. To record this output, type these commands: ipconfig /all > ipconfig.txt
notepad ipconfig.txt As before, you should print and file the results. The
Network Hardware and Protocol Configuration dialog boxes in Network
Connections, as pictures snapped with PrntScrn. If you have a network or
a network adapter that you use for a broadband cable or DSL Internet
connection, it’s handy to record the setup information in case you need
to reenter it later. For example, you might need to do that if you
replace your network adapter. To document these settings, follow these
steps:
1. | Open WordPad (click Start, All Programs, Accessories, WordPad) or your favorite word processor.
| 2. | Open
the Network Connections window (click Start, Control Panel, View
Network Status and Tasks [under Network and Internet], Change Adapter
Settings).
Note The User Account
Control warning might pop up at various points during this procedure. If
it does, click Continue, or supply an Administrator account name and
password to proceed. |
| 3. | Right-click
the icon that corresponds to your Internet connection (a dial-up,
broadband, or LAN connection, depending on your Internet connection
type) and select Properties.
| 4. | Select
the first tab. Press Alt+PrtScrn. Click the cursor in the word
processor window, and press Ctrl+V to paste in the picture.
| 5. | Return
to the Properties dialog box and select the next tab. Again, press
Alt+PrtScrn to capture a picture of the dialog box; then select the word
processor and press Ctrl+V to paste in the picture. Repeat this process
for every tab in the dialog box.
If the dialog box has a Networking tab that has a list labeled
This Connection Uses the Following Items, select each of the items in
this list in turn. For each one, if the Properties button is enabled,
click it, and if a subsidiary Properties dialog box appears, take
pictures of every tab on that box, too. Press Cancel to close it.
| 6. | Close
the Connection Properties dialog box. Repeat steps 3 through 5 for any
other connection icons in the Network Connections window.
| 7. | Print the word processing document and store it in your file folder.
|
The configuration of any routers or network connection equipment. If you have an Internet connection sharing router, it’s a very
good idea to record its correct settings, in case they are accidentally
changed or you update or replace the device. You can do this by
printing each of its setup screens from your web browser. The
settings for any dial-up connections used. Many ISPs talk you through
their setup process or provide you with “wizard” software that does the
work for you, and it’s important to record the setup information in case
you need to reconstruct it someday. The information you need is the
telephone number, login name, and password. Tip In a business setting,
documenting your LAN configuration is a “due diligence” issue—it’s not
optional. Be sure to keep the documentation up to date, too. If you use
an outside contractor to set up your business’s computers, network, or
Internet connection, be sure your contract specifies that good
documentation will be provided. |
Diagrams
showing network cabling, hubs, routers, and computers. If your
3-year-old is a budding network installer and rewires your computer,
it’s handy to have a diagram of the correct setup to help you get all
the wiring spaghetti back in order.
With this documentation at hand, you’ll be armed with supportive information if a problem does occur.
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