

                     Accessing the Internet Using Windows95

                         (c) 1995 by Thomas F. Lee

  What is Windows 95?

  Windows 95 is, or in due course will be, the next version of
  Microsoft's Windows.  At present available only in beta, Windows 95 is
  due for formal release in August 1995.  As part of the pre-release
  testing process, Microsoft has released beta versions to a variety of
  beta programs. The currently available beta is build 347 and is also
  known as M8 or Windows Preview Program (WPP).  Later builds of Windows
  95 have been provided to a small group of developers and testers.  This
  paper is being written using build 445 and 450 although all testing and
  dialogue boxes shown in this document relate to M8 (build 347).

  If you install Windows 95, remember this is a beta version of an
  operating system and does have bugs.  In the development of this piece,
  the author has experienced numerous crashes and hangs - Windows 95
  (along with the applications noted) is NOT yet stable. Thus far, only
  unsaved work has been lost - this amounts to several pages of typed work
  - but it is all re-doable.  You might not be so lucky.

  How do I get Windows 95

  If you don't already have it, the chances are you can't, or won't get it
  before it is formally released.  Potential sources of Windows 95 are the
  MSDN Level II subscription and being a Microsoft Solution Provider.

  How do I connect to the Internet with Windows 95?

  There are two broad approaches to Internet connectivity with Windows 95.
  First, you can connect to the Microsoft Network which (eventually) will
  support a full Internet feed.  The other is to use one of many  Internet
  Service Provider and use Dialup Networking.  While the MSN will possibly
  be easier to use, it does not currently offer Internet connectivity.

  In general, Windows 95 follows a layered approach to Internet
  connectivity, the key layers being:

    physical (i.e. modem or Ethernet)
    transport (i.e. TCP/IP)
    client applications (e.g. mail, news, etc.).

  There are several ways to connect these various layers, but first you
  have to have a modem installed and working.

    Connecting a Modem

  Setting up your modem is pretty straightforward.  First, you must have a
  modem which is compatible with Windows 95.  Microsoft issues a Hardware
  Compatibility List (HCL) which specifies hardware which has been tested
  and will work under Windows 95. .  At present, this list has about 100
  modems which are alleged to work.

  If your modem is not on this list but is Hayes compatible, it will probably work.  If it not on the list and is not Hayes compatible, it may not.  For best results, use a modem on the HCL.

  To set-up the modem, you should run control panel
  (Start/Settings/Control Panel).  Then select the Modems to bring up the
  Install New Modems set-up wizard.  This will guide you through the
  process of installing your modem.  Usually, you can let Windows 95 find
  your modem, but at this point in time, Windows 95 is not all that good
  at autodetecting all modems and may detect a modem which is somewhat
  different than the modem you actually have!  Such is the state of the
  art in modems.  You can also select your modem from the supplied list of
  supported modems.

  If you have a modem which is NOT on the list, you can try to set-up a
  'standard modem' - this is a generic Hayes compatible modem driver and
  certainly seems to work for some modems. However, the generic Hayes
  compatible modem driver may not enable all the features which your modem
  actually has.   Modems which are known to work with both Windows 95 and
  Demon are as follows:

  Modem Detected/Used As

  US Robotics V.34 US Robotics V.Everything
  US Robotics World Port 14400 Fax/Data
  US Robotics World Port 14400
  Hayes Ultra 144 V-Series
  Smartmodem Standard Modem Supra V32.bis faxmodem
  Standard Modem Courier HST Dual Standard with V.32bis
  ASL Standard Modem (detected) Courier 14400 Dual Standard

  Note:  this list is obviously a subset of the modems supported by
  Windows 95 and the absence of your modem from this list does not mean
  that will not work. The above modems, on the other hand, have been shown
  to work when connecting to a variety of Internet services.  Additions to
  this list are welcome!

  Setting up TCP/IP

  Once you have set up your modem, you must then set-up TCP/IP  to run on
  top of the modem.  For Windows 95 users, the best option is the 95's
  built in TCP/IP stack.  You install this using the Network set-up
  facility by first running Control Panel and then selecting Network.
  This will bring up the Network set-up dialogue.

  The much discussed Network set-up dialogue is a very complex procedure.
  You will need to get all the options right in order to use the Windows
  95 stack fully.  Be prepared to experiment and to ask others in Windows
  newsgroups and conferences for assistance.  The smallest error will
  affect your success. Look for the screen of the Network setup dialogue.


  Using the Configure tab, you must 'Add' an adapter and a protocol.  The
  adapter should be the Microsoft Dial-up Adapter.  This will bind the
  protocol stack to the modem.  Next, you must add the TCP/IP protocol.
  Once the TCP/IP protocol is added, you must configure the protocol.

  Before proceeding, you should check to ensure that the TCP/IP stack is
  bound to the Microsoft Dialup Adapter. In earlier beta versions of
  Windows 95, it took some effort - taking things out and putting them
  back in (with a reboot in between).   In the window on the top of the
  Network  dialogue box, you will see the 'Network components installed; -
  this should show TCP/IP bound to the adapter!  You will be working on a
  screen called The Network Setup Dialogue Box.

  You might see something different to this dialogue box - but the key
  thing to ensure is that TCP/.IP is properly bound to the Dial-Up
  adapter.  With TCP/IP properly bound to the adapter, you will next need
  to configure TCP/IP.  This  is easy (if you understand TCP/IP!) and
  involves configuring the properties of the TCP/IP running on the Dialup
  Adapter  To do this, highlight TCP/IP bound to the Dial Up Adapter and
  select Properties (or double click it!).

  This will result in a dialogue box called TCP/IP properties.

  Using the TCP/IP properties dialogue, you must configure, at a minimum,
  the IP Address, the Gateway and the DNS configuration.  For IP address,
  you should add the IP address issued to you by your Internet Services
  (e.g. 158.152.26.84).  Please note - you will need to configure your own
  IP address in the IP address box - the one noted here will NOT work for
  you! You must also specify a subnet mask.  Normal  dial up customers
  should use 255.255.0.0, as you are a single node on most Internet
  providers' network.

  Next, you must configure your Default Gateway and DNS.  Configuring the
  Default Gateway and DNS is similar:

  You will  need to put in your providers  name and domain in this
  dialogue box.  The author's node name is PSP and the domain for all
  Demon Dial Up customers is DEMON.CO.UK.

  So with these IP addresses, etc. configured, you are almost ready to go.
  All you have to do is to configure Dial Up Networking - the last step in
  the process.

  Setting Up Dial Up Networking

  Dial up Networking enables the user to connect to a remote computer and
  access information held on the remote system,  DUN (Dial Up Networking)
  is the Windows 95 Version of Remote Access Service (as found in Windows
  NT and Windows for Workgroups 3.11).

  To set up dial up networking to connection, first select the Dial Up
  Networking Folder.  This folder is under the Start button
  (Start/Accessories/Dial-Up Networking).  If you intend to use this a
  lot, as the author does, you might find it convenient to create a
  shortcut to the folder on your desktop.  Next, you should select the
  Make a New Connection icon to bring up a connection Wizard.  The first
  screen in the Wizard allows you to create a name for your connection
  (e.g. Demon) and the modem you wish to use.

  The next screen allows you to enter the phone number of the computer you
  wish to call - this is the name of the POP/vPOP nearest you.  You must
  specify the Area Code (this is the dialing code - but without the
  leading zero!), the telephone number and the country code.  This creates
  your connection and all you need to do is to configure this.

  To configure the connection, right click the connection and bring up the
  Property sheet. First click on Server Type to bring up the server type
  dialogue.

  Be sure to disable the Enable Software Compression and Require Encrypted
  Password check boxes.  Also, you should only have the TCP/IP protocol
  selected.  You can then Click on OK.

  Selecting Configure on the connection property screen, brings up another
  tabbed dialogue box. Under the General Tab, you should select the Com
  port your modem is attached to (e.g. Com1 and the maximum DTE speed
  (i.e. 57600).  If your modem is fully supported and has a speaker, you
  can also select speaker volume.  Under the Connection tab, you must
  enter Data Bits (8), Parity (none) and Stop bits (1).  You should also
  select Wait for dial tone before dialing. Under the Options Tab, select
  Bring up terminal windows after dialling.  You should also bring up the
  modem status.

  Using  this configuration with a Dial Up Networking

  Assuming all the above instructions have been followed, you are ready to
  connect to the Internet.  Just double click on the new configuration
  connection in the Dial Up Networking folder, select connect and Windows
  95 will dial up your provider and present you with a Terminal Window.
  You must logon, entering your login name, your password and connection
  type (i.e. PPP).  Then hit F7 and Windows 95 will finish creating the
  connection. Once you are logged on, you can minimize the Dial Up
  Networking icon and begin to use your Internet applications.  See
  Section 6 for more details.

  Once you have all this working, you can tidy your desktop up by dragging
  your new connection onto the desktop, onto the Start Menu or to
  somewhere else you might find useful.  The author has a folder on the
  desktop with all  related utilities, etc.

  Automating the Connection

  Out of the Box, Windows 95 does not support dialling scripts - thus
  necessitating the manual entry of your node name, etc. in the Terminal
  Window.  Some third party add-ons have been developed to simplify this
  process.  One such utility is Robodun. Robodun can be found using url:
  ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/ibmpc/winsock/win95/rdun60.zip.

  This utility comes with a good help file.  Several folks have found
  Robodun easy to set-up and use - providing you get Dial Up Networking
  set up properly.  The faq author has found it unreliable - working on
  only 25% of connections.  Note that Robodun stores your dialing scripts
  in the registry.  Robodun does this automatically.

  Troubleshooting

  If you setup Windows 95  as described, all should work.  But such is the
  theory of things.  Some things to try:

  If you're upgrading from a Trumpet based Winsock environment, make sure
  you don't have multiple winsock.dll files in your path.

  Unless you have a particular need, use PPP over SLIP.  All Winsock
  clients work with Demon over PPP.

  Applications

  This section will describe applications known to work or not to work
  using Win95.   The presence here of any application does not constitute
  an endorsement and the absence of an application does not do the
  reverse.  Unless explicitly stated, all applications noted here are
  either built into Windows 95 or are available on ftp.demon.co.uk.
  Where possible, URLs will be given.

  Mail

  Windows 95 comes with a built in mail client, Exchange.  Exchange is
  based on POP3 and does not fully support SMTP. The MAILOPT.INF file on
  the CD has the relevant lines commented out for some reason - presumably
  since the code is not stable. The comment for the comments say something
  about a maintenance release. To fix this after the install, you need to
  hack the registry using REGEDIT.To enable Internet Mail under Windows 95
  (build 347), you should follow the following steps:

  Find the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\:
   Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\OptionalComponets
   Add a string value with the name and value of "Route66".
   Add a subkey also called "Route66".
   Add the following values under this new key:
   Default  =	 (undefined)
   Inf      = 	 mailopt.inf
   Installed	=	 0
   Section	= 	route66

  Reboot and use then Control Panel / Add Software / Windows Components
  wizard to install the SMTP mail handler.  Then, add it to your Exchange
  profile in the usual way. Now - the above is easy and the author has
  done it doing exactly the above.  If any of this is not straightforward
  to you, DO NOT ATTEMPT IT.  The author will accept no liability for the
  reader totally screwing up his/her/their registry.  Note that Microsoft
  don't usually stop things from working without a good reason. Caveat
  emptor.  Be Careful.

  News

  No built in News client is currently available within Windows 95,
  although Microsoft have suggested that a NNTP client may be built into
  exchange at some point.

  WinVN works well, although you must be logged in to utilize it. Given
  the currently poor level of performance of Demon's news server, this is
  probably not an option except during highly unsociable hours.

  WWW Browser

  Netscape 1.0N works well, although does occasionally GPF.  It can be
         found at:
         ftp://ftp.mcom.com/netscape/windows/ns100-16.exe.

  Version 1.1 is now available from ftp.mcom.com in both 16-bit and 32-bit
         format.   A  32-bit version is available from URL:

         ftp://ftp.mcom.com/netscape/windows/n32e11b3.exe.

  FTP

  Windows 95 comes with a basic text mode FTP client which is adequate for
  most things.  WS_FTP32
  (ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/ibmpc/winsock/apps/ws_ftp/ws_ftp32.zip) also
  works well and has the distinct advantage of being windows based. Some
  users have had problems with this software, but the author has found it
  stable.

  Gopher

  WS_Gopher works extremely well and is very stable.  A version can be
  obtained from:

  ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/ibmpc/winsock/apps/wsgopher/wsg-12.exe.

  Finger

  Ws_Finger (Version 1.4) works acceptably and is available from:
        ftp:/ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/ibmpc/winsock/apps/wsfinger/wsgngr14.zip.

  Archie

  WS Archie  -
  ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/ibmpc/winsock/apps/wsarchie/wsarch07.zip,

  works OK.  If you select an appropriate FTP client (e.g. WS_FTP) and
  have the executable either in the path or in the wsarchie directory,
  archie will automatically retrieve files found.

  Ping

  WS_ping 32
  ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/computing/systems/ibmpc/windows3/winsock/wsping32.zip)   works well.  The 16-bit Windows Socket Ping (Wsping) seems to not work properly under Windows 95.

  Telnet

  The built in version of Telnet is adequate but only manages VT100
  emulation.

  Acknowledgements

  The following have added material used in this article.

           Gary Collins        gary@gcollins.demon.co.uk
           Ian Thomas         it@mightyit.demon.co.uk
           Jeff Hartley         Jeff@jhartley.demon.co.uk
           Mark Ferguson   mark@cddc.demon.co.uk
           Ziggy Uszkurat   Ziggy@uszkurat.demon.co.uk

  Thanks to Susan Lee Tanner (slt@psp.co.uk) for the most excellent
  proof-reading!

  This document was initially prepared as a FAQ  (a frequently
  asked/answered questions document) for demon.ip.support.win95.  It was
  mainly concerned with explaining how to connect Windows 95 to the
  Internet using Demon Internet Services.  That it may be helpful in
  other ways  was not the primary intent. The original can be found at

     ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/ibmpc/win95/win95faq.zip.

  The text version is found at

   ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/ibmpc/win95/win95faq.txt.  The text version

  will also be  posted periodically in demon.ip.support.win95.

  All relevant copyrights are recognized and acknowledged.

  Thomas Lee is a partner in PS Partnership, a small United Kingdom
  training and education consultancy.  PS Partnership is a Microsoft
  Solution Provider specializing in Microsoft Back Office and Windows 95.
  Thomas is a Microsoft Certified System Engineer and Certified Trainer.
  He can be contacted at    tfl@psp.co.uk or Thomas_Lee@msn.com




























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