NCKCN Windows 2000 Guide

DISCLAIMER & COPYRIGHT

The supplied programs are Copyright of their respective owners, All Rights Reserved. It is provided as shareware with the following limitations:

• These programs are shareware and are not to be resold or distributed for sale with other programs which are for sale.
• There is no warranty or claim of fitness or reliability, however, NCKCN has tested the software and has found them to be basic and functional Internet tools.
• The programs are distributed AS IS, and as such neither the authors, nor respective companies, nor NCKCN shall be held liable for any loss of data, down time, loss of revenue or any other direct or indirect damage or claims caused by these programs.
• It will be the user's responsibility to abide by the terms and conditions set forth in the documentation provided with each software package.
• NCKCN does not alter or change the installation software in any way, the programs are distributed AS IS. NCKCN is not responsible in any way to provide support for this software beyond this helpful guide.

This guide will take you step-by-step through configuring Windows 2000 to connect to the Internet for the first time. The last section is a Tips and FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section on the Internet and Windows 2000. There is no software to install from the NCKCN CD-ROM, you already have Microsoft Internet Explorer 5x, the latest software available, in Windows 2000. Simply follow the instructions and run the simple Internet Connection Wizard to connect to NCKCN and the Internet. 

Windows 2000 Configuration Instructions

Using the Internet Connection Wizard

To start the Internet Connection wizard manually

• Click Start, then Programs, then Accessories, then Internet Tools, then Internet Connection Wizard.
• The Internet Connection wizard starts.

You can also start the Internet Connection Wizard (ICW) by double-clicking the desktop Icon if you have one. The ICW will step you through to connect to NCKCN. Please read the dialog boxes to follow the wizards. They are very easy to understand.

• Select the option "I want to set up my Internet connections manually, or I want to connect through a local area network (LAN)" as shown. Click Next to continue the wizard.

• Select the "I connect through a phone line and a modem" as shown. Click Next to continue. (Note: If you are on a LAN, of course select the option "Connect using my local area network", and follow the easy to understand wizard).

• The Internet Connection Wizard will continue, if at this time you receive a wizard to set up your modem, you must do that and follow the wizard on screen. You must have a working, high quality modem to connect to the Internet. Please do not call NCKCN if you do not have a modem or do not know how to connect up your modem. NCKCN does not provide modem support as we do not sell modems, or modem software, or modem updates.

• The Internet Connection Wizard will continue and ask for your NCKCN Phone Number. Type in the local access number you received on your Personal Information Sheet.  Click Next to continue.  (Note:  You should have a local NCKCN access phone number, one that starts with the same prefix as your home phone number. Also, this will be the number you dial into, not your home phone number...the ICW doesn't need to know your phone number, it won't be calling you! The ICW needs to know the NCKCN local access number you dial to access the Internet).

• Supply your User Name and Password EXACTLY as given in your Personal Information sheet. (Note: Your User name is just your username. For example jsmith or sbrown. Your username is not your email address which is in the form username@nckcn.com).  Important: Most things are case sensitive on the Internet. If your username is jsmith, then type jsmith, not Jsmith, or JSmith, or JSMITH. This is critically important. Also, do not have an extra space or spaces in your NCKCN dial-up username connection. For example, instead of having a correct username of say "jsmith", it is set like: "           jsmith", or "j            smith", or "jsmith                          " with an extra space or spaces before, in the middle of, or after the username. Your account will  not work correctly if you have extra spaces in your username, and your connection will not work properly if you type it in incorrectly. Your username and password have to be exactly as it is given to you. Again:  Your username and password have to be exactly as it is given to you. (Only asterisks will be displayed to prevent someone from looking over your shoulder to get your password) . A word of caution about passwords. Your passwords are designed to give you maximum security and peace of mind. Don't give your password to anyone. In fact, the best way to keep youngsters from accessing the Net unsupervised, is of course, not give them your password! Click Next to continue.

• Type in "NCKCN" as shown to name the new Dial-up connection. Click Next to continue.

• The Internet Connection Wizard will now move to configuring your Email and News Account. Make sure the option "Yes" is selected and click Next to continue.

• Type in your name as you want it to appear on the From field in your email messages. Click Next to continue.

• Type in your email address EXACTLY as given to you on your Personal Information sheet. Your email address must be correct or your email will not work. Click Next to continue. (Note: Your email address is in the form username@nckcn.com, it must be that way, without spaces, extra characters, upper and lower case, or missing characters. Almost all email errors are because you didn't type in the correct addresses and your password).

• Make sure the option "POP3" is selected and type in the POP and SMTP mail servers nckcn.com as shown. Click Next to continue. (Note: The addresses must be that way, without spaces, extra characters, or missing characters. 99.99% of all email errors are because you didn't follow these simple instructions, and type in the correct server addresses).

• Type in your account name (Username) and Password EXACTLY as given in your Personal Information sheet. Click Next to continue. (Note: Your account name is just your username. For example jsmith or sbrown. Your username is not your email address which is in the form username@nckcn.com, your username will be one word long such as jsmith).  Important: Most things are case sensitive on the Internet. If your username is jsmith, then type jsmith, not Jsmith, or JSmith, or JSMITH. Also, do not have an extra space or spaces in your NCKCN dial-up username connection. For example, instead of having a correct username of say "jsmith", it is set like: "           jsmith", or "j            smith", or "jsmith                          " with an extra space or spaces before, in the middle of, or after the username. This is critically important!  Your connection will not work properly if you type it in incorrectly. Your username and password have to be exactly as it is given to you. (Only asterisks will be displayed to prevent someone from looking over your shoulder to get your password). Make sure you DO NOT check the "Log on using Secure Password Authentication (SPA) check box.

• That's it, your done! Click Finish to complete the configuration wizard. If you have the check-box selected to connect to the Internet immediately, then Microsoft Internet Explorer will automatically start and this will start the Dial-up networking connection to connect to NCKCN.

Microsoft Internet Explorer Configuration Instructions

You can customize your setting so that Microsoft Internet Explorer starts up with the NCKCN Home Page, dials in the way you want, and will disconnect you when you are finished with your NCKCN session. Please read the dialog boxes to follow the wizards. They are very easy to understand. Be sure to access the Help menu, it has all the answers to all your questions! You can set these settings two ways, in the View and Internet Options while in Microsoft Internet Explorer, or accessing the Internet icon in Control Panel. Either way, you get exactly the same dialog box to change settings. Many of these settings are already set from the above configuration.

• Click the Start button...Settings...and select Control Panel, then double click the Internet Options icon in Control Panel to start the MS Internet Explorer options as shown.

• Or right-click on the Internet Explorer Icon on your desktop and select (left-click) the Properties command as shown below.

• The General tab allows you to set your Home page (the web page which automatically starts when you open your browser).  Since NCKCN is your Internet provider, you will find useful notices and regional concerns on this page. We have designed this page specifically for North Central Kansas users with links to some of the world's, and our own region's most useful Internet sites. You can type in the address http://www.nckcn.com as shown to have NCKCN set to your home page. You can also "flush" the temporary Internet files that can accumulate on your hard drive by clicking on the Delete Files button. We recommend you do this on a scheduled basis, around every month or so. Select the Connections tab.

• The following is for informational purposes, you probably don't need to change anything on the Connections tab. The Connections tab allows you to change how you connect to the Internet. Make sure the "Always dial my default  connection"is selected. You can also start the connection wizard by selecting the Setup button. During the installation you created a NCKCN dial-up networking connection (the component of Windows 2000 that makes your connection). To view/change the way your modem connects, make sure the NCKCN Dial-up connection is highlighted and click  the Settings button.

• The Settings dialog box lets you set the logon information for your connection. Supply your User Name and Password exactly as given in your Personal Information sheet. Note: Your username is just your username. For example jsmith or sbrown as shown. Your username is not your email address which is in the form username@nckcn.com, your username will be only one word long usually.   Important: Most things are case sensitive on the Internet. If your username is jsmith, then type jsmith, not Jsmith, or JSmith, or JSMITH. Also, do not have an extra space or spaces in your NCKCN dial-up username connection. For example, instead of having a correct username of say "jsmith", it is set like: "           jsmith", or "j            smith", or "jsmith                          " with an extra space or spaces before, in the middle of, or after the username. This is critically important!   Your username and password have to be exactly as it is given to you. (Only asterisks will be displayed to prevent someone from looking over your shoulder to get your password) . You can also view/change the Properties of the Dial-Up connection by selecting the Properties button. 

Connecting to NCKCN

You can connect (dial) to NCKCN several different ways. Essentially, whenever you start a program that wants to connect to the Internet (TCP/IP), Windows 2000 starts the Dial-up connection you created in the previous section. Perhaps the easiest way then to start an Internet connection is to simply double-click the Internet Explorer icon on your desktop. You can also go to My Computer, then Dial-up networking, and double-click on the NCKCN connection. For more information on this and how to view/edit your Dial-up Networking (DUN) connections view the Windows Dial-up Networking link on the NCKCN Support web page at http://www.nckcn.com/Support.

• Double-click the Internet Explorer icon on your desktop

• When the connection dialog box comes up, if needed, simply supply your password exactly as given in your Personal Information sheet. Important: Most things are case sensitive on the Internet. If your password is milk7, then type milk7, not Milk7, or MilK7, or MILK7, or MIL    K7. It must be that way, without spaces, extra characters, or missing characters. 99.99% of all password errors are because you didn't type in the correct password. Watch out you don't have your Caps-Lock key on!  (Only asterisks will be displayed to prevent someone from looking over your shoulder to get your password). Click Connect to dial. Be sure to have the "Save Password" check box checked it you want it to save your password. For more information on setting Windows DUN to automatically save your password (which it will do by default unless you don't have all the Windows 2000 components installed), look on-line at the PC Info Center link on the NCKCN Support web page at http://www.nckcn.com/Support.

• Once you connect, Internet Explorer might load up the Microsoft page for IE5, simply click the Home button and Internet Explorer will download the NCKCN home page. That's it. You are ready to surf the Web! Just start pointing at the highlighted text (links) and click - the browser will take you (maybe to a computer across the world) to your selection. Whenever your mouse pointer changes to a pointing finger, that's a link, all you do is click to go to that web page

• When you are finished with your NCKCN connection, simply quit Internet Explorer and your computer will ask if you want to disconnect. Simply click the  Disconnect Now button to hang up your modem. Note: The NCKCN system will automatically disconnect you after 15 minutes of inactivity to prevent users from wasting valuable time if the user is not doing anything as well. 

Microsoft Outlook Express Guide

Microsoft Outlook Express is used to send a receive email and view newsgroups follow these simple hints. With MS Outlook Express you can have multiple email and news accounts at one computer. 

• Simply double-click the Outlook Express icon on your desktop. If you are not connected to NCKCN, Outlook Express will ask you to connect. Note: This is also the program started when you select the Mail menu from Internet Explorer.

To change configuration, or add account to Microsoft Outlook Express to send a receive email and view newsgroups follow these simple hints.

Please read the dialog boxes to follow the wizards. They are very easy to understand. Be sure to access the Help menu, it has all the answers to all your questions!

• Once Outlook Express starts, you can start receiving and sending email messages. Outlook Express is very easy to use. We will cover the basics of sending an email message and receiving email. In the next section you will configure Outlook Express to function easier. Simply click the Inbox to view a default email that really tells you what you need to know to use Outlook Express. We recommend you take some time to read through this message. Also a word of caution about using email as FTP or File Transfer Protocol. You can look at some Email Etiquette tips at http://www2.nckcn.com/NCKCN/EmailEtiquette.htm.

• The Tools menu allows you to access configuration options. To view/change any aspect of Outlook Express select the Options command as shown.

• The only setting we will cover in the is manual is the General Tab. The General tab allows you to set how often to automatically checking your email (a great way to keep your dial-up connection alive if you are reading your email), to set Outlook Express as your default email program and news reader. You can also set Outlook Express to open the "Inbox" when started as shown below.

• The Tools menu allows you to access Account configuration options. To add/change accounts select the Accounts command as shown.

• Select the Mail tab to configure email accounts, the News tab to configure Internet News accounts and so on. We will access the Mail tab then click on the Properties button to see how to set/change email accounts. If you have multiple accounts you will want to select whichever account you want to change. Note: to add an account, simply click the Add button, then follow the simple wizard to configure the new account.

• The General tab allows you to name accounts as you wish. This is helpful if you have multiple accounts to deal with.  You can also  supply the Name your mail will display, any Organization you wish (optional), and your email address. Be sure to supply your email address exactly as it is given to you on your personal information sheet. It will be in the form of username@nckcn.com. Make sure it is exactly in that form or your email will not work. You don't have to supply a reply address unless you want email that is sent back to you to go elsewhere. Another useful option is the "Include this account when doing a full Send and Receive", which allows you to download several email accounts at once.

• The Servers tab is where you specify your email servers as well as your username and password. Both SMTP and POP3 should be nckcn.com as shown. Supply your Account Name and Password exactly as given in your Personal Information sheet. Note: Your account name is just your username. For example jsmith or sbrown as shown. Your username is not your email address which is in the form username@nckcn.com.  Important: Most things are case sensitive on the Internet. If your username is jsmith, then type jsmith, not Jsmith, or JSmith, or JSMITH. Your connection will not work properly if you type it in incorrectly. Your username and password have to be exactly as it is given to you. (Only asterisks will be displayed to prevent someone from looking over your shoulder to get your password) .

• The Connection tab allows you to select the type of connection you use for your email. We recommend you set it to "Connect using my phone line" as shown. Make sure you have the NCKCN Dial-up Networking connection selected as shown. Click the Apply button. The click the OK button to set these options for this connection.

That's it! Have fun folks. You can always look at the NCKCN System on-line technical support page at http://www.nckcn.com/Support/ or another great way to ask questions and seek answers is to use the NCKCN Commons link on the NCKCN web page at http://www.nckcn.com. The Commons have on-line discussion webs on technical, as well as social topics. See you on-line!

Troubleshooting tips:

If you are having problems connecting:

• Most likely an error is due to incorrect typing of information, especially passwords and user names. Be sure to type lower and upper case exactly like it's supposed to be. Some times users will type in a space here or there without thinking about. As a general rule, there is no such thing as "close enough" with computers.
• If you cannot reach a site on the Internet don't panic, lots of places everyday are down due to maintenance, upgrading or errors. This is a normal occurrence.
• A word of caution about passwords. Your passwords are designed to give you maximum security and peace of mind. Don't give your password to anyone. In fact, the best way to keep youngsters from accessing the Net unsupervised, is of course, not give them your password!
• Make sure to access the help menus. Companies have spent millions of dollars to give you all the help you need to get going. Like it or not, you have to do things on your own on the Internet, and it is mostly self-discovery. But think of the possibilities!
• Make sure and visit the NCKCN system page at http://www.nckcn.com/system.htm, there are links to almost any question regarding Internet use, programs, and help you can think of. Another great way to ask questions and seek answers is to use the NCKCN Commons link on the NCKCN web page at http://www.nckcn.com. The Commons have on-line discussion webs on technical, as well as social topics
• If you need to view/change your Dial-up Networking connections (the actual Windows 95 components that connects you to NCKCN) you can go to http://www.nckcn.com/NCKCN/win95/dun/ for more information.

 FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

The Internet Connection wizard collects information required for you to use the Internet. The wizard may open the first time you open a Web page or HTML file. To read more about the wizard, see "Setting Up an Internet Connection," earlier in this chapter.

If you aren’t connected to the Internet, you might receive this message when you try to jump to a Web page or use the Search Explorer Bar. See "Why do I receive an error message when I’m connecting to a Web page?" for more solutions.

Occasionally, the Web page you want to view won’t open. When this happens, you receive an error message in a dialog box or on a Web page. For example, you may receive the error "HTTP/1.0 404 Object Not Found," which means that the Web page you’re trying to view may not exist.

Often, the only alternative is to try connecting to the site at a later time, but there are other solutions you can try:

• Update the page by clicking Refresh.
• Click Back to return to the page you were just viewing, and then click the link to the page you want to view.
• If you typed an address for a Web site, check for errors.
• Display a different site. If you can connect to another site, the Web page you originally tried to visit either doesn’t exist or is malfunctioning.
• If you can’t connect to any Web site, then the problem is probably with your Internet connection. Make sure you’re still connected to your ISP and that your modem is working.

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