[TriLUG] just starting out, help

[Tom Bryan]

On Saturday 27 October 2001 09:50 pm, you wrote:
> have w98 on disk one, plan to burn this disk soon, just say no to bill.
> have mandrake 8.1 on disk two, good stuff.  still using w98 to access the
> internet.  using linux, how do i connect, ie tell modem COM 1, to dial an
> isp.  currently using mindspring. i know phone # to isp, and their DNS ips.
>  they are not helpful at all. they only support x9- and macs.  is there a
> linux friendly isp, that i should switch too?

I've had no trouble with Mindspring in the past.  You don't get active 
support, but with this group and Mindspring's online docs, you'll have all 
you need.  

I use RedHat, but Mandrake probably has some sort of "Dialup Configuration" 
tool.  When I ran RedHat's, it auto-detected my modem.  I entered the info to 
dailup the Mindspring number, and it was able to set up everything else for 
me.  

I think your dialup username is your full primary e-mail address (including 
the @mindspring.com).  For e-mail, your POP id is the username from your 
e-mail address (not including the @mindspring.com).  

You may also encounter problems if your firewall is very tight.  (You do have 
some sort of firewall configured, right?  I got hit by a worm over my dialup 
connection once.)  

You will also encounter problems if your modem is a software "Winmodem".  
Give us more details about where you're getting stuck, and we'll probably be 
able to help.

Good luck, 
---Tom