System Requirements:
You need the following things to run the Exec-PC Intemet software.
Quick Start:
Here's how to get up and running fast with this software.
The system will pause for a few seconds while it loads the installation program. The installation program will then ask you if you would like to Install. Click on the button labeled "Install". The installation program will then do a quick search for files that may keep the installation program from running correctly. If you get a message such as "We found winsock.dll on your system, it may conflict," please consult Appendix A, Troubleshooting, to make sure the installation goes smoothly.
(If, when talking to a sign-up person, they gave you a "PPP Login Name" that starts with a capital P do not use the P here).
| Milwaukee | (414) 789-4333 |
| Madison | (608) 285-7000 |
| Parkside(Racine/Kenosha) | (414) 552-6000 |
| Appleton | (414) 830-6240 |
| Watertown | (414) 262-2800 |
| Green Bay | (414) 469-6400 |
| Sheboygan | (414) 451-7600 |
| Van Dyne (Oshkosh/Fond du Lac) | (414) 688-8000 |
| Newburg (West Bend/Port Washington) | (414)675-3000 |
| Rockford, IL | (815) 972-2000 |
Be sure, if you have to dial 9 or any long distance codes to include those. For example, you would use 9,1-414-789-4333 if you were dialing from your office long-distance. If you're local at home, just 789-4333 is fine.
The program will then ask you for the initialization string for your modem. On a typical modem, the default string, AT&F&Cl&D2, will work fine. However, some modems require a different string - please consult your modem manual to find your manufacturer's suggested modem string and input it here. Those who own US Robotics 14.4 or 28.8 modems should use AT&Fl here. Some Supra modems require the string AT&F2.
The Installation program will then proceed to copy the files off of the disks and onto your hard drive. It will create a Program Group in your Program Manager called "Exec-PC Intemet" with icons for the various programs.
The install program will then ask you to restart your machine. Be sure, if you do not select "Restart", to do so before trying to use the software.
Using Exec-PC Internet
Now that you've installed the software and restarted your machine, it's easy to get on the Net!
Simply click on one of the different icons for different Intemet finctions, and our system will
automatically dial up and get you connected. What follows is a brief description of the various
programs that are included with this software, what they allow you to do on the Intemet, and how
to use them. If you need a more advanced description of various Intemet functions, you might
want to pick up a book such as The Whole Intemet Guide or Internet Starter Kit, both of which are
available in most bookstores and software retailers and are more in-depth. If you're simply looking
for places to go on the Intemet, you may wish to pick up the Intemet Yellow Pages, which is a
large index of Intemet sites.
Note: The first time your computer dials our system it will ask for your Exec-PC password.
Note: If, when you double-click on one of the program items, your modem does not dial the phone
and connect, please look at our troubleshooting section, appendix B.
E-mail
Clicking on the E-mail icon loads the program Eudora, which is a mail program that lets you
receive your E-mail and send mail all over the Intemet!
Click on "File" in the Eudora menu, then "Check Mail" in order to retrieve your E-mail. You'll see a list of messages on the screen if you have mail - just double-click on the message you wish to read to read it.
To send a mail message, click on "Message" in the Eudora menu, then click on "New Message". You'll then be able to compose an Intemet E-mail message to someone on the net. Write their E-mail address in the To: line, specify a Subject:, then write a message in the space Eudora gives you. When you're ready to send it off, just click on "Send."
Message Areas (known as USENET or "news groups")
Clicking on this icon loads the
program WinVN, a program that allows you to read one of thousands of Intemet message areas.
When you first start WinVN it will ask you if you want to load the group list, then let you choose Yes or No. Exec-PC has included a recent group list in the Internet Installer package, so you can select no and still have an accurate listing of all of the message areas. If you want a up-to-the-minute listing, click on Yes. If you select Yes, the program will download the new list from the server - this may take a very long time. It is recommended, when you are just starting out, to just hit "no".
After you decide whether or not you wish to load a new group, the very long list of groups will appear on the screen. This list is arranged alphabetically. To find a group that you're interested in, select "Group" then "Find". Type in a search word, for example "movie", that you would want to find a message area about. WinVN will highlight a group with your search word. You can double-click on that area to read it, or select "Group", then "Find Next" to see if you can find another.
When you double click on a message area to read it, the articles will show up in a long list. You can then double click on a message that strikes your interest to read it. If there are a large number of messages in that group, WinVN will ask you how many messages you wish to load.
Get Netscape
The program Netscape allows you to browse the World-Wide Web, the fastest-growing area of the
Internet. On the World-Wide Web, you can see pictures, listen to music, read text, and find all
kinds of interesting things all over the world. While we can't include Netscape on our disks as
Netscape is commercial software, Netscape allows you to get a copy off of the Internet. We have
automated this procedure to make it easy for you to get and install Netscape.
When you double-click on the Get Netscape! icon, there will be a brief wait while our software loads the latest information on downloading Netscape. You will then see a menu of different Internet locations, with the word "Download" in blue in front of each one. If you click your mouse on any of the blue "Downloads", your computer will automatically connect to that site and download and install Netscape.
Many sites that carry Netscape are busy, however. If you get an error message from one site, just click on another Download site and try again. Also, keep in mind that Netscape is a large program and may take more than an hour to transfer through the Internet.
When Netscape is installed, there will be a Netscape icon on your desktop which you can double-click on to run Netscape. After this stage, please be sure to reboot your machine before running Netscape the first time.
In Netscape, you can click on the "Handbook" option to get instructions on the use of Netscape.
Chat on IRC
It's possible to talk with other people in "real-time" over the Internet. When you click on the Chat
on IRC icon, the program mIRC will load, which allows you to do just that. After you see
information about the IRC server show up, you're ready to chat. A few basic commands you can
use in the Internet chat system are:
example: /join #irchelp
Lists currently available channels. You can also tell mIRC to show only channels with a minimum and a maximum number of people. If you specify a ftstring then mIRC will only list channels with that string in their title.
example: /list
example: /list -min 5-max 20
example /list #love
Telnet and File Transfer (FTP)
Telnet allows you to connect to text-based Internet systems. The main use for telnet is to connect to Exec-PC in order to check to see how much time you have left. To do this, you would double-click on telnet, then double-click on "Your shell account" from the menu. You will then get a prompt that says "login:". Type your 8-character, lower-case login name at this prompt and hit enter. You'll then get a "password:" prompt. Type in your password and hit enter. You'll then be in a text-only version of our Internet system and will get a menu where you can see how much time you have left.
File Transfer is typically useful only to advanced Internet users. When you load it, you will be asked for a site name, login name, password and directory. Type these in, select OK, and you'll connect to that system. The hard drive of your system will be displayed on the left, and the contents of the remote file system will be displayed on the right.
Dialer
Appendix A: Troubleshooting & Questions
My computer doesn't fulfill all of the requirements to use this software. If you have a
computer that doesn't fulfill all of the system requirements, you can still use Exec-PC. Windows
comes with a program called Terminal that will allow you to connect with us. Load up Terminal,
click on the menu option "Phone", then the option "Dial" Type in the local Exec-PC phone
number, and hit "OK". Your modem will dial, and you'll see a "login:" prompt. Type in your
8-character login name at the prompt all in lower-case letters and hit enter. When you get the
password prompt, type in your password and hit enter. You'll then be on the Exec-PC Internet
system with a text-mode interface.
Note: If the "Dial" option is grayed out, your modem is probably not configured in Terminal . You
can go to Settings then Communications to specify the COM port your modem is on.
The Installation Program gave me a message, "We found the file
C:\
You can do this by quitting the Installation program, going into your File Manager, selecting "File"
off the menu and then selecting "search". Search for the file wins*.dll. Make sure the "Search from"
field says "C:\", and "Search all subdirectories" is checked. Click on "search", and File Manager
will find the winsock.dll files on your drives. It will then display these in a list.
Click on the winsock.dll file(s) that are not in the \execpc\dialer directory (or, instead of execpc
above, the directory where you installed the software), click on "File", and click on "Rename".
Rename the files that are not related to Exec-PC to winsock.bak. After doing that, re-run the
Installation program.
When I click on any of the program icons, my modem doesn't dial and connect. I
get a message from the program that the "host can't be found" or "winsock.dll
can not be found". While our installation program will try and modify your autoexec.bat file as
well as it can, there may be something in your autoexec.bat file which is conflicting. Load up
Notepad which is in your Accessories group. Select "File", select "Open" type in
C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT and hit enter. You'll then see your autoexec.bat file.
Find the bottom of the file, and add this as the last line:
PATH C:\EXECPC\DIALER;%PATH%
or, if you did not install the software to the \EXECPC\ directory, use the directory name you
specified instead of EXECPC.
Select "File", select "Save", and reboot your machine.
If the above doesn't work, exit out of Windows, and type the command:
PATH C:\EXECPC\DIALER
at your DOS prompt. Hit enter, then reload windows, and it should work.
When I click on the dialer icon, I hear my modem dial but then it hangs up,
and/or I get an error in my program that the host can't be found (or something
similar): This means that either the login name, password, phone number, or modem
initialization string were incorrect in the settings you initially entered. It may also mean that your
account has expired or is not set up correctly. In rare cases, you may find that you got a BUSY
signal. You can follow the directions in the Dialer section of this instruction book to review and
change these items, and if you are not successful, see Appendix B.
If I select "Yes" in the Message Areas to load a group list, it just hangs: The list of
Internet news groups is very large and may take an extremely long time to process. Please give it a
half hour.
Netscape gives me a can't find host message. I just downloaded it! Please be sure to
reboot your computer after downloading and installing Netscape.
The Dialer disconnects when I leave my Internet programs. While I understand
that this may be convenient for some users, I'd rather have it stay on-line: Go into
the Dialer, hit
I'd like the Dialer to do automatic redialing: Go into the Dialer, hit The IRC program will load, and dial my modem, but I never connect to a server
(nothing happens!): Chances are that the server you're trying to use is temporarily down.
Select "File", then "Setup", and select a new server. You can then click on "Connect to selected
server" to give the new server a try. You may want to enter in information for a server that we
don't have specified: just fill in the server and port blanks and click on "Add Server". There is a
constant discussion about which servers are best in the message area alt.irc.
What are the server options I need to use in Netscape's Mail and News Options or
with other software I've downloaded off the net? How do I check to see how much time I have on-line? Double-click on telnet, click on
"Your shell account", enter your login name at the "login:" prompt, and your password at the
"Password:" prompt. Information about your account will follow, including time left.
Appendix B:
Please, before contacting our technical support hotline, take a few minutes to double-check the
information in this manual.
If you can not get the software to work to a point where you can send and receive E-mail, you may
call our technical support line: (414) 789-4200, open Monday through Friday from 9am to 7pm,
and on Saturday from 9am to 5pm.
If you are having a problem with the software, but you can send and receive E-mail, please write:
info@execpc.com (to receive automated instructions on how to set up a web page, pricing on our
many services, and responses to frequent tech support questions)
or:
help@execpc.com (A live human will receive your E-mail).
The Internet message areas are a great way to find the answers to general questions you might have
about the software or the system. Check out the group news.newusers.questions to post
questions, or check out alt.winsock if you have a question about the operation of different pieces
of Internet software.
The programs themselves offer "Help" menus, which give information on each particular
program's commands. You can look through this help documentation as a quick reference to each
program's commands.
Typically, you do not have to double-click on or use the dialer icon. However, for some
troubleshooting or account changes, it may be necessary.
To change your dialer settings: When you double click on the dialer Icon, the Trumpet
Winsock screen will come up. If your modem starts iialing, click on
POP (Mail) Server: mail.execpc.com
POP ID:
SMTP
Gateway: mailgate.execpc.com
News Server: news.execpc.com
IRC Server: irc.colorado.edu,
port 6667
WWW Server (home page): http://www.execpc.com/