Problem connecting to NetZero ISP

Hi,

I’m having trouble connecting to my dial-up ISP to use WD’s FTP download
metar feature. I believe I have my settings properly configured, and the
download works just fine if I’m already connected to the ISP, and don’t
expect WD to establish the connection. I’ve got a guess as to what the
problem is, and if I’m right, I’m afraid it’s a showstopper. My ISP is
NetZero. To connect to NetZero, you run a program they provide, click
connect, etc. (as contrasted with going through DUN). On the NetZero
troubleshooting pages (http:/www.netzero.net/support/errors/ez18-nz-dun.html)
they provide this information:

“Can I use Dial-Up Networking (DUN) to connect to the software?”

The answer to this is:

“The only way to connect to NetZero is by using our proprietary
software. Although our software requires the use of Dial-Up
Networking, you cannot use Dial-Up Networking by itself to log on to
NetZero. If you want to surf the Internet of check email, you must
always connect to NetZero first.”

Is this my problem, and if so, is there any possible workaround other
than to get another ISP (e.g., could WD launch the NetZero program and
“click” the connect button)? If I have to get another ISP, is the right
question to ask “Can I use DUN to connect?” to establish whether or
not WD will be able to connect?

Thanks,

Mike

hi
is there any away you can set up a DUN on your pc that uses the settings of their software? (i.e phone number, usernam/password)?
if you were to get another ISP, then you would setup a DUN for that, and then clcik to use that in WD under the connections setup, get ISP (then click on the one listed there)

its a strange thing that you have to use their stand along dial up software…

Hi,

I’m having trouble connecting to my dial-up ISP to use WD’s FTP download
metar feature. I believe I have my settings properly configured, and the
download works just fine if I’m already connected to the ISP, and don’t
expect WD to establish the connection. I’ve got a guess as to what the
problem is, and if I’m right, I’m afraid it’s a showstopper. My ISP is
NetZero. To connect to NetZero, you run a program they provide, click
connect, etc. (as contrasted with going through DUN). On the NetZero
troubleshooting pages (http:/www.netzero.net/support/errors/ez18-nz-dun.html)
they provide this information:

“Can I use Dial-Up Networking (DUN) to connect to the software?”

The answer to this is:

“The only way to connect to NetZero is by using our proprietary
software. Although our software requires the use of Dial-Up
Networking, you cannot use Dial-Up Networking by itself to log on to
NetZero. If you want to surf the Internet of check email, you must
always connect to NetZero first.”

Is this my problem, and if so, is there any possible workaround other
than to get another ISP (e.g., could WD launch the NetZero program and
“click” the connect button)? If I have to get another ISP, is the right
question to ask “Can I use DUN to connect?” to establish whether or
not WD will be able to connect?

Thanks,

Mike

Brian,

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, I think I’ve got it working.
FYI, and for anyone else out there who might be interested, here’s what
was needed to get this to work…

NetZero is a major U.S. ISP, which started out providing free internet
access (with limited hours per month, lots of pop-up ads, etc.). They
also offer for $9.95 a month, NetZero “Platinum”, which gets rid of
the pop-up ads, gives you (virtually) unlimited time, and has proven
to be more reliable than AOL, MindSpring, et al. I signed up for
Platinum (after years of getting this for free) in order to use the WD
functionality. However, they require you to use their proprietary
software to connect. One benefit of doing it their way is that in
major metropolitan areas they have a dozen or so different phone
numbers to call for access.

In order to set this up properly for DUN access I googled “NetZero DUN”,
and lo and behold, on the first page of hits I found:

http://members.tripod.com/untweb/nzcode.htm

which explained to NetZero users how to determine your “true” username
and password. I then used DUN to setup a new connection (Windows 98),
called it NZWD, entered in one of the many NetZero phone numbers, my
true username and password, and set the rest of the properties to
match what my NetZero DUN connection showed. Then I told WD to “Get
ISPs”, selected NZWD, and everything worked. Note that you cannot
simply go and change the properties for the NetZero DUN, because that
will revert back to its default (unusable for WD) properties when you
connect.

By setting things up this way you can continue to use the original
NetZero software to connect as usual when you want to be interactive,
and use the new NZWD DUN for WD. The remaining limitation (at least
with Windows 98) is that you only get one phone number – if that
number is busy, overloaded, or winds up disappearing from the NetZero
set of numbers, you’ve got to deal with it. Otherwise, this is a good
solution.

Thanks again Brian, for your timely and useful hint on this topic, and
for a great product!

Mike

well, there is more than 1 way to skin a cat!
now, you could create a few more DUN with the other phone numbers they have, and then do the get ISP thing in WD, then tick use other ISP’s on the list if the line is busy

Brian,

Back at ya: there’s more than one way to skin a cat! I’ll keep in
mind your idea of setting up multiple DUNs to get multiple phone
numbers. However, I think I’ll wait until I notice some problems doing
it with one number. It’s been working fine for the last two days,
and if it ain’t broke don’t fix it…

I think I’d rather spend my home computer time searching for a
suitable Avatar to represent myself the next time I post.

Cheers!

Mike