Network and
Communication Tips

No Network Logon Prompt - Added 2/16/97
Not Saving your Dial-Up Password - Submitted 11/22/96
Fixing a problem with Shortcuts that keep network UNC connections - Added 10/20/96
Changing the MaxMTU and other Network Settings - Added 10/19/96
Disable Password Caching - Added 10/19/96
Starting a Dial-Up Connection from the Command Line - Added 10/9/96
Device Contention when trying to use a Modem - Added 10/9/96
Unable to Browse the Network - Added 9/2/96
Automatic NT Domain Log On - Added 7/21/96
Auto-Dialing for 32-bit Internet Applications - Submitted 7/11/96
Dial-Back with Windows95 - Added 6/2/96
Disabling File and Print Sharing - Added 4/29/96
Changing your Modem's Initialization String - Added 4/9/96
Easy way to Re-Dial on busy signals - Submitted 2/15/96
Increasing a Modem's timeout period - 1/12/96
Fixing the grayed out Save Password box - 10/11/95
Potential problems with 16-bit WINSOCK.DLL's - 9/1/95

No Network Logon Prompt

Added 2/16/97

If you are not being prompted for a logon when starting Windows95,
and you need to be, there are some possible solutions:

1. Your password may be set to be blank
To correct this:

  1. Open up the Control Panel
  2. Open up Passwords
  3. Click on Change Windows Password
  4. Your Old Password is black
  5. Enter your password in the New Password and Confirm New Password boxes

2. Registry Setting
You may have an AutoLogon key set in the Registry which needs to be removed

  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Network \ Real Mode Net
  3. If the key AutoLogon=x appears, delete it

Not Saving your Dial-Up Password

Submitted 11/22/96

If and when dial-up networking won't remember your passwords anymore , you can have a corrupted password list file.

Either restore your PWL files from a backup or :
Do a file find on *.PWL and rename them to another extension (*.bak)
This will force dial-up to create a new password file

Notes from Bob: There are a few other possibilities:

1. You need to install Client for Microsoft Networks as part of your network setup.

2. You may have an entry in the registry that is causing problems:

  1. Start Regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Network \ Real Mode Net \
  3. Either delete the key autologon or change the value from 0 to 01

3. If deleting the PWL file did solve the problem, you can also download the Password List Update program from Microsoft to prevent it from happening again..

Submitted by Martin. Weterings
[email protected]

Fixing a problem with Shortcuts that keep network UNC connections

Added 10/20/96

By default, when you create a shortcut to a network application, both the Drive letter and UNC connection are stored as part of the shortcut.
The reasoning that if the drive letter gets reassigned or deleted, the UNC connection will serve as an additional way to ensure that the application is available.
This can also be a problem because when you want to re-assign the drive to a new server, it will still make the connection to the old one through the UNC

To disable this feature, there is a program called SHORTCUT.EXE in the Admin / Apptools / Envvars directory.
Execute the program with a -? to see a description of the available switches.

Changing the MaxMTU and other Network Settings

Added 10/19/96

There are four network settings that can be configured so when dialing to an ISP, you should get somewhat greater throughput.
They are the MaxMTU, MaxMSS and DefaultRcvWindow, and DefaultTTL

MaxMTU and MaxMSS

  1. Start REGEDIT
  2. Go to Hkey_Local_Machine / System / CurrentControlset / Services / Class / netTrans / 000n
    (where n is your particular network adapter binding.)
  3. Right click on the right panel
  4. Select New / String Value
  5. Type in MaxMTU
  6. Double click on it and enter then the number you want. The usual change is to 576
  7. Similarly, you can add MaxMSS and give it a value of 536

DefaultRcvWindows and DefaultTTL

  1. Start REGEDIT
  2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ VxD \ MSTCP
  3. Add a new string DefaultRcvWindow and give it a value of 2144
  4. Add a new string DefaultTTL and give it a value of 60-64

Disable Password Caching

Added 10/19/96

As in Windows for Workgroups, when logging on to an NT Domain, it is preferable to disable password caching.
This allows for the single NT Domain login and eliminates the secondary Windows logon screen.
It also eliminates the possibility of the respective passwords to get out of sync.

To disable password caching on the workstation, a one-line addition to the registry needs to be made.
To make the change, create a ASCII text file called DISABLE.REG with the following lines:

  • REGEDIT4

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Network]
    "DisablePwdCaching"=dword:00000001

    •

    Open up a DOS box and type REGEDIT DISABLE.REG

    You can also download the DISABLE.REG file.

    If you need to re-enable password caching, download ENABLE.REG and repeat the process just with the different file name

    Starting a Dial-Up Connection from the Command Line

    Added 10/9/96

    You can dial your ISP from a command line. This can make it easy to create a batch file that will
    do things like dial, start your e-mail and web browser.

    The syntax is:
    rundll rnaui.dll,RnaDial connectoid

    Note: The RnaDial and components of the command line are case sensitive

    Device Contention when trying to use a Modem

    Added 10/9/96

    Occasionally, when trying to use your modem, you might get the following errors:

    Another program is using the selected Telephony device. Try again after the other program completes.
    or
    Cannot initialize port

    The state of Windows 95 device contention is determined by the value for the "COMAutoAssign="
    setting in the [386Enh] section of the System.ini file,
    where is the number of the serial port and is a value from -1 to 1000.

    The default setting in Windows 95 is -1. This setting causes Windows 95 to not release a serial port previously used
    by a non-Windows-based program.

    If you need hot-swapping capability between an MS-DOS-based communications program and a Windows-based communication program,
    add the following entry to the [386Enh] section of the System.ini file:

    ComAutoAssign=0

    Unable to Browse the Network

    Added 9/2/96

    If you do not have a logon password, Windows95 might have problems when you try and browse the network.
    Try the following steps to solve the problem.

    1. Start REGEDIT
    2. Go to Hkey_Local_Machine \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Current_version \ Network \ Real mode net
    3. Delete the line that says AUTOLOGON=0
    4. Save the changes and reboot the system

    Automatic NT Domain Logon

    Added 7/21/96

    When you need to logon to an NT Domain, Windows95 prompts you for you User ID, Password, and Domain Name
    To have Windows95 automatically log you on:

    1. Make sure Password Caching is Enabled, No Minimum Password Length has been set, and User Profiles is not enabled
    2. Open the Control Panel
    3. Double click on the Network icon
    4. Change the Primary Network Logon to Windows Logon
    5. Click on the OK button
    6. Do not restart the computer when prompted
    7. Double click on the Passwords icon
    8. Click on the Change Windows Password button
    9. Do not check the Microsoft Network box
    10. Type in your old password and nothing for the new and confirmation password
    11. Click on the OK button
    12. Restart Windows95
    13. Don't type any password for your Windows password. This is what you just set it for.
    14. When the Domain Login screen comes up, check Save this password in your password list
    15. The next time you start Windows95, you will be automatically logged into your NT Domain.

    NOTE: This bypasses the security that logging into an NT Domain is used to provide.
    Do not use in areas where security is critical.

    You can also download the new Tweak from Microsoft which will also allow you to do the same function.
    This will work for Windows95 as well as NT 4.0

    Auto-Dialing for 32-bit Internet Applications

    Submitted 7/11/96

    If your 32-bit Internet applications do not automatically invoke your
    Windows 95 Dialer, here is a way I found to enable this feature.

    1. First, bring up an internet application such as Netscape or Internet Explorer.
    2. Next, manually dial into your internet provider by double-clicking your connection icon.
    3. Once connected, go to the Control Panel and double-click on the Internet icon.
    4. Once the window open, uncheck the checkbox titled "Dial whenever an Internet Connection is needed".
    5. Click the check box again and make sure there is a check in the checkbox.
    6. Next, click the APPLY button.
    7. Finally , click the OK button.

    Once you do this, close your internet application and disconnect from your internet provider.
    Re-start your Internet application and the Windows 95 dialer should start up.
    NOTE: From my experience, all Internet applications will be effected and will automatically start the Windows 95 dialer.

    Submitted by J. Walker
    [email protected]

    Dial-Back with Windows95

    Added 6/2/96

    Some servers use dial-back as a security feature. How this works is that after you connect to the server
    it automatically dials you back for verification.

    To get Windows95 to hang up the phone and not end the PPP client:

    1. Open the Control Panel
    2. Double Click on the Modems icon
    3. Select your modem
    4. Click on the Properties button
    5. Select Connection tab
    6. Click on the Advanced tab
    7. In the Extra Settings area enter &C0 S0=1 - They are zeros not "o's"

    The S0=1 sets your modem for Auto-Answer after 1 ring
    The &C0 avoids ending the PPP client.

    Disabling File and Print Sharing

    Added 4/29/96

    1. Start Regedit
    2. Go to HKLM,SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Network
    3. Add a new DWord Value
    4. Rename it to NoPrintSharing or NoFileSharing
    5. Assign it a value of 1

    Also see the Installation Section on doing this automatically during installation.

    Changing your Modem's Initialization String

    Added 4/9/96

    1. Start REGEDIT
    2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ Class \ Modem \ 0000 \ Init
    3. Change the settings to the values for your modem

    Easy way to Re-Dial on busy signals

    Submitted 2/15/96

    If the line is busy to your provider and you don't want to *wait* until your dialer will re-dial,
    just press ESC key and then press enter key or click on connect - meaning it will dial-up again immediately.

    Submitted by Eva Faxvall
    [email protected]

    Increasing the Modem Timeout

    Added 1/12/96

    If your modem it timing out during file transfers or loading Web Pages,
    you might try increasing the timeout period.

    To change it:

    1. Start Regedit
    2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / System / CurrentControlSet / Services / Class / Modem / XXXX / Settings
      Where XXXX is the number of your modem
    3. Move to the right panel and double click on Inactivity Timeout
    4. The number of minutes for a timeout should be entered between the brackets.
    5. For example, a US Robotics Sportster could have S19=<30> to set it to 30 minutes.

    Fixing the Grayed out Save Password Box

    Added 10/11/95

    If when you start a Dial-Up connection, the Save Password is Grayed out:
    Make sure that Client for Microsoft Networks is installed as part of your
    Network Setup.

    You need to have it installed, as well as the Dial-Up Adapter and the TCP/IP protocol.

    Potential problems leaving 16-bit winsock.dll's

    Submitted 9/1/95

    If you re having problems getting some of your winsock applications
    to work under Win95, make sure you delete any old 16-bit winsock.dll's.

    If this file is in the directory were the application resides, it could
    cause problems. Programs that could have problems like this are:

    We found that if the software listed above is in the same directory as the
    Trumpet Winsock.dll file, then they will NOT work under the MS-TCP/IP stack.