Step 4: Configure your TCP/IP Protocol for Dynamic IP Addressing

Now that the driver is installed, you need to configure it so it will work with Windows 95. Go to the Control Panel and double-click the Network icon. You should get a dialog box like this.

Click on the TCP/IP protocol (highlighted in the picture) and press the Properties... button. You should get the TCP/IP Properties box.

There are six sections in this dialog box. We'll deal with them in order. In each case, you can click on the section title to get a picture of the dialog box with the correct options selected.

IP Address

WINS Configuration

Gateway

Bindings

Advanced

DNS Configuration

Step 5: Set up the Connection Icon

Open up My Computer from the desktop and double-click the Dial-Up Networking icon. Double-click the Make New Connection icon. This will walk you through the Make New Connection wizard. The first dialog box looks like this.

Type in "PPP Internet Access", "Internet Connection", or whatever you want to call the icon you're about to create to connect you to your provider (the title won't affect the type of connection). Your modem (which should have been configured when you installed Windows 95) should be shown in the Select a modem: area. Press the Configure button and you'll get a dialog box that looks like this.

In the General section, Crank up your modem speed to as fast as you think it will go. If you have a 14.4K modem, for example, make the maximum speed 57600. DO NOT, however, select Only connect at this speed. This will let your modem adjust as the connection needs.

Don't worry about the Connection section, the defaults should be fine.

Next, select the Options section. Depending on how your provider handles login, there are a couple of ways to configure this dialog. For your first connection attempt, leave the Bring up terminal window after dialing unchecked. If you have connection problems later on, try checking the Bring up terminal window after dialing box, as shown in this picture. Now hit the OK button.

Click the Next > button in the Make New Connection wizard. Enter in the phone number of your access provider. You don't need to put in an area code if it's a local call.

Press the Finish button and your icon will be created. Your Dial-Up Networking folder should now look something like this.

Step 6: Setting the Dial-Up Properties

Select your newly-created connection icon, press the right mouse button and choose Properties... You should get a dialog box named whatever name you gave your icon (I gave mine the name of Dial-up SLIP), which looks like this.

Press the Server Type... button. You'll get the Server Types dialog box. It should look like this. In the Type of Dial-Up Server section, press the down arrow to drop down the list box. The list box options look like this. Since you're planning to use PPP, choose that server type in the list box.

Make sure that Log on to network in the Advanced options: section is not checked (this makes for an easier inital install, you can check it off later when you want to try some of the more advanced peer to peer capabilities of Windows 95). Also, make sure that TCP/IP in the Allowed network protocols: section is checked. Then press the OK button.

Hit the OK button in the remaining dialog box, and you're almost ready to dial!

Step 7: Configure Dial-Up Networking to Automatically Redial a Busy Number

Since most ISP phone numbers are CONSTANTLY busy, you should configure your dial-up sessions to automatically redial when they encounter a busy signal. From the Dial-Up Networking folder, select the Connections... menu item, then the Settings... option. From there, you can choose the number of times you would like your dial-up sessions to attempt connection.

Step 8: Dialing in and Getting Connected

Double-click your session icon that you recently made. You'll get the Connect To dialog, which looks like this. Put your username and password in the appropriate text areas.

Press the Connect button and your modem should start dialing. After a few rings, your provider's host machine should answer. If you didn't check the Bring up terminal window after dialing option back in the Connection section, Windows 95 should take care of the rest! Go ahead and fire up those 32-bit apps!

If you had problems getting logged in, try going back and checking the Bring up terminal window after dialing option. Once you dial in, a post-dial terminal window will appear after the handshaking signals. It will probably look somewhat like this.

Enter your user name and press ENTER. Then enter your password and press ENTER. You should get a message on the screen saying something like PPP session from (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx) to xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx beginning.... My connection message looks like this.

MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN OR REMEMBER THE NUMBER IT'S CONNECTING TO Depending on your provider, your screen may look different, or may ask for the type of connection you wish to make. You can type PPP if that is the case. If you're not sure, check with your provider.

If you get some garbled characters after entering your connection information, ignore it - it won't affect the connection.

Press F7 or click the Continue (F7) button. You'll get a PPP Connection IP Address dialog. It looks like this. Enter in the number that the terminal window displayed as connecting to.

Click the OK button, and you should be connected! If all went well, you'll see a Connected to Dial-up PPP dialog box like this one. Go ahead and fire up those 32-bit Winsock apps! You can get the latest Windows 95 apps from my 32-bit Shareware Collection. If you think everything is set up correctly, but you're still having problems, try the Windows95.com Internet Troubleshooting Page.

Automating Internet Dial-up

If you'd like Windows 95 to automatically dial your provider and establish a connection whenever you use an Internet application, you can edit the Windows 95 registry to enable AutoConnect.

Press the button, select Run..., then type REGEDIT.EXE and hit ENTER. This will open the Windows Registry Editor. NOTE: The registry contains all of the settings for Windows 95's operation. Be careful to only change settings that are mentioned in this tutorial.

On the left, you'll see the My Computer icon, with nested folders beneath it. It should look something like this. Click on the + sign to open the following folders, in this order:

HKEY CURRENT USER

Software

Microsoft

Windows

Current Version

In the Current Version folder, you'll see a folder called Internet Settings. Select it, and the folder's contents will be displayed in the right side window of the Registry Editor. It should look something like this.

Double click the EnableAutodial option, and change the value to 01 00 00 00. When you've made the changes, the box in which you made the changes should look like this.

Now, when you open your favorite 32-bit Internet application, the Windows 95 dialer will fire up automatically!

Adding Scripting Capability

Now that you're up and running, you may want to try adding scripting capability if your ISP makes you type in your username and password each time to login. For information on scripting your dial-up connections, try the Windows95.com Dial-up Scripting Page.