Using Personal Computers

Section 4: The Internet

Part 4: Connecting with Windows 95


	Having looked at what the Internet is, and some of the ways in which we can use it, we will now take a brief look at how Windows 95 (and 98) enable us to connect to the Internet. It is possible to use Web browsers and E-mail clients without understanding this, but it is useful knowledge when setting up or troubleshooting an Internet connection. This information applies to modem users only, as computers which connect to the Internet via a local area network use a different method. To connect via a modem, Windows uses something called "Dial-Up networking". For each Internet account on a computer, there is a "connectoid" in a special Dial-Up networking folder inside "My Computer". Most people only have one Internet account, so there will just be one of these, but it is possible to have several.
This "connectoid" contains all the information necessary to connect to your ISP via your modem. This means that the various Internet programs that you use (such as Web browsers and E-mail clients) don't need to be configured separately - they simply need to know which connectoid to use. If there's only one, you don't even have to worry about that.
	The picture at left illustrates how Dial-up networking works. It effectively sits between your Internet programs (such as Web browsers and E-mail clients) and your modem. A feature which is not obvious is that it can support several programs at the same time, so you can run browsers, E-mail clients and other Internet programs (such as Newsgroup readers, which we have not discussed) simultaneously. It's even possible to have several different browsers (such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer) running simultaneously!
	If you set up your Internet connection by using a disk or CD from an Internet Service Provider, their setup program should configure Dial-Up networking automatically and create an appropriate connectoid, so you won't need to worry about the details of how it's configured. All you will need to know is your username and password, which the ISP will provide you with. If you do wish to create a connectoid yourself (for example, to allow you to access a different ISP without reinstalling all the Internet software from their disk), you can do it by double-clicking the "Make New Connection" icon in the Dial-Up networking folder. It will then ask a series of questions and create a connectoid for you. However, to do this, you need to know all the configuration information, so it's not for beginners. The configuration of an existing connectoid can be altered by right clicking it and selecting "properties", but again this is not for novices. In particular, the "Server type" settings should not be altered unless you know what you are doing.
	An internet connection via Dial-up networking is normally created automatically when you run an Internet program such as a web browser. However, it is also possible to start a connection "manually". This is done simply by double-clicking on the dial-up networking connectoid. The computer will then dial the ISP using the modem and create a connection. Once the connection has been set up, you can then start your internet program (web browser or E-mail client), which should see that there is an existing connection and use it instead of trying to set one up itself. This can be useful for several reasons:
If you are having trouble getting your computer to connect automatically when you start your E-mail client or Web browser, it may work if you manually connect first. This normally indicates that there is a configuration error somewhere, but it may at least get you on line. If you connect manually, the connection will not be closed when you close your Internet program. This allows you to launch and close several Internet programs without having to reconnect each time. If you have more than one Internet account, this allows you to choose one other than the default one to use with a particular Internet program. IMPORTANT: If you start the connection manually, you must remember to disconnect at the end. The connection will not be closed when you close the Internet program, and you may run up a large phone bill if you forget! The precise method of closing it depends on the version of Windows that you are running. Earlier versions of Windows 95 showed the Dial-up networking connection as a program on the task bar. Selecting that program would reveal a box with a "Disconnect" button. Later versions save screen space by putting the Dial-up networking icon in the System tray at the bottom right hand corner of the screen when the connection is up. To disconnect, click this icon and choose "Disconnect".

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