If you are encountering trouble with your DSL connection:

"My modem lights are blinking..."
When you don't have solid green lights on your modem, this more often than not suggests that the Fujitsu DSL equipment is not 'synching up'.  In your local Verizon Central Office (CO), there is a rack of equipment that your DSL pipes through.  You have a card on a shelf in that rack, and that card talks to your modem 'synching' the connection between them.  When the lights are blinking, or gone, the 'sync' is missing.  A call to Verizon's National Tech Support Center (NCSC) can begin the process of troubleshooting bad 'sync' (1-888-391-1234).  At some point we can also enter the troubleshooting process and help if a trouble ticket has passed from the NCSC to the Enhanced Products Group (EPG).  For us to enter the fray, we need the trouble ticket number that the NCSC will provide to you, and it is helpful to also have the telephone number that your DSL is piping through.  Call us and we can then call in to help the tech at EPG troubleshoot your non-sync problems.
(As a reminder - even though Verizon may say the first phone call should go to your ISP, if you are experiencing blinking or missing green lights on your modem, 90% of the time it is a 'sync' problem with Verizon equipment.)

"My connection cuts out for long periods of time..."
If you are experiencing intermittent but long periods where you can't access anything in a browser, or your email stops during a download, we need to look at the frequency of such behavior in order to troubleshoot it correctly.

• If you regularly experience long periods of inactivity, and it occurs during both peak hours (4pm to 8pm) and off peak hours, you could have a hardware problem.  Watch the lights on your modem to see if you are getting 'sync' from the Verizon CO.  Any change in modem status generally indicates a hardware problem, and a call to the Verizon NCSC is in order. (1-888-391-1234)  If your modem lights are solid and you still experience problems with contacting sites or getting your email, a call to our office may be in order (360-568-1887) and possibly a call to the NCSC, also (it is likely we will need to troubleshoot your circuit in conjuction with Verizon support personel.)
• If you irregularly experience long periods of inactivity, (duration 10 minutes or more) it could be due to net congestion.  During peak hours (4pm - 8pm) the available bandwidth on Verizon's network and on the Virtual Cafe network can be sharply reduced depending on the number of users online at any given time. The Net as a whole can also influence your ability to retrieve data from your local loop (Verizon/Virtual Cafe).  Our upstream bandwidth providers (people we buy network bandwidth from) could be experiencing a network outtage due to their upstream providers, etc... There are a wide number of possible explanations, but generally the source of such behavior is net congestion.  Not to say that hardware problems can't be part of it (noise on your telephone line due to your DSL telephone line being split into too many wall jacks in your house, a flaky modem, etc.), but troubleshooting this kind of behavior is problematic in that it doesn't repeat itself.  If your irregular outtages start becoming more regular, then call the office (360-568-1887) and we'll see what we can do.

"I don't know my IP address/Subnet mask/Gateway..."
Please call the office to get this information.  It isn't something we like to have accessible on the net.
(360-568-1887) 

"Certain sites won't let me in..."
We will need to make sure that 'Reverse DNS' is setup for your DSL connection.  Your 'Host' name (which should appear as this combination: 'dsl-' + 'Your-IP-address'  example: dsl-207-149-17-194) is entered into the 'DNS configuration' tab of your network configuration screen.  (see example picture)
Path to view/change 'Host' name:  Start/Settings/Control Panel/Network/Configuration tab
Highlight:  TCP/IP -> 'your ethernet card'
Select:  /Properties/DNS configuration
Your 'Host' field should be by example: dsl-'your_IP_address'.  The 'Domain' field should be: virtual-cafe.com
Make sure your 'Host' appears as listed by example, and if you have made changes, click 'ok' then 'ok' again.
Windows machines will ask you to reboot your machine after this.

DSL Troubleshooting Checklist

DSL Setup
Every DSL customer has 4 settings to adjust in order to complete their DSL circuit:
1.)  IP Address
2.)  Subnet mask
3.)  Gateway
4.)  DNS (Host + Domain + DNS servers)
The numbers we have provided you allow your computer to send/receive information using a specific IP address, through a specific Gateway, making use of the Virtual Cafe's DNS in order to find sites on the web (DNS stands for 'Domain Name Service').  Although the IP address, Subnet mask and Gateway are specific to your machine, the DNS is the same for every DSL customer, differing only in the 'Host' name you enter under the DNS configuration tab.
Adjusting these settings binds information to the ethernet card in your computer making your computer 'live' on the Internet. 
It is important to make sure that you have entered each of these settings (IP, Subnet mask, Gateway, DNS) correctly or else your DSL connection will behave strangely or not be active at all.

To change/update your ethernet card settings:

• In /Start/Settings/Control Panel, please double click on 'Network'.  In the Configuration tab (see example #1) select the binding of TCP/IP to the ethernet card installed in your computer.  (Your ethernet card will likely have a different name.  Please select:  TCP/IP -> 'your_ethernet_card', then click 'Properties'.)
• In the 'Properties' dialog box, under the 'IP Address' tab, enter your IP address and Subnet mask (see example #2).
• Now select the 'Gateway' tab.  Enter your gateway, and then click 'Add' (see example #3)
• Now click on the 'DNS Configuration' tab.  Select 'Enable DNS' and enter your Host name:  dsl-'your-IP-address' with the hyphens in between (example:   dsl-207-149-17-194) (see example #4)
• Your Domain is:  virtual-cafe.com
• Place your cursor into the first DNS Server Search Order area and add two entries:

207.149.16.2   (click 'Add')
207.149.16.4   (click 'Add' again)

Since you will now have an IP address that can be reached from anywhere on the Internet, there are security issues to be concerned with.

Operating System Security Issues
If you are running Windows '95 or '98, you are relatively protected from hackers right at the start (unless your computer is on a home network and you use the Netbios port.)  Computers allow access to themselves through numbered 'ports'.  A Win95/98 operating system generally has one open port, the printer, which doesn't have accessibility software attached to it (i.e. it cannot allow access because, although it shows as an open port, it never asks for a name or password, thereby effectively cutting off access.)  There are sometimes other open ports on Win95/98 machines (UDP, etc...) but access to them is denied for the same reason.  If you are a customer with a home network, your 'File and Printer Sharing' protocol may be allowing access to your machine, which isn't good.

If you want to protect your Windows 9x machine completely, we recommend that you install a firewall program, such as Zone lab's 'ZoneAlarm.'
http://www.zonelabs.com

If you want to check on the vulnerability of your computer, try this web site:
http://www.grc.com
Select 'Click Here' from the 'ShieldsUp' icon, then 'Probe My Ports!'.

If you're running Windows NT Workstation, you may have more ports open than you realize.  We recommend that you check on your computer's vulnerability or install a firewall program such as the one above.

If you are running Windows NT Server or 2000, you had definitely better know what you are doing and close down any ports that you don't want to allow access to. 

If you are running a Mac OS, you are nicely protected (most hackers don't write malicious code for the Mac.)  But you can still run a firewall program.  Please visit your favorite Macintosh site for more information.

NOTE:  Firewall software is notorious for causing your net connection to hang.  We recommend Zonelabs because we have tested their product.  But even then, it caused one of our laptops to hang.  We do not provide support for firewalling products, and if you call us with connectivity issues after installing such a program, we will probably ask you to remove it (provided of course you are kind enough to tell us you installed it!)

Email Troubleshooting

"I can't download my email..."
SEE EMAIL SETUP BELOW

"I am encountering errors while trying to get my email..."
If your email has worked, but now it doesn't, something has either changed in your settings, or our server is sending an error when you attempt to send/receive your mail.

If the server is not sending you back a message that pops up in your email client (i.e. your email program just hangs), check your name and password and server settings by editing the email properties for the account and making sure that what you have listed for 'incoming (Pop3)' and 'outgoing (SMTP)' are as they should be -
For DSL customers only these are the server configuration settings for your email account(s) at the Virtual Cafe:

• Incoming (POP3):  virtual-cafe.com
• Outgoing (SMTP):  mailhub.virtual-cafe.com

"Someone sent me an email with attachments that has caused my email program to hang..."
Outlook Express is notorious for this, but other email programs will cause this error, too.  In attempting to download a large file or multiple large files as an attachment to an email, if Outlook isn't able to grab it all in one go from a busy mail server (like ours) it will send out a process lock to the server.  This lock tells our email program to not deliver anything else until all the attachments have been sent through.  If our mail program is busy (which it often is), it will do its best to resend the data after queuing it over and over, effectively locking out any other email deliveries.  The solution is a call to the office (360-568-1887), where we can undo the lock and save the files individually in your home directory and you can retrieve them by FTP.

"I am getting some other kind of error from my email program..."
If you are encountering an error with your email program that is not a direct connection between our server and your attempt to send and receive your email, you can call the office for help.  Usually we can fix the problem what ever it is.  Troubles with installation or the migration of saved address books are user issues unrelated to the service of providing you connectivity and email.  Support will be charged to your account on an hourly basis, $35 an hour, first 1/2 hour mandatory charge.

Email Setup
If you can't download your email, and you know you are connected to the Internet (i.e. you can surf with your browser) the first thing to check are you email settings.
DSL customers can have up to 3 email address per household.  You must either send to us a request for an email account or call the office, so that I can create one for you.  Email can be forwarded to anywhere you like, and in case of dire DSL problems, limited dialup is free to all customers, so that you can get your email and have Net activity. SEE DIALUP NOTES for information on how to connect the Virtual Cafe with a modem.
Now, there are a lot of email programs available to get your email with (Outlook, Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger, Eudora Pro/Lite - just to name the most used...).  It has been the policy for most ISP's to have help pages for at least these major email programs.  We are breaking the tradition by encouraging you to get to know the computer that you own and learn what it takes to keep your email running smoothly and efficiently.
All email programs require the same information, but that information can be named differently depending on the program.  Below are steps to generally setup any email program with critical information that it needs, but if people complain about this approach, I will set up a complete walk through for the top 5 email programs. 
To set up your email account in your email program, do the following:

• Run your email program.
• Either 'add' a 'new email' account or edit an old one.
• The first thing that comes up is often 'who you are' and 'how you would like your name to appear on outgoing emails'.

This is non critical information, related to how your recipients will see your emails.  Put in what you like.
• Your return email address will be 'your_user_name'@virtual-cafe.com.  This is critical information unless you are wanting to send out false information about your return address.

At some point you will be asked to put in your username and password, and to enter the names of the servers providing you with email.  The server naming is critical information, necessary for sending and receiving email.

For DSL Customers only:

• Your server is a POP3 server.  (If you understand what IMAP is our server can handle it.)
• Your 'incoming' server or POP3  is:  virtual-cafe.com
• Your 'outgoing' server or SMTP  is:  mailhub.virtual-cafe.com   (Please notice the difference between these two!!!)


Usually after this, the process of creating or editing an email account is finished or close to finished.  Any other information that you need to give your email client is generally NON CRITICAL and will not disrupt the flow of email. 
To recap, the three most critical things in email delivery are:
 

1. Return Addressing:  'your_user_name'@virtual-cafe.com
2. Your username/password
3. Your incoming/outgoing server.

ALL OTHER INFORMATION IS NON CRITICAL

Dialup Notes

In order to dial in to the Virtual cafe, you must have these things in place:

• A working modem
• A valid email account ('your_user_name'@virtual-cafe.com)
• Patience  (if you are used to speed, get ready for the slow lane...!)

• Enter a name for the connection, such as 'Vcafe'.  Click 'Next'
• Enter the telephone number you are dialing to (425-405-7501).  Don't worry about the modem choice.
• Click 'Next' then click 'Finish' to end the 'Make New Connection' dialog box

 
• Right click on the new 'Vcafe' adapter and select 'Properties'
• Click on the 'Server Types' tab above
• Make sure that in this dialog box only two things are checked:
• Enable Software Compression
• TCP/IP
NO OTHER CHECK BOXES SHOULD BE CHECKED
Click 'OK' to close the 'Properties' dialog box.
 
• Double click on the new 'Vcafe' adapter to start the dialing process
• Enter your 'Username' and add '@cafe' after your username (without the quotes and no spaces)
• Enter your password
• Click connect and your computer will begin the dialing process.