1. Dial-Up Networking could not establish a compatible set of network protocols...
2. Modem dials, connects, and immediately hangs up.
3. Your password is not being accepted.
4. News server won't accept your password.

Almost every time this error message appears, it is caused by having the Server Types settings incorrect in the Properties of the Dial-Up Networking connection. Open up the Dial-Up Networking folder in My Computer and click on the connection icon (probably called exit109) with the right mouse button. Choose Properties from the pop-up menu. Then choose Server Types.

The ONLY thing which should be checked on this screen is TCP/IP. If anything else is checked, uncheck it. Look again and ensure that NOTHING else is checked. In particular, see that Enable software compression is not checked. When you are absolutely CERTAIN that only TCP/IP is checked, look again one more time, paying close attention to the boxes labelled Log on to network and Enable software compression. These boxes should NOT under any circumstances be checked.

Click Okay all the way out and try again. If you still get the error, reboot your computer and try again. (Rebooting your computer is highly recommended when having any kind of problems.)

If you are still getting the error after rebooting, things get a little more serious. This means your computer is having trouble negotiating the connection with ours for some reason. The next thing to check is the speed you are trying to connect at. If you are using a 386, or any computer without a 16550 high-speed UART, or if you have poor telephone lines, you may need to lower your connection speed.

Double-click Dial-Up Networking in My Computer. Click on the connection icon (probably called exit109) with the right mouse button, and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. Then click Configure. The Maximum speed should be set as follows:

• Pentium with 28.8k modem: 57600 or 115200
• 486 with 28.8k external modem: 38400
• 14.4k modem: 19200
• 386 or any computer without 16550 (or better) UART: 9600

Your password is not being accepted.

Usernames and passwords are case-sensitive. If the system won't accept your password, you are probably typing it, or your username, incorrectly.

Check to make sure your caps-lock key isn't on. Your username is always in lower-case letters, with no spaces. Your password can be in caps, lowercase, or a combination, depending upon how you specified it, but it must be typed exactly.

Make sure when you enter your username that you are entering only the username, not the email address. Usernames do not have "@exit109.com" at the end. Your full name is not your username. You can not simply invent whatever username you want to use, it must be the username you specified when you signed up with exit109.