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Cleaning Up After AOL

Ever had frustrating logon problems with subscribers that came to you from AOL? Here's one ISP who did.

[October 27, 1999]

In a thread on ISP-Tech in September 1999, LK wrote:

"We have a client who's been using AOL. He successfully dials in to our POP, but once there, his username password are rejected. We've walked him through every step, and he insists everything is correct. We connect to his account from the NOC and it works fine. Is there something funky about his AOL setup getting in the way here?"

Most respondents offered variations on a single theme, for example:

[KI said] "Remove all the AOL adapters and other network devices, then reinstall your setup. AOL adapters play havoc with DUN [Dial-Up Networking]."

[JL echoed this view] "Step #1 when dealing with any subscriber who can't get the setup instructions you sent him to work:

'Do you have AOL's software installed?'
'Yes.'
'Uninstall it, and try our instructions again.'

"In my experience, that's often all it takes."

[RW gets more specific] "Right-click Network Neighborhood and select Properties. Remove all the AOL crap (as it will think it's God otherwise). Then add TCP/IP and Dial-Up."

Another contingent allowed for the possibility that there was something amis in the account setup.

[MS suggested] "I'd have him bring in his system. Then you can look for that one typo he isn't seeing. What does your RAS server show for his username and password when he tries to dial in? I had one guy that had about two dozen spaces in his username."

[SA agreed, but added an all-purpose fix] " . . . Spaces or something other than clear text. Spaces are easy. Have him highlight everything in the username /password fields, and backspace about fifty times, and then delete fifty times, then retype.

"If that doesn't work, try a new DUN entry, which may or may not do the trick. If it doesn't, install DUN upgrade so that it shows up in the first page of the Add/Remove Programs. Then remove it and add it on the second page (Windows Setup in Communications), making sure that the files come from the system disk. Restart between each step, just to be safe. Just uninstalling and reinstalling it from the Windows Setup page didn't actually get rid of the corrupted or misconfigured file."

—End

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