This  page is to help you troubleshoot problems with your Treasure Valley Internet connection.  It's a good idea to print it and keep it for future reference (especially handy when you're unable to log on). 

• No Dial Tone
• Can't Connect -- Invalid User Name/Password
• Can't Connect -- Other Reason
• Can't Send Mail -- One Particular Place
• Can't Send/Receive Any Mail
• Need to Reinstall Your Connection
• URL Not Found Message
• Can't Get to Web Pages Other than Treasure Valley Internet
• Frequent Disconnects
• Viruses
• Removing MSN, Prodigy, AOL, etc.
• Technical Assistance Number

NO DIAL TONE  (top)

If your computer reports no dial tone, unplug your phone cord from the back of your computer and plug it into a regular telephone.  Do you hear a dial tone?  If not, check the connection of the phone cord to the wall jack. If that doesn't help, try a different cord.  If you can hear a dial tone, try plugging the cord back into the computer (perhaps the connection wasn't good before); if that doesn't work, try the other jack on the back of your computer (there are generally two -- the one labeled "Wall" or "Line" or "Telco" should be connected to your wall jack). 

If you have Voice Mail on your telephone line, clear your phone messages to restore a dial tone.  If you don't want to have to do this before connecting to the Internet every time, go into My Computer, then Control Panel, then Modems. Select your modem and click on the Properties button.  Select the Connections tab from the Properties window and uncheck "Wait for dial tone before dialing."

Check these three things:
 
• Incorrect login/user name.  Your login name is your whole e-mail address.  If your e-mail address is john@gotvi.com, then your login name is john@gotvi.net your  whole e-mail address.
• Spaces after the login name or password.  Click at the end of each and press the Delete key several times to get rid of the spaces.
• Password typed with the Caps Lock key on.  The Caps Lock light on your keyboard should be off.  If it isn't, press the Caps Lock key once to turn it off.
• Is your billing current?   Your account may have been temporarily suspended.  Call 412-8780 to verify you account status.

If you're a new subscriber, reasons for failures to connect include the following:
 
• Incorrect dial-up number.  The number is xxx-xxxx, with no area code. 
• Call-waiting disabled on a line that doesn't have call waiting.  If your computer's line doesn't have call waiting, you should not be dialing *70,xxx-xxxx, only xxx-xxxx.
• Incorrect settings in your Connection icon.  Open My Computer, then Dialup Networking.  Right-click on your connection icon and choose Properties from the menu.  Uncheck the box that says "Use country and area code when dialing."  Click on Server Types; make sure PPP is selected at the top.  The only check marks should be next to "Enable Software Compression" and TCP/IP.  Click on TCP/IP Settings.  Select "Server Assigned IP Address" and "Server Assigned Name Server Addresses." The bottom two boxes should be checked.
• Incorrect settings in your Windows configuration.  Open My Computer and Control Panel.  Open Networks.  Make sure there is one instance of Dial-Up Adapter and one instance of TCP/IP listed.  Click TCP/IP under installed components (or TCP/IP > Dial-up Adapter).  Make sure the IP number is server-assigned.  Make sure there are no settings in DNS Configuration.


If you've connected before but cannot now connect (for some reason other than a username/password failure), please call out support number 412-8780   It could be a problem on our end. 

This is almost always due to incorrect addressing.  If mail bounces back to you from a "Mailer Daemon," check the information sent by the daemon carefully.  (A daemon, by the way, is a constantly running program on a server.  It's not a demon.) 

Mail addresses are always of the form somename@server.ext, where somename is your correspondent's login name and server.ext is the name of a server (like gotvi.com, aol.com, unr.edu, etc.). 

If the server was not found, then the part after the @ is incorrect.  If that server bounced the message back to you, then it doesn't recognize the name before the @ as a valid user account name. 

Sometimes people have their return addresses typed wrong.  This would cause a "Reply To" message to bounce or create an incorrect entry in your address book.

If you can't send and/or receive mail in general, there is likely an error in your mail settings.  The settings for your Treasure Valley Internet mail account should be as follows.  They must be typed exactly (no caps, spaces, etc., with every character typed perfectly).
 
Your account/user/login name:  john@gotvi.net  [substitute your own -- use all lower case]

Server type: POP3

Incoming (POP3/IMAP) server: mail.gotvi.com

Outgoing (SMTP) server: smtp.gotvi.net

E-mail address: john@gotvi.com [substitute your own email address]


How/where those settings are stored depends on which mail program you're using. Open your mail program and check the program name in the colored band at the top of the window. 
 

• Outlook Express:  Click on Tools on the menu bar, then select Accounts.  Click on the Mail tab.  Click on the Treasure Valley Internet mail listing, then on Properties. 
• Internet Mail:  Click on Mail on the menu bar, then on Options. 
• Netscape Communicator or Messenger Mailbox:  Click on Edit on the menu bar, then on Preferences.  Click on the + mark next to Mail & Groups, then click on Mail Server. 
• Netscape 3:  Click on Options on the menu bar, then on Mail & News Preferences, then on the Servers tab.
   
Make sure your outgoing mail server (or SMTP server) is listed as smtp.gotvi.net (no caps, no commas, no spaces, every letter correct). Click the Apply button, then the OK button.

If for some reason you need to reinstall your dial-up connection and Internet software, here are instructions for the Internet Explorer Connection Wizard:
1. You have an existing account through your ISP or LAN.
2. (If present,) you use your phone line, modem or LAN.
3. You use your phone line.
4. Area Code: 208, Phone number:  *70,xxx-xxxx if the line has call waiting, use xxx-xxxx if not.  Uncheck the box that says "Use country/area code when dialing."
5. Username: use your whole e-mail address.  Password: your assigned password.
6. Advanced settings: yes.  Click Next with existing settings till you get to DNS servers. Select "Server Assigned IP Address" and "Server Assigned Name Server Addresses." The bottom two boxes should be checked.
7. If you want to reset your e-mail settings, you'll need your e-mail address (e.g., john@gotvi.com), your account or login name (e.g., john@gotvi.net), your password, and the mail server name (mail.gotvi.com -- incoming and smtp.gotvi.net for outgoing -- it's a POP3 server).
8. Skip News and Directory Service.

If your browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape) cannot find any Web sites, be sure you are actually connected.  If you are connected, you should see a little icon next to your time at the lower right of your Windows 95/98 screen.  The icon will look like two small interconnected computers or a black box with red/green lights in it.  If this icon is not present, you are not actually connected to the Internet. 

You can connect manually by clicking on the Start button, going to Programs, then Accessories, Communications then Dial-up Networking, then double-clicking on the icon labeled “Treasure Valley Internet”

If you are actually connected but your browser cannot find a web site, there are two possible reasons:

• The web site no longer exists or is temporarily out of order.
• The address given has a typo in it.  (If you get this message immediately upon opening Internet Explorer or Netscape, then the home page address has been entered incorrectly in your setup.  Call us to learn how to reset it.)

FREQUENT DISCONNECTS    (top)

If you seem to be getting kicked off the net frequently, there can be many reasons, making the cause difficult to diagnose.  Listed below are common reasons and solutions, in order of their difficulty to check and solve:

• Computer's phone line has call-waiting, and call-waiting is not disabled in your dial-up networking connection.  Go to My Computer, then Dial-up Networking, then right-click on your Treasure Valley Internet icon, then choose Properties from the menu.  Change the phone number to *70,xxx-xxxx to disable call-waiting.  Note: if the phone line does not have call waiting, using this code will result in a false busy signal when you dial.
• There are extension phones or faxes on your computer's phone line.  Use of those other phones interrupts your Internet session (e.g., a child picking up an extension phone).
• If your computer shows you a warning just before disconnecting or tells you about an idle timeout after disconnecting, then you have your own PC set to watch for idle time and not all programs you're using on the Internet are being factored in calculating the idle time.  Go to My Computer, then Dial-up Networking, then right-click on your connection icon and pick properties from the menu.  Click the Configure button, then Connection tab -- if the Disconnect if Idle box is checked, uncheck it.
• Disconnects occur if Outlook Express is open (even if minimized).  Open Outlook Express, Click "Tools" on the menu bar, select "Options" then click the "Connections" tab.  UNcheck the Hang up after sending and receiving option.  Click Apply then OK.

1. Faulty phone cord to your computer, phone wiring in your house, or phone lines in your neighborhood.
2. Electronic noise in your home or neighborhood (e.g., from microwaves, radio equipment, TV equipment, etc. -- the same things that cause static noise on cordless phones)
3. A faulty modem in your computer. 
4. Disconnects occur if Outlook Express is open (even if minimized).  Open Outlook Express, Click "Tools" on the menu bar, select "Options" then click the "Connections" tab.  UNcheck the Hang up after sending and receiving option.  Click Apply then OK.

VIRUSES   (top)

If you receive a virus alert from a friend, check this web site before forwarding the message to others -- http://www.kumite.com/myths/  .  There are many virus hoaxes floating around in e-mail. 

You can check for real viruses on your computer by going to http://www.mcafee.com/  .  You can also learn about viruses there and purchase virus protection software for your computer.

REMOVING MSN, PRODIGY, AOL, etc.   (top)

If you've installed Internet access software and want to remove it, double-click on My Computer, then on Control Panel, then on Add/Remove Programs.  Find the program you want to uninstall on the list, click on it, then click on the Remove button.  Click OK when finished and close the windows you opened for this process.

If, after checking your own system you are still experiencing problems, please Call 208-722-7772 for technical assistance.

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