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FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
Table
of Contents
- Can I
still use pkFamily when I travel?
- Can I
use a different e-mail program with pkFamily?
- Can I
use a different browser than the one supplied with
the pkFamily software?
- Can I
use a newer browser than the one that came on my CD?
- Can I
use ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger, etc., with pkFamily?
- For
FAQ on Filtering
- How can
I sign up for pkFamily?
- How do I
get a Home Page?
- I keep
getting "Invalid Login" messages, but my
password is correct!
- Since a
Dial-Up Number for my area is not listed, what can I
do?
- What do I
do if there is a billing problem?
- What does
unlimited access mean?
- What
should I do if I lose my password or User ID?
- When can
I start using pkFamily’s service?
- Where can
I find a Glossary of Internet Terms?
- Where
can I find out more about my modem drivers/settings?
- Where can
I get a list of your local access numbers?
- Where
can I get help with my Rockwell HCF modem?
- Why
can't my 56K modem get a 56K connection?
- Why
won't my 56k modem connect above 28.8
- Why
won't my new computer/modem work?
Q: Can
I still use pkFamily when I travel?
A: Yes, however to avoid long distance telephone
charges you will need to select a dial-up number which
is local to the city in which you travel. We have over
22,000 dialup numbers for you to select from!
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Q:
Can I use a different e-mail program with pkFamily?
A: Sure. Just make sure it has the proper settings
as shown on our support page (E-mail
Setup). Of course, if we didn't supply the program,
there is no way we can answer questions about it.
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Q:
Can I use a different browser than the one supplied with
the pkFamily software?
A: Yes, you can use any browser.
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Q:
Can I use a newer browser than the one that came on my
CD?
A: Ordinarily, Yes. One result of having custom
software duplicated on CDs is that it will be out of
date as soon as a newer version is released. We try to
use the newest versions of software available, but
sometimes we are still using a CD with the previous
version when a new one has been released.
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Q:
Can I user ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger, etc., with
pkFamily?
A: Yes, if the
application is properly configured.
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For
FAQ on Filtering, see About
Filtering
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Q:
How can I sign up for pkFamily?
A: Visit http://signup.pkfamily.com
to signup online or request a CD-ROM.
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Q: How
do I get a Home Page?
A: All pkFamily dial-up accounts
come with 5 MB of space to store your personal Web site.
To set this up, please contact customer support.
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Q: I
keep getting "Invalid Login" messages, but my
password is correct!
A: The "Invalid Login" message tells you to
check your password and try again, but you will get the
same error if your login name is not correct. Here are
common errors and their solutions:
Incorrect login name:
Remember, with pkFamily you need to include @pkFamily
after your login name (e.g., if your login is joeuser
then for pkFamily your login name -- for the dialup
connection only -- is joeuser@pkFamily). The login name
must include @pkFamily but it does not include .com so
joeuser@pkFamily is correct, but joeuser@pkFamily.com is
not a valid login name (joeuser@pkFamily.com might be a
valid e-mail address, however).
Incorrect capitalization
in login name or password: Your login name MUST be all
in lower case (small) letters. Your password is
case-sensitive. It will normally include both capital
and small letters (and numbers too), and the correct
letters must be capital or small.
Spaces in login name or
password: There may not be any spaces in your login name
or in your password. Sometimes the first character in
the login or password area is a space. In this case it
can be very hard to tell if there is a space there or
not. If you are not sure, backspace all the characters
out of the area and re-enter the login or password
correctly.
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Q: Since
a Dial-Up Number for my area is not listed,
what can I do?
A: pkFamily is currently working toward adding
dial up numbers for more States. Please check back
often. Another option is our filter-only service that is
coming soon. This service is ideal for areas
without a local pkFamily number as well as those customers with high-speed
Internet access.
Read more about our filter-only service...
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Q:
What do I do if there is a billing problem?
A: Contact customer service via email, chat,
or phone.
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Q:
What does unlimited access mean?
A: A subscriber continuously and
"interactively" using the service will not be
limited to an arbitrary amount of time, but this is not
meant to convey a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
connection. All accounts have a
fifteen minute idle-timeout feature that clears
the line for "active" users when any
subscriber is NOT "actively" online.
This is intended to provide network efficiency for the
benefit of all subscribers. See our policy
page.
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Q:
What should I do if I lose my password or User ID?
A: Call technical support.
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Q:
When can I start using pkFamily's service?
A: Immediately if you signup online. If you request
a CD-ROM, you will need to wait 5-10 days for your CD
to arrive.
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Q: Where
can I find a Glossary of Internet Terms?
A: A list of Internet terminology can be found on
Glossary
of Internet Terms.
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Q: Where
can I find out more about my modem drivers/settings?
A: Here is
a list of 56K modem manufacturers and their web sites
(there may be others):
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Q: Where
can I get a list of your local access numbers?
A: The list of local access numbers are on the
pkFamily Rates
& Plans page.
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Q:
Where can I get help with my Rockwell HCF modem?
A: These items
come from the Compaq Forum (http://forum.compaq.com).
A. If your Rockwell HCF
modem (these come with some Compaq models) has trouble
connecting, you may need to change the initialization
string. To do this, go to Start | Settings | Control
Panel, double-click Modems, highlight your modem, click
the Properties button, the Connection tab, then the
Advanced button. In the Extra Settings line type
AT&F&C1&D2&K3. Click OK all the way out
to save the settings.
B. If speed is slow, or
you have trouble connecting, you may want to check the
UART settings for your computer. It should be set to
16550. To check:
1. Go to Start | Settings
| Control Panel. Double click on Modems. Click on
Diagnostics tab on the top. Highlight what port your
modem is on (such as Com 2) . Click More Info - it will
say "Communicating with modem". When window
comes up look for the UART. It should say 16550. If it
reads that it is set correctly you may exit the Modems
section. If it reads 8250 then close out of all windows.
2: If it reads 8250, then
go to Start | Settings | Control Panel. Double click on
the System icon. Click on the Device Manager tab. Click
on the plus (+) box by Modem, until it shows as a minus.
Highlight the Rockwell Modem. Click on Properties
towards the bottom. Click on the Resources tab. Take the
check out of Use Automatic Settings. Go to where it
reads Basic Configuration. If it says 0000, change it to
0001 by clicking on the little down arrow to your right.
If it reads 0001 then you would first change it to 0000.
After that click OK on the bottom, then Yes to continue,
Yes to Restart. If it does not ask to Restart then
manually restart the computer. To do this go to Start |
Shutdown | Restart | OK. When Windows restarts, go back
to the same area (Start | Settings | Control Panel,
System, Device Manager, Rockwell modem, Properties,
Resources). Change the configuration back to where you
had it the first time. Click OK | Yes to continue. Again
if does not ask to restart, do it manually.
When back in Windows run
a Diagnostics check again in the control panel under
Modems - make sure the UART is 16550.
3: If this did not fix
your problem go back to Device Manager (Start | Settings
| Control Panel, System, Device Manager). Click on the
plus box by Modem to make it a minus. Highlight your
Rockewell Modem. Click remove. You will get a warning -
click OK. DO NOT remove the modem enumarator under any
circumstances. It will ask you to reboot after removing
the Rockwell modem - say yes. Windows should find the
modem on its own when it restarts. If it does not, and
you get a window asking you to insert disk for modem,
just browse the C drive and click on the cpqdrv folder,
then zepher, then setup and click OK. It should start
copying files. When loaded check your UART see if it
changed at all.
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Q:
Why can't my 56K modem get a 56K connection?
A: Various
factors can contribute to this. These
include the fact that even a new modem may not have the
newest "firmware" (internal modem software) or
may require some special settings (the initialization
string) in order to get a better connection speed. There
are other reasons, as well:
Originally the FCC would
not allow more than a specific amount of electrical
power to be placed on the phone line, which resulted in
a theoretical maximum modem connection of 53K under
perfect conditions. In late 1998 that restriction was
increased to permit 56K theoretical speed. However, many
factors affect the actual speed of a modem connection.
For one thing, the speed
your modem reports is not always your true connection
speed. Using initialization strings, the modem can be
made to report its theoretical maximum capability
(usually determined by a software setting on your
computer, and normally set to 115,200 bps). This
information is practically useless, as it tells you
nothing about the current connection.
The initialization string
can be set to report the connection speed. However, it
is common for modems to "retrain" (adjust
their speed after the initial connection) to a new
speed. Unfortunately this speed is commonly slower than
the initial connection speed.
If you have the latest
firmware and a correct initialization string, the
primary cause of connections that are slower than they
should be is the phone line between your location and
pkFamily's modems. In almost all cases pkFamily's modems
are located at (or very near) the telephone company
central office. You may not have such a fortunate
location. Distance from the telephone company central
office plays a big role in deteriorating speed. Also the
quality of the phone lines, line noise, the presence of
electrical interference, the quality of switching
equipment, etc., all can affect your speed. People are
also sometimes surprised to learn that their call to
pkFamily's local number does not necessarily travel the
same route every time they dial in. The route can also
impact the speed.
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Q:
Why won't my 56k modem connect above 28.8
A: When
considering connection speed there are several things
that play a vital role in the speed at which you
connect. Here are some of the more common things that
determine speed of connection:
1- Does your modem have
the latest firmware upgrade (see: "Where
can I find out more about my modem
drivers/settings?" to obtain the latest
firmware websites for your modem.)?
2- Connection speed may
be affected by the quality/age of your phone line. Just
like all other wiring; poor quality and older wire will
greatly hamper the signal going across the line. Phone
lines usually contain "noise" which interferes
with the signal from your modem, thus hurting your
connection speed.
3- Initialization string
changes. This is data that your modem sends across the
line to tell the receiving modem it's speed and type.
The following websites contain information on
initialization strings.
http://pmr.infinet.net/modems/
http://modemfaq.home.att.net/
http://www.modemhelp.org
http://modems.rosenet.net/or/is.html
http://808hi.com/56k/
** These are not
initialization strings that we have tested or that we
recommend, but we have found these pages useful in the
past when all other steps have failed. **
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Q:
Why won't my new computer/ modem work?
A: Most new computers
are currently (late 1998) shipped with 56K modems that
meet the new V.90 standard. This standard attempted to
allow two very different kinds of 56K modems (X2 and
K56flex) to communicate with each other at high speeds
(see the FAQ "Why can't my 56K modem get a 56K
connection?").
At the same time,
telephone lines and switching equipment is often not
designed to accommodate high speed data transmission. In
fact, in many parts of the country the local phone
company will only *Guarantee* speeds of 9600 bps on the
line -- even though you may get a much higher speed.
Consequently, there are
(at least) three separate things that will affect a
connection with a 56K modem. These are your modem,
pkFamily's modems, and the phone lines in between those
modems.
Although you may have a
new modem, in order to get the best possible connection
your modem needs the very latest software to run it
(called "firmware"). This can usually be
downloaded from your modem manufacturer's web site. If
your modem has been stored on the shelf for even a few
weeks the firmware may be out of date. Also there are
some modems that require additional settings (called
"initialization strings") to help them to
function properly. The particular setting required may
depend on the type of computer in which it is installed,
and type of modem you are trying to connect to. Any
problems with firmware or initialization strings can
prevent you from connecting, from staying connected, or
inhibit the connection speed.
pkFamily's modems are all
V.90 modems, with the latest software from the
manufacturers (we use 3 different manufacturers, two of
which supplied K56flex modems before the upgrade to V.90
and one was X2), to give you the best possibility of a
good connection.
The phone lines are
outside the control of either pkFamily or you. You will
ordinarily have what is called an analog phone line to
your home. To get 56K you must make a digital
connection, pkFamily has all digital lines coming to its
modems. The phone company equipment switches your analog
connection from your home to a digital connection before
it gets to pkFamily. However, if there is more than one
analog-to-digital or digital-to-analog switch, the 56K
connection will be defeated. Also line noise (or other
interference) and your distance from the phone company
central office will affect your connection.
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