Broadband

[ Support | FAQ's ]

There is also a section on this page concerned with all aspects of setting up and receiving e-mail - click here

If you have any other questions, please e-mail:

abba@abthorpe.net

Computer getting slower and slower?  Download CCleaner to checkout your system.

As you use your PC, surfing particularly, lots of files get saved onto your machine which all help to slow it down.  There's also other settings that get changed and processes run making the matter worse. CCleaner is free software that can help you to clean up your system. Download it here.

You see a "You have reached the maximum number of permitted Internet sessions" message when using your PC

On November 20th 2009 we experienced very slow internet access. This has been happening occasionally for quite a long period of time, but it has been difficult to track down just why this occurs. With a bit of investigation by your Directors, we discovered that one computer on the network had 2800 "sessions" open to the internet, whereas a otherwise normal number of sessions varied between 4 and 20. Research shows us that there are three main reasons why a computer racks up so many sessions: Download and file sharing applications like bittorrent, kazaa and eDonkey create sessions to multiple servers to try speed up the download. Use of Skype Internet phone software Viruses and Worms generate sessions to transmit details from your computer to others If you have got the message "You have reached the maximum number of permitted Internet sessions": You will know if you are running one or more of the file download or sharing applications. To work within a reasonable limit - allowing others a share of the internet connection capabilities - we have set the maximum sessions to 100 per computer. You must adjust your application settings to work within this limit. Similarly, you will know if you are a Skype user.  Skype is a PEER-TO-PEER based network in which calls do not pass through a central server. Skype constantly searches for other users to connect to, creating many "sessions". These sessions remain open until a reply is received, or the query runs out of time (several minutes). If you get the " You have reached the maximum number....." message, please check to see if you have Skype running - a green bubble with a tick in it in the bottom right hand bar of your windows - and right-click over it and Quit. If you find you have this problem and have to quit Skype often, you should change the Skype settings so it does NOT open when you start your computer. (Skype - Tools - Options - General. Untick the box which says "Start Skype when I start windows" If neither of the above examples apply to you, then it is likely that you have one or more viruses creating these sessions. You must take steps to remove these viruses from your computer. To help you with this, you can download or run the SpyBot Search&Destroy program from our website here. Once you have downloaded the program, double click the icon and follow the instructions. If, after considering the above scenarios, you still need help, please contact in the usual way.

How do I setup Outlook to send and receive my existing e-mail?

You can send and receive your existing e-mail as well as your new (abthorpe.net) e-mail via broadband. Receiving will normally work with no changes to Outlook configuration.  To send e-mail from an existing account you must change the outgoing server name in your Outlook account properties to "smtp.eclipse.co.uk".  More information here

I can see that I have a wireless connection to the network, but I cannot access the internet.

It is likely that you have not entered the encryption code, or made a typo when you did.  Please double check.  If necessary ask ABbA for the code.  It is vital that it is entered in your wireless client setup correctly. We have seen in a few cases where a previously running connection has "lost" the encryption key, so it is worth checking, even if your connection has been setup and running satisfactorily.  On Windows/XP the security can revert to "The key is provided to me automatically".  This must be unchecked and the code re-entered.

I have setup to receive my abthorpe.net mail in Outlook, but I cannot get it to work

Check your setup.  Two mistakes that we have seen are: Account name on Servers tab should be like joe.bloggs@abthorpe.net.  Not just joe.bloggs Also on the Servers tab - "Log on using Secure Password Authentication" should NOT be ticked

My computer is setup for connection to the network and has been working OK.  Suddenly it has started dialing out to make a network connection.

Check that in your Internet Connections setup you have "Never Dial a Connection" selected.  Some users have reported that this setting can revert to dial out.  We are not sure why this is.  We recommend that, once you are setup to use the network, that you unplug your modem connection.

I can no longer see my wireless connection monitor.

The wireless drivers and/or the monitor application can be lost for USB clients if you unplug the USB cable while the computer is running.  Always either shut your PC down or STOP the USB device before unplugging.

I have a good wireless connection, but it keeps being disconnected every few minutes and I have to click "Connect"

We have found that some users with Windows-XP will have their network connection broken every few minutes, and have to click "Connect" to continue. To avoid this happening, go to Properties of Wireless Network Connection, and untick "Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication for this network" Also, on the General tab click Configure and then on the Power Management tab check that "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" is NOT ticked.

When I shut down my PC, I got a message that another user was logged on to the machine.

This message does not necessarily indicate that there is someone hacking into your machine.  If you have File Sharing enabled on your computer (even if you have no shared folders), then another user on the Abthorpe network could see your computer and click on it.  They won't be able to access, or even see any files, but they have initiated a connection.  Even if they immediately close the window on their machine, the connection can remain for some time, so that your Windows software has the connection flag set. It is the ABbA members' responsibility to ensure the security of their own PC(s).  If you do not wish to use file sharing, then ensure that this facility is not enabled - check your network connection properties.  If you do wish to use file sharing, then it is always a good idea to set-up a password, so that no unauthorised person can access your files. Finally, if you do browse the Network Places on your computer and see another user's machine appearing, please respect their privacy.

 

Here are a list of items based on the many questions we have been asked about e-mail set-up How do I set up my Abthorpe e-mail account in Outlook Express? The essential settings are: e-mail address: joe.bloggs@abthorpe.net Account: joe.bloggs@abthorpe.net Password: [defined by you on your application form] Incoming mail server: mail.abthorpe.net Outgoing mail server: smtp.eclipse.co.uk I have an existing web based email account.  Can I still pick that e-mail as before, using my web browser, via broadband? You can continue to use your old e-mail account via your web browser, just as before. I have an existing web based email account.  Can I download that e-mail to Outlook Express The answer is almost certainly YES.  Most popular e-mail providers (such as Freeserve, Yahoo, Virgin etc) allow you to pick your e-mail up via webmail or PC based client (Outlook Express).  Details of how to set this up are documented in the help section of the supplier website - relevant settings are on this page.  Hotmail is slightly different, because that is not POP3 e-mail.  Again the Outlook Express settings are in the Hotmail help section on their website. I have an existing e-mail account which I use with Outlook Express.  Can I collect mail to both accounts together in Outlook Express? Yes.  Just add the Abthorpe mail as a second account using Tools|Accounts as described above.  Your e-mail will be collected all together.  Ensure that you stop Outlook Express using the old dialup connection, by going to Tools|Accounts – select your old mail account – Click Properties – Select the Connections tab - Select Local Area Network (not your old dial-up connection). I can’t send any new mail from my old account any longer.  It gives an error message. To send mail from your old e-mail account, via the Abthorpe network, you must change the Outgoing mail server to:  smtp.eclipse.co.uk.  The incoming mail server for that account remains the same as before. If you later use your old internet connection again, you must change the Outgoing mail server back to it’s previous setting. You will notice that when you have more than one account defined in Outlook Express, the “From” field in the new mail window will give you the option of the address of any of the accounts defined.  For a new mail message, the default for this field will be whichever account you have defined as the default.  For a Reply, it will be the account that received the e-mail. I would like to pick up my Abthorpe e-mail from outside the Abthorpe network (eg from my office on my laptop which I also use at home). You can pickup your mail using Outlook Express, in the same way that you do at home on broadband (eg on a laptop that you use at home and at work).  There is just one change to the setup.  To send e-mail you must always use the smtp server of the internet connection provider.  So to send mail from work, change the outgoing server from smtp.eclipse.co.uk to the one required by your provider (ask your IT department if in doubt). Note that you should only normally set-up your e-mail account details in Outlook Express on ONE computer.  If you have the details on multiple computers, your e-mail will be stored in multiple places, and you could easily get confused. Can I still pickup my Abthorpe e-mail when I am away from my computer (eg in an internet café, or using someone else’s computer)? AbbA provides a webmail facility as part of its e-mail service.   In the address bar of any browser connected to the Internet, enter: webmail.abthorpe.net (or go to www.abthorpe.net and click the link on the home page) You will be presented with a logon screen - enter the following: Mailbox  joe.bloggs@abthorpe.net Password Your ABbA password. If you forget your password, please contact ABbA support. If you are using this service in a public place, ensure that you logout or close the browser before leaving.

 

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