I KNOW this isn't related... but I have been trying to find this for almost
a month... I wanted to switch providers from Bellsouth (who takes 4-5 tries
to get in and drops 'carrier' 7-8 times over a day, unexpectedly and often
in the middle of a 14M file xfer)) to AT&T who-so far-has been nearly
flawless... BUT AT&T Tech Support doesn't want to even TALK about WIN NT...
much less support it. I HAD been running both local ISP Avana and Bellsouth
with no problems using NT 4.03... should be no problem adding another?
Right? WRONG!
So, when I could dial in to ATT but somehow EUDORA PRO (mail), AGENT
(newsgroups), and Netscape Navigator 4.04 NOR MS IE4 could not seem to
communicate through it once dialed and established, I have been working
ever since.
I next installed WIN 98 (and I use System Commander to let me choose
between DOS 6.22, WIN 98 (beta ver.), or WIN NT 4.03.) Running WIN 98 (let
me recommend it highly, by the way-not a glitch here except minor sorting
out with my Panasonic PD CD-R) I was able to establish connections with
both Bellsouth and AT& T. I have been trying to find the error of my ways
ever since-as far as what was happening-or, more correctly, NOT happening)
with NT 4.
Finally, today after the loss of a substantial amount of sleep, and an
ever-decreasing amount of hair pulled from their increasingly grey roots, I
went through the "Connecting with the Internet" starting on p1023 of the
WINDOWS NT Workstation Resource Kit Book ("If all else fails... RTDD"). A
small phrase caught my eye several pages in... they mentioned that for a
PPP setting BOTH the TCP/IP ** AND ** the NetBEUI protocols were to be
selected. BINGO. I knew-or thought I knew-that NetBEUI was strictly a
networking thing and not used for modem things. I thought I knew that,
because one of the "F1" popup-help windows once again failed to tell the
whole story. They tend, in WIN NT, to tell you the most important part of
the tale... but not necessarily all.
Enabled NetBEUI, rebooted, and BONGO... I'm back in the saddle with WIN NT.
HAPPY!!! HAPPY!!! JOY!!! JOY!!!
Now, in case you are wondering why I care after getting WIN 98 up and
running, I can say the following:
1) WIN 98 works VERY well. It is superior to WIN 95-perhaps vastly. It does
NOT seem to have that isolation layer WIN NT 4 has... although I can think
of only one or two times I believe whatever lockup occurred managed to also
lock out the keyboard... otherwise, you were able to END TASK out of the
locked program. WIN NT 4, in the couple of years (I think) I've been
running it has NEVER done that... always providing you with that layer of
protection. The layer MAY be there less obviously, than with NT, I don't
know, and it's lack is not as significant as with '95, but I remain more
comfortable with 'NT.
2) WIN 98 handles DOS stuff much better than I have been able to get NT to
do it. Specifically games and such that want to directly access the hard
drive. That layer I mentioned has a LOT of trouble with anything like that,
and typically simply won't allow it period. Cudoes to WIN 98 for DOS apps
and especially games.
3) My favorite thing about NT 4 is the way it REALLY allows genuine
multi-tasking the way WINDOWS originally promised it would. From everything
I can tell, WIN 98 does just as well.
4) My second favorite thing about WIN NT 4 is its ability to parcel out
memory from all that extra memory sitting there on the motherboard... it
REALLY does that nicely... to the point that on my 128M P5-200 machine
downstairs, you could literally tell it was achieving some sort of increase
of efficiency when I went to 128MB from 64MB. It was just discernably faster.
So, I apologize for all the lines, but I am really pleased to have gotten
back to WIN NT... and will boot to '98 for anything it is more appropriate
for... but NT will remain my overall favorite!
73
__________________________________________________________
Ed Tanton N4XY EMAIL: n4xy@att.net
189 Pioneer Trail
Marietta, GA 30068-3466 TEL: (770)579-3933 V/MBX/FAX
__________________________________________________________
INTERESTS: QRP BoatAnchors Test Equipment Photography
CW: 99.9% Mercury Paddle # 0214 QRP to 150W: 95%
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"Think you can, think you can't: either way you're right!" Henry Ford
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