Kitz Forum
Broadband Related => ISPs => Topic started by: sevenlayermuddle on January 28, 2009, 09:33:47 PM
-
Favour requested...
I've agreed to help my ageing and very non-techie parents, who live with 400 miles distant, to make the leap from Win 98 & dialup to modern PC & broadband. I've helped them to spec up and order a new Dell, which will be loaded with Win XP on delivery (Dell charge £40 extra for that, bl**dy cheek!). For broadband, they want to stay with AOL, as per their dialup. That wouldn't have been my first recommendation but they're anxious to keep the same email address and I sympathise with them.
I fully expect a phone call from father in a few weeks time when he's ready to go online, asking me to tell him how to set things up, and assuming I'll be intimately familiar with all things-AOL. I'll also arrange to visit them in person when they're ready to run, but I'll only have a day or two to spend there so I need to be reasonable confident that all will go smoothly.
So, if anybody has any constructive advice (apart from DON'T GO THERE!!!) about unusual features of AOL broadband that might catch me out, I'd be grateful! If there's a deafening silence in response to this post then maybe I should be even more grateful as that might imply I've nothing to worry about ;D
TIA,
SLM
-
It's been a long time since I used AOL (dialup) but as far as I can gather the process is still the same,
"insert the AOL disc" and just follow the install instructions.
Although they might want to backup their settings first which should then make things easier.
Below is some text I "used to use" some time ago for doing this.
To back up you’re favourite places, address book and emails:
1. Close AOL completely and click on the Windows Start button.
2. Go to Programs and click Windows Explorer.
3. Double click on your AOL folder and right-click on the Organise file.
4. Left click on Copy, minimise Windows Explorer and right-click on your Desktop and paste the file here.
5. Maximise Windows Explorer. Right-click on the Download file and repeat step 4 as above to copy this file to your desktop.
6. Close Windows Explorer. You can copy the Organise and Download folders to a backup device such as a Pen drive or CD writer if you have one (the files will rarely fit on a floppy disk)
To restore your favourite places, address book and emails:
If the backed up Organise and Download folders are on a backup device, copy them to your Desktop.
1. Right-click on the Organise folder on your Desktop and select Copy from the menu.
2. Click on the Start button, go to Programs and click Windows Explorer.
3. Right-click on the AOL folder and click Paste. When asked if you wish to replace the existing folder, simply click YES.
4. Close Windows Explorer, right-click on the Download folder on your desktop and left-click on Copy.
5. Click on the Start menu, then on Programs and Windows Explorer, right click on the AOL folder, left click on Paste. Close Windows Explorer.
NB
Backing up files to a CD Writer can result in the files being marked as 'Read Only'.
Unfortunately, AOL cannot work with such files in this situation.
To rectify this, simply take the following steps...
- Right-click on the ORGANIZE folder and click on Properties.
- Remove the tick in the box for Read Only and press OK.
- Next open the ORGANIZE folder, click Edit and Select All.
- Click File, followed by Properties and ensure that the Read Only box is white - i.e. that there is no tick on it.
-
Far to complicated....... ;)
If they are already on AOL much is held online in their account and the setup CD takes you through it very simply.
Honest.
And if they get stuck just phone support, who in my recent experience (when I'm helping AOL users) are very good.
The only things they may need to think about moving are any documents photos etc. stored on the old W98 PC.
-
The only things they may need to think about moving are any documents photos etc. stored on the old W98 PC.
I presume that could easily be done with a USB flash drive stick ?
-
I presume that could easily be done with a USB flash drive stick ?
Not necessarily. Only if you can find one with W98 drivers, which most modern ones won't have.
(I keep an old one specially for such tasks)
It can be quite difficult to move stuff from that vintage of PC as there's often just nothing in common with a new PC for data transfer.
Small volumes can be emailed or you can sometimes set up a local network with a USB-LAN adapter or installing a network card.
-
Far to complicated....... ;)
But like I said.
It's been a long time since I used AOL .....
NB:
A backup that never needs to be used is far better than a backup that you don't have.
Should it ever have been required or helpful.
-
AOL is now owned by TalkTalk so they will be on their network - as you say perhaps not the most recommended but it should be ok for low usage type users... and if theyve just moved from dial up its still going to seem awfully fast to them.
The most major concern with TT really is how their FMP LLU can and has knock users off line for a while.. however if they are going from dial up it isnt so much of a problem. I only mention this in case if you find the router wont sync when it should.
Whilst you can set up the router without the AOL software and cd (http://www.kitz.co.uk/isp/AOLsetup.htm).. in view of your parents tech experience its probably best to use it. The whole AOL experience is designed for the less technical of users and their Cust Support expect users to have the software installed if they guide through any troubleshooting etc.
-
@ TalkTalk,they were my first experinence of BB in 2007 after many years on dial-up....what a nightmare.I was always disconnecting and their support are amonst the worst I have ever known.I was always calling the 'escalation' team.hours I spent on the phone.I was already a TT landline customer so I thought going with them would be the easiest thing to do.Wrong. :(
-
Thanks for all these responses,.
Apart from the unflattering references to TalkTalk (esp their support), which I'd anticipated and I'm sure are valid, I do feel reasonable reassured. For what it's worth, I'd reasoned that Plusnet may have been good for them, but they do want to keep that AOL email address.
As regards backing up the W98 system, plan (b) will involve borrowing a LAN card that I recently installed on an ancient W95 system of my own. Since it works in W95, and was bought less than three years ago, I feel confident it will also work in W98, even if it involves a bit of hassle. And it's not that long since I did it on W95, so I should be able to remember the various hoops through which I must jump to share the W98's disk with XP.
I'm not yet sure what Plan (a) will be. I know that USB sticks are harder to use with W98 but there's a few download sites that claim to have drivers that make it possible. It's certainly tempting, as their disk is only 6GB so with an 8GB stick I can preserve a complete image of their old data in its entirety.
Plan (c)'s been suggested by my parents... print it all out and then leave them to type it in again. The stuff that matters is limited to a few dozen word documents, apparently :lol:
-
The stuff that matters is limited to a few dozen word documents, apparently :lol:
Often the case, hence my email suggestion earlier. Just send it to themselves.
-
If it's only a few documents you could copy them to floppies (assuming that the PC has a floppy drive of course).
-
The stuff that matters is limited to a few dozen word documents, apparently :lol:
Often the case, hence my email suggestion earlier. Just send it to themselves.
Yes indeed, HP - that's a rather more sensible 'last resort' and one I'd not though of. Appreciated.
If it's only a few documents you could copy them to floppies (assuming that the PC has a floppy drive of course).
There was no floppy drive on the options list when I 'built' their system on Dell's website last night, a sign of the times... :o.
But maybe I'll pack a borrowed one in my toolkit when I go visit, my plan a,b,c sequence must be quite well down the alphabet by now. :)
-
Just to say well done SLM,what you are doing for your parents . :)
-
Just to say well done SLM,what you are doing for your parents . :)
Aw shucks, thanks. :-[
For all you know though, maybe I'm just in it for the inheritance? >:D :lol:
To be more serious, we already owe them a visit early in the year since we always spend Christmas with my girlfriend's parents. The English (and her family in particular) seem to take Christmas a lot more seriously than us Scots, but we then try to redress the balance with a visit back up North early in the year. We've overlooked that for the past year or two, so I've a bit of catching up to do.
-
Why stay with AOL for the email Address , i moved to Newnet last year and my original AOL is still in use, in fact i have 6 aol email addresses for the family and every one can still be accessed and used to send or recieve mail . I havent even used my Newnet Address , and i sign into my newnet account with my AOL name
-
Why stay with AOL for the email Address , i moved to Newnet last year and my original AOL is still in use, in fact i have 6 aol email addresses for the family and every one can still be accessed and used to send or recieve mail . I havent even used my Newnet Address , and i sign into my newnet account with my AOL name
I'd heard that as a rumour before, and now I've heard a first-hand account which is nice. I'd be tempted, if it was for myself. But I'm not sure I'd be able to explain the risks and don't want them to feel let down...
-
You can create a free email address from here using the (aol.com) prefix https://new.aol.com/freeaolweb?ncid=snsuswebr00000004&promocode=824087&promocode2&icid=snstest8&icid=snstest8 (https://new.aol.com/freeaolweb?ncid=snsuswebr00000004&promocode=824087&promocode2&icid=snstest8&icid=snstest8)
This is why when you migrate from AOL you can carry on using your original Screen name and address ,you even carry on accesing via the AOL mail server.
-
I had my first support call on this project not long ago, from Dad, shortly after the new PC arrived.
I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind if I raised a smile fromk Kitzers (but I'm not going to tell him in case I'm wrong. Remind me never to identify myself on this forum)...
"Hi Dad, how's it going"
"Going well, I have all the wires plugged in but the television doesn't work"
[- Clunk, a penny drops, for 'television' hear 'monitor'...]
"Right. Are you sure it's plugged in and switched on?"
"Yes. It says I need to press the power button now"
"And what happens when you press the power button?"
"I don't know, what's a power button?" :lol:
On a more serious note, I've set him up with a Belkin USB WiFi stick so he can try (AOL helpdesk be warned) and get going with his broadband before my visit. I'm sceptical of USB WiFi. Does anybody think I'd be advised to buy an internal PCI card and substitute it when I'm there? I'll happily trade it for his USB WiFi as I've not got one and, what I haven't got, I want.
-
PCI every time over USB for wireless LAN.
Just do it, you know it makes sense. ;)
(USB is useful for temporary lash-ups of course)
-
Thanks HP.
Dell offered PCI wireless as quite a cheap add-on but, irritatingly, it disappeared from the options list once you selected XP as the installed OS.
-
lol - sounds like my dad.
Its much easier for me to go round do it... I end up tearing my hair out on the phone and getting frustrated.
PCI - if theres a spare slot.
-
And a personal preference is the type of card that is supplied with a desktop aerial (spike on a weighted base) and a reasonable lead - 2 or 3 feet long.
Aerial positioning can be critical and the little stubby ones on the card can easily be shielded by the system case. I've seen several setups where just turning the box round has transformed performance. ;)
-
And a personal preference is the type of card that is supplied with a desktop aerial (spike on a weighted base) and a reasonable lead - 2 or 3 feet long.
Aerial positioning can be critical and the little stubby ones on the card can easily be shielded by the system case. I've seen several setups where just turning the box round has transformed performance. ;)
Thanks again, I'll bear that in mind. However, they live in small modern flat and the separation of PC and Router will be only about 20ft, with a couple of (stud partition) walls in between, so I suspect signal strength won't be too big an issue. I've actually got an old 'cheap as chips' card lying in a cupboard somewhere. I used to have it in an old wreck that I use for kernel device driver testing when I work from home, and I may just pass that onto them as I now (smug smug) have the luxury of Cat 5 everywhere. Trouble is, it worked well, but the admin GUI was a bit temperamental which might make it harder to explain to him by phone when any issues subsequently arise.
-
Please regard this as just an interim update, which I hope will raise a smile, as well as maybe emphasising some of the real difficulties involved in this kind of endeavour.
Mum & Dad got their PC, and their router, and their DSL, all delivered last week. He's trying to get DSL going now.
He has no phone socket in the room where his computer is, so I'd hoped to be able to get his PC talking to the router over ethernet, and then configure wireless, and disconnect ethernet and take the router to the room with the phone socket is. No way! It seems, AOL insist uon using some kind of setup wizard, and the darned setup CD insists upon PC & router & BT line all being connected together for the entire duration.
So, I thought, I'll not use the wizard, I'll talk him through the configuration, how hard can that be? The router's a Speedtouch 585 (don't know which 'V') but I've a 585V7 in a cupboard, so thought I'd hook up my own to use as example, and then talk him through what I was doing to configure it. It was clear that plan was doomed after I lost a good hour just trying to explain what I meant by the 'address bar' in IE. It seems he's never typed an address into explorer, I think he's just allowed some AOL (or DELL?) search utility to find what it deems to be appropriate when he wants to visit (say) amazon. Scary.
A few years ago, when they were on dial up, I gave him a modem-compatible DECT line extender which was a godsend as he was able to do away with the trailing lead, all through the house, that fed the PC. Unfortunately of course, he'd assumed that the DECT link would also be the way to connect his router. You know, I can't fault him for that. It's 'blindingly obvious' that you can't run DSL over a DECT link, but why should it be obvious to him? After all, all the plugs & sockets fitted, so "surely that'll work then?"
Tonight's phone call came from a neighbours house because "AOL said I had to disconnect all the phones". Grrrrr.
Anyroads, thanks again for all advice. I look most of it on board, except the bit how to avoid AOL without losing email addresses. We live and learn. And despite all frustrations, Dad's thoroughly enjoying himself :)
-
lol... when I read parts of it I could sooooooo relate - particularly when it came to the typing address into IE... I almost wondered if you were my brother for a min - till I realised that no way would I let my dad go AOL . Ive so been there done that with the rest of it.
:lol: :lol:
-
If your Dad's enjoying himself 7LM that's the most important bit. :)
-
I think he's just allowed some AOL (or DELL?) search utility to find what it deems to be appropriate when he wants to visit (say) amazon. Scary.
The number of people who do this is unbelievable. I'd say well more than half of the kids at school do this too - why type www.youtube.com when you can just type youtube.. or utube or whatever and google will invariably find it? I kinda see the logic actually!
It's funny, when I hear them telling each other about sites they like, instead of just giving the address, even if it's a simple one, the instructions invariably start "go on google and type... "
Although the number of people that type the full website address into a search bar is also quite amazing.
This all probably comes from the fact that the address bar normally contains so much gobbledegook that it's viewed almost as "computer thing" that they don't need to bother about, perhaps?
-
The trouble with letting search engines find the site is that they might accidentally hit on some malicious, or otherwise undesirable site, that includes the same string as the domain name you're after.
Another thing that annoys me on this front is that when I mis-type something in the address bar (say, I miss a letter from 'johnlewis.com', so the browser fails to open it, I want to just go back and fix the missing letter. I don't want to be redirected to some seacrh engine, as that way I lose the original text and have type it all in again.
That should just be a case of (un-)ticking the 'search from address bar' in options/advanced. But on anything I've bought from Dell recently it's not so easy. You have to jump through a lot of hoops to stop the Dellware from intervening, regardless of whether you've ticked that box.
Oh dear, am I beginning to sound like BBC's "Grumpy old Men"?
-
Oh dear, am I beginning to sound like BBC's "Grumpy old Men"?
Not at all Mr Meldrew. :D
-
I don't believe it.