Q175661: MSN 2.5 OEM Release Readme.txt File Contents
Article: Q175661
Product(s): The Microsoft Network
Version(s): WINDOWS:2.5
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbreadme kbmsn
Last Modified: 08-OCT-1999
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The information in this article applies to:
- The Microsoft Network version 2.5
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SUMMARY
=======
This article contains a copy of the contents of the Readme.txt file included
with MSN, The Microsoft Network, version 2.5 (Original Equipment Manufacturer
[OEM] release).
MORE INFORMATION
================
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README for The Microsoft Network 2.5
June l997
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(c) Copyright Microsoft Corporation, 1997
This document provides complementary or late-breaking information
for The Microsoft Network 2.5.
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HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT
-------------------------
To view Readme.txt onscreen in Notepad, maximize the Notepad
window.
To print Readme.txt, open it in Notepad or another word
processor, and then use the Print command on the File menu.
Thank you for joining The Microsoft Network. This
document contains information that will help you solve common
problems and get the most out of The Microsoft Network.
Table of Contents
=================
1. System Requirements
2. Video Cards and Display Problems
3. Hard Disk Location of MSN Program Files
4. Microsoft Internet Explorer Installation
5. Installation Problems
6. Known Problems with This Release
7. Internet Mail & News
8. Connection Problems
9. Removing MSN Files and Shortcuts
1. System Requirements
=======================
* Windows 95
* Personal computer with a 486/66 or higher processor
* 14.4 Kbps modem or higher
* 16MB of memory required
* 30MB available hard disk space
* CD-ROM drive (2x or higher)
* VGA or higher resolution graphics card.
* Sound card recommended
* Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
MSN is compatible only with Windows 95. It does not run on
Windows NT or on Windows 3.1. MSN is considering future support
for Windows NT.
In order to fully experience MSN you will need a sound card and
speakers. MSN will function properly without them, but audio is
an integral part of the full experience.
2. Video Cards and Display Problems
====================================
LESS THAN 256 COLOR:
MSN Setup will run if your display is set to 16-color mode;
however, it is designed to run at 640x480 resolution or higher,
with a minimum of 256 colors. If your display is set to show 16
colors, we strongly recommend that you change your display
setting to show 256 colors or more.
If you experience problems with display colors, check your
color configuration:
1. Click the Windows Start button, then click Settings,
Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Display icon.
3. Click the Settings tab.
4. In the Color palette list box, click 256 Color.
MORE THAN 256 COLOR:
MSN is designed to look even better at higher color settings.
You will find that much of the text is more readable and the
images much clearer when you set your display resolution to
16 bit (65,536 colors) or higher.
Some video cards may encounter problems when using accelerated
video drivers, video drivers with more than 256 colors, or high
resolution video drivers.
If you run into display problems:
1. Try switching to a driver supplied with Windows 95.
2. Change to a different display mode. An alternative to using a
different driver is to change your video mode to a standard
video mode such as 640x480 resolution with 256 colors.
For details on how to change drivers or switch to a different
display mode, see your Windows documentation.
NEC computers using the Alliance Promotion video card do not work
well with the MSN setup program. Please contact your computer
dealer for assistance.
3. Hard Disk Location of MSN Program Files
===========================================
MSN requires that its files be installed on your system disk (the
drive from which your computer boots, generally the C: drive).
If you do not have enough space on your system drive, Setup will
notify you. You will need to make room on your system disk in
order to install MSN.
4. Microsoft Internet Explorer Installation
============================================
MSN requires Internet Explorer (IE) version 3.02 or higher. If
you have an older version of IE, MSN Setup will install a new
version. During IE installation, you may be prompted to accept
the IE End User License Agreement. If you do not accept the IE
License Agreement, MSN Setup will fail and your computer will not be
properly configured to access MSN. You must accept the IE
license in order to use MSN.
5. Installation Problems
=========================
VERSION CONFLICTS:
You may encounter a version conflict dialog when running
the MSN setup program, or when logging in
for the first time. If a "Version Conflict" dialog box is
displayed, click "Yes" when asked "Do you want
to keep this file?"
6. Known Problems with This Release
====================================
MSN SIGN IN APPEARS AFTER DISCONNECT:
If you are disconnected at the same time that you are trying to
connect to a site, IE 3.02 will bring up the dialer to reconnect.
You will see the MSN Sign In screen or the Remote Networking
Connection screen appear right after the disconnect. You can
close these screens without causing any problems. At this time
there is no known way to prevent this from happening when a
disconnect and network request occur simultaneously in IE 3.x.
MSN SIGN IN ERROR:
If you dial in and immediately see the black error screen with
the MSN Sign In connection status text: "Error 604", then you will
need to follow these steps to fix the problem:
1. Close the MSN Sign In screen by clicking the Cancel
button.
2. Click the Windows Start button, then click Programs, Accessories,
Dial-Up Networking.
3. Click the "MSN" icon, then from the File menu, click Delete.
4. Restart your Internet connection the same way you did
before the error appeared.
FRIENDS ONLINE:
You are able to add only those members to your Friends Online
list who have installed the MSN version 2.5.
Until we release our members.msn.com site, there will be
no way to edit your own Member Properties.
REQUEST NEW PASSWORD:
If there is a server connection error while you are
requesting a new password, the screen will freeze.
You will then need to close Internet Explorer. To do this,
press Ctrl-Alt-Del (together at the same time), and from
the Close Program list box, select Internet Explorer and
click End Task. Or, you may need to click Shut Down to
restart your computer.
IE AS DEFAULT BROWSER:
Internet Explorer launches when you click e-mail, chat, or
history links. MSN does not replace your default browser and
will be activated only if you double-click the MSN icon on your
desktop or click the MSN Quick View icon in the Windows system
tray to connect to MSN.
JAVA SCRIPT OR VB SCRIPT ERROR:
Java or Visual Basic script errors could occur in the MSN
Program Viewer for a couple of reasons:
1. The MSN Program Viewer does not support the "window.open"
command, which is supported by IE 3.0, IE 4.0, and
Netscape 2.0, 3.0 & 4.0.
Pages that use this command will cause a script error in the
MSN Program Viewer.
2. MSN is now based on IE 3.02, which includes higher security
safeguards that will prevent some script commands from
executing on your machine.
MSN QUICK VIEW COMES BACK EVEN AFTER IT IS CLOSED:
The MSN Quick View icon in your Windows taskbar provides
you with periodic information about your e-mail message count and
the status of your friends online, and it checks to make sure
that your MSN client software is up to date.
Even if you close MSN Quick View, it will be restarted if you
visit a Web page that requires its functionality. For example,
MSN's On Stage and Communicate home pages use MSN Quick View to
display your new e-mail count. However, most of the pages on MSN
do not require MSN Quick View and only a handful of pages outside
of MSN on the World Wide Web use it. So, if you do choose to close
MSN Quick View, it should only restart if you visit a page like
Communicate.
NOTE: As of 10/13/98 the MSN Communicate home page no longer exists.
REMOVING MSN QUICK VIEW FROM STARTUP:
If you do not want MSN Quick View to start when you turn on
your computer, you can remove it from your Windows StartUp group.
To remove MSN Quick View from your Startup group:
1. Click the Windows Start button, then click Settings, Taskbar.
2. Click the Start Menu Programs tab.
3. Click the Remove button.
4. Click the plus (+) sign next to the Startup folder that appears
in the list.
5. Click MSN Quick View to select it.
6. Click the Remove button. MSN Quick View will no longer start up
with Windows.
Please note that MSN Quick View will still automatically start when
you connect to MSN or when you connect via a LAN or a proprietary dialer.
MSN Quick View will also start up whenever you visit a page that uses
Quick View's services, such as MSN's Communicate home page.
NOTE: As of 10/13/98 the MSN Communicate home page no longer exists.
MSN QUICK VIEW BEHAVIOR WHEN USING A LAN TO CONNECT TO MSN:
If you connect to MSN using a LAN, MSN Quick View will be unable
to tell when you are done using MSN. If you want to disconnect
from MSN, you will need to select that option from the MSN Quick
View menu. Otherwise, MSN Quick View will restart anytime you
visit a page that uses MSN Quick View's services.
MSN QUICK VIEW BEHAVIOR WHEN CONNECTING WITH DIAL UP
NETWORKING OR PROPRIETARY DIALER:
The MSN dialer starts MSN Quick View once a successful
connection has been made, and it turns it off once the modem
disconnects. While MSN Quick View is running, it will provide
intermittent notice of e-mail and friends online status, and it
will keep track of how long you have been connected.
If you use a proprietary dialer (like AOL), or you start your
connection by clicking on a Dial-Up Networking icon, then MSN
Quick View will only start when you visit a page that uses MSN
Quick View's services. You'll then need to manually disconnect
MSN Quick View from MSN by clicking the Disconnect from MSN option
on MSN Quick View's menu.
7. Internet Mail & News - Changes for Current MSN Members (1.x-2.0)
===================================================================
As part of MSN 2.5, we're deploying a whole new Internet e-mail
system. This system includes a new e-mail program called
Microsoft Internet Mail. Compared to before, you'll find
that Microsoft Internet Mail is:
* Faster
* Easier to use
* Requires less memory
* Supports Internet-standard protocols (POP3/SMTP/LDAP), and
* Supports MIME-encoded attachments.
Since Internet Mail replaces your previous MSN e-mail program
(Microsoft Exchange or 'the Inbox'), you will no longer be able
to use Exchange to access your e-mail.
But this doesn't mean that your e-mail address has also changed.
You will still use the same MSN e-mail address you always
have--you'll just be using it with a new and improved e-mail
application.
Here's some more background information on how this works:
During MSN 2.5 Setup, we'll install and configure your new
e-mail program for you. (If you already have IE 4.0, we'll
simply configure Microsoft Outlook Express.)
Because of this switchover to the new mail system,
you may notice that our new mail servers will address your
mail a little differently than you've seen before. The mail
sent from your account will show up as:
Your_MSN_Login_ID@email.msn.com
As you can see, "email" has been added after your ID. Again,
this does not affect normal usage of your address--this is simply
a mechanism used on the server-side to ensure higher levels of
e-mail performance. So, if your MSN Login ID is Bob, then all
messages you send will contain Bob@email.msn.com as the Sender
e-mail address. But all messages sent to either Bob@msn.com or
Bob@email.msn.com will arrive at your new e-mail program.
If you have MSN installed on another machine and you want to be
able to access your MSN e-mail on that computer, you'll have
to install MSN 2.5 there as well.
Please refer to the "Frequently Asked Questions" link on the
Communicate site if you have any further questions related to
your new Internet Mail account. You'll find a lot of great
information under "Setting up E-mail" and "Using E-mail."
8. Connection Problems
=======================
COMPUSERVE USERS WHO INSTALL MSN 2.5:
WinCim 2.0 or later should work fine after installing the MSN 2.5.
If there are any problems getting connected to CompuServe or
using CompuServe to access the Internet, check the
"Connection Configuration of MSN" section for instructions on
how to manually configure your Internet connection.
AOL USERS WHO INSTALL MSN 2.5:
AOL should work fine after installing the MSN 2.5. AOL now has
an Internet Explorer compatible dialer that you should upgrade
to in order to make it easier to control your connection behavior
with MSN and AOL installed on the same computer. If there are
any problems getting connected to AOL or using AOL to access
the Internet, check the "Connection Configuration of MSN"
section for instructions on how to manually configure your
Internet connection.
AT&T WORLDNET USERS WHO INSTALL MSN 2.5:
AT&T Worldnet should work fine after installing the MSN
2.5. If there are any problems getting connected to AT&T
Worldnet or using AT&T Worldnet to access the Internet
check the "Connection Configuration of MSN" section for
instructions on how to manually configure your Internet
connection. If you are unable to fix the problem manually,
then you should re-install AT&T Worldnet to reset your
connection configuration.
PRODIGY USERS WHO INSTALL MSN 2.5:
Users of Prodigy may find that the Prodigy Internet browser
does not work after installing the MSN 2.5. This is because
MSN 2.5 installs the latest version
of Internet Explorer (3.02), which includes new security
features that conflict with the Prodigy browser. You will
need to uninstall Internet Explorer 3.02 from your machine
and then reinstall Internet Explorer 3.01 from the
Internet. This will allow both the MSN 2.5 and Prodigy
to be used on the same PC.
CONNECTION CONFIGURATION OF MSN:
[NOTE: This section is for IE 3.0 users, see below for IE 4.0]
To reconfigure any of the connection settings in the following
chart, first:
1. Click the Windows Start button, then click Settings, Control Panel.
2. Double-click the "Internet" icon.
3. Click the Connection Tab.
DESIRED CONNECTION SETTINGS IN INTERNET PROPERTIES
CONFIGURATION CONNECTION TAB
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dial Up Using MSN In the Dialing section, check the
"Connect to the Internet as needed"
box. Make sure the list box in the
Dialing section lists "MSN."
Dial Up Using In the Dialing section, check the "Connect
Another RAS service to the Internet as needed" box.
(eg. MCI, AT&T) Click the list box and select the service
you want to use. (If the service you use
is not listed, see the next topic about
Proprietary ISPs.)
Dial Up Using In the Dialing section, uncheck
Proprietary ISP the "Connect to the Internet
(e.g., AOL, Netscape) as needed" box. In the Proxy Server
section, uncheck the "Connect
through proxy" box.
Direct Connection In the Dialing section, uncheck
to the Internet the "Connect to the Internet
as needed" box. In the Proxy Server
section, uncheck the "Connect
through proxy" box.
Remote Winsock In the Dialing section, uncheck
LAN Connection the "Connect to the Internet
as needed" box. In the Proxy Server
section, uncheck the "Connect
through proxy" box.
LAN Proxy Connection You can configure IE or MSN to
(cannot access MSN use LAN Proxy by checking the
via proxy until "Connect through proxy" box in
October 1, 1997) the Proxy Server section.
[This section is for IE 4.0 users, see above for IE 3.0]
To reconfigure any of the connectin settings in the following chart, first:
1. Click the Windows Start button, then click Settings, Control Panel.
2. Double-click the "Internet" icon.
3. Click the Connection Tab.
DESIRED CONNECTION SETTINGS IN INTERNET PROPERTIES
CONFIGURATION CONNECTION TAB
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dial Up Using MSN In the Connection section, check the
"Connect to the Internet using a modem"
option. Click the Settings
button and make sure that "MSN" is the
highlighted connection. Make sure that
"Connect using a proxy server" is
unchecked.
Dial Up Using In the Connection section, check the
other RAS Service "Connect to the Internet using a modem" option.
(eg. MCI, AT&T) Click the Settings button. Select the service
you want to use. (If the service you use
is not listed, see the next topic about
proprietary ISPs.) Make sure that
"Connect using a proxy server" is
unchecked.
Dial Up Using In the Connection section, check the
Proprietary ISP "Connect to the Internet using a modem" option.
(e.g., AOL, Netscape) Click the Settings button. If your service does
not
appear in the drop-down list, then click
the Add button and follow the steps to
create a connection for your service.
Make sure that "Connect using a proxy
server" is unchecked.
Direct Connection In the Connection section, check the
to the Internet or, "Access the Internet via a Local Area
Remote Winsock Proxy Network" option and make sure that
Connection via LAN "Connect using a proxy server" is
unchecked.
LAN Proxy Connection You can configure IE or MSN to
(cannot access use LAN Proxy by checking the
MSN via proxy until "Connect through proxy" box in
October 1, 1997) the Proxy Server section.
MODEM ACCESS WITH WINSOCK PROXY (WSP):
If you have Remote Winsock Proxy installed on your computer
and would like to access MSN 2.5 with a modem,
you will need to turn off Remote Winsock Access.
To turn off Remote Winsock Access:
1. Click the Windows Start button, then click Settings, Control Panel.
2. Double-click the "WSP Client" icon.
3. Uncheck the "Enable WinSock Proxy Client."
Additionally, you will need to uncheck the Proxy server in your Internet
Explorer Connection Properties, as described above.
WHICH CONNECTION CHOICE TO SELECT:
This 2.5 version of MSN ships with a new dial-up
connection manager that replaces the dial-up manager from
previous versions of MSN. The new dial-up connection
manager creates an entry in your Dial-up Networking folder
called "MSN" but does not delete your old entries, "The
Microsoft Network" and "The Microsoft Network (backup)."
Either of these old entries will still work with the new MSN
dial-up connection manager, but they will disable the autodial
support for IE and Mail. So when you access dial-up networking
within either Outlook Express Mail, Exchange Mail, or Chat,
you will be presented with all three choices for connection
to MSN. You should select the connection entry "MSN" for
all dial-up access to MSN.
9. Removing MSN Files and Shortcuts
====================================
For complete details on removing the MSN 2.5 files, see the
Uninstal.txt file.
Additional query words: msnet msnetwork microsoft-net m.s.n.
======================================================================
Keywords : kbreadme kbmsn
Technology : kbMSNSearch kbMSN250
Version : WINDOWS:2.5
Issue type : kbinfo
=============================================================================
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