FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) AND ANSWERS

Current questions being asked (click the question for the answer): Who do I contact if I want to change information about my account? Who do I contact for technical support? Who do I contact when I have questions about my bill? How do I set up my personal web site space? Why am I having trouble logging in? Why is it taking CPU-NET so long to authenticate my username or password? What is causing my computer to disconnect from the Internet? Where can I find information on ISDN? How can I improve my computer's Internet connection speed? Why is my connection slower at some times and faster at others? Who do I contact if I want to change information about my account? Please send an email to sales@cpu-net.com with the information you would like to update your account with. Email Support Hours: Monday-Friday (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) E-mail: sales@cpu-net.com Back to the questions Who do I contact for technical support? Technical support is provided by CPU-NET to customers who are having trouble getting connected or need assistance with initial setup. Email troubles will also be answered live.  Phone support is provided at no charge as follows: Support hours:  24 Hours a Day 7 Days a Week! Technical Support:  1-800-925-6576 Back to the questions   Who do I contact when I have questions about my bill? Email: sales@cpu-net.com Billing Support: 1-866-541-4278                                Back to the questions   How do I set up my personal web site space? You need to be a customer already, go to the members area or  clicking here: Your personal web site location is: http://www.cpu-net.com/host/username Back to the questions   Why am I having trouble logging in? There are several possible reasons you may not be able to successfully log in to our system: 1) If your system has not been rebooted your computer for a while you may be prevented from logging on. This occurs because your system?s resources have been depleted from opening and closing programs. Simply shut down your system and turn your computer off and back on. 2) Sometimes, people mistakenly type their username or password incorrectly. CPU-NET standard requires passwords be lowercase. Make sure you don't have your Caps Lock key depressed.  We require all usernames to have the suffix "vod" in front of every username.  Make sure your username is correct and includes the correct prefix "@networkname.net" at the end. example: username@cpu-net.net 3) Your connection may be affected if your hard drive is full. Check your available space. If you are running low on space (as a general rule, you should have about 30% of your hard drive space free), you can either delete unnecessary files or install a bigger or additional hard drive. 4) Dialup accounts are limited to one session at a time. Someone may already be connected with the dial up account you are trying to use. Call customer service to purchase multiple dial up accounts if you need to have more than one simultaneous connection. 5) Make sure your account is not past due; although we attempt to contact overdue accounts before disabling your username, we sometimes are unable to provide this courtesy. We do perform periodic maintenance and upgrades to our system which can cause services to be temporarily unavailable to you. Normally, we will contact you via email at least 24 hours before a scheduled maintenance or upgrade (we do use your vcmails email account, so please check this daily to ensure you do not miss our notices). On rare occasions, we may be having problems with our equipment. We do monitor our system and will address any unscheduled system outages as quickly as possible. Back to the questions   Why is it taking CPU-NET so long to authenticate my username or password? The most common reason for a delay in authentication is an incorrect setting in your dial-up properties. Go to My Computer, then choose Dial-Up Networking. Right-click on the 'CPU-NET' icon and choose Properties from the menu. Select the Server Types tab and make sure that the Log on to network checkbox is not selected. If it is selected, de-select it, save your changes, and this should solve the delay. Back to the questions What is causing my computer to disconnect from the Internet? If you experience constant/continual disconnects, the following could be the cause/solution: 1) Your browser may need updated or reloaded. 2) Disconnects can be a sign of ?noise? on your telephone line. If you ?hear? static on your phone lines, contact your local telephone company. 3) Your modem or modem drivers may be faulty. Updating your modem driver may help. Other times, you will need to upgrade/replace your modem. 4) You might need to reload your operating system (Windows 95/98/ME, etc). Sometimes certain files can become corrupted if your computer has locked up or been shutdown improperly. 5) If you are ?knocked off? a particular web site, yet remain connected to the internet, there may be a problem with the site you are visiting. Try accessing this site later, or email the webmaster of the site for further information. 6) CPU-NET does end connections after 6 hours if you have not had any activity on your computer. This allows us to make sure our customers do not experience busy signals due to other customers forgetting to disconnect their computer when they have completed their session.  (Downloading files is not considered 'activity';  there must be mouse or keyboard movement). Back to the questions   How can I improve my computer's Internet connection speed? If you are a new user, you need to address four things to ensure your computer is ready to connect at the best possible speed: 1) Your computer?s processing speed. Although you don?t need the latest, fastest computer to connect, a fast computer will perform better than a slow computer. 2) The amount of RAM you have in your computer. Increase your ram to at least 64 or 128K for improved performance. (More RAM = Better Performance). 3) The speed and type of modem you are using. A 56K v.90 modem is the fastest speed for dialup connection with CPU-NET; different brands of modems get different performance (we recommend U.S. Robotics / 3Com for consistently good performance). 4) The quality of the telephone line service you have at your location. If you have poor voice phone service or wiring in your home, your internet performance will be affected. Back to the questions   Why is my connection slower at some times and faster at others? If your internet performance has recently slowed down, or your speed/performance varies from time to time, you should consider: 1) The time of day you are connected?the more people using the internet, the slower your speed will be. 2) Your hard disk is full or needs defragmented. 3) You loaded/downloaded a program which may be conflicting with your internet connection. Remove suspected program or contact the provider for further instructions. If your internet demands have outgrown your internet connection speed, you can upgrade to ISDN which delivers reliable, high-speed internet access. CPU-NET provides ISDN services in selected areas. Call us to find out if ISDN is available in your area.