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Should I upgrade to a 32-bit version of Netscape Navigator?
Netscape Navigator for Microsoft Windows is available in ‘16-bit’ and ‘32-bit’ versions, which differ predominantly in the way they handle memory.
If you use 16-bit TCP/IP software (such as older versions of ‘Trumpet Winsock’), then you cannot use the 32-bit version of Netscape Navigator or your system will crash. Windows 95 and NT come with 32-bit TCP/IP software built-in, and there is also a new 32-bit version of Trumpet Winsock, but it is only recommended for advanced users. With Windows 95 and NT, you can use either 16 or 32-bit Navigator. The 32-bit version offers some minor advantages, and is slightly faster.
Windows 3.1 and 3.11 are 16-bit operating systems and you can only use 16-bit Navigator with them. Microsoft supplies a free software patch called ‘Win32s’ which adds basic 32-bit functionality to Windows 3.1 and 3.11, but 32-bit Navigator makes calls to some system functions not included in Win32s and will not work.
Installing a new version of Netscape
Download the compressed file and store it in an empty directory. Double-click on the file in File Manager (Windows 3.x) or Windows Explorer (Windows 95). Your screen may go black or a DOS window will open and you will see a message that files are being expanded. After a minute or so, your screen will go back to File Manager or close the DOS window and return to Windows Explorer. Select Window>Refresh (Windows 3.x) or View>Refresh (Windows 95) and you will see the installation files for Netscape have been automatically expanded into the directory you selected. Double-click on SETUP.EXE to install the program, accepting defaults whenever a choice is offered. If necessary, use an uninstall program, rather than simple file deletion, to get rid of a previous copy of the browser.
My new 16-bit version of Navigator does not work with Windows 3.1
As a rule, the 16-bit Navigator works with vanilla Windows and when Win32s is installed, but if you have an old version of Win32s (anything lower than version 1.20) installed, it will not be compatible with the latest versions of 16-bit Navigator. You can check the version by looking in the ‘WIN32S.INI’ file in your ‘WINDOWS\SYSTEM’ directory, or by selecting ‘WIN32S16.DLL’ in the File Manager and selecting ‘Properties’ from the File menu. If necessary. you can upgrade Win32s by downloading the latest version from Microsoft's web server:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/PW1118.EXE
or by contacting Microsoft Technical Support, or you can disable an old version of Win32s by adding a semicolon to the beginning of the line:
‘DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WIN32S\W32S.386’
in the ‘WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI’ file, then restarting Windows. This means that applications requiring Win32s will not work, until you remove the semicolon and restart Windows again.
Images in my browser seem to have the wrong colours
Colour rendering depends on a number of factors – display set-up, image file format, and browser among them, Your display set-up is often related to the amount of video memory on your computer. Older machines may be set up to reproduce a maximum of 16 colours (4 bits per colour), which uses significantly less memory than the best available colour rendering using 16.7 million colours (24 bits per colour). With limited video memory there is a trade-off between video resolution and the number of colours, or the palette. Resolution is usually one of the following: 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768 and 1280x1024 pixels – and the higher it is the fewer colours may be available. When a palette doesn’t match the colours in an image, errors or distortions may be introduced by software attempting to make ‘best-fit’ matches. Very noticeable errors result from a small palette (16 colours, say) attempting to handle images with more colours. Images in browsers are usually in GIF or JPG format. GIFs can contain up to 256 colours, JPGs up to 16.7 million. Browsers themselves also have an effect. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, for example, uses the Windows palette, while Netscape Navigator uses its own palette of 216 colours (6x6x6). This means, for example, that some colours will reproduce differently in IE and Navigator, and that JPGs will always appear less well-rendered in Navigator.
I can’t access a URL
URLs are sometimes complicated and are often misreported. Look at the section on searching the web below for some hints on correcting URLs. More often, the problem is the network, which – for various reasons – does not always respond. Before doing anything else, hit the stop button in your browser and try loading the page you are attempting to access again. Wait a few minutes
If these approaches do not work, try to access a known good site to see if your computer and network connection are working. If you keep receiving the same error when trying to access several different sites, the problem may be with your hardware or software. Check your plugs and wiring. If thy’re okay, try logging off and relaunching your network software and your browser. It may help to switch your modem on and off.
What do messages reporting ‘unknown file type’, ‘no viewer configured for file type’, or ‘unable to launch external viewer’ mean?
Browsers recognise a number of file types automatically (for example, those with file extensions HTM, HTML, JPG, GIF, WAV and AU). There are many more types of file which the programs do not recognise, and you are most likely to receive a message like this when trying to access an image or sound file, or a file in graphical formats like Adobe Acrobat’s PDF or Postscript. Navigator uses ‘plug-in’ programs to process these and you can install such plug-ins from the Options>General Preferences>Helpers screen in Navigator itself. Internet Explorer recognises file extensions registered in Windows. These can be changed or added to from the View>Options>Programs>File Types screen in IE.
If you want to download the file, click on ‘Save to Disk’ in the dialogue and select the target directory. You can then minimise the Saving Location window and carry on browsing.
What does ‘The server does not have a DNS entry’ mean?
In Navigator, this means or that the domain name associated with the site (for example, ‘etuco.org.be’) cannot be found or resolved into a numerical Internet address. This could be for a number of reasons:
Try reaching another remote site. If this works, your TCP/IP stack is probably functioning. If it doesn’t, try logging-off, and relaunching your programs. It may help to switch your modem on and off. If you are accessing the Internet on a LAN, check with the network administrator that you have the appropriate permissions. Use Ping (a small program for checking TCP/IP networks) to find out if the site exists.
What do the following messages mean: ‘Unable to open .… The required Internet protocol is not installed, or the address may be invalid’, ‘The Internet site was not found. Please make sure the address is correct. Could not open …’, ‘Internet Explorer cannot open the Internet site …. The system cannot find the file/path specified’?
These are all more-or-less equivalent to a Navigator DNS error (see above) and require the same treatment.
I get no response when trying to access a site
This is very common and is usually because the server you are accessing is too busy or is ‘down’. However, you should not assume an error simply because a server takes some time to respond. Slow response is inevitable at busy times of the day (typically, when it’s day time in the US). You may try interrupting your search (use the ‘Stop’ button on your browser) and then reloading the query. If you get an error message saying that you have timed out or the server is busy, or there is no response after several minutes, you can try again after a short while, or wait until a less busy time of day. If the tool has mirror sites, try them – particularly if they are in other parts of the world. In Windows 95, Dial-Up Networking can hang up for no apparent reason. It is sometimes worth logging-off and logging-on again in order to clear this error. Netscape Navigator also produces occasional error conditions in Windows 3.1, 3.11 and 95. Quitting and reloading Navigator should clear this.
What does ‘Error 404, Page/File not found’ mean?
This error message means that the server you are accessing is unable to find the page you have specified. It could mean that the page itself no longer exists, or has been moved to another site with a different URL. Sometimes it simply means you have the wrong URL or have mistyped it. It could mean that your browser’s memory or disk caches are set too low.
You can increase memory and disk cache sizes in Netscape Navigator from the Options>Network Preferences>Cache screen. In Internet Explorer, the disk cache is set from the View>Options>Advanced>Settings screen. Don’t set these too high or that will cause other problems. You should also check the URL to ensure that it contains no obvious mistakes (too many forward slashes, for example), that it includes only acceptable non-alphanumeric characters, and that it looks generally okay. Check the case of the characters in the URL. These apply even when the URL has been provided by a search tool (see below). URLs are not necessarily checked by search tools. A common mistake is to use the wrong case for the file name part of a URL, when entering the URL or registering a site, or to confuse the file extensions ‘.html’ with ‘.htm’. If the URL has more than one directory level, move up the tree by removing the last level and trying again. By removing the file name you may be able to load a default page at the target site from where you can find the file you require. Otherwise, carry on up the directory tree until you are at the top level. If that doesn’t work, the chances are that the site no longer exists.
If the site has moved, you may get a message telling you this, and you may even be automatically diverted to the new site.
What does ‘Unable to open ... The site reports that the item you requested could not be found’ mean?
In Internet Explorer, this message indicates that a site can be found but that a named file at that site cannot be found. It is roughly equivalent to a 404 error (see above). It probably means that the file has been moved or renamed, or you have entered the name incorrectly. See above for actions.
What does ‘Permission denied’ or ‘404 Access Denied’ mean?
Some sites or pages are password protected or otherwise restricted. They may nevertheless appear in search results. Sometimes access is restricted only for certain periods, in which case you should try again at another time. Some password protected sites belong to subscription services. By following a hypertext link or moving up the URL’s directory tree, it is often possible to access a home page from the restricted page from where you can subscribe. If you believe you have been mistakenly restricted from accessing a page or site, you could try e-mailing the web site administrator or web master.
What does ‘Cannot open ... You do not have permission to open this item’ mean?
This message is returned by Internet Explorer when access is restricted or sometimes when a site has moved. See above for actions.
What does ‘503 Service unavailable’ mean?
This usually indicates a network error. Wait some time –
a few minutes to a few hours - and try again.
What does ‘Socket is not connected’ mean?
This usually indicates a temporary connection problem - the target web site may be off-line, or your TCP/IP connection may not be working. Try two or three normally accessible web sites. If you continue to get the error, try completely disconnecting and reconnecting to your web server.
What should I do if my connection times out?
This is a common problem, often caused by network slowness or lags. Ping the host site to determine if it is accessible from your server. Your connection may also time out simply because you have been busy writing an e-mail while on-line and your system or the remote system is set to go off-line after prolonged inactivity. It makes more sense to read and write e-mail off-line, but if you insist you can adjust the time-out periods. With Internet Explorer, you do this in the View> Options> Connection screen. In Windows 95, you can also set a time limit from the Control Panel> Modems> General> Properties> Connection screen. If you’re using Trumpet Winsock, the time-out setting is found in the Dialler> Options screen. You cannot adjust your service provider’s time-out setting.
I can't use Netscape to view a local file
MOZOCK.DLL not loaded or used. Check the Netscape directory to make sure that MOZOCK.DLL is available. If not, try downloading a newer version or reinstalling Netscape.
What does ‘Transfer interrupted’ mean?
This happens if you click ‘Stop’ or hit the Escape key before a page has finished loading. It may indicate an unusually slow connection. If it occurs often enough, open another browser window (File>New Window from IE or File>New Browser from Navigator) to go to another site or continue surfing. Go back to the old window and exit from it after a minute or two.
What does ‘Connection reset by peer’ mean?
This means the remote computer you are connected to has reset – or dropped - your connection. Usually clicking ‘Reload’ (Navigator) or ‘Refresh’ (IE) will load the page normally.
What does ‘System call connect failed: connection refused’ mean?
This means that your browser could find but not connect to the remote host. It may occur because the host is down or overloaded. Use Ping to see if the host is live. If it is, try again later.
I can't read newsgroups or mail
This means that the network connection information in the browser set-up is incorrect, or there is a problem with your provider's news or mail server. Check to make sure that the required information in Options> Mail and News Preferences> Servers (Navigator) or View> Options> Programs (IE) is present and correct. If the problem persists, contact your provider. (See E-mail Tips above for more information).
I keep getting general protection faults in Netscape
This will happen in Windows 3.x implementations and results from a configuration problem. Edit the ‘Network’ section of the NETSCAPE.INI file in the Netscape or Windows directory, to ensure that the line ‘Use Asynch DNS = NO’ appear. Also set ‘Max Connections’ to ‘1’, which means you will not be able to open two or more simultaneous browser windows. If this fault happens in e-mail, delete the INBOX and INBOX.SMN files in the mail directory (you may want to copy the INBOX contents to another file beforehand).
FTP transfers hang or the connection drops
This indicates a problem with your TCP/IP software configuration. If you are using Trumpet Winsock under Windows 3.x, change the MTU value in the File> Setup window from 1500 to 1006. This can be changed in the Windows 95 dialer, but it involves editing the Registry and the simplest fix may be to reboot. For those brave enough (and it is not recommended) here are the instructions:
Note: This will only work if you are using PPP (and not SLIP) with Dial-Up Networking. Using this method with SLIP will set the MTU to 58, regardless of your MaxMTU setting.
(thanks to John Foderaro)
How can I speed-up Windows 95 Dial-Up Networking?
With Windows 95, a connection is established long before Dial-Up Networking finishes connection. To speed it up, follow these instructions:
(Thanks to Jerry Quimby and Benny Schlesinger)
I get an ‘Error 57’ message when attempting to FTP via a browser
This occurs when an FTP server is very busy. The only thing you can do is try again at a less busy time.
The ‘Reload’ button in Netscape Navigator doesn't properly reload the file
Web authors often notice this when trying to preview alterations in the pages they are working on. The browser seems to reload without responding to changes. This is because Navigator will often reload from the cache unless forced not to. The problem results from the way in which files are time-dated on your system and cached in memory and on disk. Setting ‘Verify Documents’ in Options> Network Preferences> Cache to ‘Every time’ will fix the problem, but will force web pages to download every time you go to them (including when you hit the ‘Back’ button). ‘Once per session’ is the typical setting. You can then force a proper reload by pressing Shift-Ctrl-R or holding down Shift while you click ‘Reload’.
Alternatively, clear both disk and memory caches before reloading (Options> Network Preferences>Cache). This is often useful when trying to clear other errors.
What does ‘Invalid page fault’ mean in Netscape under Windows 95
Invalid page faults will hang Navigator running under Windows 95. They can be caused by low system resources, out of date video drivers, or a corrupt paging file or swapfile. You should close any unnecessary applications, and run Scandisk and Defrag to clear any hard drive errors that may be preventing Windows 95 from correctly using paging or swapfiles. If that doesn’t work, go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/download/krnlupd.exe, download the file and install it to update the Windows 95 Kernel, and obtain and install the latest video drivers from your video card manufacturer.
Why do I get ‘Out of memory’ errors when launching Internet Explorer?
It is possible that virtual memory is disabled. Open Control Panel (Start>Settings>Control Panel). Double-click the System icon. Go to Performance>Virtual Memory and activate the ‘Let Windows manage my virtual memory settings (recommended)’ option. Click ‘OK’.
I can't log on to a named account when FTPing from my browser
You need to use the following URL format to do this:
ftp://yourname:yourpassword@ftp.foobar.com/yourdirectory
What does ‘Unable to read news: MCM.DLL is missing entry point NewsProtocolHandler’ mean?
This error occurs when using Internet Explorer 1.0, which does not allow you to connect to newsgroups outside The Microsoft Network. You need to download another news client, or upgrade to Navigator or a later version of IE.
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