Re: [debian-users] minicom or ISP? - No urgency - answer if you have time.
On Friday 16 November 2007, Ted Hilts - Thunderbird Acct. wrote:
> This question is informational and there is no urgency.
I'm not going to cover what has the first response has said, but I have
a bit I can add:
> When dialing up my ISP in an interactive mode providing user name and
> password I get a third prompt with the prompt message "AiiNET". So
> now I get 3 prompts: "user name", "password", and "AiiNET" where
> before I just got the 2 prompts "user name" and "password". The ISP
> would not help saying that they don't support Linux.
Do NOT EVER tell your ISP you're using Linux. Find whatever way you can
avoid saying that. Tell them you're using an old DOS program or
something. You could say you're using it as a requirement for your
job. Yes, it's a lie, and I don't advocate that, but never tell any
ISP you're using Linux. That's their immediate excuse to not help you
and for everything to be your fault.
> ...Has anyone
> else run into this situation where the "AiiNET" prompt occurs during
> manual dial up? In the following paragraph I provide more detail.
Have you tried just asking them what to type in response to this prompt?
Don't specify an OS or anything else. Again, you're just using a DOS
prompt.
If that doesn't work, do you have any way of connecting with a Windows
system and monitoring your transmission? Perhaps using something like
Ethereal? (Does Ethereal watch dial up? Don't remember.) That might
let you intercept what their software uses as a response.
> I use a package called "minicom" on a Linux machine running Slackware
> which is my lan gateway machine to the Internet via dial up to my
> ISP. I don't think "minicom" is a debian package (but it may be by
> some other name)..
Minicom is one of the best term programs out there. I used it a lot in
testing and developing the software I use for the business I run. It
is a Debian package and is a package in most distros. This is not a
Minicom question. It's a "What response to I send to the AiiNet
prompt?" question.
Have you tried just hitting "enter" and seeing what happens? What else
do you use for connecting? Do you use a program like KPPP without any
problem? If so, can you monitor what goes through the device and see
what you get?
While Minicom is a great program, remember that dial up ISPs don't
expect a text terminal. They expect a program that responds to their
prompts, then establishes a PPP or TCP/IP connection (it's been so long
I don't remember what they use!), so even if you respond to this
prompt, you probably won't get anything useful to Minicom.
Hal
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