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  • August 30, 2004 at 7:32 pm #2289567

    Using AOL ISP through Router

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    by computer_excel · about 19 years, 7 months ago

    My client have AOL as ISP and have 1 desktop and 1 laptop together through Linksys Wireless Router, WRT54G, with 4 Ethernet ports and DSL/Cable. The router is setup as PPOE using AOL username and password. Status on the router shows CONNECTED. However both desktop and laptop cannot surf on any website using Internet Explorer or Mozilla FireFox. If I use AOL software through LAN/TCP/IP, then I am able to surf at any website on either laptop or desktop, but not both at the same time because of same username is logged in AOL software. How can I get both laptop and desktop to be surf at the same time?

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    • August 30, 2004 at 8:00 pm #2716666

      Reply To: Using AOL ISP through Router

      by lmon · about 19 years, 7 months ago

      In reply to Using AOL ISP through Router

      Connect one through aol. Then try connecting the other one through IE make sure the LAN settings are automaitcally detect settings on the one using IE.

      Tools\internet option\connections\lan settings

      If that does not work contact aol they have a have special to way to setup the aol account and then setup the router.

    • August 31, 2004 at 10:43 am #2716532

      Reply To: Using AOL ISP through Router

      by mikex · about 19 years, 7 months ago

      In reply to Using AOL ISP through Router

      Using AOL ISP through Router … is a hard thing to do… So switch to a Verizon DSL 29$ Month and no troubles…

    • August 31, 2004 at 12:05 pm #2716510

      Reply To: Using AOL ISP through Router

      by sgt_shultz · about 19 years, 7 months ago

      In reply to Using AOL ISP through Router

      you have my sympathy. you are only just beginning to see the problems caused by having aol as only ‘isp’ in a corporate environment. clients never want to let go of aol but i try like mad to get them to get additional normal truly ‘always on’ dsl account. as you can see, the weird broadband but ‘dial up’ interface will force users to first connect via aol browser, then minimise that, then use browser of choice or internet application of choice. aol is, oddly, not always on. still dial up. yuk. i believe msn same nightmare. aol and msn are for home users. not businesses. if they are looking to decrease tco of network, this is step in wrong direction.
      applications like LiveUpdate that expect always on broadband connection will need to be coddled by looking to see if application can be made aol-friendly or just plain won’t work right (ie, automatically).

      • August 31, 2004 at 12:05 pm #2716509

        Reply To: Using AOL ISP through Router

        by sgt_shultz · about 19 years, 7 months ago

        In reply to Reply To: Using AOL ISP through Router

        to try to answer your questions
        1. you can’t be on with same username (screenname)in 2 places at same time, period. aol does not allow it. they want you to authenticate in with their system and won’t allow same user simultaneously on in more than one locations. aol will give you another screen name for free, do that if you need to have both on at same time. sounds good for corp environment, yes? get bunch of screen names…people will be bumping each other off left and right. but they seem to put up with it…sigh.
        sounds like you have conquered first hurdle of just getting connection shared. you are able to connect from laptop and desktop without moving wires, yes? congratulations, that part was not at all guaranteed but looks like you got it working. just in case not: how to get internet access (not just aol mail) on both machines, answer is: call aol for help. not every router will work. you will be best served if you buy router from them imho. you say: you looked into this and bought router based on website info that it said it would work with aol? and now can’t get it to work? you’ve updated bios on device and everything? get on phone with tech support for router and you may learn sorry truth: router might or might not work depending on local isp that aol is piggybacking on. be sure to charge customer for time on phone (probably considerable)or you will shoot self in foot by not demonstrating true costs of aol to customer.

      • August 31, 2004 at 12:05 pm #2716508

        Reply To: Using AOL ISP through Router

        by sgt_shultz · about 19 years, 7 months ago

        In reply to Reply To: Using AOL ISP through Router

        ahem.
        however, if you think (or know) it is *not* router, another thing to know is that you have to have ‘home network’ set for aol login location connection type and script to use browsers other than aol browser. btw, what version of aol? not all will work. use latest greatest. 9.0 broadband i think. get at post office. anyhow, if your symptoms are this: you can surf thru aol browser but not netscape or plain internet explorer, then you have this ‘home network’ problem. you need to set both settings in location settings on each machine to ‘home network’. if you don’t see home network in your list of choices in location-expert edit, then you must first go online using aol browser and type keyword ‘go home network’. (really. i am not making this up) seemingly nothing will happen but you will (should) then get ‘home network’ placed in your location and connection script options list. configure it, reconnect with aol, minimize aol and surf with netscape, run liveupdate, windowsupdate or whatever.
        google this: ‘no browse internet explorer aol’ to see more info on this.
        i repeat: this is just the beginning of expensive headache of using aol in company environment. try to get them to spend another $30 month for additional non-aol account to use for automatic updates of virus defs and windows and office. warn them stuff needs to be aol friendly to work right and that most stuff isn’t and will cost to find out what is and figure out poor workarounds for what isn’t. they are losing 95% of benefit of broadband using aol imho. your bill alone to fix this should convince them imho. $30×12 vs what you charge now and again in future when server attacked due to outdated virus defs and windows updates because current office manager digs situation and updates defs manually but next person in job hasn’t clue and nobody knows defs are going south until crisis.

      • September 27, 2005 at 11:35 pm #3062840

        Reply To: Using AOL ISP through Router

        by computer_excel · about 18 years, 6 months ago

        In reply to Reply To: Using AOL ISP through Router

        Poster rated this answer.

    • September 3, 2004 at 1:36 pm #2717036

      Reply To: Using AOL ISP through Router

      by screenname_203 · about 19 years, 7 months ago

      In reply to Using AOL ISP through Router

      Setup a DMZ on your router or find the ports that AOL uses and forward them to the DMZ

    • September 20, 2004 at 8:49 am #2708829

      Reply To: Using AOL ISP through Router

      by edlockett · about 19 years, 7 months ago

      In reply to Using AOL ISP through Router

      I think the problem you are experiencing is due to MAC filtering.
      Just to get it straight, you want to use the AOL account to connect your router to the internet.
      AOL will have restricted your access to only the MAC address of the modem that they supplied. Therefore you will need to use the MAC address spoofing feature on your router. Set the spoofed MAC address to be the same as the modem that AOL supplied.

    • September 27, 2005 at 11:35 pm #3062836

      Reply To: Using AOL ISP through Router

      by computer_excel · about 18 years, 6 months ago

      In reply to Using AOL ISP through Router

      This question was closed by the author

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