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| Extreme Dialup Frequently Asked Questions |
Extreme Dialup 5 Minute Troubleshooting Guide
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It should take you less than 5 minutes to "troubleshoot" the Extreme Dialup Accelerator. That is, to find out if you are getting
acceleration and if not, why not. Verification occurs in the following order:
- Is the Extreme Dialup Accelerator active?
- Are you getting good acceleration?
- Do diagnostic tests pass?
Is the Extreme Dialup Accelerator installed, active, and enabled on your computer?
If the Accelerator, powered by Propel, is installed and active on your computer a small Propel icon will appear in the Windows taskbar
area (near the system clock). If the Accelerator is active while you are surfing the Internet, the Propel icon will appear as
opposing white arrows flashing over the Propel. Try accessing a Web site. You should see the arrows flashing as Web pages load.
If you are able to surf the Internet but do not see the arrows, there are several possibilities:
- You subscribed, but the Extreme Dialup Accelerator software is not enabled on your computer. A quick way to check this is to click on the blue Propel
icon. In the pop-up menu see if the second-from-the-top menu item is "Subscription Info..." If so, your subscription is active on this
machine. If the menu item is "Subscribe..." it means that your subscription is either not activated or is not active on the machine you are
using.
When you first subscribe, there is a special final step that allows you to enable the Accelerator on any computer you are using.
These instructions apply to you if 1) you never completed the
subscription process, or 2) you want to enable your subscription on a new machine.
- You are past the free trial period and have not yet subscribed to the Accelerator. In such a case most Web sites will not be
accelerated and no acceleration arrows will appear when you surf.
- You are accessing a Web site or other content that the Accelerator does not speed up. If you are not sure what content can be
accelerated, Click Here for details on what the Extreme Dialup Accelerator does and does not accelerate.
- The Extreme Dialup Accelerator is currently disabled on your computer. If you see red lines around and over the blue Propel icon, it means
that the Extreme Dialup Accelerator is disabled. For instructions on how to enable and disable the Extreme Dialup Accelerator Click Here.
- The Extreme Dialup Accelerator or other software on your system may require special configuration. To review the list of currently incompatible
software or software that may require special handling, Click Here.
What types of Web content does this service accelerate?
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It accelerates Web page text (including plain text, HTML, markup and javascript) and the most common forms of graphics: Gif, animated
Gif, and JPEG images and Flash. It does not accelerate other forms of Internet content, including: streaming media, such as video and
audio streams; secure pages, such as those used for online banking and credit card forms; file downloads, including MP3 files and executable
programs.
Are ad blockers, popup stoppers, personal firewalls and other utilities compatible with the Extreme Dialup Accelerator?
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The Extreme Dialup Accelerator is compatible with most ad blockers, popup stoppers, personal firewalls, and other utilities. In some cases, minor
configuration either of the Extreme Dialup Accelerator or other products is needed. In other cases, it is not compatible.
What's the best way to get technical support?
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The most effective way to obtain technical or customer support is to first review the on-line 5-minute Troubleshooting Guide,
which contains numerous suggestions as well as instructions on sending vitally important Extreme Dialup Accelerator diagnostic information.
Click Here to access this guide.
If the Troubleshooting Guide does not answer your questions, the most effective thing to do is to contact your ISP for further information.
How do I uninstall the Extreme Dialup Accelerator?
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IMPORTANT: If you are using Netscape, Mozilla, or Opera with the Extreme Dialup Accelerator, you will need to manually reconfigure the proxy settings for
the respective browser after uninstalling or stopping the Accelerator in order to continue using the Internet. See below for further
details.
Restoring a Browser's Proxy Address and Port Number
If you are using Netscape, Opera, or Mozilla, when you stop or uninstall the Accelerator you will need to reset proxy settings to their
original values (or no values). Until you do this, you will likely not be able to access the Internet.
See steps below for instructions on restoring Netscape's original proxy settings after uninstalling the Accelerator.
These instructions generally apply to Opera and Mozilla.
Click on the Netscape Edit menu. S elect Preferences... Click on the mark next to the Advanced category
or simply double-click on Advanced. Click on Proxies. If there was a proxy address in use prior to installing MegaSPEED Accelerator, [Netscape 4
.7 only: click View... first] enter that address and port number. Otherwise click "Direct Connection to the Internet".
Why can't I open the Extreme Dialup Accelerator installation file after I download it?
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It is possible that the file extension ".exe" was somehow lost from the Accelerator installation file.
You can easily check and, if necessary, remedy this situation. Here's how:
- First, find the installation file you downloaded. Unless you changed the name during the installation process, search for "Propelsetup".
Use the Window's Start menu: Start -> Search -> For Files and Folders...
- When you find the file, select it. The full name of the file should be visible.
- If the ".exe" extension (without quotation marks) is missing, add it. Click on the filename and use your mouse to add the extension ".exe"
- You should be able to double-click on the file right in the Search Results window to start the install.
If the problem persists, please Click Here for technical support information.
How do you quantify the up to 5x faster than dial-up claim
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Web page performance is measured by the amount of time it takes to download an entire Web page into your browser. So, when comparing the
performance improvement delivered by the Extreme Dialup Accelerator with an unaccelerated Internet connection, we configure two identical computers.
Both are connected to the Internet at the same dial-up connection speed and both have the same PC and Internet browser configuration.
Using an automated browsing measurement tool (i.e. a surfing "bot"), both computers visit the same Web pages multiple times. In order to
eliminate variations in download speed caused by various network factors, we take the average times for downloading the same page with and
without the Accelerator and compare the two averages in order to determine the improvement factor for a specific Web page
(example: www.amazon.com). 5X represents the high-end of the frequently measured averaged results.
If you are particularly interested in the topic of timing Web pages, here's a link to a site that provides a stopwatch for timing page loads
and many other interesting Internet timing tools:
http://www.numion.com/Stopwatch/index.html
How does this solution compare to DSL or cable modem?
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The Extreme Dialup Accelerator is an affordable software-only solution designed to significantly enhance Web access over low-speed (less than 200
kbps/second) connections. By contrast, DSL and cable modems provide high-speed Internet connectivity using hardware solutions that work
with special telephone or cable lines.
The price for DSL or cable modem is significantly higher than the Accelerator. In addition to the higher price, many areas simply do not
have DSL or cable Internet service available.
Why am I seeing partial or incomplete page loads with the Extreme Dialup Accelerator?
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We have recently become aware of a problem with incomplete page loads when simultaneously using the Extreme Dialup Accelerator and Zone Alarm Pro,
a product from Zone Labs. This will result in pages only partially loading and then stopping ("timing out").
Propel is currently working with Zone Labs to resolve this problem. In the meantime, if you want to use Zone Alarm Pro and the Extreme Dialup Accelerator
at the same time, the workaround is to go into the Zone Alarm Pro control panel and turn off the ad blocking and cookie control features.
Note that this problem does not apply to the basic Zone Alarm version.
At first I received faster page loads, now they seem slower. Why is this?
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Click Here for Troubleshooting tips.
What are the system requirements for the Extreme Dialup Accelerator?
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System Requirements
Below, please find the suggested and minimum system requirements beyond the basics of an analog modem, a telephone line, and an active
Internet connection.
The Extreme Dialup Accelerator cannot be installed if minimum requirements are not met.
- Internet Explorer 5.0 or later
- AOL 6.0 or later
- Netscape 4.7 or later
- For Netscape 6.0 and above
- MSN Explorer
- Intel-based Pentium PC or the equivalent
Look for "X86-based PC" or the equivalent in the System Summary section.
Operating system:
Windows 98, NT 4.0, 2000, ME, XP Home Edition, XP Professional
Disk space:
At least 25 MB of disk space. (135 MB recommended for optimal performance)
System memory (RAM):
At least 32 MB (64 MB recommended for optimal performance)
Internet connection line speed in Kbps (kilobits/second)
Minimum: 14.4 Kbps
Maximum: 200 Kbps
I travel. Does the Extreme Dialup Accelerator work anywhere I use my PC?
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Yes. If you are accessing the Internet through a dial-up connection in the U.S. and Canada and your system conforms to the Extreme Dialup Accelerator
system requirements you should be able to get an accelerated Internet experience, if you are dialing numbers from the same ISP.
What are the privacy implications of using the Extreme Dialup Accelerator, powered by Propel?
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This FAQ describes the technical privacy risk implications of using Propel Accelerator, and the special steps that Propel Software
Corporation takes to minimize those risks. (Please note: Propel's official Privacy Policy is the definitive representation made by Propel
regarding our handling of personally-identifiable information about customers. The information presented in this document is for
general informational purposes only.)
Personally-identifiable Information on Propel Servers
If you have a high level understanding of how Propel Accelerator works you may be concerned that the Accelerator
could be used to track your browsing activities in a way that could violate your privacy. Propel recognizes that your privacy is very
important, and therefore we have implemented the Propel Acceleration Service so that personally-identifiable information cannot be easily
tracked or easily derived from data within our server infrastructure. When your Accelerator client software connects to our
infrastructure, it identifies itself using a unique client ID. Our infrastructure has a database of client IDs that are authorized to
receive acceleration, but that database does not contain any personally-identifiable information associated with the IDs, such as your name,
address, or email address. Further, we have designed all of our server logging features in such a way that no single log contains a direct
record of the Web sites visited by specific clients. Personally-identifiable information regarding browsing activities is subject to the
Privacy Policy and can be derived from information logged by Propel only by applying special post-processing.
Personally-identifiable Information on Your Computer
The Accelerator client software that resides on your personal computer introduces the same sort of privacy risk as your browser
software does. Your browser stores temporary files on your computer's hard drive. These files are sometimes collectively called your "browser
cache". It is possible for someone with sufficient expertise to use the information in your browser cache to determine what Web sites you
have visited. For this reason, your browser software includes commands that allow you to delete its temporary files. The Accelerator
client software also stores temporary files on your computer's hard drive in the "Extreme Dialup cache". Those files could also be used to determine
what Web pages you have visited, so Extreme Dialup Accelerator includes a command (on the Accelerator menu's Options dialog) so that you can
delete those temporary files at any time.
Client/Server Communication
The Accelerator client software does not transmit any historical record of your browsing activities to our servers other than
non-user-identifiable summary timing and compression information, and diagnostic information. Such information is used solely for overall
system performance monitoring and quality assurance.
How long will it take to download Extreme Dialup Accelerator?
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Depending on the speed of your modem and the processing speed of your computer, downloading will take between 5-10 minutes. For example,
a modem operating at 48kbps (kilobits per second) will download Extreme Dialup Accelerator in about 5 minutes using a recent-vintage computer.
Running the install on your computer takes a minute or less. The optional quick tour takes approximately 2-3 minutes.
How do I see the original graphic quality of specific image or Web page?
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If you are using Internet Explorer, simply move your mouse over an image on a Web page and click the right mouse button. You'll see that
two new options are available:
Refresh Page with Full Quality.
Refresh Picture with Full Quality. When your mouse is over a graphic.
If you select one of these options, Extreme Dialup Accelerator will replace the compressed graphic image with an original quality version. When the
Propel icon arrows stop moving, the new image is in place.
Note: When you first install Extreme Dialup Accelerator, it is necessary to close and then restart IE in order to have the Refresh Page and Refresh
Picture right-click menu options available. These options are not available in Outlook.
These menu options are not available in Netscape, Opera or Mozilla. Please follow these steps.
1. Click on the small blue Propeller icon located near your system clock. Go to Options and adjust the Graphics Acceleration Level to 1
(original quality) and click OK.
2. Hold down the Ctrl key and select R OR Select Reload from the View menu. The compressed graphic image will be replaced with an original
quality version.
3. Repeat step one and adjust the Graphics Acceleration Level back to its setting.
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Last Updated Thursday, November 20 2003 @ 01:38 PM EST|6,923 Hits
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