1. The HWCN modem/router has been pre-configured with your hi-speed service user-id and password. These are different from your standard HWCN user-id and password, but you will not need to know them. They are only used to establish the DSL hi-speed connection. When you connect your modem to your phone line, you will be automatically 'logged in' (connected). DSL hi-speed is intended to be 'always on'. There is no delay waiting to 'connect' when you want the internet.

2. There is a CD in the box with the modem. You do NOT need to 'install' anything from the CD. Just leave it in the box. If you are very technically inclined, feel free to have a look at the manuals on the CD, and see how your modem/router works. But please understand that if you make any changes to your modem, you may accidentally stop your modem from connecting, and then you may need to bring it back into our office to be reprogrammed.

3. DO NOT PUSH THE "RESET" BUTTON (recessed on the back of the modem). If someone asks you to 'reset' your modem, what they want you to do is unplug the power supply and then reconnect it. If you push the 'reset' button you will erase the programming/setup, including your user-id, and you will need to bring the modem into our office to be reprogrammed. Don't worry, the button is recessed and cannot be pressed by accident.

Your DSL modem comes with a set of three in-line telephone line filters (extras available from HWCN). A filter should be plugged into the phone cord for each voice telephone or fax machine that uses the SAME PHONE LINE (same phone number) as your DSL modem. Do NOT use a filter on the modem itself. If you connect the modem and a phone on the same wall jack using a line splitter, be sure to connect the filter ONLY to the phone side of the splitter and NOT to the back of the splitter (where it would filter both sides of the split). If you have multiple phone lines only the phones on the same line as the DSL modem need the filters. In most cases for a home with one phone line, this means having a filter for each phone in your home, regardless of location. The filters stop spurious signals (voltages/static) produced by telephones from interfering with the operation of the DSL modem. They also elimniate the 'hiss' of the DSL modem from being heard during voice telephone calls.

MODEM HARDWARE CONNECTIONS - PLUGGING IT IN:

PLEASE CONNECT YOUR DSL MODEM TO THE PHONE LINE AND LEAVE IT CONNECTED DURING THE INITIAL SETUP PERIOD (5 business days). This will allow the phone company to properly calibrate your DSL service when activating it.

There are three jacks/plugs on the back of the modem (the black box).
Please use the enclosed cables to connect:

The power supply to a standard AC outlet

(if your computer is protected by a surge-protected power bar, please plug the modem into the same power bar).

The WAN jack to your telephone line

(if your surge protector has connections to protect a phone line, please connect the phone line through them, following the surge protector instructions).

The ETHERNET jack to your computer's LAN/network jack.

(This jack is a standard network connection, and may also be connected to a regular LAN jack on a 'hub' or 'switch' if you want to connect a multiple-computer 'network' to the internet).

Your modem has been configured to operate as a GATEWAY ROUTER, which means that for any computer connected to it, the modem appears as an 'open', 'always on' connection to the internet. You do not need to 'dial' or 'login' to use it. The "PPP" light is your assurance that DSL login is being handled properly by the modem. This configuration also offers some minimal 'firewall' style protection - your computer is not directly 'visible' to the internet.

IMPORANT NOTE: You may need to 'restart' (or power off and on) your computer(s) to get them to 'detect' the modem and configure themselves. Or you may need to run a setup 'wizard' in Windows.

CONNECTING MULTIPLE COMPUTERS TO YOUR HWCN HI-SPEED SERVICE

In order to have more than one computer access your DSL service, ALL YOUR COMPUTERS must be connected together by a LOCAL AREA NETWORK (sometimes called a Home or Small Office ethernet). This home network can either be WIRED (with ethernet cables) or WIRELESS (using radio signals).

In either case you will need a piece of equipment called a HUB or SWITCH, to which you will connect all your computers. To connect all these computers to the internet, simply plug the HWCN DSL Modem into one of the regular LAN ports on your hub/switch.

IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING WIRELESS NETWORKS:

Very often the 'hub' of a wireless network is also a ROUTER, with a special jack marked 'internet' or 'WAN' (which you should NOT use). Your HWCN DSL modem is configured as a router, so you do not need *another* router on your home network.

Plug the HWCN DSL modem/router into one of the LAN (ethernet) plugs on the wireless hub/router (NOT the 'internet' or 'wan' plug), and your modem will perform all the 'router' functions. The wireless 'router' will simply act as a wireless HUB/SWITCH.

You *may* need to go into the 'setup' function of your wireless router/hub and DISABLE the 'router' functions and/or 'DHCP' in the wireless hub. You *may* also need to assign a different IP address to the wireless hub. Our modem/router is the 'gateway' for your home network, with IP address 192.168.1.1 - please make sure this is not an address used by your wireless hub/router.

(Note: The "WAN" port on a wireless router is the same size and shape as a regular LAN port, and is intended to connect to a 'dumb' modem that is NOT also a router. The "WAN" port on a DSL modem is for a phone line).

THE LIGHTS ON THE FRONT OF THE MODEM:

When the modem is connected properly, and your computer (or hub) is on, the four green lights on the modem should all be on steadily.

Pwr - power

- lights green when the modem is plugged into AC power.

WAN - phone line

- lights steady green when connected to a phone line with DSL service. If it is blinking, the DSL service is not yet active, or has a problem.

PPP - login

- lights steady green when you are logged in to the DSL service (which should be all the time).

LAN - Local Area Network

- lights green when connected to your computer (or hub) and it is powered on. This light will blink when data is moving between your computer and the internet (or when you first turn your computer on, and it is getting 'network' information from the modem).

The fifth RED light is the 'alarm' light and will only light up if there is an error/problem within the modem. If it lights up, the first thing to try is unplugging the POWER supply from the modem for fifteen seconds, then reconnecting it. If "alarm" repeatedly lights up, try to note any activity that causes the alarm, such as running a particular program on your computer, or connecting a specific computer to your network.

COMPUTER SETUP/CHANGES:

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have a 'firewall' or other 'security' program on your computer it MAY need to be 'reconfigured' to allow internet access via your "Local Area Network" connection, rather than via dial-up. We suggest you temporarily DISABLE the firewall/security program(s) while you are setting up your hi-speed connection, so that Windows can properly 'detect' the modem/router and configure itself. Once you have your hi-speed connection working, try turning the firewall back on, and see if it 'figures things out'. If it doesn't, please follow the instructions with your firewall/security software for setting 'permissions' for a new internet connection.

Apart from the issue with any firewall you may have, it is our expectation that once you have connected the hi-speed modem to your computer or network, your computer(s) (running Windows 2000/XP) will automatically 'detect' the internet 'gateway' and automatically configure themselves. You may need to 'restart' your computer(s) to get them to do this, or if you haven't used internet on the computer before, you *may* need to run an 'Internet Setup Wizard' to have your computer 'discover' this 'gateway' and use it.

If your computer was previously being used for dial-up you will need to change a couple of settings on your computer. Note: Do not make these changes until your hi-speed service is activated ("PPP" light is on). You need to reverse these changes to use HWCN dial-up service.

Change your connection settings from 'ALWAYS DIAL' to 'NEVER DIAL'. The easiest way to get to this setting is through INTERNET EXPLORER itself (even if you use Firefox or another browser):

Start up Internet Explorer.

If it asks to 'connect' by dial-up, just click 'cancel' or 'work offline'. You will then see the main screen (it may say "page cannot be displayed" or show a saved copy of your starting page).

Click on the TOOLS menu at the top of the screen.

In the TOOLS menu, at the bottom, click on INTERNET OPTIONS.

The 'Internet Options' window will open.

Click on the CONNECTIONS tab.

The view will change and you will see three options with circles beside them in the middle of the window.

Click the circle labelled, NEVER DIAL MY CONNECTION.

This will put a dot in the circle next to this option.

Click OK at the bottom.

Test the change by clicking the HOME button in Internet Explorer and it should immediately load your starting web page without asking for a dial-up connection.

E-MAIL SETTINGS FOR DSL OUTGOING MAIL:

If you have not used HWCN e-mail before you can follow the standard setup instructions with one minor variation: When you come to the step where you enter the name of the 'outgoing mail server' you need to specify "smtp.pppoe.ca" instead of the server listed in the instructions.

If you were previously using HWCN e-mail via dial-up, you need to change that setting in the existing mail account. To change your Outlook Express:

1. Start up Outlook Express. It will probably read in whatever mail is in your HWCN inbox. Please wait the few seconds (isn't high speed wonderful?) until it is done.

2. Click on the TOOLS menu, and in that menu click on ACCOUNTS. The accounts window will open.

3. Click on the MAIL tab. This will insure that only mail connections are showing in the window. You should see just one entry, probably with a name like "pop.hwcn.org" (or if you are a domain client, with a name 'pop.yourdomain.ca').

4. Click on that name, then click on the PROPERTIES button on the right. When the Properties window opens, you will see your e-mail address and other information.

5. Click on the SERVERS tab. This will change the view so you can see the 'incoming' and 'outgoing' server settings. Leave the incoming server as it is, and enter 'smtp.pppoe.ca' into the 'outgoing' server name. User-Id and password remain the same.

6. Click OK at the bottom of the window, and then click CLOSE on the 'accounts' window.

TROUBLE SHOOTING:

Even the most stable hi-speed connection occasionally 'freezes' or 'hangs'. Sometimes the WAN light will blink to show there is a problem, but most times you will find that you just can't surf the internet. If your connection has been working smoothly and then just stops, it is usually easy to restart it. Please try these simple steps before calling for technical support:

• Unplug the black power plug from the back of the modem (NOT from the wall!) and wait FIFTEEN seconds then plug it back in. The lights on the modem will blink, and within a minute the WAN light should come on steadily, and then the PPP light will come on.

Note: Sometimes the DSL modem just doesn't like being powered off and on via a 'power bar' or being unplugged at the wall end of its power cord. We recommend not connecting the modem to any power bar that you are going to routinely turn off and on. But if you do, the above reset procedure will restore normal operation.

If the WAN light blinks for more than a minute, there may be an issue with the signal on the phone line:

• Check all the telephone lines/cords carefully to insure:
  • someone hasn't accidentally unplugged the modem or somehow plugged it into a filter - the modem should NOT be on a filter.
  • the phone cord is not worn/broken - try a different cord.
  • if you use a phone line 'splitter' for the modem try removing it.
  • someone hasn't connected a telephone *anywhere* on the same line without a filter. All phones need filters.
  • there is no static or noise on the phone line
• Try unplugging all the other telephones (or especially any recently added phone) from the line - even if it has a filter. A faulty phone can still drain voltage from the line. Then unplug the power from the back of the modem wait fifteen seconds and reconnect it.

If none of the above work, or it is too much effort to unplug all your phones:

• Try unplugging the power from the modem and leaving it unplugged for FIFTEEN MINUTES. This forces a 'reset' of the equipment on the phone company end of the connection. This sometimes resets things.

If you are still having difficulties after trying the above, call our help line at 905-528-9334.

TECHNICAL NOTES:

The Hi-Speed modem/router assigns 'IP addresses' using a scheme known as 'Dynamic Host Control Protocol' (DHCP), which most Windows computers recognize, and this is how your computer(s) will get the network setup information they need from the modem/router to connect to the internet. If all goes well, it will happen 'invisibly' within about 10-20 seconds when you turn on the computer.

In some cases, the computer does not properly handle DHCP, and so you will need to setup the 'network settings' of your computer(s) manually following the instructions for your computer/operating system (For example, in Windows 98, right-click on 'network neighborhood' then open the 'properties' for TCP/IP on your LAN connection).

You may need to enter some or all of the following information:

Internet Gateway:  192.168.1.1   (the address of the modem/router)
Netmask:           255.255.255.0 

Name servers:      199.212.94.65, 199.212.94.66

If you need to 'hard code' an IP address for your computer(s), use addresses in the range 192.168.1.20 to 192.168.1.50 Please be sure that no two computers have the same address!

If you have any questions, or comments on these instructions, please call our Help Line at 905-528-9334 during regular office hours. Please do this BEFORE bringing the modem to our office. Nearly ALL issues are resolved with a phone call!

Thanks and enjoy!