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SWW's Computer MailbagWe'd like to thank Enid who sent us an e-mail about this topic. Q. Why do I keep getting "kicked off" when on line? I am constantly being accused of performing something "illegal" and getting shut down for that, too. I will be typing an E-mail and get kicked off. It is very frustrating! A. Both of those situations are very frustrating. I've been known to threaten my computer with bodily harm when either occurs. First of all, keep in mind that computer programmers, writers of those cryptic and completely unhelpful error messages, are not known for being good communicators. . The word "illegal" is not being used in the same way that you or I would use it. It's just a computer term that means that the computer got confused. You connect to the Internet through your ISP (Internet Service Provider) or online service, i.e., America Online, Mindspring, Earthlink or a host of other services. Despite what the advertising says, their ability to connect and keep you connected can be very tenuous. It is dependent on hardware capabilities and the local access numbers you're provided with, as well as how many other people are online at the same time and how much interference on the telephone line. Sometimes the computer's software that connects you needs to be reconfigured in order to keep the connection from being dropped. If you contact the technical support at your ISP or online service, they may have you check the software settings and lead you through some changes. From my own experience, be skeptical if a tech person at America Online wants you to make changes. Make sure that they know what they're talking about by asking them if they know why those changes need to be made. I once followed the instructions of a tech person at an ISP, and after rebooting my computer, found that my desktop was completely blank expect for the background image. When I told the tech what had happened, she said she had just been following directions in a notebook. It took me four hours to re-install Windows. If the software doesn't need to be reconfigured, and you are being kicked off frequently (more than once a day) try using different local access numbers. When you get the message that says you have done something "illegal," it means the program didn't anticipate the action you were going to take, or it got its wires crossed in some way. Your best bet when this happens is to reboot (shut down and re-start) your computer, and to save your work often. It's not a question of if this will happen, but when. By the way, these error messages are very common in Windows 98. SWW's Computer Mailbag Archive ©2001 D.G. |
