Important: You are responsible for choosing the proper dial-up number to connect to the Penn State Access Network and you are responsible for any long distance charges that you may incur.
Penn State recommends that you contact your telephone company to confirm that the numbers you've selected for your modem to dial are local numbers. Penn State is not responsible for and will not reimburse you for long distance charges.
Continuing changes in the structure or rates of telephone service companies may cause dial-up numbers to change from local to long-distance calls without warning. You are responsible for understanding the options and rates provided by telephone service companies.
Click here to see a list of PSU dial-up numbers.
One step, "drop-in," dial-up connection package for students, faculty and staff of The Pennsylvania State University.
Incompatibility among PSC versions v1.x, 2.0 and v2.w2k for Windows 2000
If you already have an older Penn State Connection (PSC) version installed and working (versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 , 2.0 or 2.1), there is no need to install this version (v2.w2k) of the PSC . The only change among versions is the latest update to the phone numbers at Abington-Ogontz, Allentown, Altoona, Fayette, McKeesport and Schuylkill.
We recommend you leave well-enough alone if your current phone numbers work correctly or if you have already manually changed phone numbers in your existing PSC dialer and it works.
What to do if you must install v2.w2k
- Uninstall your existing PSC by removing it from the list of installed programs in the Add/Remove Programs applet in Control Panel.
Click [Start]->Settings->Control Panel->Add/Remove Programs. Select Connection Manager in the list of installed programs and click the [Add/Remove] button to the lower right. Also remove the Penn State Connection entry if it exists (there may not be one, depending on the version).- If you cannot find a Connection Manager or Penn State Connection entry in the Control Panel Add/Remove Programs applet (different versions are removed in different ways), try <right-clicking> on the PSC desktop icon. If there is a Delete option available, then choose that.
- Continue to install PSC v2.w2k in the usual manner -- see Installation below.
Trouble: There is a known problem in which you may encounter the error message: "The service profile is damaged. Reinstall the service profile." To recover, you must delete the current installation by <right-clicking> on the PSC desktop icon(s) and then select Delete from the pop-up menu. Check the desktop for the existence of more than one PSC icon and be sure to delete them all before you install the new version. (Depending on the version, you may have to delete it through the Add/Remove applet in the Control Panel. Now, install the PSC (see below) and it should install correctly.
- Click HERE for detailed step-by-step instructions. NT 4 systems must be at Service Pack level 3 or newer. (This does not apply to Windows 2000 systems.)
- Launch the Dial-Up Connection Installer.
- Exit these pages and launch the Penn State Connection by clicking on the desktop icon that it creates.
- Supply your Penn State Access Account AccessID and Password in the proper input boxes,
- Avoid long-distance charges by carefully choosing local Penn State Access phone numbers.
(If you plan to use a telephone number that's not in the provided list, just type it in the Phone Number input box. This technique also comes in handy if the phone company changes the local Penn State access phone number.)- Click [Connect] to start the dial-up connection. If you have not previously installed needed components (a modem and dial-up networking support, for example) you are prompted automatically for the required components when you launch the Penn State Connection for the first time.
Click to install the Penn State Connection using the <cd:>\windows\dialup\pscw2k.exe on the CD, or download the latest version from Penn State's FTP site. During installation, Setup installs the Penn State custom dialer and creates a Penn State icon on your desktop.
The first time you click the Penn State Connection icon on your desktop, needed components may also be installed. For example, your modem is automatically set up during this process, if not previously installed, so be sure that you have your modem plugged in, turned on and connected to your 'phone line before you launch the Penn State Connection. If not previously installed, dial-up networking support is also automatically set up as part of this process, so be sure you have your original Windows distribution files available on your hard disk or on CD. If you're not sure, contact your departmental technical support or your computer vendor before proceeding.
BEFORE installing the Penn State Connection on a Windows NT 4 system, be sure that Service Pack 3 (SP3) or later is installed.
Once you're satisfied with an existing connection, you can set it to dial automatically when you launch the Penn State Connection. You do this by <checking> Remember password. Once you do this, a new Dial automatically checkbox appears. <check> this additional option. Now, when you launch the Penn State Connection, it will dial the 'phone immediately. To return to manual control, launch the Penn State Connection, and while it's still dialing the 'phone, <click> [Cancel]. This will allow you to <uncheck> the options.
<Double-click> on the Penn State Connection icon in the system tray, then <click> on [Disconnect].
Since everyone may not have the same level of experience and familiarity with computers and the Internet, these tasks can be daunting for some. If you need assistance, there are places to get help:
- If you are dialing-in, you can find detailed, step-by-step instructions on the CD or in the printed CETS Internet Access Guide.
- If you are at a campus other than University Park, contact your campus support staff.
- If you still have questions, contact the Help Desks at 814-863-1035 or 814-863-2494 or send email to helpdesk@psu.edu.
This distribution contains commercial software licensed for use by Penn State students, faculty and staff. Do not give it to anyone who is not a registered student or employee of Penn State.
The documentation on this CD is limited to information to help you get connected to the Internet and install the software on the CD. Much more information can be found on "the web" after you get connected, and you are urged to consult "on-line" documentation for current information. Start at http://its.psu.edu for links to all related information.
There are a number of general documents on this CD.
Given the pace of changes in the computer world, some of the contents are likely to be out-of-date by the time you receive the CD. After you have your connection working and a web browser installed, see the online version of the CD for the most up-to-date instructions and software.
J. Forkner / Center for Educational Technology Systems / Penn State University