Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

Walt Huntsman · Guest

Just gave a quick spin to the Opera version of Puppy 1.0.2 and I am, at first look, highly disappointed (but still willing to be convinced). The problems I had several versions ago (say around 0.7) remain (as written about on the old forum).

First, I still can't seem to establish a dialup connection. The small improvement is that now my modem is found (wasn't before, although it is Linux compatible and works with other distros I've tried it with). But I can't get it to actually dial. I get an error message saying that the connection was lost before it ever actually dials. In setting up a connection in gkdial (is that the right name?), I put in the user name and password, and a name for the connection as instructed. But I noticed it did not ask me for server IPs for my ISP. Did I miss something? Is there somewhere else that is supposed to be configured? I also tried the other modem wizard (can't remember the name), but I didn't see how or if it could be used for dialing into the internet.

Second, I could not find my printer (a Canon BJ-200) in the printer wizard, although there are several others by that manufacturer listed. This has always been a problem when trying to configure my printer using CUPS. Any chance of using/including Apsfilter (it's what Feather and Damn Small Linux use)? It seems to support many more printers (including mine) than does gimp-print and/or CUPS. Just a thought. Thanks for listening.

Walt Huntsman
walt_huntsman [at] myrealbox [dot] com

BarryK · Posted: Tue 31 May 2005, 09:38 Post subject:

Regarding dialup, it should be as simple as the Start -> Help -> How to Internet page explains. Nothing else to configure.

The Help page explains that you run the Modem Wizard first, to choose your modem, then you run Gkdial.

Walt H · Guest

That's what I thought I did, but I can give it another try. As I said in the earlier post, though, the modem was recognized; it just would not dial.

BarryK · Posted: Tue 31 May 2005, 19:55 Post subject:

Maybe your modem needs a different "initialisation string" then used by GKdial.

There's a PupGet package called "wvdial" that has a great program that can test your modem and discover the correct initialisation string.

Currently, wvdial is not installed in the live-CD, so you have to download it using the PupGet package manager -- which is a problem as you don't have Internet access!

The way around that is to download wvdial from ibiblio.org -- look in pupget-packages directory -- using some other operating system.
Then, bootup Puppy 1.0.2 live-cd and run PupGet then choose to install an alien package, which allows you to select a package that is local on your PC.

Then read the docs on wvdial.

Gkdial has it's initialisation string in /etc/ppp/chatscripts/
There's a line:
"" "ATZ"
...or something like that. the second set of quotes is where you put the initialisation string.

Note, if you give up on Gkdial, though it should be able to work, wvdial also has a dial-out program.

Guest · Guest

Wow! This seems like a lot of work to get dialup working. I don't know my modem's initialization string (never had to use it) and I'm not sure how to find it.

Why not use something like the pppconfig tool (I think that's what it's called) in Feather Linux (my current distro) and I believe also in Libranet? It walks you through the process and prompts you for the needed information (including your ISP's server IPs), and it has always worked for me. I've never gotten Gkdial working.

mouldy · Joined: 04 May 2005 Posts: 664

Most modems will work with either "ATZ" or "AT&F2" though they can sometimes be tweaked to work better with more elaborate strings.

I have one old Zoltrix that requires a specific and long initialization string to dial whether windows, linux, or whatever. If you've never had a problem dialing with any other operating system, then one of the generic ones I mention above should work. Think AT&F2 is the default and I had to change to ATZ for my current isa hardware modem.

Not a big deal to modify the file Barry mentions. You can also modify another file to change DNS servers if you dont want to use the ones your isp assigns you.

I personally have never had a problem with GKdial and have found it quite convenient.

Walt H · Guest

Changing the initialization string in /etc/ppp/chatscripts to "ATZ' turned the trick, and I am writing this from Opera in Puppy. Once you know, the change seems easy, but it's not something I've ever had to do before.

However, I still have printer issues and a mouse issue, which I'll raise in the appropriate forum. Thanks for the help. I guess now I ought to go ahead and become a member. (I was waiting to see whether I could make any part of Puppy usuable for me.)

Walt
walt_huntsman [at] myrealbox [dot] com

Walt H · Posted: Wed 01 Jun 2005, 23:16 Post subject: printer works too!

Since I've been writing about my modem and printer woes in this forum, I thought I'd complete the saga (and also make my first post as a member) before moving to the appropriate forum to ask about a few other issues I'm having in Puppy.

Well, my printer (a Canon BJ-200 inkjet) seems to work with the ijs bjc-30 driver (might also work with other Canon drivers, don't know). After a search of the old forum (thanks for keeping it available!) I found that others were able to print by using the command 'lprshell'. So I tried that in Textmaker (using the Opera version at the moment) and, lo and behold, my test page printed!

Two issues resolved, two more to go! Guess the Puppy is getting me trained! Very Happy

Might I suggest adding the tips about changing the modem initialization string to 'ATZ' and about using 'lprshell' in the command line when printing to the wiki if they aren't there already. Those were mighty useful tidbits.

BarryK · Posted: Thu 02 Jun 2005, 11:01 Post subject:

yes, there are still plenty of people using dialup!

I was thinking of putting in some extra stuff in the modem Wizard, to fix the modem initialisation string -- and put in "wvdialconfig", which is a great app, finds out all about your modem.

Fox7777 · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 132 Location: Lacey, WA

Using Puppy Linux 1.0.1 as is, we could dial successfully using our Best Data 56SX-92 V.92/V.44 56K external data & fax modem but we couldn't dial with our Harmony V.90/X2 V1456VQE 56K modem so the modem detection function may be needed. FWIW Damn Small Linux dials both modems as is. When we changed the Puppy initialization string in /etc/ppp/chatscripts to "ATZ" , we could dial with both modems.

EarlSmith · Posted: Mon 06 Jun 2005, 19:29 Post subject:

This is what the file looks like on my 0.9.9 Puppy

ABORT ERROR
ABORT BUSY
ABORT "NO CARRIER"
ABORT "NO DIALTONE"
REPORT CONNECT
"" "AT&FW2"
OK "ATD0198333424"
TIMEOUT 60
CONNECT "\c"

I think I read somewhere that "ATZ" is now standard on most newer modems. Maybe on Pup1.0.3 you could change it and make "ATZ" the standard or put both choices in and let the user choose.
Its so much fun making suggestions without knowing the first thing about how to do it. Razz