Dial-Up Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any questions for us, do not hesitate to contact us.

General Questions

What is “Dial-Up” service?: Dial-Up service allows you to connect to the Internet using a regular dial-up modem and an analog telephone line. Your computer will dial dbTech and “talk” to our servers, allowing your computer access to the web.
How fast is Dial-Up?: This depends on a lot of factors, such as your modem's speed, the ISP's modem technology, the phone lines in your area, and a plethora of other settings. A “good” connection over dial-up, using a 56k modem, would be anywhere from 39,000bps to 49,000bps.
What do I need for Dial-Up?: You will need a phone line and a dial-up modem. Most PCs have modems preinstalled. If you do not have a modem in your PC, you can pick one up from just about any computer store. As for the software needed, any computer running a modern OS will have all the software necessary. dbTech provides dial-up support for the following operating systems: Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, MacOS 9, MacOS X. Other systems such as Linux or Windows 95 will work, but we will not be able to provide technical support for you beyond basic information.
What speeds does dbTech support?: dbTech utilizes v.90 hardware, enabling you to have the fastest downloads possible over dial-up as allowed by the FCC. It is backwards compatible, so you can use your 14.4k or 33.6k modems to their fullest extent with our service.
Which Internet software do I need or that you recommend?: We keep an updated list of all the Internet software that we recommend for our customers on this page.
Do you offer a 1-800 number I can use when I am out of area?: Yes. dbTech does offer 1-800 dial-up service. You will need to have your account enabled for 1-800 access (no cost). The per minute cost is $0.10 in the contigous 48 states for every minute you use the 1-800 number. Prices vary for international calls.
Can I use dbTech's 1-800 service internationally?: While you can technically dial in to dbTech from overseas or out of country, in most cases you will get very poor connections and frequent disconnects due to the quality of the connection. International telephone lines are fine for voice calls, but are degenerative to a data signal. We would recommend that you find a local provider in the area you will be visiting.

Troubleshooting Dial-Up Issues

If you cannot find the answers to your questions or problems here, do not hesitate to contact our support staff.

When I try to connect to dbTech, it says my username or password was not accepted.: Be sure you are putting in your username and password correctly. A common mistake is leaving your caps lock key on. Your username will be the same as your email address, sans @dbtech.net. For example, if your email address was someone@dbtech.net, your username would be someone.
Also, retype your password carefully. Note that you will not be able to see your password as you type it; it will be concealed by asteriks for your security.
If you are still receiving this error, even though you are have retyped everything very carefully, see the next issue.
It still says bad password even though I have retyped my username and password correctly.: It is possible that you or someone else is already dialed in using that account. dbTech only allows one simultaneous connection per dial-up account. If you wish to enable dual login, you can request it be added to your account.
When I try to connect, I get 'Error 691' or 'Unknown Error'.: These occurs can occur for a wide variety of reasons. However, they are usually temporary. If you receive this error, first try rebooting your PC. If that does not work, you can also try running the WinsockFix utility available from our downloads page.
When I try to connect, I get 'Error: No Dialtone'.: Check that your telephone line is plugged into the modem and the wall correctly and that you do have dialtone on the line going into your modem from the wall. If you do have dialtone and are receiving this error, you may need to recheck your connection settings or possibly replace your modem.
I get connected, but I get disconnected randomly.: Disconnects can be caused by a number of problems. It is possible that your e-mail client is disconnecting you after checking for mail. It is also possible that you have call waiting and are not disabling it when connecting. Noisy phone lines, having your phone lines located behind a SLIC or other device, blown surge suppressors, or bad wiring can also cause disconnects to occur.
What do I need to do if I have call waiting?: If you have call waiting on your telephone line, you will most likely want to disable it while you are online. Otherwise, you will be disconnected whenever someone attempts to call you. (In some cases, you will be disconnected and the phone will ring, other times you will be disconnected and the phone will not right). To disable this, you will need to put *70, (asterik, seven, zero, comma) in front of the number you are dialing for your local area. For example, if you were in Tuscaloosa you would dial *70,5560450 in order to connect and disable call waiting. With this enabled, people who call you while you are online will receive a busy signal, and you should stay connected.