This is an attempt to document some common problems that you may have with your Trumpet Winsock setup. If you have suggestions, find errors or have a solution you would like to add to this document, please e-mail llarrow@netcom.com it to me. I will include your e-mail address or name if you desire with the solution. Disclaimer.

Sorry, but I do not have time to answer your personal Trumpet questions. Please post your questions to alt.winsock.trumpet for Trumpet support.

I am a registered end user of Trumpet Winsock and not affiliated with Trumpet Software International.

Use at your own risk.

Copyright Notice: Copyright (c) Lynn D. Larrow 1995.
You have permission to use this information in other FAQs or articles for non-commercial purposes, if you include this notice, and the URL to this page.

Communications and Networking

1.1 SLiRP/TIA doesn't work.

Make sure to double check the TIA installation instructions, e.g., permissions, .tiarc file. Or the SLiRP installation instructions, e.g., .slirprc file. Make sure you have downloaded the correct version of SLiRP/TIA for your host computer. If you are a Netcom user, try using the Netcom public files.

1.2 I can manually login with Trumpet, but I can't get my login.cmd script to work.

Use my TIA login.cmd or SLiRP login.cmd for a comparison with your script. There are also several sample scripts availble from Trumpet's ftp server for SLIP/PPP examples b-box.trumpet.com.au /scripts (You might have better luck using Ws_ftp). If all the settings match, you will probably need to check your modem documentation or this URL for your modem setup string. Also, I have noticed that if you try to put "exec tia" in a $variable name, e.g., $slipcmd that Trumpet will think you are trying to start (execute) a file on your local PC.

1.3 Trumpet seems to load properly, but I have problems running my winsock applications, e.g., newsreader, mail.

This problem is usually caused by not setting up you winsock clients properly with the correct server names or IP addresses. If you use the names you created in your trumpet hosts file, make sure to check both the name and ip address. Using aliases is useful because if you switch ISPs (Internet Service Providers) or go back and forth from SLiRP to TIA to PPP, you only need to change only the ip addresses in your host file not in all your client applications.

If you still have problems, make sure you only have one copy of the winsock.dll on your hard drive.

Another thing you can try is to make sure you have as much free base and upper memory available for Trumpet. This is especially true if you are using a Network Interface Card (NIC). Make sure to exclude the RAM addresses of devices that use upper memory in both config.sys and in system.ini. Current versions of DOS come with a program memmaker, which can help free up memory on your system. Make sure you elimiate any unnecessary Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) programs. Also to conserve resources in Windows, elimate shareware screensavers, wall paper, bitmaps and other non-essential programs.

In addition, some users have reported better luck with older versions of Trumpet Winsock 1.0A and 2.0A. I use Trumpet Winsock 2.1F, which is the registered version. Before I registered, I used Trumpet Winsock 2.0B and 2.OE with no problems. Here are the URLs from the Winsock-L Archive for two previous versions of Trumpet:

Trumpet Winsock 1.0A
Trumpet Winsock 2.0A
Trumpet Winsock 2.0B

1.4 I have problems connecting to my server at 57,600 baud.

Double check your setup parameters, e.g., hardware handshaking set on, slip enabled or ppp enabled. Try different baud rates, i.e., 38,400, 19,200 or even 9,600. All protocols should run fine at 38,400. If you are using SLiRP (defaults to 9600), make sure to set the correct baud rate in your .slirprc file.

Do not use any creative baud rates, e.g., 26000, 14000. Check your modem documentation to be sure you are using the right initialization setup string.

1.5 I keep getting comm port overruns.

Getting a new 16550A UART could help a lot if you have an external modem. If you have an internal modem without a 16550A UART, a new 16550 UART would not help you. You can use MSD.EXE from DOS not from Windows to determine which UART you have.

My internal 14.4 V.34bis modem does not have a 16550 UART, and I am able to run at 57,000 without comm port overruns, one exception to this is sometimes when I run Windows Cakewalk Professional and use my MIDI port, which shows overruns can be caused by factors rather than UARTs.

If you have windows 3.1 and a 16550 UART, you might try cybercom. If you have Windows for Workgroups, you don't need cybercom.

Cybercom.zip

In system.ini be sure you have:
[386Enh]
comxfifo=1         [*Required setting for a 16550A UART*]
                   [*where x = your comm port, e.g. 1,2,3 or 4*]

Example: com2fifo=1

I also use comxbuffer=1024  [*default is 128*]

If you have Windows for Workgroups, make sure you have the latest serial.386 driver: WG1001.EXE.

If you still have overruns after doing the above, you have WFW and a 16550A UART you might try tweaking the receive fifo buffer setting to 4. I do not use either of these two parameters on my system, because my 14.4 internal cheapo modem does not have a 16550A.

This information is from the Microsoft Knowledge Base Document:

Windows Support of the 16550 UART

COMxRXTRIGGER=1 | 4 | 8 | 14     [*default 8*]

Example: com2rxtrigger=4

COMxTXFIFO=0 | 1               [*default 0 disabled, 1 enabled*]

Example: com2txfifo=1            

Also, Trumpet had some info about comm overruns caused by S3 video boards on their Trumpet FAQ on Comm errors [OVERRUN].

Here is where to find some more information about Comm Overruns:

John Navas' - "Why am I getting CRC errors (overruns) when downloading?"

Dave Houston's - "UNDERSTANDING COMM PORT OVERRUNS".

Malcolm Hoar's - "Data Communications FAQ (Windows Version)"

Finally, eliminate any unnecessary DOS TSR programs, your Barney shareware screensaver... :)

1.6 I have been using Netscape for months and all of a sudden I keep getting DNS lookup failures, except on the entries in my hosts file.

Assuming that you did not change any parameters in your configuration files, e.g., trumpwsk.ini, and your connection is otherwise working, this problem can be caused by a DNS Server or network failure. I have seen many netcom users report this problem in usenet. I had this problem happened to me once, several months ago. The problem in most cases should clear up after some variable amount of time. My problem cleared up in about two hours. If this problem persists, call your ISP.

It has been reported to me by an ISP that DSN failures in their PPP implementation are the result of Trumpet Winsock itself. You should check with your ISP to see which TCP/IP stacks are supported.

dns=192.100.81.101 192.100.81.105 [*Netcom's Domain Name Servers*]

1.7 How do I determine my DNS servers or gateway for my ISP?

You can always ask your ISP technical support person for these IP addresses, but if you have trouble getting a hold of support. You can determine what your DNS server(s) by using the whois [domaine.name] command in UNIX or with a winsock whois client. Example:

{netcom10:1} whois best.com
[snip]

   Domain Name: BEST.COM

[snip]

   Record last updated on 10-Jan-95.

   Domain servers in listed order:

   NS.BEST.COM                  204.156.128.1
   NS2.BEST.COM                 204.156.128.10
   NS3.BEST.COM                 204.156.128.20

The DNS entries are also on the host computer in the file /etc/resolv.conf. Example:

{netcom10:2} more /etc/resolv.conf
domain netcom.com
nameserver 192.100.81.120
nameserver 192.100.81.101
nameserver 192.100.81.105

Your gateway can be determined by using the netstat -r command in UNIX or by using a traceroute program.

{netcom19:10} netstat -r
Routing tables
Destination          Gateway              Flags    Refcnt Use        Interface
localhost            localhost            UH       301    5727174    lo0
default              192.100.81.254       UG       275    27592733   le0

{netcom19:11} traceroute best.com
traceroute to best.com (204.156.128.10), 30 hops max, 40 byte packets
 1  192.100.81.254 (192.100.81.254)  3 ms  4 ms  4 ms
 2  t3-1.scl-gw1.netcom.net (163.179.220.194)  4 ms  5 ms  8 ms
[snip]
 6  shell1.best.com (204.156.128.10)  11 ms  13 ms  10 ms

1.15 How can I have my Trumpet login script automatically load a winsock client like Eudora?

Here is how I load eudora from my login.cmd. I load it this way on my system otherwise if eudora is already loaded it kills my script.

You could also use exec "c:\netscape\eudora\weudora.exe" instead. Of course, you would need to specify the path where your copy of eudora or other email program is located.

output \13
sleep 5
input 30 $prompt
output "tia"\13

if ! [exec "c:\netscape\eudora\weudora.exe"]
  display "Eudora already loaded or not found"\n
end

input 5 "software."\n

Or you could use exec c:/netscape/eudora/weudora.exe

1.16 I get a Undefined Dynalink error message from Netscape and Mosaic using Trumpet Winsock.

Check for duplicate or different winsock.dlls. From the dos prompt, enter

dir \winsock.dll /s

to check for duplicates. If you have installed multiple versions of Trumpet or other TCP stacks and they are still in your path, you can have this type problem. I keep winsock.dll in my Trumpet directory only.

1.17 I get a Enablecommnotification Failed error message with Trumpet Winsock.

Trumpet Support says: "The 'enablecommnotification' call is implemented in new versions of Windows that older comm drivers (for example turbocomm) don't recognise." If you are using Windows for Workgroups, use the standard comm.drv. If you are using Windows 3.1, either get a newer version of the driver or try using another driver like wfxcomm or cybercom. This is a summary of information provided to me by Howard Wittenberg.

1.18 Trumpet just pauses when starting up, then gives the message "Unable to load TCP".

From Trumpet's install.doc:

Q. tcpman just pauses when starting up, then gives the message "unable to load TCP".

A. You've probably got BOOTP set. Replace it with 0.0.0.0 before dialling and try again. RARP is impossible to send via SLIP so don't bother with that.

Also, make sure that you are using a good copy of the trumpwsk.ini file. I got this error recently when trying to load a corrupted trumpwsk.ini.

1.21 Why should FTP file transfers be slower than zmodem file transfers?

Please take this answer with a grain of salt. I am currently doing more research to see how much water this particular theory holds. If anyone has an good URLs on this subject, please let me know where they are.

The theory for this is based on "network overhead". While I'm not a communications expert, I do know that the basic IP datagram or MTU contains a 40 byte header (or the TCP and IP headers RFC879), which means that if your MTU is set at 576 and MSS to 536 then 536/576 = 93% data. So if you see 1.61 Kbytes per second with zmodem, then the theory would predict about 1.50 (.83 * 1.6) Kbyte rate with FTP, without header compression.

If you are using Van Jacobson CSLIP or a good PPP implementation, or SLiRP, you should see less overhead. I now use SLiRP, which uses CSLIP.

Please note that Ws_ftp calculates Kbytes per second based on the time in seconds the total file is transferred, as opposed to the actual modem throughput rate.

Sample Ws_ftp Output:

RETR twsk20b.zip
150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for twsk20b.zip (179015 bytes).
Received 179015 bytes in 121.1 secs, (1.44 Kbytes/sec), transfer succeeded

I use MTU 576 and MSS 536 then 536/576 = 93% data. I just downloaded Trumpet from my shell account with zmodem at 1.61 Kbytes and at 1.44 (see sample above) with FTP. By the theory, my expected transfer rate should have been 1.50.

Remember this is a theory based on the RFC879 discussion of headers and of percent of data received. If you are using CSLIP or PPP, you may not see the same type of results. There are also other variables at work here, e.g., network traffic, modem type and configuration, the specific application software used, etc. Additionally, when I use MTU 1500, MSS 1460 and RWIN 4096 with TIA my Kbytes per second ran at 1.53 when FTPing directly from my shell account. The theory would predict 1460/1500 = .97. .97 * 1.61 = 1.57.

Note: My throughput was even faster with SLiRP CSLIP with transfers at 1.60 Kbytes per second!

1.24 I'm getting a "comm errors [FRAME] = x" after loading Trumpet and Netscape, etc.

This problem can be caused by setting your MTU size to high, e.g. 1500 and then your packets get too fragmented. If you frequently have this problem, try lowering your MTU size to 576 or perhaps even lower. Remeber MTU - MSS = 40 and that RWIN generally should be (4 * MSS).

Also, see The Trumpet FAQ on PPP Frame check errors

1.25 I'm using Windows 95. Are there any good FAQs for Windows 95 and internet connectivity?

BTW, you don't need or want to install Trumpet with Windows 95. Here's a few URLS to get you started:

Windows 95 - Consummate Winsock Apps List
Windows 95 Networking FAQ
The (Unofficial) Windows 95 Home Page
Windows 95 Dial-Up Networking White Paper
Windows and Windows 95 Page
The Windows95 TCP/IP Setup HOW-TO/FAQ
WIN95 HQ
Win95-NET

1.26 What's the difference between SLIP, PPP, etc. and which one is best for me?

First here are the Request for Comments for SLIP and PPP:

SLIP - Serial Line Internet Protocol (rfc1055)

PPP - Point-to-Point Protocol (rfc1661)

Morninstar's PPP Talk - Good Overview of SLIP and PPP

SLIP and PPP services are available with either a static or dymanic IP address. Static or permanent IP addresses are the most expensive type of service, but it is also the better solution for users wanting to set up server, e.g., SMTP (mail), FTP server from a home computer. Dynamic or changing IP addresses are more common and cheaper means of internet access. The downside to dynamic addresses is that it makes it hard to run a server application from your home because the IP address will be different each time you log in.

Both SLIP and PPP provide a full TCP/IP implemetation, which includes ICMP that allows you to use applications like ping, traceroute, talk, etc.

Here's is a good PPP/SLIP perfomance comparison.

Slip Emulation

SLiRP (free) and TIA ($25) are examples of slip emulators that run on a UNIX shell account. These emulators are not full TCP/IP implementations in that they do not provide ICMP - internet control message protocol, which means that you can not use TCP services that require an IP address, e.g., ping or talk programs. For a good discussion on this topic, see the Cyberspace's Single User TIA FAQ. The UNIX shell accounts that slip emulators run on are usually a lot cheaper than SLIP/PPP acounts. If you get a shell acount you will have to deal with the UNIX operating system though. Depending on your background, this can be seen as either a plus or a minus.

What's best for me?

That's a good question (as Danny Gasparovski might say). You need to spend a little time deciding what your internet requirements are.

(Q) Do you need to run a server that is available all the time?
(A) Static SLIP or PPP is your best solution.

(Q) Do you want to use talk programs, ping, etc.?
(A) You need at a minimum a dynamic SLIP/PPP account.

(Q) I'm cheap and don't care about Talk programs or running a server?
(A) Slip emulation and a UNIX shell may work best for you.

1.27 I have a problem with streaming zmodem file transfers with Trumpet Winsock 2.1F?

John Navas of the 28000 Modem FAQ (see link above) reports that he has verified a bug with streaming zmodem file transfer uploads when using Trumpet Winsock. The fix is to set the zmodem window to 2Kb.

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INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT.  Use at your own risk in other words.