On March 28, 2000, MCIO, Inc. is going to make changes in the way service is provided to our customers. These changes will increase the level of service and allow for future growth of our business. This upgrade will give us two times the amount of bandwidth to the Internet as well as make us xDSL ready. Southwestern Bell will offer that type of high speed Internet connection in the near future and we look forward to that partnership.

Phase 1 of our upgrade begins on March 28. It affects all of our customers. Phase 2, coming the end of April, will affect our Paola dial-up customers. Phase 3 will follow and affect our Louisburg dial-up customers. In May we will also be celebrating our 4^th Anniversary of providing Internet service to Miami County. Please watch my newsletter for more information including prize giveaways and our open house.

Because of the complex changes on March 28, service will be down most of the day while these changes are made. In order for your service to work once these changes are made, you will need to change/verify some settings on your computer. Most Windows 98 users will have no changes to make, while all Windows 95 users and some Windows 98 users will have several changes to make.

The new settings of concern are:

Gateway 208.190.196.1

Primary DNS 208.190.196.2

Please follow these steps to change/verify your settings. Windows 98 users should pay attention to the bold text settings listed here and Windows 95 users should pay attention to the italic text settings. Normal text should be considered important for all users. Everything should be assumed a single left click, unless instructed to DBL (double left) click or R (single right) click. Please read an entire paragraph before making changes to your settings. There may be important information you should know before making any of the changes listed.

From your Windows desktop, DBL click on the MY COMPUTER icon, then DBL click on the DIAL-UP NETWORKING icon. In this window you should find the icon representing your connection to MCIO. It may be named onramp, mcio, connect to 294-9666 or other variations. You should R click on the connection icon, then click on PROPERTIES in the pop-up window.

Please find and click on the tab or button that says SERVER TYPES. Windows 98 users should have marks in only the Enable Software Compression and the TCP/IP boxes in the Advanced Options and Allowed Network Protocols sections. Windows 95 users should have marks in only the Log on to Network, Enable Software Compression and the TCP/IP boxes in the Advanced Options and Allowed Network Protocols sections. Please make your necessary changes now by clicking to add or remove marks.

Please find and click on the button for TCP/IP SETTINGS. Windows 98 users should have the following items marked: Server assigned IP address, Server assigned name server addresses, Use IP header address compression, and Use default gateway on remote network. Windows 95 users should have the following items marked: Server assigned IP address, Specify name server addresses, Use IP header address compression, and Use default gateway on remote network. The Primary DNS should be set to 208.190.196.2. If Windows 98 users have a Primary DNS set, please change it to the new numbers given for Windows 95 users. Please make your necessary changes now by clicking to add or remove marks or enter your number changes.

Please find and click on the OK button(s) and close all windows until you are back to your normal desktop.

Depending on how your Operating System is configured, you MAY need to have your Windows disk to complete this part of the change(s). From your Windows desktop, DBL click on the MY COMPUTER icon, DBL click on the CONTROL PANEL icon, then find and DBL click on the NETWORK icon. In the INSTALLED COMPONENTS window locate the TCP/IP or TCP/IP -> Dial-Up Adapter line. DBL click on this line. Windows 98 users may have a warning message appear, click OK to continue past this window. There are only 2 tabs here of any concern, only make the changes that are listed below.

Find and click on the tab named GATEWAY. Windows 98 users should find the INSTALLED GATEWAYS box empty and you have no changes to make. In the event there are numbers listed here, click on those numbers and then click on the REMOVE button. You should have no addressing remaining in the INSTALLED GATEWAYS when finished with removal. Click on the left side of the NEW GATEWAY box and type in 208.190.196.1 followed by clicking on the ADD button. You should now see those numbers appear in the INSTALLED GATEWAYS box below. Windows 95 users should find an address listed in the INSTALLED GATEWAYS box. You should click on those numbers and then click on the REMOVE button. You should have no addressing remaining in the INSTALLED GATEWAYS when finished with removal. Click on the left side of the NEW GATEWAY box and type in 208.190.196.1 followed by clicking on the ADD button. You should now see those numbers appear in the INSTALLED GATEWAYS box below.

Find and click on the tab named DNS CONFIGURATION. Windows 98 users should find the Disable DNS marked and you have no changes to make. In the event that it is enabled, please click on the numbers listed in the DNS SERVER SEARCH ORDER box and remove them until the box is empty. Click on the left side of the box above with the dots in it and enter in 208.190.196.2 and click on ADD. The numbers should appear below. Windows 95 users should find the Enable DNS marked. In the event that it is not enabled, please click on the Enable DNS mark and enter mcio in the HOST box, micoks.net into the DOMAIN box and then enter the numbers as instructed further in this paragraph. For Windows 95 users that had the mark already in Enable DNS, there is no need to change the information in the HOST or DOMAIN areas. You should now click on any numbers listed in the DNS SERVER SEARCH ORDER box and remove them until the box is empty. All Windows 95 users should click on the left side of the box above with the dots in it and enter in 208.190.196.2 and click on ADD. The numbers should appear below.

Windows 95 users and Windows 98 users who MADE changes should find and click on the OK buttons. At this time your computer should start the process of updating your system. In some cases, it may instruct you to insert your Windows Operating System disk into the computer. Please follow the instructions to complete the process. Once it is finished, the computer will instruct you to reboot. You MUST do this in order for the changes to take effect. You should now be able to use the Internet as usual.

If you have any problems completing the instructions above, please verify that your connection is not operating property before calling for support. Please keep in mind there are many behind-the-scene changes that must be made including DNS’ing with Internic and subsequent routing issues. It may take a day or so for subscribed e-mail to locate our server at the new addressing, but it will eventually start again. We have had to make this type of change once before a little over 2 years ago, those customers should be able to remember that patience is the only way for things to start operating properly. We are considerably more prepared for this change and feel it should progress smoothly.

Thanks again for your patience while Miami County Internet OnRamp, Inc once again takes great strides to remain well ahead of our customers’ need for a quality-oriented service.