This is caused by an idle timeout value set somewhere in the connection. Neither TERM nor TinyTERM has timeout capabilities — though they have been requested by some customers — so neither will disconnect automatically.

When this happens, check to see if the user is still logged in at the server. If not, then the server is the most likely source of the timeout. Make sure it has no timeout values set. There are also two commands that will turn timeouts off in most versions of UNIX. They are case-sensitive:

unset TMOUT
unset AUTOLOGOUT

If the user is still logged in on the server when TinyTERM gets disconnected, then a system in between the PC and the server is causing the disconnect. You’ll need a tool such as Ethereal to track down which system is causing the problem.

The other solution is to make sure the connection is never truly idle, that some sort of communication is always happening. A server application such as the Laffey spinner can accomplish this from the host side.

There are also ways to enable this in Windows NT or 2000 and Windows XP. Look for the “KeepAliveTime” option. The Windows solutions require editing the registry.

TinyTERM for Windows 4.8.2 added the telnetkeepalive option to the .tpx file. With this set to a value higher than zero, TinyTERM will wait that many idle seconds, then send a telnet NOP to the host. If set to zero, telnetkeepalive is disabled.

CR 227, telnetkeepalive feature added in TinyTERM 4.8.2

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In some cases TinyTERM will connect right away, but it takes several seconds for the login prompt to come up. When this happens, switch between using an IP address and a hostname for the server. In other words, if you have a hostname in TinyTERM, use the server’s IP address instead. If you are using the IP address, use a hostname.

If there is no hostname assigned to the server, you can create one on your PC by editing the hosts file. Its location varies depending on your version of Windows:

Windows 95, 98 or Me: C:\Windows\hosts
Windows NT or 2000: C:\Winnt\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
Windows XP or Vista: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts

The hosts file can have no extension. Right-click the file named hosts (not lmhosts) in the specified directory and select Properties from the pop-up menu. If it has an extension; i.e., it’s named hosts.sam, remove the extension so it’s just named hosts.

Next, open the file in Notepad or another text editor. Scroll down to the bottom. You’ll see a line like this at the end of the file:

127.0.0.1 localhost

Add a line below it using the same format. Give your server a name that’s easy to remember, and probably isn’t duplicated somewhere on your PC. For example:

192.168.0.1 myserver

You can use digits and dashes in the name, but no spaces. Save the file and exit Notepad. You can now use the hostname you created in TinyTERM.

On Windows 95 and 98 systems with a dial-up ISP, starting a telnet application such as TinyTERM can cause Windows Dial-Up Networking to launch, even if TinyTERM should connect over a LAN.

To stop this from happening, create a hosts file on the PC or edit the existing one (instructions). Add the IP address and hostname of the system you are connecting to.

If this procedure does not work, locate your dial-up networking connection file and rename it. Then start TinyTERM. You’ll get a message that the connection file can’t be found. In that message window will be an option not to connect to the Internet automatically. Check that box, then change the name of your dial-up connection back to the original name. The next time you start TinyTERM, the dialer won’t automatically open.

This error means that the host TinyTERM or TERM contacted rejected the connection. There are several possible reasons this can happen:

1. The host isn’t configured for the connection type you used. Make sure that you used the right connection type — telnet, rlogin or SSH. Also check the host to be sure the right server application is running.
2. The default port for the connection type isn’t what the host is using. The default ports by connection type are:
   

   telnet: 23
   rlogin: 513
   SSH: 22

   If the host is configured to use a different port, change that in TERM or TinyTERM.

3. TinyTERM connected to the wrong host. There are a few possible reasons for this:
   1. Check the hostname or IP address. If the address is wrong or has a typo, make the necessary change.
   2. If the address is correct, you can test a telnet connection in Windows or UNIX. (There is no equivalent test available in Windows for rlogin or SSH connections.) Go to a command prompt. At the prompt, type:
      

      telnet hostname

      Replace “hostname” above with the correct hostname or IP address. If that also fails to connect, check the TCP/IP settings on your PC and correct them where needed.

   3. If the address and TCP/IP settings are correct, change the address TinyTERM is using. TinyTERM references hostnames and IP addresses in a different manner. So if you have an IP address in TinyTERM, try a hostname instead. If using a hostname, try the host’s IP address.If the server has no hostname assigned, edit the system’s hosts file to create a name. Instructions for doing that in Windows are available here.
4. A firewall is blocking the connection. Check the firewall settings on your desktop system first. Windows XP and Vista include firewalls. There are also third-party products such as Norton Personal Firewall. Make sure TERM or TinyTERM is in the exceptions list for each firewall installed.

Click here to watch a screencast about this and other network connection errors.

Windows 3.1

There is one special case in Windows 3.1. If you are using Novell Client32 TCP stack, TinyTERM will give this error. The 32-bit stack does not work with Windows 3.1-compatible versions of TinyTERM.

This error means the IP address of the server you are attempting to connect to is unreachable from your computer. It’s almost always due to incorrect network settings on the PC. To check your network settings, do the following:

Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me

1. Click Start->Run
2. Type “winipcfg” in the Open: box and then click OK

Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP

1. Click Start->Programs->Accessories->Command Prompt
2. At the prompt, type “ipconfig” and press Enter

Verify that these settings are correct. If they are incorrect, contact your network administrator for assistance in properly configuring your computer.

If these settings are correct, then it is possible that your server may be down, or you may be experiencing some other problem with your network. You should contact your network administrator for assistance in this situation also.

Click here to watch a screencast about this and other network connection errors.

This error indicates that a timeout occurred before a connection could be made. There are several different situations in which this error can occur.

First, you will need to verify that you have entered the correct IP address or hostname into TinyTERM.

Once you have verified that, you will need to test the network connectivity between your PC and the server. You can do this by using the Windows utilities ping and telnet. Both utilities use the Windows command prompt.

To open a command prompt, go to Start | Programs | Accessories. The prompt will be listed as either “Command Prompt” or “MS-DOS Prompt.”

Once you have the command prompt, ping your server. At the prompt type:

ping address

replacing “address” with the hostname or IP address of the system you’re connecting to; for example, “ping 192.168.0.1”.

If you receive multiple timeout messages, this means that your PC cannot locate the server. Contact your system administrator for help with the network setup.

If your server replies, test the connection with Windows telnet. At the prompt type “telnet address” and hit Enter; for example, “telnet 192.168.0.1”.

If you receive an error message that reads “Connection Failed”, this means the Windows telnet program is experiencing the same problem as TinyTERM. This also indicates that the problem is not related to the TinyTERM software, but rather to a connectivity problem with either the PC or the server. You will need to contact your network administrator for assistance.

If telnet connects successfully, this error may be due to the way TinyTERM handles IP addresses and hostnames. In many cases, using a hostname in place of an IP address or vice versa will get TinyTERM to connect. Check with your system administrator to get the hostname or IP address for the server, whichever you’re not currently using in TinyTERM.

If there is no hostname assigned to the server, you can edit your PC’s hosts file to give it one. Instructions for this are available here.

Click here to watch a screencast about this and other network connection errors.

Windows 95

There is one special case regarding Windows 95 and Internet Explorer 3.0. If you configure and used IE’s email, TinyTERM will give the 10060 error. To resolve this, you can either delete IE’s email, or you can upgrade to Internet Explorer 4.01 or higher.

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