Faulty Error messages while connecting to I SP

[P. Jayant]

I sometimes get error messages while trying to connect to my I S P. 1)
Invalid username or password and 2) Server busy or unable to connect.
Are these messages standard in Internet Protocols and are there fixed
procedures for sending or generating these messages? Who initiates them?
My computer or the I S P Server?
The Invalid username or password leads to panic and I start exploring the
possibility of changing the password wondering if it has been hacked. But if
I try to check with the I S P Helpdesk at that time, they say the Server is
Busy just now. A little later, the connection gets established without any
error message. In this situation, is it nor wrong to give the wrong signal
and say "Invalid username or password"?
It is interesting to observe that this happens of course, if I use the
password saved by Windows XP. At times, if I key in my password, erasing the
saved password (which happens to have far more characters than those
selected by me), there is no error message and the connection is O K. Does
this mean that the saved password has got corrupted or are the number of
characters much higher because it is encoded by XP?
With whom have I to take up this confusion of faulty error messages?
Microsoft, the producers of my OS ( Windows XP) or my I S P?

P. Jayant

 

[Malke]

P. Jayant wrote:

Please see my comments inline:

I sometimes get error messages while trying to connect to my I S P. 1)
Invalid username or password

This means that the username and/or password you have saved in your
email client (Outlook Express?) is incorrect.

and 2) Server busy or unable to connect.

This could mean that the ISP server is too busy, too many people are
trying to get online. Since you didn't say what ISP you are using, I
can't comment on that except to say maybe you should look for a better
ISP.

(snippage)

It is interesting to observe that this happens of course,
if I use the password saved by Windows XP. At times, if I key in my
password, erasing the saved password (which happens to have far more
characters than those selected by me), there is no error message and
the connection is O K. Does this mean that the saved password has got
corrupted or are the number of characters much higher because it is
encoded by XP?

It means that you probably entered the incorrect password and/or
username in your email client but are inputting the correct one
manually. The number of asterisks used by Windows is irrelevant; more
stars appear than real characters in the password as a security
feature.

After checking to make sure you know your real, working username and
password for your ISP, re-enter that information into your email
client. As I said, the "server busy" may just mean that you have a lame
ISP and you might want to look for a better one. If you are using a
local ISP, it might just not have the proper equipment to handle the
load.

HTH,

Malke

 

[P. Jayant]

Sorry I have been missing reading Newsgroups because a number of times, my I
S P is unable to connect me to the NNTP Server within 60 seconds. Now I have
seen your response and thanks for it.
What I still do not understand is; if Windows XP has found the password -
whether filled afresh or remembered from previous entry - is invalid, why
does it not point it out immediately, rather than sending it across to the I
S P Server?
Secondly, if the password entered after erasing the supposedly wrong one
previously entered is correct, and the "remember password" box is ticked,
should the situation not be corrected for all subsequent logins? But that
does not happen.

So, as you have pointed out, the password entered in the Properties of the
Account itself must be changed to the correct one. And entries made at the
time of each login should have no value.

By the way, by a freak occurrence, my correct password has got entered in
the right place and I am able to do my e-mail sending and access
satisfactorily, at least for the time being.

P. Jayant

 

[Malke]

Sorry I have been missing reading Newsgroups because a number of
times, my I S P is unable to connect me to the NNTP Server within 60
seconds. Now I have seen your response and thanks for it.
What I still do not understand is; if Windows XP has found the
password - whether filled afresh or remembered from previous entry -
is invalid, why does it not point it out immediately, rather than
sending it across to the I S P Server?

Because it isn't Windows that points out your password is incorrect; it
is your ISP. When you connect to your ISP, your computer says "hi" to
that computer and asks for access. The ISP's computer looks up the
username and password to authenticate you and if it has a record that
you are allowed to connect, you do.

Secondly, if the password entered after erasing the supposedly wrong
one previously entered is correct, and the "remember password" box is
ticked, should the situation not be corrected for all subsequent
logins? But that does not happen.

By the way, by a freak occurrence, my correct password has got entered
in the right place and I am able to do my e-mail sending and access
satisfactorily, at least for the time being.

I don't know why it is working now and wasn't working before, but just
move on and enjoy it. I'm glad you got it sorted.

Malke