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Using StoreMyPC With AOL

There are special considerations when using StoreMyPC with America Online (AOL). The following information addresses two problems identified when using AOL as your dial-up connection:

The first problem most people experience is the inability to dial an AOL connection directly from StoreMyPC. The second is problem that results in the AOL connection being dropped because of the inactivity timeout function built into AOL.

Since AOL uses a proprietary dialing scheme, you will NOT be able to utilize the standard dial-up "Connection" options in the StoreMyPC software. For that matter, many applications that would typically dial directly to an ISP will experience the same problem, so the following workaround may also be appropriate for those applications as well.

First, you must configure a default dial-up connection that launches AOL anytime an Internet connection is required. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Open Control Panel (Start->Settings->Control Panel), and launch the "Internet Options" dialog.
  2. Select the "Connection" tab.
  3. Highlight the AOL connection in the "Dial-up settings" list
  4. Click the bullet next to "Always dial my default connection" to select it
  5. Click the "Set Default" button
  6. Click "OK" to save the changes and close the dialog.
You must next configure StoreMyPC to NOT dial AOL directly. Steps follow:
  1. Launch the NovaNet-WEB Client Software
  2. From the menu, select "View->Options->General"
  3. Click on the "Connection" tab to select
  4. Uncheck "Connect to the server using Dial-up Networking"
  5. Click "OK" to save the changes and close the dialog
This should now run either manually (Backup Now), or from the scheduler, and use AOL as the connection to the Internet.

The "inactivity timeout" problem occurs because AOL does not recognize any Internet "activity" that occurs outside of the normal AOL application. Again, many applications share this same problem, so this workaround would be appropriate for them as well.

In order to "trick" AOL into "thinking" that there is activity occurring, you must download and install a 3rd party utility. There are a number of such utilities available over the Internet. However, be aware that NOT all work with every version of AOL. Many, for example, will work with version 4 and 5, but NOT version 6. Further, while some of these utilities are free (freeware) other vendors charge for enhanced functionality that may be desirable.

That said, for the basic requirement of maintaining an AOL connection, you may want to use the freeware utility called "Momo's AOL Anti-idle". The latest version can be downloaded at: http://www.cosmicat.com/software/antiidle/

Note: StoreMyPC, LLC makes no claims or guarantees as to the appropriateness, usability or functionality of this utility, and presents it here solely for the benefit of its customers. Further, StoreMyPC will NOT provide technical support in any way for this utility including setup, configuration or problems using the utility. You must contact the developer for ALL related support.