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AU Dial

AU Dial is a dial-up service which offers internet access similar to the services provided by commercial Internet Service Providers (ISP's). AU Dial is available to Auburn University departments to provide off-campus access for their employees for business purposes. The department is required to give the Banner FOP number to be billed.

Common Topics

Rates

Unlimited usage is provided for a charge of $8.00 per month.

"Toll-Free" access is available to users when traveling to avoid having to pay hotel long-distance charges. However, since "toll-free" service is not actually free to the University, calls to the toll-free number will be billed to the department at a rate of $0.05 per minute.

Access Numbers

Local Access: (334) 844-2323
Long-Distance Access: (877) 534-9981
AU Dial Sign-Up Process

Locate your Administrative Computing Coordinator and contact him or her to sign up for AU Dial.

Setting Up How-To

Change an existing dial-up connection to AU Dial
After checking to see if a connection still exists, you can easily change an existing dial-up connection to work for AU Dial.

Follow these steps:
1. To tell if you have an existing dial-up connection, do one of the following:
  
  Start > My Network Places > View Network Connections. If a "Dial-up" category exists, you already have a dial-up connection.
  
  Note: If you do not have a dial-up connection already established, please go to "Configure a new dial-up connection to AU Dial".
2. To edit the properties of an existing dial-up connection that you want to switch to AU Dial, do one of the following:
  
  Windows XP: Click Start > My Network Places > View Network Connections and then click once on the dial-up connection icon that you wish to change. From the sidebar, select Change settings for this connection and then go to step 3.
3. Locate the "Telephone number" or "Phone number" field and enter one of the following AU Dial access numbers:
  (334) 844-2323 for local access
  (877) 534-9981 for long distance
4. Click OK to return to the previous folder. Right-click on the dial-up connection icon that you just edited and select Rename. Change the name to "AU Dial" and hit Enter.
Configure a new dial-up connection to AU Dial
You can connect to AU Dial after configuring your modem and setting up a dial-up connection.

Follow these steps:

To install and configure your computer for dial-up networking and AU Dial, scroll below to the appropriate instructions for your operating system.

Note: The long distance number has a charge of $0.05 per minute that is billed to your department.

Windows XP instructions
1. If your modem is not installed, Windows XP will automatically detect your modem on start up. If your modem is a new install and has not been configured, use the installation CD that came with the hardware or contact the OIT HelpDesk (334) 844-4944, helpdesk@auburn.edu).
2. If your modem is installed, click Start > My Network Places > View network connections
3. Click Create new connection to open the "New Connection Wizard".
4. Click Next, select Connect to the Internet, and click Next again.
5. Select Set up my connection manually and click Next.
6. Select Connect using a dial-up modem and click Next.
7. Type in "AU Dial" for the ISP Name and click Next.
8. Enter (334) 844-2323 for local access or (877) 534-9981 for long distance and click Next.
9. Select which users on your computer will have access to AU Dial and click Next.
10. Enter your AU User Name and password for the account User Name and password. Check or uncheck the other options as you desire and click Next.
11. Check Add a shortcut to my desktop and click Finish.
12. To edit the connection you just created, right click on the AU Dial icon and select Properties.
13. Click the Networking tab. The dial-up server type is PPP, Windows 95/98/NT 4/2000, Internet.
14. Adjust other settings as needed and then click OK until you return to the "Network Connections" folder.
Create a desktop shortcut to an AU Dial connection
An AU Dial desktop shortcut is an icon on the your computer's desktop that can open AU Dial with one click.

Follow these steps:
1. First, do one of the following: Click Start > My Network Places > View Network Connections.
2. Right-click on the AU Dial connection icon and select Create shortcut.
3. Windows will display a message that says it can not create a shortcut in that folder. Click Yes so Windows will place the icon on your desktop.
4. An icon will now appear on your desktop labeled "Shortcut to AU Dial". Right-click on the icon and select Rename to change the name of the desktop shortcut.
5. Double click on the icon to open AU Dial.

Connecting How-To

Connecting to AU Dial
1. Double click on the AU Dial icon on your desktop and the following window will appear:
  
  Note: For connecting out of town, the phone number should be 9 1 877 534 9981. If you are not in a location that requires you to dial 9 first, you'll need to delete the 9 from the number. If a pause is required between numbers, insert one or more commas (the more commas, the longer the pause) where needed.
2. Enter your AU user name and password, as supplied by your Administrative Computing Coordinator, and click Connect.
3. A smaller window will indicate what is happening ("dialing" then "verifying user name and password"). When this window disappears, you are connected to the Internet and can open a web browser or check your e-mail.
4. An icon similar to the one below will appear in the Notification Area of your Windows Taskbar, indicating that your connection is active.

Troubleshooting

I can't connect to AU Dial
Issue:

If you are not able to connect to AU Dial, there are multiple things to check for to correct a problem with connecting to AU Dial.

Solution:
1. Check that the phone number is correct. The local AU Dial number is 844-2323, and the out-of-town number is 9 1 877 534-9981. You may need to change the number if you're dialing long distance from a private residence and don't need to dial 9 for an outside line, or if you're dialing from outside the U.S.
  
  You may change the phone number manually each time you make a connection, or you may change the settings. To change the number "just this once," double-click the AU Dial desktop icon and type in the desired number before you click Connect. To change the phone number settings:
  - Locate the AU Dial icon.
    Start > My Network Places > View network connections
  - Right-click on the AU Dial icon and select Properties.
  - Change the area code and telephone number to fit your situation and/or check or uncheck "Use country code and area code" to fit your situation. Click OK.
2. Your modem may be having problems.
I am having trouble with my modem
If your dial-up modem is not allowing my to connect to AU Dial, your modem drivers may be outdated or you may need to adjust the speed of your modem.

Solution:
1. To update your modem drivers, the best source is usually the modem manufacturer's Web page. However, finding the correct driver depends upon knowing the exact identity of your modem. If you have any manuals or documentation that came with your modem, they will definitely help with the identification process.
  
  Recommended Web sites beyond the manufacturer's Web site include:
  
  Internet Resource: Drivers Headquarters
  
  Internet Resource: ModemHelp.org
2. To adjust your modem's speed, the suggested solution is to step down the maximum speed of the modem. Certain modem chip sets and code revisions suffer from problems when the modem is configured to 115200 bps. Here's how:
  1. Click Start > Control Panel > Network Connections.
  2. Right-click the AU Dial entry and select Properties
  3. Under the "Connect Using" area at the bottom of the dialog box, click the Configure box.
  4. Under the "Maximum Speed" setting, choose 57600 and click OK.
  5. Click OK on the "AU Dial Properties" window

Last Updated: Jan. 10, 2012