Click to See Complete Forum and Search --> : getting AOL on linux


deanrantala
06-25-2003, 11:29 PM
This was quite a project (for me). Especially after all the broken links and downloads that wouldn't work. Anywayz.. If you need help getting your AOL dial-up account to work on that linux box, heres a way to get it going...

First, you will need to download a special modem dialer because the sstandard kppp won't logon to aol due to proprietary standards on AOL's behalf.Peng is the program you will need. Now of all the versions, I found "penggy" to be the one that worked. Get the files from here: ftp://ftp.penggy.org/birdy57/penggy/ Note that downloading the files from *antwhere else yeilded problem files for some reason.

Next, install the software. There are binaries for most distros as well as source. On slack (the test box) simply run the install script to install. When prompted, select all features when asked if you want them installed.

Now you need to edit the config file for penggy. Under the /etc/ directory, there should now be a directory named "Pengaol". Within this directory, there is a lone config file named "PengAol.conf" Open this file and where it says PhoneNbr=xxxxxxxxxxx (it is a number in france - you DON'T want this number!!) replace the number with your local AOL access number (you can find a list of local access numbers at http://access.web.aol.com/ .

Once this is done, the only thing left to do is shut down any ethernet interfaces (if any) by issuing the following command:
ifconfig eth0 down
note: to restore the ethernet conection, type
ifconfig eth0 up
(ifup eth0, and ifdown eth0 is supposed to work also on other distros)

Now (if you didn't already do so durring install) we will add the user account.. Type
peng -a username password
(replace "username" and "password" with your aol screen name and password)

Now you should be ready to connect (provided your modem id working and pluged in, etc...) Type
peng -c username
(replacing username with your own screen name)

once conected, you should now be able to launch the browser of your choice and surf:)

To shut down the modem connection, from a terminal window, type
peng -k
that should log you off and diconect..

Hope this helps...:D
_____________________________________________

You can PM me if you need further help with this..

SonOfAres
07-03-2003, 09:05 PM
it is if you're under 18 and can't get any other ISP, and your house is brick so they can't drill through to get cable, and even if they could the cable for the tv is run around on the other side of the house, and since the regulations have changed they have to bring it to the OTHER side of the house, which is like a 4 hour job, and both your parents can't take that much time off work.....

meaning AOL is my only connection to the internet!

btw, at the link you gave for penggy, which files do I need? I'm trying to copy all of them to my hard drive, but the .message file is giving me an error for copying. Is it important?

SonOfAres
07-03-2003, 09:29 PM
EDIT: Double post. Guess that's what I get for using AOL :P

deanrantala
07-04-2003, 04:55 PM
Originally posted by SonOfAres
it is if you're under 18 and can't get any other ISP, and your house is brick so they can't drill through to get cable, and even if they could the cable for the tv is run around on the other side of the house, and since the regulations have changed they have to bring it to the OTHER side of the house, which is like a 4 hour job, and both your parents can't take that much time off work.....

meaning AOL is my only connection to the internet!

btw, at the link you gave for penggy, which files do I need? I'm trying to copy all of them to my hard drive, but the .message file is giving me an error for copying. Is it important?
___________________________________

The easiest way is download the pre-compiled binaries. You should only need to download one file (unless you have certian dependancies that must be met) for this method...

What distro are you using?

SonOfAres
07-05-2003, 07:47 PM
Mandrake

I think I got PengAol installed OK, but I think I ran into another problem (which may be derived from the first, actually)-- when I try to run it,
pengaol -c [username] [password]
returns an error of something along the lines of
DRIVERS NOT FOUND. PLEASE USE THE -LISTDRIVER COMMAND TO ENSURE DRIVERS ARE PROPERLY CONFIGURED or something like that. So, of course,
pengaol -list cuz -listdriver and ListDriver doesn't do anything. I get a feedback of something like

(null)
(null)
(null)
(null)
(null)
(null)
[username]
[username]
[username]


Any ideas?

It could have something to do with my modem. It doesn't "turn on" when I try to connect, but that could just be because pengaol never gets past the drivers stage. Or somethin...

deanrantala
07-06-2003, 03:18 PM
Eh.... On the pengAol config file, you will notice somewhere that it asks for the modem device. Make sure that that is pointing to the proper spot (ie. /dev/tty0 if on ""com1"). Also make sure that you got a real modem - not a "winmodem", otherwise, you are in for a whole different adventure:rolleyes:

SonOfAres
07-06-2003, 03:50 PM
It's in the right place (com1). I don't know what a winmodem is, but I'm pretty sure I don't have one...?
least, it's Com1 in Windows....

deanrantala
07-06-2003, 08:21 PM
post a copy of your pengAol config file on this board and I'll take a look at it.

Also, what do you get when you type
setserial -bg /dev/ttys*


Post back and let me know...