The Telnet window on Windows95:  setting it up, using it.

Although more and more activity over the internet is going to be able to be done via a web browser, it still pays you to know how to access an e-mail account through a unix window.  Believe it or not, it may turn out that you need to access your e-mail from some computer that only allows telnet access to the internet.  As a part of your basic comuter literacy in the modern world, it would be well for you to know how to do this.  Here's how for Windows95 and Windows98 machines:

A. First make a shortcut on your Desktop for calling up a telnet window.

  1. From the Start button, choose Find.
  2. Pick the option Files or Folders.
  3. Type telnet.exe in the search slot and Enter.
  4. You will probably discover that this program is in your C:/windows directory.
  5. Right-click on the icon for Telnet and choose Create Shortcut.
  6. You'll receive a notice offering you the option to have the shortcut created on the Desktop.  Click "Yes."

B. Configure the window for connecting with the domain you want to connect to, in this case, the campus-wide unix system.

  1. Click on the Desktop shortcut icon for Telnet.
  2. Go to the Connect menu and pick Remote System...
  3. A little window pops up with three slots.
    • In the one for HostName, type unix.ksu.edu .
    • Make sure that the one for Port says telnet .
    • Make sure that the one for TermType says vt100 .
    • Click Enter.
  4. The next time you want to use Telnet, go to the Connect menu and pick unix.ksu.edu, which you will now see as one of the options listed.  (See step 2 in C, following.)

C. Connect to your account and read your campus e-mail.

  1. Connect to the internet through your internet service provider.  This will be KSU Telecommunications, or Flinthills Computer, or Bear Computer, or Fox Business Systems, or NetworksPlus (to cite the ones here in Manhattan, KS), or whichever one you are using from the town where you are living.
  2. Call up Telnet from the shortcut on your Desktop, go to the Connect menu and pick unix.ksu.edu .
  3. Login to your account, repsonding to the prompts for your account id (login:__) and password (password:__).
  4. Make sure that the first thing you do after the unix prompt (nbc% or whatever) appears is to hit Enter once, to accept the default option (vt100) for terminal emulation.  (Otherwise the system doesn't know how to interpret the keystrokes it receives from you.)
  5. Enter pine to get into Pinemail.
  6. Go to the Inbox to read your in-coming mail.
  7. Do q to quit Pinemail when you're done.
  8. Logout as usual, by entering exit .

Once you've done A and B, above, you only need to do C on every subsequent occasion. 

  Return to Making sure that you are on the mailing list for the class listserv.
  Go to Receiving class listserv e-mail at an account not on the campus unix system.
  Go to the Home Page of the course.

  Suggestions, comments and questions are welcome.  Please send them to lyman@ksu.edu .

      Contents copyright © 1999 by Lyman A. Baker. 

Permission is granted for non-commercial educational use; all other rights reserved.

      This page last updated 12 January 2000.