Macintosh MegaSpeed Connection Troubleshooting

MAIN's MegaSpeed accelerator is improving the online experience for many of our subscribers, but unfortunately there are a few cases in which the potential improvement is not realized.

MegaSpeed (which won't speed up FILE downloading, only web-content) is only as good as the system and connection you get on your phone line. If the computer has the resources available ("enough horses on standby") to decompress the content that MegaSpeed is compressing (which is how it speeds things up), and the connection is stable, then you will see performance gains. However, older machines with lower resource limits may not benefit.

If you have any noise on the lines such as static, clicks or humming, the line may not be able to deliver the increased content that is trying to come through. Your modem (the device that the computer uses to transfer information over the phone line) also is a critical link in getting more web pages and email through it and needs to be working well.

System Requirements
PowerPC G3 processor at 333MHz
64 MB RAM
6 MB Free Hard Disk space
OS 10.2 or later

Make sure MegaSpeed is installed correctly
If there were any problems downloading and installing MegaSpeed or the program doesn't act as it normally should, redownload the MegaSpeed installer and reinstall the program. Make sure that when it says to close all programs before installing MegaSpeed that you do close them all, otherwise it will not install properly.

MegaSpeed Installer Macintosh 10.2 and above

Wait three minutes before using your browser the first time.
Sometimes MegaSpeed needs some time to set up the initial connection to the MegaSpeed server the first time you connect after installing it. After you are connected to MAIN, make sure that MegaSpeed is enabled and wait three minutes or so before opening any programs. This allows MegaSpeed plenty of time to find and communicate with the server to set up the connection.

Modem Problems
Modem Settings
Try changing the modem settings to allow more "slack for phone line problems" as follows:
Modem Instructions for Mac OS 9.x
Click on the Apple in the upper left hand corner, then go to Control Panels, then Modem, and choose the next lower version for modem protocols, example:
if you have Apple Internal Modem v.92 change to Apple Internal Modem v.90, then click Close and Save.
if you have Apple Internal Modem v.90 change to Apple Internal Modem v.34, then click Close and Save.

Modem Instructions for Mac OS X
Go to the Apple in the upper left hand corner of your screen, click on it and pull down to System Preferences. Doubleclick the Network icon. For Location, choose your location. For Show, select Internal Modem. Click on the Modem tab and choose the next lower version for your modem, example:

if you have Apple Internal Modem v.92 change to Apple Internal Modem v.90, Click Apply Now (or Save) at the bottom of the window, close the Network window.

if you have Apple Internal Modem v.90 change to Apple Internal Modem v.34, Click Apply Now (or Save) at the bottom of the window, close the Network window.

Telephone Line Problems
There's a chance that the problem is coming from another device on the phone line, or internal wiring in your home - try taking a long phone cord and hooking directly from your modem to the gray Telephone Network Interface box (usually on the outside of the house.) If that helps, then you can start to isolate the culprit. You should be especially suspicious of the tiny "splitters" that make two or more phone jacks available where only one was present beforehand. These are usually not very high quality and can affect the line quality tremendously.

Use a Different Phone Number
Look up a different local number for MAIN if available, and try connecting to that one to see if you have a problem with the phone lines that you are going through. There are variables such as house phone wiring, how many telephony devices you have, your phone lines may have different combinations of routers, switches and multiplexers that your modem hardware and software have to deal with.

Secure Sites Password Protected
You may have to bypass sites that require passwords. MegaSpeed doesn't have access to those, so it can't accelerate them. To bypass MegaSpeed for certain web sites (web sites on your local corporate intranet, for instance), select the "Proxy Exclusion" tab on the " Settings" dialog (see below). You have two options for bypassing sites:

1. If you have already defined a proxy exclusion list in your web browser, select "Use browser's proxy exclusion settings" to configure MegaSpeed to exclude these sites as well. Stop and then start MegaSpeed.

2. You may also "Specify a proxy exclusion list" by selecting this option. Click on the MegaSpeed icon in the lower right hand corner of your screen, a little bit to the left of where the time is displayed. Go to Settings, click on the Features tab, then click Proxy Exclusion near the bottom. In the text field, list all the web sites, separated by semicolons, that you wish to bypass MegaSpeed Web Acceleration. Stop and then start MegaSpeed.

Firewalls and Virus Programs
MegaSPEED is compatible with most ad blockers, popup stoppers, personal firewalls, and other utilities. In some cases, minor configuration either of MegaSPEED or other products is needed. In other cases, MegaSPEED is not compatible. If you are receiving error messages from a firewall please ensure the following ports are allowed access:
5400 (127.0.0.1)
7000 (216.126.145.190)

Parental Control software
We believe that "filtering" software which prevents your computer from going to unseemly web sites can also cause a conflict. In this case, you will have to choose between having a filtered connection or a fast connection, because MegaSpeed may not run through certain filter programs.

Laptops - Screen Savers - Sleep Mode
If you allow your laptop to go into Sleep mode, it will probably not be connected to MegaSpeed after it awakes and you will probably need to reboot the computer to get the MegaSpeed connection working again.

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