How To Set Up A Public Web Station

Setting up a computer to run the Public Web Station (PWS) software requires:

• Assembling a computer that will run PWS.
• Setting up the computer's BIOS to boot from a CD.
• Installing and booting the PWS CD.

If you're new to this sort of thing, don't be intimidated by the amount of information on this page. It is broken down into small, easily managed steps. You can do each one, take a breath, and start the next. The first time you do this, it might take an hour or so. Once you get used to the procedure, it should take you a few minutes for each system, provided you don't run into problems.

If you do run into problems, there's a Troubleshooting section at the end of this page.

If it's possible, print out this web page before starting to work. Odds are, you won't have a way of looking at this page while you're doing this work if you don't.

Minimum requirements

To run the Public Web Station, you will need:

• a personal computer (PC) with at least 128 megabytes of RAM and at least a 200MHz CPU.
• a CDROM drive that works.
• a keyboard and mouse
• a video monitor. If the video monitor does not have a cable, a VGA video cable is required.
• A working Internet connection with a twisted pair ethernet cable
• A CD of the Public Web Station (PWS).

• Plug in the keyboard and mouse. Most keyboards and mice have a round connector. If they do, then plug the mouse into the mouse port on the back of the computer, and plug the keyboard into the keyboard port, which is also on the back of the computer (see photo below). The keyboard connectors are usually colored purple, and the mouse connectors are usually colored green. If the back connectors aren't colored, don't panic, there are little symbols that look like a keyboard and a mouse engraved next to the connectors.

  Newer mice and keyboards use rectangular connectors known as USB connectors. Plug these connectors into any available USB connection on the front or back of the computer. The photo below shows two USB connectors on the back panel of a computer.
  
  

  
  Fig. 1 - Mouse and keyboard connectors on PC back panel
  
  
• Plug the video monitor into the video (VGA) connector on the back of the computer. This is a 15-pin connector that is usually colored blue. In any case, it will probably be the only connector the video monitor's cable will fit into. If the monitor does not have a video cable, then you must find one. One end will plug into the monitor's VGA port, and the other will plug into the back of the computer. Which end goes where will be obvious, since one end of the cable will have pins in the connector and the other will have sockets.
  
  
  Fig. 2 - Video connector on PC back panel
  
  
• Plug the ethernet cable, which is often called a "twisted pair" or "CAT 5" cable into the ethernet port on the back of the computer.
  
  
  Fig. 3 - Ethernet connector on PC back panel
  

  NOTE: There may be more than one ethernet port on the back of the computer. If this is the case, then later you'll find that PWS works or it doesn't after it is booted. If it does not work, try moving the ethernet cable to a different connector and reboot.

• Plug in the computer and monitor (to AC power, that is). Put the PWS CD into the CDROM drive. You may need to turn the computer on to get the CDROM tray to come out, you will be doing that for the next step anyway, so go ahead and turn it on.

  Don't forget to turn the monitor on, too.

In order to run PWS, the computer must be able to boot from its CDROM drive. Most PCs that have been built in the last ten years do this, but they often must have settings changed to do this. This is done in the computer's BIOS, which is something most computer users never see.

There are many different BIOSs. Each computer has its own little BIOS quirks, and there are several basic versions of BIOS out there. For this reason, the instructions that follow are somewhat vague, and you will have to figure some things out. Fortunately, nearly all BIOSs make the settings you'll need to change easy to find.

By now, the PC and monitor should be turned on, you should have the PWS CD in the CDROM drive, and the PC should be trying to boot. It's possible that PWS will be able to run without changing any BIOS settings, if so, then proceed to the next section of this page - Installing and booting the PWS.

If the PWS will not boot, and there is a message that says no operating system (OS) was found, then the BIOS must be set up to allow booting from the CDROM drive. To do this,

• Enter the BIOS. This must be done after the banner for the BIOS has appeared, but before the computer tries to boot from the hard disk. Usually, this is done by pressing the F1, F2, Delete (DEL) or Insert (INS) key. Some BIOSs will display a message at the bottom of the screen that says something like:
  
  Hit the DEL key to enter setup
  
  In that case, hit the indicated key, and wait for the BIOS screen to come up. If no such message appears, keep rebooting the computer, and trying the various keys suggested above.
  
  
• Once the BIOS screen appears, look for the boot sequence parameter field. This is seldom on the first BIOS screen that appears. It is usually in a menu entitled "Boot" or "Advanced BIOS settings" or the like. Here is a screenshot of an Award BIOS screen where this parameter is located:
  
  
  Fig. 4 - Award BIOS boot sequence paramter
  
  
  

  NOTE: At the bottom of the BIOS screens, there will usually be hints concerning what keys to hit to accomplish something: "'Esc' - return to main menu", etc. Read these to determine how to navigate around the screen, change settings, and go to other menus. An example of these hints can be seen in Figure 5.

  
  
  
• Once you've located the boot sequence parameter field, change it so that the computer tries to boot from the CDROM drive before it tries to boot from the hard disk. Figure 5 shows how this may be done in the Award BIOS. In some BIOSs, this is accomplished by rearranging a list of boot devices. In this case, arrange this list so that the CDROM is tried before the hard disk or network.
  
  
  Fig. 5 - Changing the Award BIOS boot sequence
  
  
  
  
• After changing the boot sequence, save the configuration according to your BIOS's instructions. Sometimes, this will be done by hitting a key like F10 (as in the Award BIOS screen in Figure 5). Sometimes, you'll have to navigate to a menu named "Exit", and then select the menu item that most closely corresponds to "Save new configuration and exit". You may be asked to confirm that you want to save and exit. If so, then say "yes".
  
  
• At this point, the computer should be ready to run PWS. Congratulations! You've finished the hardest part of this exercise.

The Public Web Station is designed to boot up and run without the operator having to tell it anything about the computer hardware or the network to which it's connected. Sometimes this doesn't work, but most of the time it does.

• If you haven't already done so, put the PWS CD into the CDROM drive, and then reboot the computer.
  
  
• The PWS should now boot into a web browser, and display the PWS home page, which is shown in Figure 6.
  
  
  Fig. 6 - Public Web Station booted and ready to go
  
  
  
  

While the Public Web Station is designed to be self-configuring and basically foolproof, there are still times when something's not going to work. What can go wrong can be broken down into two basic categories of problem:

• The computer
• The network

The computer

Problems with your computer will usually be related to not having something connected, although it's possible that you have some hardware compatibility problem. Check these things before assuming you have a bad network or the software can't handle your computer:

• the power is on to both the monitor and the computer. The monitor will have some sort of LED or lamp on if it is powered. The computer will probably have an LED or lamp on, and will also be making some noise.
• the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and computer are connected as described in Assembling the computer
• the computer is able to boot from the CDROM drive as described in Setting up the BIOS

If this is the case, and the computer does not show something resembling the screen in Figure 6, or the screen in Figure 7, then you have a hardware problem. Fix it or get another computer.

If, on the other hand, you do see the screen in Figure 6, but there is no web page displayed as shown in Figure 7, then you probably have a network problem.

Fig. 7 - Public Web Station booted, but no home page displayed

The network

In order for your PWS to have access to the Internet, several things have to be working properly. The first, obviously, is the computer itself. If you've gotten this far, that should not be the problem, except, of course, that you may have a bad network adapter. The other things that must be working are:

• The connection from your computer to the network hub or switch. This connection is made using the ethernet cable you connected in Assembling the computer. If this connection is a good one, you should now see a green or yellow light next to the connector. If there isn't, check these things:
  • the ethernet cable is fully pushed into the connector. There will be a noticeable click when this cable is completely inserted. Try inserting it again.
  • the ethernet cable is the wrong type. Check that it is not a crossover cable. Connections from a computer and a switch should be over a "straigth thru" cable.
  • the other end of the ethernet cable is not connected to the switch.
  • the switch is not powered, or is defective.
  
  
• If there is more than one ethernet interface on your computer, as mentioned in Assembling the computer, it's possible that you chose the wrong ethernet port. Plug the ethernet cable into a different ethernet connector, verify that the light next to this connector is on, then reboot the computer. If there are more than two ethernet ports, keep repeating this step until you've tried all the ports.
  
  
• The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server on your local network is not running, or cannot see your computer's requests for a configuration. DHCP is the means by which the PWS gets the configuration information it needs to communicate with the Internet. If this has not been done, the PWS will not know how to reach the PWS Katrina home page.
  
  This is something that your network administrator must troubleshoot.
  
  
• There is no connection to the Internet. Hopefully, you will already be aware if this is the case, but your network administrator will know for sure.

If you've gotten to this point in the troubleshooting procedure and you still aren't connected to the Internet, you either need to give up on this computer or wait for the network to get fixed.