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FAQ  Frequently Asked Questions

How do I restart the server?

On NT, type in: net start surgenews

On 95/98, type in: /news/surgenews

On Unix, type in: /usr/local/news/surgenews_start.sh

To start it remotely use surgenews monitor on http://your.news.server:8119

How do I get to the web manager?

Use your web browser and type in a link like this: http://your.news.server:8119 If you are on the machine itself then that link may work. (as it's using 'localhost')

How do I set the web manager password?

Create a DOS/SHELL window and type in:
       surgenews -password

How do I enter my registration key?

In the web manager, click on the 'Register' link on the navigation pane.

Alternatively run tellnews activate on the command line with your registration details:
       tellnews activate N123 myemail@mydomain.com

Why is the manager sluggish on Netscape & Win 2000?

This is a bug in Netscape. It steals all the CPU while waiting for a web page to arrive, but since the server is on the same system that means it responds slowly. You can fix it in task manager: set the priority for Netscape down to 'below normal' and suddenly it will work faster!  Or upgrade to a fixed version of Netscape.

How do I stop nwatch (SurgeNews Monitor)?

It should never be necessary to stop nwatch manually as swatch is designed to keep running so that SurgeNews can be restarted using the web interface. But, if for any reason the SurgeNews monitor process needs to be manually stopped create the mon.exit file in the surgenews directory and nwatch will shutdown.

Using a DNEWS user.dat file

To use a pre existing user.dat file from an old dnews system use the authent module 'dnewsauth', e.g.

g_authent_process "c:\news\dnewsauth.exe -path c:\news"

And copy the 'user.dat' file to the specified path, e.g. c:\news

Getting newsgroups descriptions

Get this file https://netwinsite.com/ftp/pub/dnews/newsgroups.Z, unzip it and place in c:\news then issue this command:

tellnews newsgroups c:\news\newsgroups

Local moderated news groups

In surgenews.ini check this setting:

g_manager_smtp "x.x.x.x"

which should be the ip address of your mail server.

Second check you have a moderators.dat file in your surgenews home directory, if you dont upgrade to a later version of surgenews.

Then lastly, create a file called moderators.local and in it place one line:

local.group.name email.of.moderator@domain.name

Last of all you will need some mechanism of 'approving' the local posted messages. Some news clients (Agent) have the ability to do this, or you can use our 'dmod' utility available free on our web site.