Setup, Installation, and Registration

Admittedly, the AOL setup process is one of the simpler processes out there. Normally, one can just put in the disc, continue clicking the large "Next" button and fill out the appropriate information that will permit AOL access to your account (at best a service; at worst an unending nightmare). AOL has put significant time and effort into the setup procedure because they *need* to make it easy. Significant volumes of calls were generated under the older software simply to walk through installations because the interface was not all that intuitive. Since, in the past, it has been impossible to register an account any other way but via AOL's installation program, such calls sparked AOL to create a registration assistance queue strictly devoted to assisting members with the registration process. Well over a year ago, AOL made some effort to test out a program that would allow people to register over the phone. At this time, however, I believe that nearly all registrations for accounts occur using the AOL software.

Various problems can occur during the installation process. Such problems range from relatively rare occurrences of filesystem limitations in Windows 95 to rather unpredictable BSODs. AOL's typical response to such problems is to send you a new CD. I can almost assure you completely that there is nothing wrong with the CD. Frankly, very few of the tech support reps (and fewer REA reps) know how to troubleshoot installation woes.

Still a huge problem today is AOL's annoying capacity to install itself multiple times on your hard drive. In general we are not talking about a small program (AOL generally requires 80 MB of drive space simply to install even though it will not be that big after installation). Not uncommon are people that have unknowingly installed the AOL software upwards of 10 times or more on their system. Imagine the shock of finding your hard drive eaten by one single program that has been unwittingly installed 14 times on your hard drive. Such limitations of the software rarely make sense and would be easy enough to work around (e.g., the Earthlink 5.0 software, despite its own limitations, will install over itself unless explicitly told to do otherwise).

Presuming that installation doesn't end your AOL experience immediately, the setup process for a new account can be daunting. You will be asked for your name, address, phone number, credit card number (or other billing method), etc. If you are uncomfortable with this method of registration, you should not be using AOL in the first place. Other ISPs will allow you to call them up and register over the phone (which people are usually more comfortable with anyway). Many times I have heard grave concerns over the security of this process. My standard disclaimer these days is that if someone wants to steal sensitive information bad enough, they will find a way. Some common sense always applies, but the paranoia is largely undeserved.

The next common problem in setup revolves around modem issues. You take your chances dialing up to AOL's registration server. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes your modem will dial up; sometimes it won't. The connection part of the process is probably the least consistent part of the process. Fair warning to people with $7 modems: you get what you pay for. At one time, AOL tech support used to be educated and knowledgeable about getting modems to connect. These days their database is full of largely bogus fixes that will get you calling back and listening to yet another sales pitch.

This is by no means an in depth look at all of AOL's setup and installation woes, but rather a sampling of what can go wrong. Such matters have lately been complicated by AOL's installation of a connectoid into dialup networking. The sentiment is decent but the implementation has caused unending interference between AOL and other ISPs. Largely this can fixed in my experience, but on the occasions where simply removing AOL and its connectoid are unsuccessful, reinstalling windows becomes almost a necessity.