<html><head><style type="text/css"></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt">I ran into a similar problem. From home, Pidgin could not locate login.oscar.aol.com (or whatever the address is). It would take about 40 minutes before Pidgin would be able to log in, or I would go for a full day without access. Finally, I changed the port from 5190 to 80. Haven't had any troubles since. And I have a cable modem connection. Hope that helps. Ryan ----- Original Message ---- <div style="font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="font-family: times new roman,new york,times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">From: Chick Tower <c.e.tower@gmail.com> To: GLLUG Group <linux-user@egr.msu.edu> Sent: Wednesday, July 9, 2008 4:45:01 PM Subject: [GLLUG] Starting Pidgin When I switched from using GAIM to using Pidgin, it seemed Pidgin wouldn't work properly for me.  I use a script to start the applications I use when connecting to the Internet (kppp, Firefox, and AIM client). I would connect to the Internet (via dial-up) and then enter my password in Pidgin, but Pidgin would immediately say it couldn't find login.oscar.aol.com, the AIM login server.  GAIM used to have no problem with this procedure.  I have since discovered that, if I wait to start Pidgin until after I'm on the Internet (rather than wait to _log in_ with Pidgin until after I'm connected), it works.  This indicates it's not a DNS issue (in the normal sense, at least).  So now I have a two-minute delay in my script to allow me to connect to the Internet before Pidgin is run.  I suspect that Pidgin is trying to find the AIM login server as soon as it starts, before I'm connected, so it might not be a problem for anyone whose PC is always connected.  I might be able to work around this by adding an entry to my hosts file for the server, but my delay works fine, and who knows how often the IP address might change, or if there's a pool of servers that answer login requests? I just would like to know if anyone else ran into this problem, and, if so, how you fixed it.  Perhaps a command-line parameter for Pidgin?  A setting in Pidgin that I couldn't find or didn't understand?                                 Chick _______________________________________________ linux-user mailing list <a ymailto="mailto:linux-user@egr.msu.edu" href="mailto:linux-user@egr.msu.edu">linux-user@egr.msu.edu</a> <a href="http://mailman.egr.msu.edu/mailman/listinfo/linux-user" target="_blank">http://mailman.egr.msu.edu/mailman/listinfo/linux-user</a> </div></div></div> </body></html>