Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic Windows XP dialup help

I don't use Windows, nor own windows, so I need some help. My parents just bought a new laptop that came with WindowsXPHome installed. Their old laptop had WindowsME.

On the ME machine, when they wanted to use the internet, they would click on the InternetExplorer icon, the dialup dialog would automatically come up, they would connect and check their email, etc.... When they were done, they would close IE, and the dialup would ask if they are done, and if they said yes, it would disconnect them.

WindowsXPHome does the autoconnect thing, but when they are done with the internet, it doesn't ask them if they are done and hang up. It just quietly leaves the connection up and running.

Is there anyway to get XPHome to ask if they want to disconnect from the internet when the last program using the internet closes?

Thanks for the help.

I used XP Home and dialup for a long time, and always disconnected manually. Although I didn't give it much thought, so maybe there's an option I'm not aware of. I quickly checked the Properties tabs in my dialup Internet connecion related icons, though, and didn't find anything like that.

Sorry if that's not much help.

See ya,
AnnaBtG.

As far as I know, there isn't an option for that in XP. Of course, I'm not exactly sure where that option is in ME, either. We just tell our customers to disconnect by double-clicking on the two monitors down next to the time, and then click ont he Disconnect button.

If you click settings and then the "advanced" tab there are options to shut the internet connection if it's been idle for "x" minutes or an option to "disconnect when connection may no longer be needed"

I don't know if that's what you need (I've had broadband ever since I got XP, I think, and I always used to disconnect manually when I had dial-up), but maybe it'll help.

OK, I had to install a Dial-Up connection in my computer to see this (I have high-speed access here at home).

Check this: in Tools > Internet Options... > Connections tab, select your dia-up service and click on "Settings...", then on the new window, click on "Advanced".

Do you have the option "Disconnect when connection may no longer be needed" selected? If not, try it out. Maybe it will work.

If it doesn't work, let us know, and we'll keep looking.

See ya,

malu

EDIT: Oops! I think I took too long to reply. Tzigone just answered the same thing before me.

Well - this is exciting! Trying to get someone to click through a bunch of menus you can't see and don't know anything about to achive the wanted result is mighty fun indeed!

Thanks for the help, everyone. We found the checkbox, and turned it on, but they said it didn't make any difference. We will see. It could have been something like their virus program checking for updates or something that kept the connection open - I don't know. They will be traveling back my way soon, so I'll see what they did with my own eyes.

Thanks again for the help.

Ignore this.

malu