Making and Ending a Dial-Up Connection

If you use a dial-up connection with an analog modem or ISDN line, after you've set up an icon for your ISP, making the connection is a snap. You'll use this same procedure if you use a broadband connection with PPPoE that requires you to log on:

1.	Select (double-click) the connection icon in Network Connections.
2.	When Windows displays a connection dialog box (see Figure 8.13), enter the login name and password assigned by your ISP. If you're the only one using your PC (or you don't care who uses your account) check Save Password so that you won't need to retype it every time you dial. Figure 8.13. When you want to initiate a dial-up connection, enter your user ID and password, and check Save Password to simplify connecting in the future. TIP Put your dial-up connections on your Start menu for quick access. To do this, right-click the Start button. Click Customize, select the Advanced tab, and find Network Connections in the list of Start Menu Items. Check either Display as Connect-To Menu (which lets you dial a connection right from the Start menu) or Link to Network Connections Folder.
3.	For a dial-up connections only, check that the phone number is correct, including area code and any required prefix numbers. You might need to correct your current location (Dialing From) and/or the Dialing Rules if the prefix or area code isn't correct; to do this, click Properties, and then, optionally, Dialing Rules.
4.	If you want other users of your computer to be able to use this same ISP account and password, or if you are going to use Internet Connection Sharing to share this connection, check Save This User Name and Anyone Who Uses This Computer.
5.	Click Dial or Connect to make the connection.

Windows then dials your ISP and establishes the connection; if it works, a connection icon will appear in the notification area with a temporary note indicating the connection speed, as shown in Figure 8.14. (Unfortunately, on some computers, mine for instance, this shows the wrong numberthe speed the computer is using to talk to the modem, not the actual speed of the Internet connection.)

Figure 8.14.

If your modem doesn't attempt to connect to your ISP, see "Modem Didn't Dial ISP" in the "Troubleshooting" section at the end of this chapter.

If the connection fails, Windows displays a (usually) sensible message explaining why: There was no dial tone because your modem in unplugged, there was no answer at the ISP or the line is busy, or you user ID and password failed. In the last case, you'll get three tries to enter the correct information before Windows hangs up the phone.

If the modem dials, but fails to establish a connection, see "Modem Dialed ISP but the Connection Failed" in the "Troubleshooting" section at the end of this chapter.

(Of course, if you use a dedicated, always-on Internet connection, you won't have to fool with dialing and hanging up connections at all. To be honest, I don't know which I like more about my DSL connectionits lickety-split speed or the fact that I don't have to wait for a modem connection to be made.)

After your connection is made, you should be able to browse Web sites, check your email, and so on.

If your Internet connection seems to be working but you can't view any web pages, see "Can't Reach Any Web Sites" in the Troubleshooting section at the end of this chapter.

Checking the Connection Status

The notification area connection icon shows two tiny computer screens, which are normally black. They flicker when data activity occurs on the dial-up connection, momentarily turning green to show that the modem is active. The two indicators represent data you're sending and data returned from your ISP, respectively. This icon is actually a decent troubleshooting tool because you can immediately see whether modem activity is taking place.

If you let your mouse cursor hover over the connection icon, a small pop-up window shows the number of bytes transmitted and received over the current connection.

If you right-click the connection icon, a pop-up menu appears. This menu contains the following options:

• Disconnect Hang up the connection

• Status View the Connection Status dialog

• Open Network and Dial-Up Connections Bring up the whole dial-up networking control panel

Choosing Status from this menu opens the Status dialog box, which shows the number of bytes transmitted and received during the connection and the number of transmission errors detected; it also has buttons to let you disconnect or adjust the connection properties. Its Details tab lists technical information such as the connection's IP address.

Hanging Up a Dial-Up Connection

After you finish with your Internet connection, simply right-click the connection icon in your tasktray, and select Disconnect. Windows will hang up the dial-up connection and remove the icon from the tasktray in a few seconds.