i posted this question as a reply to another post but im new at this forum stuff and didnt know whether it was best to submit as an original post or a reply. along with any help regarding my issue some advice regarding good forum ettiquette would be great too. while i am surfing my internet explorer appears to hang, however the globe in the right corner spins and the staus bar would say it was detecting proxy settings. no rhyme or reason as to when it happens. it may work fine for 20-30 minutes or it may happen every 3-4 clicks. i followed the instructions given for unchecking the box for automatic detection in the LAN settings and the only difference i can see is that the status bar no longer says *detecting proxy settings*. but it still hangs and the globe continues to spin. if i open an additional browser window while waiting for the first one nothing loads until the original window loads. i have even tried to open outlook and do a send\receive but until that original browser window loads all i get is the msg saying that outlook is connecting to the server. this only happens on my laptop it does not occur on any of the 3 other computers i have on my home network. the laptop is using 98 se and the others are using XP and we all connect thru the router to the cable modem. this so frustrating and any help would be greatly appreciated

To respond to your ettiquette question. Feel free to respond to an ongoing thread if you feel you have something to contribute but if you have a problem of your own its best to make a separate post. If two or more folks are being helped in the same thread, it can get very confusing. I assume you have a router with 4 or more ports built in? When this problem occurs is anyone else using the internet connection simultaneously? Can you see the other computers on the network?

you assumed correctly there are 4 ports and yes i can see the other computers. not physically but i can tell by the lights on the router when they are active. the problem occurs both when i am the only one online in the evening and during the day when my husband and\or son are online. thank you for answering my ettiquette question also. that was what i had thought but wanted to make sure. the only other forum i am on has a few uptight members who complain about people that post questions that are already on the forum (even when they are buried 15 pages deep from the most recent topic. so i wasnt sure if they were just being anal or if i was being inconsiderate. thanks again

It is a good idea to search for answers for similar problems before posting. On the other side of that there are folks who have brand new equpment with manuals who post questions that have answers in the manual. I meant can you see them on your network? Is the router wired or wireless?

the router is wired and i can not see other puters on the network. it's as if each has its own connection to the internet. each goes to the router and the router to cable modem. i hope i am explaining that right. when i click on entire network in the network neighborhood folder i get an error saying "unable to browse the network" "network is not accessible" what is the best way to search for answers before posting? i did a search using keywords and the closest i could find was an issue with IE hanging while detecting proxy settings when it is first opened. i followed the suggested fix and it didnt help. my IE hangs rarely when first opened it usually occurs on the 3rd or 4th click and then repeatedly during use with no pattern that i can see

I think that using keywords works best. I would suggest that you configure all the computers with the proper elements to network with each other. Find the info by right clicking the network neighborhood icon and selecting properties. Each computer needs to have 4 elements listed: Client Adapter Protocol Service The client is usually Client for Microsoft Networks. The adapter you obviously have or you wouldn't get on the internet. The protocol; All that is need is TCP/IP. The service would be file and print sharing for Microsoft Networks. That covers configuration. Next is identification. Each computer in a LAN needs a unique name. Msoft usually assigns some crypt combo of # & letters. You can change it to something descriptive like the room or the person's name. Next is the workgroup. All computers need to be in the same workgroup for them to show without hunting. WORKGROUP is the default name and works fine. Check to see if you have something provided by your ISP. If so, continue to use it. Next, click on file and print sharing and say yes to both. After rebooting you should see each other. In order to actually share files, folders, drives, or printers you need to enable sharing for that device. Post back with the results.

my husband works from home and his computer contains info that to his business would be considered sensitive. he is afraid that if all the computers were visible as you suggest his computer would be more vulnerable to hacking than it is now due to the firewall that is part of the router. something to do with my or my sons computer not being as cautious about security could result in access to him through ours. i think most of his concern is that although we try to instruct and keep an eye on our 11 yr olds computing he would not be as knowledgeable or as cautious as we are. is this a valid concern that i can protect against or is it an issue at all with what you have suggested