After months of flawless performance, I am suddennly experiencing hang ups when cruising the internet.

After a normal dial up connection, and using Outlook and Internet Explorer to send/ retrieve email and cruise the web I suddenly have the dial up connection lock. I am unable to send receive email or access webpages.

The only solution is to close and reload all above software, and close and redial my ISP.

When the problem occurs it takes maybe 30 seconds to close the dial up connection before I can redial. Deleting the dial Up connection and reconfigering does not solve the problem

Does anyone have any ideas. A normal internet session now requires 3 or 4 reconnects to achieve what I want to do.

I'm using a Dell Inspiron 8200, 512 memory, XP Pro, Zone Alarm Pro, AdSubtract, and Norton Antivirus

I repeat this set up has worked flawlessly for months, and still does on a sister setup on a Dell Dimension 8200

Thank for any advice .

Wow! I had this same problem, but on Windows 2000. The connection would stop working; and when I manually disabled the connection, it would take 30 seconds to close.

I never figured out why this happend. However, things returned to normal a few days later...any everything's been working fine since then.

One question: Have you installed any Windows Updates recently, changed telephone providers, or done anything "out of the ordinary"?

P.S. You shouldn't have to close all the programs to reconnect/redial. Just click on the tray icon (if you have it showing) or open the "Network Connections" folder in the control panel

Cyber Slug - yes I have installed some Windows Automatic updates, probably about the time that this problem began.

Unfortunately I dont recall which updates - they were the ones Microsoft recommended.

I've considered doing a System Restore to before the updates, but I'm not exactly sure when I updated (I need to keep a log in future)

I beleive something must be corrupted in the Dial Up routine, but don't know how to correct this and or re install the appropriate pieces.

Go to Q810847 that was the little begger that did it for me, when you read about it, it makes sense why it may be the same for you.

If you dont have a go back date like me for it, I uninstalled Internet Explorer by folling the help on the "Elder Geeks site" and then reinstalling as per the info.
It meant a trip into the registry for the first time for me, but i found it easy.

You do not loose any of your settings so I would go for it, but I did loose the update and its patch now that must tell you something,it needing a patch. If I remember right it was patch Q813951.

Cheers TTFN

Perhaps some one could give you the Elder Geek address?

Found it
http://www.theeldergeek.com/

TTFN