It’s possible for you to connect to the Internet and still not be able to receive email or instant messages or browse Web sites. (Antivirus and firewall programs are notorious offenders in this regard.)

If you don’t know whether your system is connected, look in the System Tray for an icon of two partially overlapping monitors. If the monitors are present and flashing light blue periodically, your system is connected to the Internet. Refer to the solutions in “Can’t Connect” on page 33 of the December 2005 PC Today for help.

If you don’t see the dual monitor icon, your system isn’t connected. From the Start menu, select Control Panel, and double-click Network Connections. (If you do not see an icon with this name, look under Control Panel in the left pane and click Switch To Classic View.)

Make The Connection

The Network Connections control panel contains a list of your dial-up and high-speed Internet connections. (If you have no connection icons, WinXP doesn’t recognize your connection devices, which usually indicates advanced system problems. Find another Internet-connected computer, visit Microsoft’s Help And Support site [support.microsoft.com], and search for article No. 825826 for assistance.)

Because you have no live Internet connections, WinXP will mark the connections you see here as Disconnected (for a dial-up connection) or Disabled (for high-speed Internet). If your browser or email program has been initiating your connection directly, try enabling the connection manually. Right-click the connection icon and select Connector Enable, depending on the type of connection you use.

If WinXP doesn’t make a connection or if you see a red X over your high-speed Internet connection icon, you’ll need to explore the situation further. If you are a dial-up user, proceed to the next section. If you are a high-speed Internet user, skip to “Broaden Your Horizons.” We should also note that the solutions that follow assume you click OK, or any confirmation prompt available after each action.

Check The Dial

If you get an error message (“Error 680: There Was No Dial Tone”) when you try making a connection, your modem is not sensing a dial tone. If you have a voice mailbox that makes a stutter tone when you have messages, check your new messages to eliminate this tone. Some modems will not recognize this specific tone as valid.

If this doesn't resolve the problem, the phone line running between your PC's phone jack and the wall or a data port in another phone or the wiring in the wall may be faulty. Make sure all connections are tight; unplug the line and plug it back in if necessary. If your connections are secure, try a different phone cord and connect to a different phone jack if possible. You may find that connecting directly to a phone jack in the wall works better than if you try a data port in a phone. In rare cases the phone jack in your modem may be damaged, in which case you will need a new modem card.

Don’t phone home. If you are traveling and need an Internet connection, you probably need a different call-in number. Obtain from your ISP a number suitable for your physical location. With the new number in hand, right-click your old connection and select Properties. Click the Options tab in the Properties dialog box and make sure the Prompt For Phone Number checkbox is selected. When you dial in, change the default phone number to the new one you obtained. Include any required extras such as the area code for 10-digit dialing or 9 for outside access.

Plan for alternates. Most ISPs offer more than one connection number. In WinXP you can supply alternate numbers, so the dialer can move on down the line until it finds one it can use to establish a connection. Under the General tab in the connection properties dialog box (reopen it if necessary), click the Alternates button and then click the Add button in the Alternate Phone Numbers dialog box to provide information for each alternate number. When you finish select the If Number Fails, Try Next Number and Move Successful Number To Top Of The List checkboxes.

Get past security. If your dial-in numbers are correct and you have alternates established, check your credentials. If you dial in through your corporate network, you may have special access requirements, such as the need for data encryption, when you are on the road. Confirm these requirements with your network administrator. From the connection properties interface, click the Security tab and make your selections based on the information you obtained. (To access the network encryption checkbox, select Require Secured Password in the drop-down menu under the Typical option.) Unless you are otherwise instructed, do not click the Advanced button and attempt to establish custom settings.

Elect for options. If your dial-in and security settings are correct, WinXP may be giving up too soon. In the connection properties dialog box, click the Options tab and increase the number in the Redial Attempts drop-down menu. To prevent your connection from terminating, change the Idle Time Before Hanging Up field to Never. (But you don’t want to do this if your connection is over a long-distance line.) Select the Redial If Line Is Dropped checkbox.

If your modem is working properly, click the Modem tab and make sure the Maximum Port Speed field is set to 115,200. Your modem cannot connect at this speed, but you should use it anyway for maximum throughput. If you cannot connect to the Internet at this setting, you can return here and select one speed lower (continuing to reduce this number will slow your connection).

Broaden Your Horizons

High-speed Internet connections fall prey to far fewer problems than do dial-up connections. Often, if your broadband connection is down, there’s a problem at the ISP level. However, high-speed connections are subject to hiccups, which can cause WinXP to think you are no longer connected. Fortunately, WinXP provides several methods to restart a connection.

If you are a broadband user connecting via an Ethernet connection, open Network Connections and locate the connection under LAN Or High-Speed Internet. If the connection indicates it is enabled but you still cannot browse the Internet, right-click the connection and select Repair. WinXP refreshs the connection settings and obtains a new IP address. (High-speed connections generally use dynamic IP addresses.) You may also have success disabling and re-enabling the connection.

If you see the message Network Cable Unplugged, it means WinXP cannot sense the connection. Check your connections and replace the Ethernet cable if necessary because it’s possible your cables are crimped or broken inside. (This can be the case even if you are not seeing this message.) It’s also possible your Ethernet card is faulty.

Ask For Help

If you are attempting to access the high-speed Internet service in a hotel, you may not be able to browse directly but may first need to install special software or point your browser to a specific Web site. Check with the hotel’s front desk for assistance.

Take A Hard Line

Sometimes, resetting the entire system will resolve minor hiccups. Shut down your computer, turn off and unplug any modem, gateway, or other hardware that lies between your PC and your phone line. Check the documentation that came with your modem or gateway for instructions on using hard reset buttons. Wait about five minutes and then reconnect and restart everything.

The Road To Resolution

If none of the tips we suggest resolve your connection issues, WinXP’s troubleshooters may be of assistance. Select Help And Support from the Start menu and search for the keyword “troubleshooter.” The Modem, Drives And Network Adapters, and Home And Small Office Networking troubleshooters may help you isolate the problem.

by Jennifer Farwell