How do I check &, if necessary, repair XP home dial-up networking

G

Guest

Hi

I believe I need to re-install my Windows XP upgrade "in place" and then install all of the upgrades from the Microsoft site because of what I am told in very general terms by AOL is corrupted dial-up network functionality. The one thing that does make me think I do have a dial up networking isssue is that when I navigate from "Start" to "Programs" to "Accessories" to "Communications" to "Dial-up Networking," I get the following error message: "The Path (very long series of characters) does not exist or is not a directory.

Before I do re-install XP, I'm trying to determine if that really is what I need to do or if there is a better option to make AOL 8.0 work with more than just email access. And, whatever I do, I want good, precise instruction, which I will precisely follow.

The background is that I upgraded a 750 MHz PIII ThinkPad from Windows ME to Windows XP and installed all of the recommended upgrades including XP Service Pack I. I have cable modem at home but travel and need to use dial-up and when I use my AOL 8.0 or 9.0 software, I can access email but I can't get any internet functionality (e.g., CNN.com or AOL features that access the internet). Also, when I connect, the AOL software consistently dials three times before it finally connects (e.g., the second time it dials the first local access telephone number). Also, the first two connection failures occur after the modems hand shake but before the password check.

AOL Help is "no help." I've called 6 times and each one has been a different wild goose chase, even as I have progressively shared what's been tried with each new tech. These people seem to have undeserved confidence. One of the techs finally told me that it appears to be a problem with my dial-up networking, which AOL relies on and they don't help with that and that I need to get help from Microsoft or my computer vendor. In my case, that's probably going to mean big bucks because my computer is out of warranty. The AOL tech wouldn't/couldn't even give me specific XP software issues they suspect based on the specific error message I get from the AOL Software: "AOL has detected an error with your connection to the internet. Please exit the software, restart your computer and then sign on again."

I even tried Juno but can't get it to work either and consistently get the following error message, even after completely re-installing Juno and successfully running the connection wizard, which checks the modem. The error message is: "Problem start dialing. 0" "Can't start dialing

Any ideas will be greatly appreciated

Hap
 
M

MS News groups

I am not sure this will help but was an issue on my computer, Go to network
connections and look at the dialup icon you use, does it have a padlock on
it?? If so right click that icon and select properties, select the advanced
tab and clear the check mark from protect my computer. This will disable the
firewall. This may or may not correct your problem. If not go back and place
the check mark back in. I do know this if it is padlocked and you are on a
network it interferes with connecting to the internet by way of the network
but may also interfere with the great AOL empire.
Hap said:
Hi:

I believe I need to re-install my Windows XP upgrade "in place" and then
install all of the upgrades from the Microsoft site because of what I am
told in very general terms by AOL is corrupted dial-up network
functionality. The one thing that does make me think I do have a dial up
networking isssue is that when I navigate from "Start" to "Programs" to
"Accessories" to "Communications" to "Dial-up Networking," I get the
following error message: "The Path (very long series of characters) does not
exist or is not a directory."
Before I do re-install XP, I'm trying to determine if that really is what
I need to do or if there is a better option to make AOL 8.0 work with more
than just email access. And, whatever I do, I want good, precise
instruction, which I will precisely follow.
The background is that I upgraded a 750 MHz PIII ThinkPad from Windows ME
to Windows XP and installed all of the recommended upgrades including XP
Service Pack I. I have cable modem at home but travel and need to use
dial-up and when I use my AOL 8.0 or 9.0 software, I can access email but I
can't get any internet functionality (e.g., CNN.com or AOL features that
access the internet). Also, when I connect, the AOL software consistently
dials three times before it finally connects (e.g., the second time it dials
the first local access telephone number). Also, the first two connection
failures occur after the modems hand shake but before the password check.
AOL Help is "no help." I've called 6 times and each one has been a
different wild goose chase, even as I have progressively shared what's been
tried with each new tech. These people seem to have undeserved confidence.
One of the techs finally told me that it appears to be a problem with my
dial-up networking, which AOL relies on and they don't help with that and
that I need to get help from Microsoft or my computer vendor. In my case,
that's probably going to mean big bucks because my computer is out of
warranty. The AOL tech wouldn't/couldn't even give me specific XP software
issues they suspect based on the specific error message I get from the AOL
Software: "AOL has detected an error with your connection to the internet.
Please exit the software, restart your computer and then sign on again."
I even tried Juno but can't get it to work either and consistently get the
following error message, even after completely re-installing Juno and
successfully running the connection wizard, which checks the modem. The
error message is: "Problem start dialing. 0" "Can't start dialing"
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Top