IE6 Thinks I am Offline

[Guest]

For the past 2 weeks my IE 6 thinks I am offline. I can connect to the
internet using another browser, and Outlook Express works fine, but IE wants
me to connect using my old dialup. This just started out of the blue. What do
I need to do to fix this?

 

[PA Bear]

How do you connect?

IE Tools>Internet Options>Connections>Never dial a connection (checked?)

 

[Guest]

I connect via cable modem. Never dial a connection is now checked; I did that
earlier this evening.

 

[Sandi - Microsoft MVP]

Internet Explorer Starts in Offline Mode and Remains Offline
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q180/9/46.asp

HOWTO: Set Work Offline as the Default for Internet Explorer
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q195/7/30.asp

Error Message When You Try to Use Internet Explorer: No Connection to the
Internet Is Currently Available
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;q303346

Unable to gain access to internet sites when 'dial whenever a network
connection is not present' setting is enabled with ADSL/DSL
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=240808

Also, as advised by Robert Aldwinckle (Robert has been kind enough to let
me reproduce his advice here ... thanks Robert) regarding this problem with
cable/DSL:

"The usual explanation is that the DSL software is PPPoE which only
provides a connection once it is started. To IE/OE it looks like a
dial-up link which hasn't been started and an ambiguous state. Does the user
want to connect (Try Again) or work offline?

There are various workarounds. If your OS is Windows 2000 you could try:

Cannot Connect to Internet Using Shared DSL Connection and PPPoE [Q306947]

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q306947

If your DSL software has a feature called Dial-on-Demand this site
suggests that IE likes it better
http://www.carricksolutions.com/am.htm#3

That link is specifically meant for Sympatico users but I think that there
may be other services mentioned on the site. In any case it may give you a
new idea.

More general solutions are given on this site
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/faq/5.+Troubleshooting#357

If your DSL software is a version of Enternet both sites warn that you need
to make sure that you have the latest version. That is one of the things
mentioned on this page (further down from that item)...."

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_______________________________________
Sandi - Microsoft MVP since 1999 (IE/OE)
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/