Hi Dom,
Right click Network Places/Properites/Right click your Dial-up/
Properties and place a check in the box lower right that reads:
Show icon in notification area when connected.
Check your settings here:
IE/Tools/Internet Options/Connections/Settings/Advanced/
Disconnect when...
When you quit Internet Explorer, you may not be prompted to disconnect even
if the Disconnect when connection may no longer be needed option is enabled.
The following registry value also verifies that the option is enabled: Go to
Start/Run/Regedit and navigate to this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\RemoteAccess\Profile\"Connection
Name"\EnableExitDisconnect. The value should be 01 00 00 00.
This behavior can also occur if the Easy CD Creator Adaptec starts
automatically at startup. If this is the case:
To prevent the Easy CD Creator program from starting automatically, remove
the entry for Easy CD Creator from the following registry key:
Go to Start/Run/Regedit and navigate to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Run
To set Idle TimeOut:
1. The Idle TimeOut option in Dial-Up Networking must be set for the
connection to hang up after being idle. Open the Dial-Up Networking dialog
box, and select User Preferences from the More button.
2. Disable Autodial by location, and set Idle Seconds Before Hanging Up to
the desired amount of time: This value should be greater than 60.
3. Choose Logon Preferences from the More button, and set Idle Seconds
Before Hanging Up to the same value as User Preferences.
4. Open Control Panel/Services and disable the Remote Access Autodial
Manager service.
Another option: Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters
.. In the right pane, find Autodisconnect and change the time accordingly.
Or...
Start/Run/net config server /autodisconnect:30 (30 being an example).
Registry Edits, Tips and Tricks for XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm