DIY Networks - Windows Vista Dial-Up Configuration

Configuring your dial-up Connection in Windows Vista

Configuring a dial-up connection Windows Vista is really easy and is done through the Network and Sharing Centre. Make your way into the Network and Sharing Centre as described in the tutorial Manage Your Windows Vista Network Connections but instead of selecting Manage Network Connections from the Tasks menu on the left hand side click on Set up a Connection or Network, the option above it.

.	You will be prompted to select the type of connection we would like to create, select the third choice Set up a dial-up Connection.

You will then be prompted to type in some information about your dial-up connection. This information should be provided by your Internet Service Provider if you do not know it. The dial-up phone number is the number that your computer dials to connect to the internet, this is the phone number of your ISP's dial-up modems. Your username uniquely identifies you and may or may not need to include a realm, which is the @yourisp.com part of the username. Your password of course is the password which verifies that you are indeed the username that you claim to be and should be typed in as your ISP specifies. If you are unsure that you have typed you password in correctly you can click on the show characters box and this will reveal the password rather displaying it as a series of dots. Putting a tick into save password means that you will not need to type the password in every time you dial into the internet. The connection name is merely a label and it can be called absolutely anything and still work, though the accepted practice is to type your ISP name in here. Finally, if you computer has more than one user account placing a tick into Allow other people to use this connection will allow other user accounts on your computer to connect to the internet with this connection.

.

Once you are satisfied that the details you have typed into the connection are correct click on the connect button on the bottom right hand corner of the screen. The computer will attempt to dial up and connect to the internet using your new connection. If the connection attempt is successful it will save the connection details and you will be able to use the connection in future by clicking on your start menu and selecting Connect to and then clicking on your dial-up connection.

.

If the Connection attempt is successful you will be able to simply start surfing the internet. If it is unsuccessful, say for example your computer is not connected to your phone line you will be prompted to try again or set up the connection anyway. Select set up the connection anyway if this is the case.

.	Your connection should be set up successfully and you should now be able to surf the web. You will be able to use the connection in future by clicking on your start menu and selecting Connect to and then clicking on your dial-up connection.