Internet Connection Issues...

[mjts2345]

I am hoping someone can help me with this odd computer problem that I have been trying to correct on my mom's computer. It is probably something real simple to fix, but I have not found the solution in over 6 months! She is 72 and is good at doing all the regular maintenance and updates, keeps her anti-virus and Ad-Aware updated, all that good stuff. Her OS is Windows XP on a Compaq Presario. She connects to the Internet by dial-up.
The problem is there is no little computer icon in the tray while she is on-line. You might think "so what." But that means she cannot disconnect from the Internet without shutting down her whole system. This is the confusing part because even though it is not connected, she cannot re-dial to reconnect. She has learned to live with it, but complains when she needs to restart over and over again, sometimes 20 to 30 times a night! That is a whole different problem concerning noise in the line that always worse when it rains. The result is disconnects. Normally, she would just hit the dial-up icon and have it re-dial but this doesn't work. She must shut down and reboot every time she wants to connect to the Internet. It will not re-dial unless she re-boots. So every time she wants off-line, she has to shut down.
Any ideas on how to fix this? I would appreciate any input.

mjts2345

[rjfvillarosa]

You could try uninstalling and reinstalling the modem in device manager.
Is this the original modem that came with the machine or a replacement?

[glc]

Open your network connections, right click on the dialup connection, select Properties, look for the box that says "show icon in taskbar when connected". Then drag a shortcut to the connection out onto the desktop.