Member Avatar for Goldenrod

Having a strange problem. Just got my first windows Vista PC. IE worked initially, I used it to download Firefox which is my preferred browser. But now firefox alone can access the internet. The Dial-up Connection box is always up and I can never get it to connect. IE downs't work, Outlook doesn't work, Steam doesn't work etc. Any ideas?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by BestBeatingHear

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This thread shows a very common Vista/Windows oddity: Firefox can use its own connection settings while IE, Outlook and other Windows apps rely on the system WinINET/WinHTTP configuration. ’s suggestion fixed a lot of cases (and confirmed it), but when the dial‑up dialog still appears or other programs remain blocked (as and describe) the cause is usually a deeper system-level setting or a corrupted network stack rather than a Firefox-only issue.

Why Firefox works while IE doesn’t: Firefox has its own proxy/connection settings and can be set to bypass the system proxy. IE/Outlook/Steam use Windows’ network stack, so a bad proxy, a leftover dial‑up phonebook entry, a WinHTTP proxy, or Winsock/LSP corruption will break them but leave Firefox alone. ’s AllChars example is exactly the kind of program that can hook networking and cause IE to fail.

Try these non-destructive checks (run an elevated Command Prompt where noted):

ipconfig /flushdns
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
netsh winhttp show proxy
netsh winhttp reset proxy
sfc /scannow

Reboot after the winsock reset. After that, check the Hosts file (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts) for odd entries and inspect the user phonebook at C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Network\Connections\Pbk\rasphone.pbk for stray dial‑up entries.

If the problem persists, do a clean boot (msconfig: disable non‑Microsoft services + startup items) to isolate third‑party software, temporarily disable firewall/AV for testing, and try a new Windows user account. If none of the above helps, consider a Windows Repair/Restore or OEM support if under warranty. Back up configuration files/registry before editing anything.

Recommended Answers

All 17 Replies

Member Avatar for Laser

Do you get the Dial-up Connection box when you launch Firefox?

Member Avatar for Goldenrod

No, it comes up at startup and won't go away. Cancel just makes it reappear and connect fails.

Member Avatar for computerlady200

Once you downloaded firefox, you must also download the IE plugin for firefox - violla - both will work

Member Avatar for computerlady200

oops - sorry - it reply too soon. You say the dial up box comes up. You are on dialup? I had a customer with a similar complaint. They were not on dial up, but a dsl broadband connection. I disabled the dialup adapter and they were able to connect to the internet They also used firefox as their preferred browser, however, needed IE for some sites they visited (they said). The plug-in for IE will allow you to use either browser.

Member Avatar for Goldenrod

Sorry, I should have added that I'm using DSL to connect to the internet, the dial-up connection box only offers me the option of connecting to broadband, but it still can't connect. I actually do connect through a wireless router, that may have something to do with the problem. I've just installed the IE tab addon for firefox but I can't seem to get it working and I can't find any useful online documentation. Finally, I don't have any dial-up adapter in my computer, and nothing of the sort shows up in device manager, so there's nothing I can disable. Any other ideas?

Member Avatar for Laser

Try this:

Go to Control Panel, Internet Options, click on the Connections tab; select 'Never dial a connection' and click Apply; then click the LAN Settings button and uncheck all the boxes, OK and Apply .

Try IE again. If it still doesn't work, go back to the LAN Settings and try it with 'Automatically detect settings' checked and Applied.

Member Avatar for Goldenrod

Hmmm, your first suggestion worked, IE now works but the dial-up connection box still appears. At leat everything is working apart from that.

Member Avatar for S.P.A.Z.

I have the same problem. I'm currently running OS Windows Vista. Firefox seems to work fine, but IE or my AIM doesn't seem to be working. This goes for all places and ways I use the internet: Wireless at home, Connected at home VIA DSL, in my dorm room (connected through Ethernet), and as well as wireless in my school. This all happened recently (the past 2 days) ... The only thing I recall is downloading the latest version of AIM (6.5) and Windows Update.

I tried all the recommended steps above, nothing seems to work ... :(

Member Avatar for computerlady200

Did you upgrade Vista from XP? If you did, some of the software drivers (for instance some HP "hotbutton" drivers) will not work correctly with Vista. Is that version of AIM compatible with Vista?

Member Avatar for S.P.A.Z.

I bought my laptop around August and it came with Vista. AIM 6.0 worked fine with it, but AIM 6.5 didn't work. It's weird ...

Member Avatar for colliebob

I have exactly the same problem (thank God for Firefox). Have had this HP vista machine for one week and IE has suddenly stopped working. Also cannot force a system restore. It goes through the procedure then reboots and tells me it could not restore the settings.

Member Avatar for computerlady200

What model HP is it? One of my customers had an HP a650n and had similar problems -
also Vista. If the machine is still under warranty, bug HP until they agree to to a benchtop
service.

Member Avatar for Member #355658

I've tried the procedures recommended here but I still can't get IE to work...

Member Avatar for colliebob

I've tried the procedures recommended here but I still can't get IE to work...

Do you have any memory resident programs that might be interfering with IE? In my case, it was a program called AllChars that was causing IE to fail. When I closed AllChars, IE was no problem. Try closing them one by one until you isolate the source.

Member Avatar for computerlady200

Also, Firefox has a plug in to be able to run IE and Firefox both. Thought you did not need this for Vista, but have had to add it to machines for XP. You may try and look for the IE plugin for firefox and see if that will work

Member Avatar for cflaus

Laser, Thank You so much. For three days I have struggled with a similar problem, reading and trying suggestions from over a hundred posts on multiple forums and your recommendation here was the winner. You're a champion! (Craig, Australia)

Member Avatar for BestBeatingHear

Try this:

Go to Control Panel, Internet Options, click on the Connections tab; select 'Never dial a connection' and click Apply; then click the LAN Settings button and uncheck all the boxes, OK and Apply .

Try IE again. If it still doesn't work, go back to the LAN Settings and try it with 'Automatically detect settings' checked and Applied.

Sorry for the extreme bump but I've been trying to figure this out for forever now. I'm on 7 (7057) and it's been just like this. Firefox works, aim works (upgraded last night to the current beta and everything) but IE would not connect, nor would Y! Messenger. Thank you soooooooooo much for this, as typing in "can't connect to IE but can connect to firefox" brought this page as the first result, so yeah.... thanks again. :D

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