Windows 2000 Dialup Networking

This page provides more configuration information than the Quick Start, including directions for manually configuring your DNS and WINS server information if the dialup connection has difficulty auto-detecting it. A printable Adobe PDF version is also available.

What you'll need to know

Some things you'll need to know to configure your Windows 2000 machine to connect to campus dialup services include:

• Do you know your Network ID and Network ID password?
  You use your NetID and NetID password to connect to UIUCnet Premier and/or UIUCnet Dialup. For more information about your NetID, see Your Network ID.
  
  
• Has your modem been installed yet?
  Under Start -> Settings -> Control Panel, click on the Modems icon. If you don't see your modem listed, look here for modem installation directions.
  
  
• Which service are you using?
  You'll need to choose which phone number you dial based on which dialup service you're using.

Configuring Windows 2000 to connect to UIUCnet Dialup services

From the Start menu, select Control Panel. When the Control Panel window opens, double-click Network and Dial-Up Connections. In the window which appears, select "Create a new connection."

New connection wizard

The New Connection Wizard window will appear. Click Next.

On the second screen, when prompted for your "Network Connection Type", select Dial-up to the Internet and click Next again.

On the third screen, select I want to set up my connection manually and click Next.

On the fourth screen, select I connect through a phone line and modem and click Next.

This produces the step 1 of 3: Internet account connection information window:

Type or select the following in response to the prompts in this window:

Area code: 217

Telephone number: Enter the phone number you wish to use from the list:

239-7252	Premier subscribers only
333-3700	All authorized users
244-4976	All users, 15 minutes per call

Country region/name and code: United States of America (1)

Use area code and dialing rules: If you often try to connect from outside the 217 area code or through a calling card, make sure this box is checked. If you never connect from outside the 217 area code, you can leave the box unchecked.

Also, if you usually dial from a location which needs an initial 9 to connect to an external phone line (such as an office, dorm, or hotel), you should edit your dialing rules so that your system knows when to use the initial 9. (See "Changing your dialing rules" below for more information.)

On campus users: If you’re calling from on campus, add a 9 before the telephone number.

Click Next.

Step 2 of 3 is user account information:

User name: Give your Network ID.

Password: Give your Network ID password.

Click Next.

Step 3 of 3 is naming the connection. Although you aren't required to name your connection, something useful like "UIUC" is suggested in case you create more than one dialup instance. Click Next.

In the next window, you will be asked if you want to set up an Internet email account. Select No, then Next.

In the final window, you'll be asked if you want to connect to the Internet immediately. If you don't need to use Microsoft networking over dialup, click Finish. If you do need to use Microsoft networking over dialup, you should add DNS and WINS information as described below.

Network configuration properties (optional)

Note: In most cases, you shouldn't need to manually assign the DNS server addresses; your computer should automatically detect them. For that reason, this step was not documented in the short version. However, if you've experienced problems connecting with the quick configuration, you can add the following information to your dialup configuration.

Go back to the Network Configuration window; there will be a new icon for your dialup connection. Right-click on this icon and select Properties. This produces the Properties window, including "General," "Options," "Security," "Networking," and "Sharing" tabs. (The General tab will probably be displayed first.)

Click the Networking tab in the Properties window. Make sure that PPP is selected in the top drop-box, as pictured below. Under "This connection uses the following options", make sure that at least Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is selected.

Click on the Internet Protocol item name so that it is highlighted as shown in the illustration. (Make sure the check box is still checked.) Then click the Properties button.

This produces the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Settings window:

In the General tab, make sure that "Obtain an IP address automatically" is checked in the top part of the window.

You can also obtain the DNS server information automatically if you wish. If so, make sure "Obtain DNS server information automatically" is selected, click OK until you return to the desktop, and skip down to "Starting a session" below.

However, since the DNS information does not bring the WINS information with it automatically, and you may wish to specify WINS information to connect to Windows Network Neighborhood Resources, you can also provide DNS and WINS information as follows:

Click "Use the following DNS server addresses" in the bottom half of the window. Then click the Advanced button to assign those addresses.

The Advanced button produces the Advanced TCP/IP Settings window, with the General tab displayed first. Click the DNS tab:

Click the top Add button (under the DNS Servers window), and add the following IP address:

130.126.2.131

DNS server

(The window will want the dotted numbers rather than the description.)

Next, select "Append these DNS suffixes (in order)" and click the bottom Add button. Add these suffixes:

cites.uiuc.edu

cso.uiuc.edu

uiuc.edu

If you need to use WINS connection information to access Windows Network Neighborhood-specific information, click the WINS tab and add the following servers the same way you added DNS servers to the DNS tab. (Again, the window will want the dotted numbers rather than the names and descriptions.)

128.174.5.30	Primary WINS server
128.174.5.31	Secondary WINS server

Next, click OK in the Advanced TCP/IP Properties window (where you just entered DNS and possibly WINS information). You will return to the normal TCP/IP properties window. Click OK in all of the following windows until you've returned to your desktop.

Now that you've finished configuration, you'll want to start your dialup session.

Starting a session

The initial configuration (above) needs to be done only once. This section, however, will be done whenever you connect to the dialup servers.

First, plug a phone line into your modem and into an analog phone jack in the wall.

Go to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Network and Dial-up Connections and double-click your dialup icon there. (You can also create a shortcut on the desktop by dragging and dropping the dialup icon onto the desktop; double-clicking the shortcut will open the same window.)

You will see the following window:

Enter your user name and password, and do NOT check the "save password" option.

Once you've seen the dialing and connecting windows pass by, a small network icon (two computers) will appear in the lower right area of your Start menu. Whenever their screens light up, information is being transmitted over the active connection. At this point, you can check email or web-browse.

Note: If you use both a dialup connection and an Ethernet connection, and Windows 2000 assumes that your dialup is your default when you'd prefer to use your Ethernet as default, see below.

When you've finished with your networking session, click the network icon (two computers) in the lower right corner of the screen. It will open a connection window in the middle of the screen. When you wish to end your dialup networking session, click Disconnect.

Windows 2000 modem troubleshooting

Installing a new modem

If your modem does not appear on a list of available modems, see "Installing a new modem (Windows)" for assistance.

Last created dialup configuration may be set as default:

If you have any additional network connections available (if, for example, you have both an Ethernet connection and a dialup connection in a laptop), you may need to reconfigure your default connection.

If you're plugged into an Ethernet connection and starting a browser window creates a prompt for you to connect with your dialup connection instead, you will see a window like this:

Click the Settings button, then the Connections tab.

Change the radio button from "Always dial my default connection" to "Dial whenever a network connection is not present". This means that you will use your Ethernet connection when it's available, and you will be prompted for a dialup connection when Ethernet is not available.

Changing your dialing rules (locations) on Windows 2000

If you sometimes call from a place which requires an initial 9 to connect to an outside line (for example, hotels, dorms, or offices), you should create new dialing rules. This way, Windows 2000 will know to put the 9, before the area code if you're calling from outside the 217 area code. (If you just type the 9, into the number to be dialed in Windows 2000, it won't be dialed before the area code.)

To set up your dialing rules, under the Start menu, select Control Panel. When the Control Panel window opens, double-click Network and Dial-Up Connections. In the window that opens, right-click on your UIUC connection and select Properties.

In the General tab which is displayed first, you should see the phone number you configured. Below that is a line for Country/region code. (Unless you are dialing in from an international location, leave that set to United States of America.) Below that line is a line with a check box for "use dialing rules" and a Rules button.

Make sure that the "use dialing rules" box is checked, and click the Rules button. This produces the following window:

If no locations appear here, click the New button and add one. Otherwise, select the location where you want to use the 9, prefix and click Edit. This produces a window like the following:

Edit your dialing rules by adding 9, to the "to access an outside line..." boxes.

This window also provides two more tabs, one for editing area code rules (if you travel outside the 217 area code frequently) and one for calling card information (if you need to use one in order to dial up). For more information, see the Calling Cards and UIUC Dialup page.

For any Windows 2000 troubleshooting questions which were not answered here, you can also check the general modem troubleshooting page.