14th June 2002
Not all systems have access to high-speed Internet connections. By default, when a user logs off in Windows 2000/XP, his dial-up session is terminated. No big deal, right? When you don't want to waste any time getting the next user online, this "feature" is more like a bug. According to MSKB Q158909, there's a way to keep your dial-up connection running even after you switch users. Fire up your favorite Registry editor, navigate to HKLM \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Winlogon. Most likely, you'll need to add the new String Value: KeepRASConnections. Double-click to edit this new entry, then enter "1" (sans quotes). You'll need to restart your computer after this has been done. If you ever wish to disable this option, either remove the value entirely or replace the "1" with a "0" (again, sans quotes). Nice, huh? And if you ever wish to backup or transfer your dial-up settings to another Windows XP account (or machine), all you need to do is copy your locally-saved PBK files. If it sounds too easy, that's because it is.