How to Setup a Dial-up Connection in Windows XP

It's quite often that we need to setup a dial-up connection. Whether it's a dial-up connection to our ISP to access the internet, or a VPN connection to access resources on your company's network, it's something that needs to be setup from time to time. I'm going to outline the steps needed to setup a dial-up connection to your ISP and/or business network via VPN in Windows XP.

The first step is to get to the network connections utility in the control panel. We can either go to the start button, control panel and open network connections directly or you can right click on the "My Network Places" icon and choose properties. Either method will get you to where we need to be. Once in network connections you will see an icon which says "New Connection Wizard." Double click this icon and click next.

From the screen that comes up next you will need to choose from three options. The first is "Connect to the Internet", the second is "Connect to the network at my workplace" and the third is "Set up an advanced connection." If you are setting up a dial-up connection to connect to your ISP and surf the web then the first option, "Connect to the internet," is the option you should choose. If you are setting up a VPN connection to your business network then choose the second option, "Connect to the network at my workplace." If you need to setup an advanced connection where you are connecting to a particular computer then choose the third option, "Set up an advanced connection."

For the purpose of this example we will choose the first option and setup a connection to our ISP. Choose "Connect to the Internet"and hit next. At this point you will be prompted to choose from a list of existing ISP's, setup the connection manually or use a CD from your ISP. Choose to setup your connection manually and hit next.

Now you will need to choose how you are going to connect to your ISP. You can use a dial-up modem, or a broadband modem that requires either a PPPoE connection or a connection that is always on. In most cases you will choose to use a dial-up modem, so choose that and hit next. Now enter the ISP name, and hit next. Now enter the ISP's phone number to connect to and hit next. Then you need to choose whether everyone that logs onto this computer can access this connection or just you and hit next.

The new connection wizard now requires the username and password for the connection to authenticate. Enter the information and hit next. You are finished. Hit finish to confirm the new connection. Now you can test your connection by going back into the network connections utility in the control panel and double click on the icon with the name you entered as the ISP name. At this point you can connect to the ISP or configure advanced settings if you are required to do so by your ISP.