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Old February 9th 06, 05:02 PM posted to microsoft.public.win98.gen_discussion
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Default Windows 98 SE: Windows Explorer asks for Internet connection

Recently Windows Explorer opens irregularly, with a dialog box indicating
that there is no Internet connection available and halts local browsing of
files until this dialog box is closed. No dial-up connection has been made,
yet Windows Explorer apparently seeks one before allowing access to local
drives. Having searched extensively the Knowledge Base, I cannot locate any
instructions which might aid me in defeating this annoying habit of Windows
Explorer (WE). [WE worked fine until this point.]

My question: how do I restore the independence of WE from Internet
connectivity and return to using WE for local file management without having
each session to click "Try Again" or [X] (closing) this dialog box to proceed
with local file management? It seems as though Internet Explorer (IE) and WE
now have become completely linked and I would rather not have to rebuild my
machine, as support for Win98/SE will soon be unavailable (a rebuild might
thus cause me toloose all of the patches from Microsoft Critical Updates
section) -- WE previously operated separate from IE, was not dependent on an
Internet connection, and this problem has surfaced only in the last month or
so.

System details:
-Windows 98 SE with all critical updates
-dial-up connection only
-IE 6.x version

I'm familiar with registry edits, can successfully change said without
harming system, and am wondering if some sort of registry key has been
altered somehow to now expect access to the Internet when opening WE (which I
SOLELY use for local file management; browsing is ALWAYS through IE). Any
help would be greatly appreciated.