I can only access my wireless internet if I connect to AOL first..Why?

[jvestal]

I have a 54g Belkin wireless router (WPA-PSK enabled). My HP laptop computer has a built in wireless card. I can connect to the signal with 4-5 bars of signal strength. It says it is connected. However, when I try to open either IE 5.0 or Firefox, it says it is only pulling up an IP address, and eventually will say it can't find any pages. However, if I connect via TCP/IP to AOL, then windows will display a "Wireless Network Connected!" box immediately after AOL signs on. After that box appears, I have internet access with other programs.

Oddly enough, I can connect to AIM and Trillian with or without AOL signing on. I also think that only being able to connect via AOL has been affecting my bandwidth, because my download speeds have dropped dramatically. I called the HP technical service, and they had me format my computer, and it still does it, four months later. PLEASE HELP! Thanks.

 

[StormBringer]

it may be the AOL software. Depending on the settings in AOL, it may be causing htis, and likely, if you did format, you prolly put AOL right back on and jacked it all up again. Try getting rid of AOL software completely and see if it resolves this. Since you could connect fine to IMs and stuff, its got to be something with the browsers, and AOL's browser likes being in control of connections.

 

[DelJo63]

Your Belkin router suggests you have internet access w/o AOL.
I guess AOL is your email service. Hum; I would rethink this and move
my email account to the ISP.

AOL won the hearts of the Internet with free distribution of client software.
There current advertising is very persuasive. Personally, I would never subscribe
to AOL, when there are many good ISPs with much better service and far less
invasive client software. I highly recomment Earthlink. I ran a dial-up subscription
for years with them and only because I couldn't get DSL at my location, the
cable provider finally made digital cable a reality for me. When I disconnected
from Earthlink, I told them it was only because I could not he hispeed access.

More to your point.

AOL installs several processes:

• 
  AOLSP Scheduler
  AOLDial
  AOLHostManager

the latter is a startup program which hooks your connections to the Internet.

You might like to see the the impact others are having from AOL.

MS KB Q165474 but it's dated Dec-5-2003 and relates downlevel software (IE < V5.01 and AOL 4.0)
but it does identify the usage of a PROXY :blackeye: