Only for Firefox, only on one computer: manual connection to high speed required. Why?

March 1, 2008 8:05 AM

After installing a new wireless router, what router/network setting would force only Firefox, and on only one computer in the network, connect to the internet and ethernet manually, while everything else connects automatically?

Some background: all but one (1) of the computers mentioned run Windows XP.

A friend gave us a very broken laptop of hers a while back. We fixed it, got to keep it, and set up a wireless network to accommodate it.

In the network we have: DesktopA (Vista, new server), DesktopB (old server, connected to printers, the problem), DesktopC, DesktopD, and LaptopA.

We switched from a non-wireless Linksys router to a "Linksys Wireless-G 2.4Ghz (54Mbps) Broadband Router." There was a moment where the two routers were daisychained.

The only change to the network was the change in the router, and in individual security permissions on each computer to allow the computers to connect via the new router, and to see each other's shared files.

Only with Firefox, and only on DesktopB, are we forced to manually connect with the (broadband) internet. There is literally nothing I can think of that explains this, especially as it's not required to connect with Firefox on any of the other computers in the network. However, once I manually connect, it works like a dream.

The connection screen is seen here. Even weirder is the fact that the connection screen is well-known to us, following some internet problems resulting from uninstall BitTorrent, which damaged some files whose name escapes me, causing intermittent internet access. However, back then, the client has its own icon--as you can see here, the icon it takes is Firefox's.

We even removed the connection clients (installed during the BitTorrent problem) from DesktopB entirely, but this one still pops up every time I start Firefox after restarting the computer. Any help?

posted by flibbertigibbet to computers & internet (4 comments total)

remove the profile for your wireless network from desktopB and then set it up again.
posted by bfranklin at 8:16 AM on March 1

The issue: it took us a painful week to try to set up the network, so if there was any more precise answers, I'd appreciate it.

But thanks for the general recommendation! :D

As an aside, something I stupidly forgot to mention, only the Laptop actually connect wirelessly.
posted by flibbertigibbet at 8:58 AM on March 1

in control panel,internet properties, connections
there's an option, "never dial a connection".
if you've got a router, you ought not need to connect. only thing i can think of.
posted by browolf at 9:45 AM on March 1

(The "Control Panel, internet options" deal only works with Microsoft network stuff.)

Sounds like a dialup-type connection has made itself the default connection. You probably ought to right click on My Network Places, choose properties and delete all the connections except for the LAN connection.
posted by gjc at 11:09 AM on March 1