Messenger disconnects

[Dnm]

I noticed that a couple of my friends are always "signing
on" to Windows messenger... One of them tells me that her
Messenger software (4.7) "signs off" frequently but gives
not visible evidence of being disconnected until she
tries to send a message. She's a single user on a DSL
line at home. Is unaware of any proxy server between her
and the 'net. Does anyone know a cure for this problem?

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Greetings,

Here are some suggestions that may help your friends:
If you're using a third-party firewall (Sygate, ZoneAlarm, Norton, etc.) try uninstalling
them or set Messenger to "Permit All" or "Allow" type options in the firewall configuration.

If you're using a router, make sure you have the latest firmware from your router
manufacturer. As well, you might try setting your computers local IP into the routers DMZ
setting (see documentation on how to do this).

If you see the disconnection problem on a corporate network, the network may be timing out
your settings -- in this case, you might want to ask your system administrator to adjust the
corporate internet sharing solution/firewall (if possible).

Finally, this can also happen due to a lack of bandwidth. If you have Kazaa, WinMX, GNUtella
or some other file sharing-type application or something else that takes considerable amounts
of bandwidth, you may want to shut it down and see if that helps the situation (even if
you're using a high speed connection, these applications can use most of the resources of
your connection).
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Windows MVP, Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com

"Dnm" > wrote in message ...
> I noticed that a couple of my friends are always "signing
> on" to Windows messenger... One of them tells me that her
> Messenger software (4.7) "signs off" frequently but gives
> not visible evidence of being disconnected until she
> tries to send a message. She's a single user on a DSL
> line at home. Is unaware of any proxy server between her
> and the 'net. Does anyone know a cure for this problem?