hotmail gone berserk since getting at&t dsl

Hmm hotmail is web-based and so it should not matter whether you are using dsl or dialup.

What kind of browser are you using? E. g. Internet Explorer, Netscape, Opera, Firefox, something else?

Also, what do the 3 pages of instructions say? Not your password, obviously, but what kinds of things do they want you to do?

dang -- you are speedy!!!
wow!
i was not expecting a reply so quickly. i am at work (who me?? on the net??? NEVER!!!) and will have to answer from home...
and here is where my inexperience shows...how do i know what browser i'm using???
the instructions they sent me had me doing a bunch of stuff in the "internet properties" in the control panel -- like a few steps in each tab -- but again i don't have the list with me. sorry!
i will get back asap. and thanks. seriously, it really helps knowing that someone is actually going to help me!
me

Okay, well, that's assuming I can help. I'll try. And, no rush in getting back to me.

PS Re your browser -- if you haven't changed things since you got the PC, then it's most likely Internet Explorer. That may or may not matter much but every bit of info is nice to have.

Now {whistling} we'll just pretend this is work. So here's a picture of a spreadsheet to make it look official.

thanks for the laugh!!
you are too funny with the spreadsheet!!!

o.k., so here's what they told me to do:

1. Click on <Start> then <Control>.
2. Look for <Network>.
3. Double click on the <Internet> icon.
4. Under the general tab click on <Delete>, <Delete> and
<Clear>.
5. Type <http> in the homepage address.
6. Click on the <Security> tab then look for the <Custom> button
and click on it.
7. At the lower part of the pop up window, click on the drop down arrow
beside the <Reset> button and choose <Medium>.
8. Click <Reset> then the<Ok> button.
9. Go to the <Privacy> tab and click on the sliding bar at the left
side and drag it down to accept all cookies then click on <Apply>.
10. Click on the <Content> tab and look for the <AutoComplete> button
then click on it.
11. On the pop up window uncheck the 3 boxes under <Use> then click on <Clear> and <Clear> buttons then <Ok>.
12. Go to the <Connections> tab, make sure that <Never> is selected and then click on <LAN>.
13. Make sure that no boxes are checked and click <OK>.
14. Go to the <Advanced> tab and click on the <Restore> button
on the lower right hand corner.
15. Click on <Apply> then <Ok>.

also, i found out from someone else today that i am using the sbc yahoo browser...don't know if that's affecting anything or not...

hoping you can help, but if not then it wasn't meant to be. at any rate, i do thank you for trying and taking the time!!!
take care.
me

It looks like (and ack, I think I need someone who can do more heavy lifting in this area) they want you to do more than one thing.
1 - accept all cookies (which isn't necessarily such a hot idea)
2 - switch over so that everything goes through DSL

Hmm it may matter that you're using a Yahoo browser, seeing as Hotmail is a direct competitor to them.

Do you have problems with any other sites, or is it just Hotmail?

Hang in there, tiger.

The browser you're using is the current general release version of Internet Explorer, just re-badged with Yahoo!/SBC's logo - nothing special there.

Not real sure I totally understand the problem you're having, but, assuming you are running Windows XP, lets start by ruling stuff out. Try the following, in order:


Start>Settings>Control Panel>Internet Options>
General tab -

"Home Page" panel - select "Use blank" (this can be reset later - it just sets your start page to a blank browser window instead of an internet address)

Browsing history Panel -
Select "Delete", then in the popup, select-and-confirm "Delete" for all.
Click "Apply", do not click "OK" yet.

Click the "Security" tab, select-and-confirm "Reset all zones to Default Level"
Click "Apply", do not click "OK" yet.

Click the "Privacy" tab, select-and-confirm "Default"
Click "Apply", do not click "OK" yet.

Click the "Advanced" tab -
Click and confirm "Reset all defaults"
Click "Apply", do not click "OK" yet.


Click the "Connections" tab, in the "Dial-up and Virtual Private Network Settings panel, select and delete ("Remove") any and all entries. In the "Local Area Network (LAN) Settings" panel, click the "LAN Settings" button. In the pupup, DESELECT all, click "OK" to return to the main "Properties" tab.
Click "Apply", do not click "OK" yet, untill you have read and determined what you want to do about the following.

If you wish to use Hotmail as your default email service, click the "Programs" tab, and from the "E-mail" dropdown, select "Hotmail". If you normally use Outlook Express or some other email client, don't do this.
When finished, click "Apply", then exit to your desktop by clicking "OK". If prompted to reboot, don't do so yet if you are using a firewall (and you should be); consult that firewall's documentation to be sure you have allowed Hotmail the necessary firewall permissions.


When you've done that, reboot, see what happens, and let us know.

and thanks once more to you two!!!
jespah: thanks again for sending timber over here!

timber: i will try this at home (won't have time tonight, don't think) and let you know what happens...

again, can't thank you (both) enough!

ugh!
hey there, timber.
well, it took me forever to actually sit down at the computer at home (that and all three of my rug rats are now out of school and my online time is severely hampered!), but i'm sorry to say your suggestion did not work. i hate to bug you/ask, but is there anything else you can think of? since i'm not so smart with the computers, i tend to distrust my opinion, but what it seems like to me is that there is some toolbar/search thing that pops up only when i try to reply to an e-mail in hotmail. is that possible? i did look in my "view" and "toolbar" things initially, but was unable to find anything...let me know if i should just give it up?
thanks so very much.
you're a peach!

OK - try the following; it might lemme get an idea of what might be going on.

Download the latest version of HiJackThis, and see to it that it is installed to a folder of its own you've created either in your Programs file or directly on your root drive (the drive on which Windows is installed, usually "Drive C:\"). If you have already installed HiJackThis, be certain its in its own correctly placed folder, not a user-specific, temporary or desktop folder (to place HJT in its own folder, open Windows Explorer - Windows key + E pressed simultaneously - locate and select your root drive, the drive on which Windows is installed, and open that folder, right-clicking anywhere in that folder's blank space, select "New">"Folder", name the new folder "HJT", then download and extract, or if you already have the latest version somewhere else move, HJT into that folder. The same essential proceedure applies if you wish to place HJT in your Programs file rather than directly on your root drive; locate and open your root drive folder then locate and open the Programs folder you will find there ). Launch the application, then, from its splash screen, choose "Miscellaneous Tools", or from the main start page, select "Config", then select "Search for updates online", confirm, and be sure your's is the latest version. With that confirmed, close HJT and exit all the way back to your desktop.

When you have done that, locate and launch HiJackThis once again. Before running a scan, please have it generate a Startup List by going to the "Miscellaneous Tools" page, placing a checkmark in each of the 2 boxes next to the "Generate StartupList Log" button, then click the button and save the generated report. When that has completed, WITH NO OTHER BROWSERS, WINDOWS, FILESHARING, EMAIL, OR MESSAGING APPLICATIONS OPEN OR RUNNING, click the "Back" button, and have HiJackThis run a scan-and-save-log only - DO NOT "FIX" anything yet.

When running HiJackThis to scan or fix things, run it from its own folder, WITH NO OTHER BROWSERS, WINDOWS, FILESHARING, EMAIL, OR MESSAGING APPLICATIONS OPEN OR RUNNING

Navigate back to this thread and post the Startup List and the scan log. You might find it conevenient to click "Turn on email updates" down at the bottom right of this page; doing so will cause a notification to be sent to the email address you used to join A2K whenever a reply is posted to this thread.

one more question
thanks for not giving up on me!
so i have to show my computer illiteracy once more...i have always wondered about that "no other applications, etc. running" thing.
what i want to know is this: are all the little icons on the bottom toolbar "running"? are they launched automatically? how do i know? how can i make sure they aren't running?
oh my god, i feel so embarassed to ask that, but i've never really known!
it's o.k., you can make fun of me!
thanks.

Yeah, the icons in the toolbar pretty much represent running apps. Right-click on them, and if an option such as "Exit", "Close", or "End" is presented, select it.

Another thing to do is to simultaneously press the Control Alt Delete keys, or the Control Shift Escape keys, which will bring up the Taskmanager control panel, the first tab of which, "Applications", allows you to close applications by highlighting a running app, clicking "End Task" and confirming - continue the process untill no more open/running apps are shown in Taskmanager's Applications dialog.

if i can retain all this...
...i might actually be computer literate by the time i'm done messing with this problem!
thanks so very much!
have a good one!