Dave O -

I assumed that you were doing what you described. I perhaps wasn't clear in saying that if you wanted to you could set the machine up so that you and your wife could log on as different machine users, and if you did that you could each have your browser automatically log on to the appropriate ISP account when you change the user logon. Since it's rather difficult to revert back to a single-user set up, all the blow-and-puff was by way of warning you to proceed with caution.

Since you're not telling the computer which one of you is using it, you'll have to have the common "Internet Settings" configuration so that you can pick what service you want.

In WinXP, if you go through Start|Settings|Network Connections all you get is "Wizards." You can use Start|Settings|Control Panel, and double-click "Internet Options" to get to where what I suspect are the right settings. This is the same panel you get with "Tools|Internet Options" in IE, but that may be different for other browsers.

On the Internet Options panel, the "Connections" tab should offer you a "Never Dial a Connection" which apparently is what you should have checked. When you start the machine, the machine should wait until you tell it to make a connection.

When the connection is made, an icon should appear in your System Tray at the lower right of the main window. The normal icon looks like two monitors, but if you have "connection hardware" a different icon may be inherited from your network card/box/software.

Once a connection to the internet exists, the computer will try to use that connection for all subsequent network traffic, and it will NOT disconnect just because you close the browser.

If you click (or double-click, depending on your setup) the icon in the System Tray, it should open up a window and allow you to "Disconnect." Once the existing connection is closed, you should have your option, just like at a reboot, to open the new connection that you want.

John