Connection not available in OE until AFTER run IE

From: No One (noone_at_nowhere.net)
Date: 08/09/04 

Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2004 09:07:15 -0400

The OE newsgroup suggested I try here. Everything they suggested had no
effect.

I have a totally fresh install of XP Home with Outlook Express/Internet
Explorer 6, all service packs, patches and updates applied, (NOT SP2,) yet I
still have a problem persisting since before the rebuild.

When I first come up and run OE I get a "no internet connection available"
error box, with a "Work Offline" or a "Try Again" button. If you hit the
TRY AGAIN button it tries read from my first email account and just hangs.
You have to stop it, then click the Send/Recv button up top to get it to
actually get your mail.

IF, however, you run IE first and let it load a page, THEN run OE, OE has no
problem finding the internet connection and proceeds normally, without the
hang and repeat Send/Recv action.

So for some reason OE is unable to find an internet connection unless IE has
already loaded a page. This also shows up from time to time when you've
been perusing pages with IE and then switch over to OE to send a message.
That same error box pops up and you have to go through the stop, Send/Recv
to get it to function.

The connection is a RoadRunner cable modem through a LinkSys router, and the
Windows 98 machines also connected the same way have no such problem.
Trying to access the email accounts with Mailwasher, for example, has no
accessing problems, so this is so this is OE and XP Home specific network
problem. Any ideas ?

THANKS,
Bill Stewart
Cape Coral, FL