How to setup auto disconnection for Firefox on dialup

For anyone using dialup and Firefox, you know that Firefox will not automatically disconnect itself from the internet when you close FF. Which is a pain!

I found this link a while back http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=307886 and it goes into detail about how to work around the auto disconnection issue. It works! And it works quite well! I thought I would post a screen capture and a copy of my auto disconnect batch file to make things a bit easier for anyone afraid to try this on their own.

This example will be for XP. (The web link above talks more about Win 9x and gives detailed instructions of how to do (with those older versions) what I outline below. One thing that users of Win 9x may find difficult is locating a trustworthy copy of RASDIAL95.exe. If someone needs a copy, I have one on my 98SE PC and can try to make it available somehow if a need arises. (Note that for XP, RASDIAL is already onboard and ready to go!)

Anyway, on to auto disconnection!

First, make a new folder on your desktop and name it something related to FF and auto disconnection. (In this example, I’ll use Firefox Auto Disconnect.) Open the folder and paste my Firefox.txt file (the attachment with this post) into it.

Next, get the name of your dialup connection. To find it, open My Computer, click on My Network Places, and then click on View network connections. In this window, note the label of your default dialup connection. You will need it to use place of the one I used in the Firefox.txt file.

Now, open the Firefox.txt file in Notepad. Note where I have typed My Connection (between the quotes and circled in red in my screen capture), and type your connection’s name in place of mine. When you are finished, your connection’s name will take the place of mine between the quotes. To finish up this step, click on File, Save As... type Firefox.bat in the File name box and click Save.

Next, close out of the Firefox Auto Disconnect folder. Right click on the folder and choose (left click) Cut. Then, open My Computer and double click the C drive. In an open area (NOT touching any other file or folder) right click and choose (left click) paste. This will place the Firefox Auto Disconnect folder as a main folder under the C hard drive.

Now, while still in drive C, double click the Firefox Auto Disconnect folder. Then right click the Firefox.bat file, slide down to Create Shortcut and left click it. This will create a shortcut to your .bat file in this folder (you should see it immediately.) Right click the new shortcut and choose Properties at the bottom. We are going to do three things here. Choose a Firefox Icon for the shortcut (to make it look official ;) ), change how the shortcut runs and rename the shortcut.

Click on the Change Icon... box and acknowledge the box (by clicking ok) that tells you that you have to look somewhere else for an icon. Click browse on the next box and browse to C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Firefox.exe. This will show you the icons built into the Firefox.exe file. Choose your favorite by double left clicking on it and you will go back to the Properties box. Next, click on the drop down arrow next to Run: and choose Minimize. Now, click Ok at the bottom. To rename the shortcut (and get rid of the Shortcut to junk, right click it and slide down to Rename. In the blue area, type Firefox Auto Disconnect and hit return.

The end is in sight! Now, right click the shortcut you were just working on and choose Cut. Close the My Computer window and, in an open space on your desktop, right click and choose paste. Your new FF auto disconnect is now ready to go!

All you need to do now is double click the new shortcut to start FF. It will bring up the auto connect box as always. Go ahead and connect as always. (Note that the batch file is running as a program on the Taskbar, which is normal. Do NOT close this program by hand. It will shut itself down later.) Let FF connect and load the home page. Then (with crossed fingers) close FF by clicking the X in the upper right corner. If all is well with your setup, FF will close, soon followed by the modem disconnecting. :)

The reason this method works is because the batch file makes use of RASDIAL.exe’s ability to open a connection and remain running/open until the program opening the connection is closed.

Of course, once a connection is open, you can also fire up your email program and check for mail. Or, if you only want to use email only, and you use Thunderbird (which also does not auto disconnect), just build a batch file for Thunderbird and substitute the appropriate path in the batch file created above to Thunderbird instead of Firefox. And if you tend to do Thunderbird one day and FF another, build 2 batch files and use whichever one you want that day.

I hope this will help others as much as it has me. It has helped make a great browser even better. Enjoy!!! :)