Yes. Vista can be a pain in the neck!

What Vista version do you have? You can check this by doing the following:

Start Menu>My computer?right click on my computer?properties

once you tell me this I can help walk through a few steps.

Also, I'd like if you can, to go through connecting the dialup, and write down the steps you are using for me. I will try to recreate the problem on my pc if i can, or just see exactly where the problem starts.

also, go through and do what you usually do. Once it crashes, I'd like you to go to Start Menu>Control Panel>System and Maintenance

From there choose Veiw Problem History. Once you have done that. The top listed one should be the last crash report. It might say something about Windows Crash or something like Dialup connection crash. Double click it for me, and then I want you to screenshot what comes up. Do this by holding downthe CTRL/control key, and then pressing the Print Screen/PrtScrn/SysRq button on your keyboard. It should be somewhere near the number pad. Anyways then go to start menu, and at the bottom where you type to search your computer type in mspaint and hit enter. When paint program comes up, Cntrl+V to paste it in. You can black out anything with the brush you dont want me or anyone to see. Save that on your desktop and either attach it here to a reply, email me @ rainbows@ns.sympatico.ca or host it online and give me the link.

Then i can see the exact error code, and see if i can determine from that what is happening for you. You might know all the copy and paste and printing screen stuff but i thougt id leave directions just in case.