How To Enable Ghosted Connections in Windows NT

 Last reviewed: June 3, 1997
Article ID: Q127018
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 3.5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server version 3.5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0

When you use Remote Access Services (RAS) you have the option to disable automatic restoration of network connections at logon (known as ghosted connections.) If you do not install RAS, you can enable ghosted connections by following these steps:

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.

  1. Run Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).

  2. From the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subtree, go to the following key: 

          \SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\NetworkProvider

  3. Click Add Value on the Edit menu.

  4. Enter the following values: 

          Value Name: RestoreConnection
      Data Type: REG_DWORD
      Value: 0 or 1

    Setting this value to 0 causes Windows NT to ghost the connections.

  5. Quit Registry Editor and restart Windows NT.

For additional information on ghosted connections, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q115873
   TITLE     : Ghosted Connections and Remote Access Service

Additional query words: 3.50 4.00 prodnt service persistent dial-up
networking dun
Keywords : kbnetwork kbusage ntras NTSrvWkst
Version : 3.5 4.0
Platform : WinNT

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Last reviewed: June 3, 1997
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