Succesful dial-up slows machine considerably

> Hi:
>
> Which processes fire up at the very moment a succesful dial-up
> connection is made? I ask the question because, since about a month or
> so ago, my laptop -1 GB RAM, system-managed page file- has begun to
> slow down considerably the very second it connects to my ISP. I suspect
> either the browsers (Firefox, IE, doesn't matter) or some other process
> put a memory burden to the system (either the page file or RAM) at that
> very moment that makes processing time peak to 99% for about three
> minutes or so. Any requests made at that very moment to the Task
> Manager are futile (therefore, I have no clear idea on what is making
> the system run so slow); so is running any other program. Once the
> browser (and any other process) cares to load, the machine goes back to
> normal (usually 6-7 minutes from connecting). The connection is not
> lost (thank God), but it feels like forever to actually connect.
>
> I do run a beta of SQL 2005, which normally spawns sbout a 55 MG
> thread, but I've switched it off to manual. I've even tried to shut
> down as many superfluous processes before connecting, but XP still
> spends an inordinate amount of time letting any app run after
> connecting. Any suggestions, like items to look in a log? Thanks for
> any help...