I have a problem with my laptop. Evertime I plug it into the wall it wants to go to wireless, so it won't let me use dial up. Hence, whenever I want to use the net, I have to run off battery power, which is just insane. Can anyone tell me what is going on here and what I can do to make it let me plug it into an outlet AND use dial up? Thank you in advance...

Try using the connection wizard and create a new connection.

In Windows XP go to Control Panel - Network Connections.
The option 'Create New Connection' takes you to the New Connection Wizard.
You can then select 'Connect to the Internet' - 'Setup my connection manually' and then enter the details of your Internet Service Provider.