help! internet connectivity issues

Abuela · Post by **Abuela** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 10:20 pm

I'm at the end of my patience and brain capacity on this, so I'm reaching out in every possible direction for help.

My laptop is fine (XP sp2, wireless) but our desktop (XP sp2, hard-cabled to the router) has lost the ability to connect to the internet.

The control panel shows network connectivity in place and working fine.

If I go to the command line, I can ping anywhere in the world with great response times, so the connectivity really is there.

But if I try to start a browser (IE or Firefox) or run anything else that needs network connectivity (anti-virus updates, for example) it tells me that I'm not connected.

I've: done all of these things, most of them several times:
Rebooted everything (PC, cable model, router) several times, soft and hard boots.
Tried a different cable and a different port in the router.
Reset the NIC/connection using XP tools.
Did a release/restore using ipconfig
Disabled then re-enabled the NIC
Checked everything I could think to check in terms of firewall settings, router settings, etc.
Scanned for malware (though obviously I can't get updates)

I have to be missing something but I can't for the life of me figure out what it might be when the NIC is fine and the connectivity's there through command line, but I can't get a connection through any browser or any other software.

I know we have more than one tech guru here, so I'm hoping that someone else can suggest some other things to change/check!

Bulkley · Post by **Bulkley** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 10:39 pm

Do you have an anti-virus program locking you out?

NT Victorian · Post by **NT Victorian** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 10:42 pm

It could also be a proxy setting.
Make sure under your IE/Firefox settings that proxy server is disabled.

Abuela · Post by **Abuela** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 10:50 pm

Bulkley wrote:Do you have an anti-virus program locking you out?

I've disabled (then re-enabled) the firewall, double checked that no sites were blocked, and verified that IE and firefox both have full access on the internet. FYI we have McAfee. Thanks for the suggestion!

Abuela · Post by **Abuela** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 10:57 pm

NT Victorian wrote:It could also be a proxy setting.
Make sure under your IE/Firefox settings that proxy server is disabled.

Hadn't thought of that so thanks, but I checked and proxy server is disabled.

NT Victorian · Post by **NT Victorian** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:21 pm

It may be a winsock problem.
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winsockxpfix.html
Here is a free tool that can repair your registry settings. (Just use the backup first). Sometimes if you have had spyware or removed a software firewall package your winsock settings can be corrupted.

Good luck!

Chris

BobG · Post by **BobG** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:28 pm

Try entering your DNS servers using manual configuration of the NIC in the TCP/IP properties. many times, when you have basic connectivity as demonstrated by pinging, but can't pull in a website, it's because the system cannot find an appropriate DNS server.

Bulkley · Post by **Bulkley** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:37 pm

Do you have any idea what immediately preceeded the problem? An automatic upgrade for example? Installing or removing software? An e-mail with a joke attached? Power outage?

Are you sure that the problem is on your end? One can ping out sucessfully without your ISP letting you log on. My ISP made a change in log on proceedure without telling me and it took a while to sort out.

Abuela · Post by **Abuela** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:49 pm

NT Victorian wrote:It may be a winsock problem.
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winsockxpfix.html
Here is a free tool that can repair your registry settings. (Just use the backup first). Sometimes if you have had spyware or removed a software firewall package your winsock settings can be corrupted.

Thanks! I downloaded and ran it, but no change. I'll keep that utility on hand, though!

BrooklynRowHouse · Post by **BrooklynRowHouse** » Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:53 pm

Try to hit my web server by telnet:

Start -> Run
telnet http://www.magpie.com 80
GET /index.html HTTP/1.0

After typing that GET line you should see a flash of text and then the Run window will close. If you don't see that, that will eliminate the browser as the problem.

Also try it by IP: replace http://www.magpie.com with 64.81.199.225