Problem with Browser, stops working after about 2 days, need help

[Unregistered]

I use mozilla firefox for my internet browser and after about 2 days of leaving my computer on (which it is all the time) the browser stops working. When I try to use Internet Explorer that also does not work. I know it is not a connection problem because I am still able to use Trillion, my instent messageing program, and recive mail from my Thuderbird. Any ideas on whats going on?

[jmcgon]

Could you define the problem in a little more detail for us please? :)

Does it not open?
Does it crash?
Does it open but not load any webpages?
Etc...?

[Unregistered]

With firefox the page opens but does not load any page. When using Internet Explorer, it gives you the regula "Page can not be displayed" deal with the list of things to fix the problem.

[dparm]

Any other unusual activity? It's odd that it happens after the computer is on for an extended period, that makes me think you're running out of RAM or whatnot.

I'd suggest calling 520-626-TECH to make an appointment.

[abudhu]

Go into the registry, regedit, and remove any and all keys related to Internet Explorer or Mozilla. Infact remove anything that has an entry for Microsoft or Windows. This will surely fix your browser troubles.

You're Welcome!!!!


Do NOT pay attention to this users "Quick Fix" Please. This will surely crash your system.

[Unregistered]

This is ODD. I have seen this kind of problem posted for years, but no one ever seems to have the solution. My tech support reps are all baffled. Internet company is clueless.

Situations:

SIT1: I turn on the computer. Internet works fine. Check email, etc etc. I leave my computer for... about an hour (maybe less). I come back, internet is not working anymore.

SIT2: I turn on the computer. Internet works fine. Check email, etc etc. I start up chat program, such as Trillian. Chat with some friends for hours. Then I try to use the internet browser to check email or etc. Browser doesn't work. Chat still does. IF I exit the chat, then when I try to open the chat program again... won't work, nothing internet will work.

SIT3: I turn on the computer. Connect to an online game or TELNET (or similiar mud client that uses low internet bandwidth). Play for awhile, try to access the internet in any other program... won't work, even though the client does. If I exit and restart the client, the client won't work.

In lay terms this is what it seems like to me. My internet is timing out. If I have an "active" program open that uses the internet it keeps the internet port open enough for that program, if I exit that program, I lose that opening. If I don't exit that program, all I have is that tiny opening.

NOTE: Oddly, when I am chatting and my browser has crashed, people keep telling me that I keep logging in and out (or idle and off idle), even though it doesn't look like it. Seems to me, my connection becomes TOO weak.

Before you ask, do I use DSL, or Dialup......... I've used both, same IDENTICLE problem, on more than one computer. Only way to fix it, is to restart my computer. I have ran dozens of antivirus and spyware progams that all show my system is totally clean. I also use ZONEALARM to keep outside hack attempts from messing my system up. I have used network and non network connections... all the same problem.

[Unregistered]

Same problem here :/ I've been searching for a fix but unable to come across anything

[jharriso]

Possible solution:
Go to start, run, run cmd.
Type "ipconfig /release"
Then type "ipconfig /renew"
See if that does it.

[Unregistered]

Mur, looks like last post didn't go through X.x; Forgive me if this ends up double-posting.

I've tried release and renew, as well as resetting the cable modem.

Symptoms are exactly the same as the unregistered user above me posted.

I can still make local connections, and I can still ping remote sites.

I can't make any new remote connections, already established ones seem to work fine.

I've been booted off an Ubuntu LiveCD for 12ish hours without encountering the problem so far, and on windows it'd sometime creep up almost immediately. Leads me to believe some kind of windows virus or malware, but spyware S&D, ad-ware, AVG, and AVAST detect no real malware (ad-aware turns up some tracking cookies.)

Thanks for the suggestion, and I hope someone can shed some light on this :)

[abudhu]

Are all of you working through a router? If so this could potentially be a problem. Two thing I can think of currently are:

1) Packages are being dropped instantly when you open up a browser. This would result in "Page Not Found" Errors.

2) Your routers are blocking needed ports to access the internet via a web browser. You are still able to use programs like games, and IM's because those use seperate ports to connect.

You can attempt to go here: www.canyouseeme.org
If you internet connection works, even for a short time, and check to see if port 25 and 80 are open. If 80 is not, as it is the default port for the internet traffic you can try opening the port through your router.

To do this you would need to type in 192.168.1.1 (If its linksys) or, 192.169.0.1 (I believe, if its NetGear) You can then use the routers port forwarding tool to forward the ports to your local IP. I would advise you not to randomly open ports, and don't open too many.

A set up usually like Start Port: 80 End Port: 80 Mode: TCP/UDP IP: YOURIPYOURHERE (If using the router, it should be in the manner of 192.168.1.X (you can find this out by running start -- run -- "cmd" -- "ipconfig /all" and it will tell you)) ENABLE: CHECK MARK.

Finally you may simply want to check the LAN's network connection itself. Start--Settings--Control Panel--Network Connections--Local Area Network. Right click on it and select properties. Under General, youll want to make sure a TCP/IP Protocol is there and you may want to check its properties to ensure that it has not been manually set.

Lastly, if you click Install -- Protocol -- You should see, perhaps one called NWLINK IPX/SPX ... Back in the day, oh say the days of Windows 1995-Early Windows 2000, it used to be the case for me personally that unless this protocol service was installed my internet would never work. It does no harm if you install it, but you may want to give that a whirl as well.

Best of Luck. I hope I made some sense.

[Unregistered]

I had a problem with IE and Firefox browsers where they would stop working after about 5 - 10 minutes. This started after reloading WinXP. Fixed it by going to Control Panel, System, Hardware, Device Manager, then disable the Modem.

[Unregistered]

Hello, i had the exact same problem aa you. I would turn on Windows and internet would work for about 30-60minutes. Then all of a sudden it would stop. MSN Messenger would still operate if i had opened it before my internet browser stopped working. I too use Mozilla Firefox, and once after the 30-60minute time period, both Mozilla & Internet Explorer would seize to work.

I spent weeks trying to figure out the problem.....ie. Clearing cache. etc.....
What i found out was that i had a problem with my DNS.
To fix it, all i did was a simple flush of my DNS......TADA!! working internet again.

In order to Flush your DNS.......
* Click Start > Run.
* Type in 'cmd' to open Command Prompt. Press Enter.
* Once opened, type: ipconfig /flushdns ***Note*** Use Exact Spelling.
* If successful, it will say "Successful Flush Of DNS Cache"...such as such.....
* Close Command Prompt (cmd)...and your internet should be working again.

****Note**** Flushing you DNS will NOT disturb any downloads or cut your Instant Chat programs.

Hope This Works,

Xobiss.

[Sykotixx]

Thats worked for me... THX for the info.. iv read so many fourms trying to fix this and almost every1 said that it was a malware issue

once again.. thanks!

[sykotixx]

NM i thought it worked but shortly after it happend again..

i dont know what to do >:(

[Unregistered]

I had the same problem too.
It turns out it was the DNS settings. You can prove this by typing in the ip address for google into the address bar: http://216.239.39.99 instead of the DNS like "www.google.com". If this works then its a DNS problem.
Flushing the DNS works temporarily but you have to keep doing this which is a pain. In my case I am running the Zone Alarm Firewall so I had check the box for "Allow outgoing DNS/DHCP in the trusted zone".
Problem solved for me anyways.

[dparm]

Run a Google search for "winsockxpfix.exe" and download it. This tends to fix Internet connectivity weirdness.

[Unregistered]

Go to Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties.

At the Genral Tap, change "Obtain DNS server adress automatically" to
"Use the following DNS adresses"

Key in your Preferred and Alternate DNS server IP

That should work...well, it work for me...worth a try....

GoodLuck!!

[Unregistered]

I've got this same issue, and I'll give a few specifics:

It seems that only port 80 is being blocked/stuffed up by something or other. When the trouble happens, I can still hit https:// sites (which use a different port) as well as start up my teamspeak and connect to Planetside, as well as ping, etc.

[Unregistered]

I've got this same issue, and I'll give a few specifics:

It seems that only port 80 is being blocked/stuffed up by something or other. When the trouble happens, I can still hit https:// sites (which use a different port) as well as start up my teamspeak and connect to Planetside, as well as ping, etc.

Me again - I fixed this problem by making sure all references to ZoneAlarm were gone. I did this by using this method: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11324736~mode=flat

Pay attention to Uriel3's post, especially.

I uninstalled ZoneAlarm a long time ago, but it doesn't do a good job of cleaning things up... manual intervention has fixed the problem.

[Itchy]

Hi all

I also have just started to experience this same problem

I have found that if I shutdown Zone Alarm I can surf again.

??

[tweaq]

i have (about) the same problem here. My web traffic dies usually over night. It just started doing this about a month ago. I've tried everything everyone has suggested, to no avail. I can't connect to the ip of a website, or even my router. The other computer on the network works fine though. Everything else still works such as AIM and bittorrent, email doesn't though. I'm going to leave Kerio Firewall off and see if that does anything, and i'm going to try the https thing and see if that works. Any specific https sites? Also I can still ping websites.

[helixic]

i have (about) the same problem here. My web traffic dies usually over night. It just started doing this about a month ago. I've tried everything everyone has suggested, to no avail. I can't connect to the ip of a website, or even my router. The other computer on the network works fine though. Everything else still works such as AIM and bittorrent, email doesn't though. I'm going to leave Kerio Firewall off and see if that does anything, and i'm going to try the https thing and see if that works. Any specific https sites? Also I can still ping websites.

Exact same problem, started happening a few days ago.

[jharriso]

tweaq and helixic, have you guys tried refreshing your DNS cache?
ipconfig /flushdns and ipconfig /registerdns.
It sounds to me like a simple issue of either your local DNS server cache getting corrupted or out of date, like your ISP is changing the addresses on it, and you machine isn't refreshing properly.

[dessbee]

Soon after I have started Bitcomet my browsing in IE becomes impossible. Downloads in Bitcomet are still working so the Internet connection is still working.

My first fix was to reboot my ADSL modem. This is a slow fix since it will take ten minutes to renew my ip-address and all seeds in Bitcomet have to be retraced.

I spent weeks trying to figure out the problem. What I found was that I had a problem with my DNS.

You can prove this by typing in the ip address for google into the address bar: http://216.239.39.99 instead of the DNS like "www.google.com"

It seems like the problem lies within the modem's router.
Bitcomets disturbs the router in some way.
My modem is XAVI X8222r

The modem is also a router if Gateway address and Ip-address are different. These addresses can be found trough your Command prompt by writing "ipconfig /all"

Problem is solved by bridging your modem

Logg into http://192.168.1.1
Set modem in bridge

Go to Start > Control Panel > Network Connections > Create New Connection

Select:
Connect to the Internet (alt 1)
Set up my connection manually (alt2)
Give your connection a name
Write the login info from your ISP
Done!

[tweaq]

i don't think it's my dns. i've refresh and registered and everything. and i can't get to a website from the ip. and as long everything stays connected (AIM, sometimes azureus) it still works. but as soon as i signoff aim, it won't connect back. also its only my computer that does this, not the other one thats on the same network.

[tweaq]

also after i die, i can't even connect to my router.

[Unregistered]

Hey, has anyone figured out this problem yet? I'm runnin XP and have the same issues.. I've tried all of the fixes and my computer still doesn't work. I have a laptop that I'm running through the same router with no problems so that can't be it..

I can ping ips from the cmd promt
I've tried DNS flush
I've tried Winsockxpfix


This happens with IE, and Mozilla. My browsers will work for 10min and then quit. My email works, If I'm playing poker online it will continue to work until I disconnect etc..

If I restart my pc it will work again for 10 min and then quit

Any help would be great.

[Unregistered]

I am also having the same problem--both browsers will work fine (IE and Firefox) then die--AIM will continue running without any problems. Same thing with the restart as well--works okay then crashes abruptly.

Any suggestions would be great!

[stantonyah]

I found this thread troubleshooting the same problem. both mozilla and ie stop working while chat and poker software continue to work. I can resolve dns names in a command window while the browsers are broke. I'm running wireless via a router. I have a second wireless pc with no problems. I have never been able to restore the browser without restarting... until moments ago. When my browser cut out I tried connecting to our work vpn. It connected with no problem and I was able to browse again. That's good...at least there is a work-around! I disconnected my (cisco) vpn client and the browser was working again without a reboot. hmmm. I'll continue to play with this. I'm thinking perhaps there is a problem with my vpn adapter or a conflict with the wireless nic? I hope this in some way helps. The browser dropping out is a bear! good luck!

[picch]

have you tried running a winsockfix yet? That generally fixes connection issues more times then not

[Anthony]

I found this thread troubleshooting the same problem. both mozilla and ie stop working while chat and poker software continue to work. I can resolve dns names in a command window while the browsers are broke. I'm running wireless via a router. I have a second wireless pc with no problems. I have never been able to restore the browser without restarting... until moments ago. When my browser cut out I tried connecting to our work vpn. It connected with no problem and I was able to browse again. That's good...at least there is a work-around! I disconnected my (cisco) vpn client and the browser was working again without a reboot. hmmm. I'll continue to play with this. I'm thinking perhaps there is a problem with my vpn adapter or a conflict with the wireless nic? I hope this in some way helps. The browser dropping out is a bear! good luck!

Same deal, good call on the VPN, that works. I also just tried the wixsockxpfix, that might have fixed it!

[Unregistered]

Hello, i had the exact same problem aa you. I would turn on Windows and internet would work for about 30-60minutes. Then all of a sudden it would stop. MSN Messenger would still operate if i had opened it before my internet browser stopped working. I too use Mozilla Firefox, and once after the 30-60minute time period, both Mozilla & Internet Explorer would seize to work.

I spent weeks trying to figure out the problem.....ie. Clearing cache. etc.....
What i found out was that i had a problem with my DNS.
To fix it, all i did was a simple flush of my DNS......TADA!! working internet again.

In order to Flush your DNS.......
* Click Start > Run.
* Type in 'cmd' to open Command Prompt. Press Enter.
* Once opened, type: ipconfig /flushdns ***Note*** Use Exact Spelling.
* If successful, it will say "Successful Flush Of DNS Cache"...such as such.....
* Close Command Prompt (cmd)...and your internet should be working again.

****Note**** Flushing you DNS will NOT disturb any downloads or cut your Instant Chat programs.

Hope This Works,

Xobiss.


Yo, that looks like it would be an easy fix.
i have searched for this fix for about a month.
logging on and off over and over again just to use the internet
browser is a hassle.
if this works, i am gunna be very pleased.
thanks for your help.

[dparm]

Many flavors of spyware specifically target Internet Explorer's functionality. This is why you might be able to use AIM and LimeWire, but IE simply gives "page cannot be displayed" errors. Even if you use Spybot or similar programs to clean the spyware out, the spyware may leave remnants or may have damaged part of the networking protocols in Windows.

Boot the computer into Safe Mode (by pressing F8 when turning it on), and then the run above-mentioned Winsockxpfix program. This resets all the networking-related settings back to defaults and overwrites and weird stuff the spyware may have changed.

[Unregistered]

I was also having the arbitrary browser-only-cut-out problem. DNS flushing didn't work for me, but disabling the modem in Hardware settings did the trick (I think - crossing fingers and toes).

Good luck.

[Unregistered]

Hello,
I read over just a portion of this thread while trying to resolve a problem earlier and decided to post my solution although somewhat unrelated.

The problem I had was that my http (port 80) seemed to randomly stop working after a few minutes.

At first, everything worked, but after a few minutes my web browsing would cut out, and no matter what I tried, nothing seemed to fix it besides a reboot.

Everything else seemed to work fine, my instant messengers, secure HTTP (HTTPS), etc. I could resolve names fine and connect to everything just fine except for port 80.

I had the Cisco VPN client installed, but not running. In fact, I had set the Cisco VPN service to manual because I don't like programs running unless I'm using them.

However, starting that service seemed to fix the issue. I had other UDP-type issues trying to host some games that didn't go away until I had uninstalled the Cisco VPN client (version 4.8). I also have Hamachi installed (still do).

Maybe this bit of information will be useful to someone out there with similar issues.

[Unregistered]

its because of your anti virus i uninstalled zone alarm and it works perfectly actually my internet seems faster now

[Unregistered]

(cut)
The problem I had was that my http (port 80) seemed to randomly stop working after a few minutes.

At first, everything worked, but after a few minutes my web browsing would cut out, and no matter what I tried, nothing seemed to fix it besides a reboot.

Everything else seemed to work fine, my instant messengers, secure HTTP (HTTPS), etc. I could resolve names fine and connect to everything just fine except for port 80.
(cut)


I too have this few-minutes-after-Windows-started-then-browsing-http-fails problem. Hope that long name summarises the problem: browsing works initially for a few minutes after Windows started, then fails. Afterwards, browsing to https still works, POP email works, Ping works on both www.xxx.com and numeric IP address forms. So it's a destination port 80 problem, and not a DNS problem.

This problem occurred on two separate occasions, under different setups. Should offer some contrast to eliminate possible culprits:

First setup (Oct 2005) -

1.1. Cable broadband, with cable modem and separate Belkin wireless router. Win98 desktop PC on wired Ethernet connection.
1.2. Zonealarm (free version) autostarted. No problem browsing.
1.3. Replaced ZA with other firewalls such as Kerio and Tiny. Got browsing problem.
1.4. Went back to using ZA.

Second setup (recent) -
2.1. ADSL (UK) broadband, D-Link DSL wireless modem-router. Win98 desktop PC on wired Ethernet connection.
2.2. (same as 1.2, with latest ZA free version for Win98)
2.3. (same as 1.3, but with Kerio only)
2.4. Exited Kerio (so then no software firewall running), didn't help.
2.5. Tried IPCONFG Release/Renew, didn't work.

Now, with no software firewall being auto-/manually run, browsing problem is as described. So it's not the software firewall (ZA or Kerio). Nor is it Cable/DSL, nor(?) the router. And nothing to do with wireless.

I then started ZA manually. *** Browsing problem gone! ***

Even after I exited ZA, and with or without starting Kerio, browsing still continues working.

The question is, why should just briefly running ZA resolve the browsing problem? Does ZA alter my networking config when it runs? Does it leave something running even after exiting - I couldn't find it using various process viewers.

[Baloo]

Hello.

Last two days i connected to an online game. Everything worked fine until after some time when my whole net stopped working. But I could still play the game. After some time aI got a "kick" from the game. I could see everything that happened, but not do anything. people could write to me on mksn but i couldnt write to them. I heard people on ventrilo but they didnt hear me.

Now the browser works fine, until i connect to the game, when nothing works anymore. When i stop connecting, everything works again. And this happened all of a sudden, everything worked fine before. :(

[rjhill1]

...
I then started ZA manually. *** Browsing problem gone! ***

Even after I exited ZA, and with or without starting Kerio, browsing still continues working.

The question is, why should just briefly running ZA resolve the browsing problem? Does ZA alter my networking config when it runs? Does it leave something running even after exiting - I couldn't find it using various process viewers.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe ZA plugs into the browsers if I'm remembering correctly. First thing I'd try is the aforementioned winsockfix (http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm and http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=257 have a couple downloadables for '98 to try). I'd suggest updating to IE7 except for the fact you mentioned you're running Win98... IE7 has an awesome feature that lets you reset it back to Microsoft's spec so that you can thoroughly disable any 3rd party add-ons that kill it (I fixed many a connection just by doing that).

[rjhill1]

Hello.

Last two days i connected to an online game. Everything worked fine until after some time when my whole net stopped working. But I could still play the game. After some time aI got a "kick" from the game. I could see everything that happened, but not do anything. people could write to me on mksn but i couldnt write to them. I heard people on ventrilo but they didnt hear me.

Now the browser works fine, until i connect to the game, when nothing works anymore. When i stop connecting, everything works again. And this happened all of a sudden, everything worked fine before. :(

It could be the game is simply flooding your connection. You didn't mention what game this was, but if they're streaming updates to you while you play, it could be leading to unknown increased bandwidth usage, which would stop everything responding (including the game itself sometimes, America's Army was the biggest offender for that when I played) until you shut it down. The worst part though is that if you shut them down mid-update, they usually (in my experience) scrap the partial update and start over. Also make sure you aren't running any p2p apps while playing, as those things are massive bandwidth hogs that will most assuredly bring your internet speed to its knees when you combine it w/ a game.

[frysson]

I had the same thing, network worked fine but not the internet. The link http://216.239.39.99 for google worked. I had a manual IP and DNS in the TCP/IP proprieties and had a typo in my second DNS address. The computer worked fine for a week until it didn't.

[bgwinkel]

Ping works on both [link removed] and numeric IP address forms.
Why would you link to a porn site? If all you can see porn sites, chances are it's a DNS hijack. Download HijackThis here:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3155.html

Then run it and hit 'scan and save a log' and then either
1) Remove all entries with "nameserver" in them by clicking the checkboxes next to them and hit remove.
OR
2) Post the log here and we'll tell you what to remove.

[jharriso]

It's also possible they put xxx in as a generic place holder. *shrug*

[Unregistered]

I meant xxx as a place holder, not the actual address. OK, let me re-phrase that part in the original post -
Ping works on both URL name and numeric address form ...

[Unregistered]

I want to thank everyone on this blog for helping to think about this unique problem. I have not gotten too much help from several tech support, as this seems like an uncommon problem.

I have been spending about 2 weeks on this problem and here are my insights. (written with the most rudimentary understanding of computers)

Recently my 2 computers (desktop and notebook) simultaneously stopped working in the exact same fashion. Essentially firefox and IE 6 and 7 would work for exactly 7 minutes after the computer starts up, and inorder to continue browsing the computer need to be rebooted every 7 minutes. This problem does not affect accessing https site, using email or skype.

We have tried a bunch of things including uninstalling a few new softwares, getting optonline to come to our house to speed up the cable line. Essentially our conclusion is that it has something to do with either our firewall(EZ firewall by CA) or a newly installed Vpn program. We've uninstalled the EZfirewall which didn't do that much, uninstalled the VPN which did not help.

After reading the blog. we ran a bunch of the suggestions from this website, not sure which worked, but it did partially correct the problem. we now can connect normally on one of the computers XP sub-accounts.

The other option that we tried, as someone suggested in the blog, was to use the VPN to start every browsers connetion. Once that is done, it then allows continuous web browsing even after the VPN is disconnected.

Hope this helps someone. Thank you OSCR bloggers for your thoughts on this. WE came v. close to hitting the hard reset on the computer.

[Unregistered]

I installed zone alarm and after installing it i realised i had Nod anti-Virus and AVG Free running on my all at the same time. My computer was freezing and going real slow. so I deleted the Zone Alarm files on my computer i'v turned off microsoft firewall in the firewall panel it says zonealarm internet security firewall is on which zonealarm is not even on my computer. I am having the same trouble with browsing only works for 5 min. Could someone help me get rid of all the dead zonealarm files lying around in my computer. This might fix the web browsing. Iv'e tried ipconfig/flushdns,ipconfig/registerdns, renew the ip and the wixsockxpfix all did not work

Need Help Thanks.

[dparm]

You cannot run multiple firewalls and multiple anti-virus programs....it causes problems.

Boot into Safe Mode (press F8 while the computer is starting up) and uninstall all but one firewall and one antivirus program.

[Unregistered]

You cannot run multiple firewalls and multiple anti-virus programs....it causes problems.

Boot into Safe Mode (press F8 while the computer is starting up) and uninstall all but one firewall and one antivirus program.
Thankyou. My Internet works now.

[crw330]

I just found this post and will try the suggestions listed since I have the same problem.

I have Tor and Privoxy (essentially allows browsing through a proxy) but it is slow most of the times so I don't enable it. When my browser stops working I enable the proxy, which goes through port 8118 if I recall correctly. After enabling the proxy I can browse again. I am by no means a PC whiz, but I think the Tor/Privoxy and VPN fixes work in a similar fashion, by using a different port. So if you can start browsing again using Tor/Privoxy or VPN then port related solutions would seem logical.

I will try the various solutions mentioned and post the results.

[Unregistered]

Yeah, I suspected it's destination port 80 problem, as browsing https (try https://www.google.com) which targets port 8080 I think, still works, as does starting VPN etc.

Wish someone could get to the bottom of this (not just suggesting work-arounds).

[Unregistered]

Possible solution:
Go to start, run, run cmd.
Type "ipconfig /release"
Then type "ipconfig /renew"
See if that does it.


I suffered with this maddening problem all week until I saw this message around 1600 PST yesterday. I did the steps and it has been smooth sailing every since.

My download speeds are back over 10MB, I'm having no problems with programs not closing out of the task manager, and the computer is not dying after about 20 to 30 minutes of use.

A thousand thanks sire. :-))

[jay2uk]

hi mates.. This morning this internet blocking thing hit me as well. First i thought it was a problem with the router but then after much testing i narrowed it down to my laptop..

So far i have done the things below

1. Ran Spybot and adaware but no interesting results.
2. Ran RootKitRevelar : didnt find any flaw there as well
3. Ran winsock fix : Not effective
4. Repaired Windows : Not effective
5. reinstalled PCMCIA wireless driver : Not effective

The internet works flawlessly in Safemode..which arouses my suspicion that something activates after 5-10 minutes after opening firefox or IE that blocks port 80 traffic..i might try the portmonitor by sysinternals to see which process takes over that port..

The only thing i havent done is disabling the modem as one mentioned in this thread.I wish someone could find a lasting solution..

[Unregistered]

its because of your anti virus i uninstalled zone alarm and it works perfectly actually my internet seems faster now

Zone Alarm is a Firewall not an Anti-Virus, software.

[Unregistered]

Did you recently uninstall the Cisco VPN client or zonealarm?

If so, look in the registry for remnants of files with the following names and delete them:
vsdatant.sys
vsdata.dll
vsinit.dll

vsdatant will be there as a key in the HKLM/.../services area. Delete these keys to fix the problem.

[Unregistered]

Could this be a problem with AVG or common files that anti-virus programs share?

[Unregistered]

I have the same problem also, i get the page can not be displayed error when i visit any webpage except googles homepage, and than 10 minutes later i can open a few web pages, and than it wont work again. Not sure whats wrong.

[Unregistered]

I had the same problem described here and it looks like others have identified the root-cause.

I can't understate my frustration with Cisco for continuing to allow partners to ship a VPN client that will turn computers into a brick (from an internet perspective) if they attempt to remove the software.

The best walkthrough for the fix is:
http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=1082836&admit=-682735245+1173240938678+28353475

If I ever find the clever engineer that decided it was OK to re-write an IP/Port in
outgoing packets without warning the user in a more user friendly way...

Anyway - life is better on my laptop.

[Unregistered]

I had the same problem described here and it looks like others have identified the root-cause.
(cut)
The best walkthrough for the fix is:
http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=1082836&admit=-682735245+1173240938678+28353475
(cut)


Now, with no software firewall being auto-/manually run, browsing problem is as described. So it's not the software firewall (ZA or Kerio). Nor is it Cable/DSL, nor(?) the router. And nothing to do with wireless.

I then started ZA manually. *** Browsing problem gone! ***

Even after I exited ZA, and with or without starting Kerio, browsing still continues working.

The question is, why should just briefly running ZA resolve the browsing problem? Does ZA alter my networking config when it runs? Does it leave something running even after exiting - I couldn't find it using various process viewers


Uninstalling ZA solved my problem. To have thought that I needed it to enable browsing! At last I am now free of that proverbial albatross.

Note: it wasn't ZA leaving something behind after exiting, rather it was ZA's vsdata95.vxd that started up along with Win98 other startup vxd stuff. It caused the problem if you don't run the visible ZA client. I think vxd stuff is invisible to various Win98 process/dll viewers.

Note: after doing the normal uninstalling, I still had to clean up the Registry, and manually delete various vs* such as vsdata*.*, vsinit*.* files in Windows/System folder, and various other debris such as ZA's log files.

[Unregistered]

You cannot run multiple firewalls and multiple anti-virus programs....it causes problems.

Boot into Safe Mode (press F8 while the computer is starting up) and uninstall all but one firewall and one antivirus program.


Dunno about that.. i been using norton firewall with the free version of sygate personal firewall for 2, maybe 3 years now without a problem..

However it was only untill i upgraded with amd 2core, new amd2 mobo n ddr2 memory with sata2 hd that this problem arised for me.

However my windows install shield also seems to freeze on me also when i wanna install stuff.

P.s
Im from england, i would register, but dont think its possible :(

[gruthar]

For those of you running ZoneAlarm with this problem, check your logs to make sure svchost isn't being blocked. If it is, the connection will die after a while - I've seen it happen on a couple of machines. I wouldn't be surprised if it occurs with other standalone firewalls as well.

[Unregistered]

For those of you running ZoneAlarm with this problem, check your logs to make sure svchost isn't being blocked. If it is, the connection will die after a while - I've seen it happen on a couple of machines. I wouldn't be surprised if it occurs with other standalone firewalls as well.

Which log is that? Will there be something inside that says svchost is "blocked"? And how do you unblock it?

Then what about Win98 - I'm sure there's no svchost there?

[gruthar]

Open up Zone Alarm, hit Alerts & Logs, then select 'Firewall' from the Alert Type combo box. If it's being blocked, there will likely be several svchost.exe entries in there, with an intercepted UDP call to your router's IP address (assuming I'm remembering this correctly.) To unblock, you can just right-click, then select Add to Zone, then Trusted.

As far as Win98 goes, it's been years since I've used it and I have no idea what the networking processes it uses are named. It's not outside the realm of possibility that something similar could happen with 98. Perhaps someone else could shed some light on this?

[Unregistered]

I have a possible fix for those of you who have not yet fixed your problem. If you have ever used a wireless adapter on your computer, and stil have the drivers installed, delete and uninstall all traces of the adapter, or plug it in and reinstall the drivers until it works.

At this point, run winsockfixxp and my problem mysteriously disapeared.

[Unregistered]

Using the forums on geeksToGo.com I found a permanent solution, though it doesn't get to the root of the problem.

http://www.opendns.com/

Click on "Get Started" and follow the instructions... basically you just use their DNS servers.

[Rhapsodist]

I had this problem for 2 weeks now. Clearing the dns helped but then next day it didn't do anything... any other fixes? I'll try the www.opendns.com thing but just wanted to ask for help before it cuts off on me...

[Unregistered]

I had success going into the LAN Settings of Internet Explorer and disabling the choice for IE to automatically detect settings. Hope that helps you as well.

[Unregistered]

I had the same problem. HP support had me remove all the TCP/IP protocols and reinstall them. This didn't solve the problem.
As per the suggestions in site I found that I could still open the HTTPS sites. I had installed Zone Alarm installed but was not using it. I just started ZA and HTTP sites open now. I will see if un-installing the ZA solves the problem permanently. Thanks for your suggestions.
sc

[Unregistered]

I had the same problem. HP support had me remove all the TCP/IP protocols and reinstall them. This didn't solve the problem.
As per the suggestions in site I found that I could still open the HTTPS sites. I had installed Zone Alarm installed but was not using it. I just started ZA and HTTP sites open now. I will see if un-installing the ZA solves the problem permanently. Thanks for your suggestions.
sc

ZA problem - even if you don't start its visible GUI interface, it may still *preload* a part of itself as a vxd in Win98 or as a service in Win2K/XP.

If it's Win98, see my post in page 4 this thread about possibly having to clean up even after uninstalling ZA, just to make sure the preloaded vsdata is gone.

[Unregistered]

http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=1082836&admit=-682735245+1173240938678+28353475


I had the same issue after uninstalling Cisco VPN client. I did the registry change thing, made a 2 a 3 and this solved my issue. I agree with other posters that Cisco should fix this issue.

Regards,

Joe

[Unregistered]

I'm having similar problems, I've had it before on an older computer running XP Home. I did system restore just because he computer was so old. Now I'm having the same problem on my laptop.

I use dial up. I don't have any problems with the other computer so I know it isn't the connection. My computer is not slow.

About 15 minutes after restarting, I cannot use any browsers. I can still use any messengers. I've looked at so many worm definitions I'm about sick. I've been all through regedit and cannot find one bad key.

I have winlogon.exe in System32 but I do not have winlogon32.exe which is apparently a culprit that causes these problems. That wasn't in my comp. There are several different alias's and varieties it goes off of, and so far I have not found one that I have.

If I'm downloading something when the browsers stop working, it will click the connection off and my download will fail. I know this has to be malicious because arbitrary things just don't usually do this.

I can still ping with /ipconfig and netstat (start>Run>netstat>enter) doesn't bring up anything suspicious. Though is it normal for netstat to close quicker everytime I access it? It starts by letting me see it for about 10 seconds, then every time I open it it gets faster at closing, until finally I try to open and it is so fast I just see a faint apparition for a split second, then not at all. I remember that on a healthy computer, netstat will come up without problems and will stay open till I close it.

When i'm having these problems, it lists the page I was trying to get to (Google.com) and that it is successfully connected even though i cannot get to it.

I know there has to be a fix to this, but if not I may just reformat my C drive.

-Ashley (I won't register but it will help to distinguish this post lol)

[Unregistered]

Oh and,

I looked at processes running with some program I can't remember and nothing but winlogon, lsass, explorer, msnmessenger, and normal program trees are running.

I looked at my startup processes in a non-windows program, and nothing malicious is anywhere.

-Ashley

[Unregistered]

This is all that is running when I'm not online:

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 9:52:55 PM, on 5/6/2007
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v7.00 (7.00.5730.0011)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\New Boundary\PrismXL\PRISMXL.SYS
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\Program Files\Webroot\Spy Sweeper\SpySweeper.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\Program Files\CyberLink\PowerDVD\PDVDServ.exe
C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_10\bin\jusched.exe
C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\igfxtray.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\hkcmd.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\igfxpers.exe
C:\Program Files\Webroot\Spy Sweeper\SpySweeperUI.exe
C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\MsnMsgr.Exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
C:\Program Files\Webroot\Spy Sweeper\SSU.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\Program Files\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe

O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NeroFilterCheck] C:\WINDOWS\system32\NeroCheck.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [RemoteControl] "C:\Program Files\CyberLink\PowerDVD\PDVDServ.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_10\bin\jusched.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QuickTime Task] "C:\Program Files\QuickTime\qttask.exe" -atboottime
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [KernelFaultCheck] C:\WINDOWS\system32\dumprep 0 -k
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [IgfxTray] C:\WINDOWS\system32\igfxtray.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HotKeysCmds] C:\WINDOWS\system32\hkcmd.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Persistence] C:\WINDOWS\system32\igfxpers.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SpySweeper] "C:\Program Files\Webroot\Spy Sweeper\SpySweeperUI.exe" /startintray
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [MsnMsgr] "C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger\MsnMsgr.Exe" /background
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ctfmon.exe] C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_10\bin\npjpi150_10.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_10\bin\npjpi150_10.dll
O9 - Extra button: Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe (file missing)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Windows Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe (file missing)
O11 - Options group: [INTERNATIONAL] International*
O15 - Trusted Zone: *.moove.com
O16 - DPF: {7F8C8173-AD80-4807-AA75-5672F22B4582} (ICSScanner Class) - https://cpc-wlan01.ccccd.edu/sre/Downloads/ICSScanner.cab
O18 - Protocol: livecall - {828030A1-22C1-4009-854F-8E305202313F} - C:\PROGRA~1\MSNMES~1\MSGRAP~1.DLL
O18 - Protocol: msnim - {828030A1-22C1-4009-854F-8E305202313F} - C:\PROGRA~1\MSNMES~1\MSGRAP~1.DLL
O20 - Winlogon Notify: igfxcui - C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\igfxdev.dll
O20 - Winlogon Notify: NavLogon - C:\WINDOWS\
O20 - Winlogon Notify: WgaLogon - C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WgaLogon.dll
O20 - Winlogon Notify: WRNotifier - C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WRLogonNTF.dll
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\11\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: iPodService - Apple Computer, Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: PrismXL - New Boundary Technologies, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\New Boundary\PrismXL\PRISMXL.SYS
O23 - Service: Webroot Spy Sweeper Engine (WebrootSpySweeperService) - Webroot Software, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Webroot\Spy Sweeper\SpySweeper.exe

-Ashley

[SQU [Monash Uni - Aus]]

Hey there!
I too have been having problems with port 80 access.

Over a number of days I have managed to isolate the problem - the Cisco VPN Client.

I found that:
- When I start the service OR
- When I stop the service
the internet (port 80) would still not work.

However, when I opened the VPN Client and attempted to connect to my university VPN it started working. Even though I did not connect to the VPN, the internet still kept working.

If it I didn't need the VPN for uni I would scrap it but.......... yeh. So the problem may be caused by the VPN Client (or one of the many components associated with it).

If only software worked.

Hope this little piece of info helps,

Sean

[kilagon]

here is the solution for your problems :

you will have to disable your internet sharing, simply go to your adapter settings and disable allow other network users to connect....

your internet should will be working again.


ya no problem

[Unregistered]

Do you by any chance have a linksys

[stormy]

here is the solution for your problems :

you will have to disable your internet sharing, simply go to your adapter settings and disable allow other network users to connect....

your internet should will be working again.


I will try this too, because since I have added a wireless network AP to my PC and a shared connection from a wireless device I too get this problem where webbrowsing just dies.

ICQ and MSN (if already running) work and I can ping both ip addresses and hostnames, bittorrents seem to die and I cannot access my routers webpage at all either.

I don't think my problem is DNS because I can ping both IPs and Hostnames. If I shut down ICQ and MSN then I cannot re-launch them again as they fail to connect. MSN gets through all its diagnostics accept "port access" which may be as people have said, certain ports die.

I dont use Cisco VPN or ZA and am running Windows Vista.

Is it the Internet connection sharing which does it, is there a definative fix and why does it do it?

My PC will be fine for hours and hours (its on all the time) and then suddenly the connection for webbrowsing just dies and I can't seem to make any new connections outbound, yet ping works still.

Cheers,

Mike

[Kicken]

I run Windows Vista Business and also have another desktop Using Vista Home Premium, and a Laptop (only wireless connection) using Vista Home Premium as well. I have a Linksys WRT54GSv6. At random intervals browsing the web using either Firefox or Internet explorer will stop, at the same time on all computers. MSN, AIM, Torrents, or any game is not interrupted. Please, help!

I have manually went to my router's port forwarding section and added port 25 and 80, to no avail.

[Kicken]

To add details, once this problems occurs I too can no longer get to the Router's page. /flushdns doesn't work. I don't use VPN or ZA.

[Unregistered]

Hmm whoever said "disable ICS for the LAN connection" that worked, the trouble is as soon as I try and re-enable it it goes tits up again.

:(

Whats going on?

[Unregistered]

Hi again,

I had a tip to try changing from Automatic Metric in Vista:

The Interface Metric is used in machines that have multiple network connections and is used by Windows to determine which connection to route traffic on. To override the default setting, each network connection must be modified.

Open 'Network and Sharing Centre'. Click on 'Manage Network Connections'. Right-click the connection, select Properties. Select 'Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)' from the list and click the Properties button. In the Properties box, click the Advanced button. At the bottom of the screen, there is a check-box for 'Automatic Metric' with a text box underneath. Switching off the check-box enables the text box. Any number you like, as long as it is higher than the number you insert into the wireless connection.

As an example, on my laptop, I have wired, wireless and 3G/HSDPA.
Wired setting: 4255
Wireless setting: 4250
3G/HSDPA: Automatic

By doing this I seemed to get my Internet back without a reboot, I hope it was not just coincidence!

[Unregistered]

The Metric stuff was coincidence, its definately the ICS settings, but I ideally want ICS on. :(

[Unregistered]

My internet connection is always fine, and yet I cannot get to any websites, always showing the "page cannot be displayed" sign from internet explorer. After I restart, everything will by fine for a little while, about 5-10 minutes or so, and then the problem returns.

At first, I ran an adaware scan and a Norton scan (both are up to date). When that didn't work, I went as far as reformatting my whole computer. And still, no results. Then, I figured it may have been my network card, so I bought a new one. Still, nothing. If anyone could help, that would be great.

[Martin]

Found this thread as I ran into the same problem after I installed 'Symantec Client Firewall' on my system which had the Cisco VPN 300 client installed. I had a note from 'Bullguard' on Cisco's VPN setting [Statefull firewall (Allways On)] which could cause to block traffic. So, to make sure, I de-installed the VPN software rebooted my machine and guess what .... it worked as normal. So, then I installed the VPN software back on, to see if symantecs software would set some rules which would prevent the bad behavoir. This removed the problem. So, the message is: Look for other software on your system which sets firewall rule, stopping http connections.

Hope this helps ?

[Unregistered]

My problem is when i switch my computer on i have a connection but cannot log onto my ISP internet or log in to MSN but can ping things fine, i run the IPconfig/registerdns and it works fine, but something must be wrong if i'm having to do this everytime i start my laptop up, just downloaded bitcomet on saturday and the problem started on sunday, so it seems unlikely to be a coincidence, could i have had my dns hijacked by this or is it something to do with the ports in the preferences?

I apologise for it being longwinded any advice would be welcomed.

Thanks
Toony

[Unregistered]

Wow -- I was having the same problem and starting up the Cisco VPN service resolved it. I'm not sure why though. I have had that service on my system for a while (in manual mode) and now all of a sudden I need to keep it running? Very strange.

[b76302]

11027 » TCP traffic stops after you enable both receive-side scaling and Internet Connection Sharing in Windows Server 2003 with SP1 (Service Pack 1) or Windows Vista? (21-Nov-06)
When you enable both receive-side scaling and Internet Connection Sharing in Windows Server 2003 SP1 with the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Scalable Networking Pack, or Windows Vista, TCP traffic stops working.

This behavior occurs because receive-side scaling and Internet Connection Sharing are mutually exclusive.

To workaround this problem, disable receive-side scaling OR Internet Connection Sharing.
To determine if Windows Vista has receive-side scaling enabled:
1. Open a CMD.EXE window.

2. Type netsh interface tcp show global and press Enter. You receive:

Querying active state...

TCP Global Parameters
----------------------------------------------
Receive-Side Scaling State : enabled
[...]

To disable receive-side scaling:
1. Open a CMD.EXE window.

2. Type netsh interface tcp set global rss=disabled and press Enter.

[Unregistered]

Hmm whoever said "disable ICS for the LAN connection" that worked, the trouble is as soon as I try and re-enable it it goes tits up again.

:(

Whats going on?

How to desable ICS?

[Unregistered]

Hello, everybody!

I had the same problem for BitComet, where after i download with a high speed or something my internet stops working so i have to reconnect my router.

After i read this thread i tried "ipconfig /flushdns" and "ipconfig /registerdns"

I also ran winsockxpfix.exe


Amazingly all that worked! And i was able to use BitComet without my internet crashing. Sadly, I had to downgrade BitComet to an earlier version (0.7) and after a while it started doing this again.

I tried to do everything again but it doesnt work. I'm using Windows XP SP 2 Home Edition.

PLEASE HELP ME!!!

[Unregistered]

I have the same problem since Vista Premium. Got it with my computer. Used IE 7, Opera, and Firefox. Thought it was the browser. Agree with the guy going back to XP..never had that problem with them.

[Unregistered]

I also don't have disconnection with my PCI card. I'm always hooked up. I get can't find page messages, and errors all the time, as well as it closing my browser out all that time, on every browswer I've used so far. ARRRRRRRRRGH

[Unregistered]

omg, i just reformat my computer for the first time ever because my brother did something and now after like 1 hour - x hours browser stops working and MSN. i can still play my game that i play online (www.tibia.com)... help me please i dont know what to do :S

[Azhrei]

Has there been any progress with this issue. I have the same issue though my browser doesn't stop working completely. It stops responding to http requests (port 80) and IE simply gives error "Unable to load web page" while Firefox just opens a blank "untitled" page and doesn't load anything.

Still if I keep hitting refresh, go or just enter (return) it will load the page eventually, after I click about 20 times. It also starts working a bit after a while and soon after goes back to this strange phase of failing to load web pages. All other network applications work fine such as instant messengers.

I don't have ZA, or any vpn configurations, and I use linksys not cisco. Some of the fixes here have helped me but only temporarily, the problem recurs soon after. This is really strange and hope someone comes up with something.

The specific fixes I am referring to are restarting the network adapter, or flushing the DNS.

[Azhrei]

Me again, I just realized this problem appeared after I ENABLED, the DCOM Launcher process. Originally it was disabled. Could some of you experiencing this problem tell me if the "DCOM Server Process Launcher" system service is running.

Just go to run->services.msc and look under letter D. If it is running try disabling it, and post here if the issue was resolved. So far after disabling it, everything is running ok.

[Azhrei]

Sorry for the triple post, just want to let you know that the problem has returned and disabling the dcom service was probably just some coincidence. Really need help fixing this.

[Unregistered]

hi, im using vista and it seems like everytime i use bitcomet for a long time my internet stops working. im using a linksys wireless router. i try turning it off for a minute and turning it back on, restarting the modem but nothing works. i have to restart my laptop to get the internet working again. when i dont use bitcomet, it seems to work fine. does anybody know how to fix this?

[dparm]

BitTorrent connections will saturate and eventually lock up most cheap routers. My old Netgear and D-Link boxes would lock up after about 2-3 hours of BitTorrent traffic. It has to do with the connection logs and buffers filling.

The fix is to buy a good router (over $100, usually). My Linksys WRT54GX2 (SRX 200) doesn't experience this problem.

[Unregistered]

Hi, my two-pence worth.

This post has continued for quite a while- amazing there is not a definitive conclusion.

Common points with others experiences problem:
1) firefox
2) Zone Alarm 7.089
3) Msgr (10) & Bitcomet 0.68 work fine
4) IE and FF both unable to display http
5) Using a wireless(&hardwired) BT Voyager router

This has only just started and from the above five points nothing has changed, from what I can observe. What has changed is my BB provider (Tiscali to TalkTalk) and speed increase from 1mb to 5mb(app).

I start FF and can browse the net for as long as I wish (haven't reached a 'kick-off# point anyway). However as soon as I start up BitComet I am unable to access HTTP. Restoring the ability requires the shutdown of BitComet followed by a reboot of the modem. This works. Start BitComet again- problem returns.
I have recently reinstalled computer using clean image, as always do and this problem has never occurred before- thus reason I don't think its a problem soley related to BitComet.

I tried opening MSNmsgr (with bitcomet running) and unsurprisingly it would not connect. The option exists to "troubleshoot", which I did and lo-and-behold it fails at the fouth test - DNS. Switching Bitcomet off and then clicking "repair" on the msnmsgr troubleshoot testing results box worked.

Problem still remains so for the time being my solution is Bitcomet on when I goto bed and off when I need the net and/or A N other program.

Previous posters comment on bandwidth is interesting though.

Regards,

- Si (liverpool, UK)

[Unregistered]

Hi, I have a problem with my internet browser. Please understand that I am not a computer genius and I do not understand a lot of the jargon you guys use. However, I need help and would appreciate it if you guys helped me out.

I use Windows Vista and browse the internet with IE Version 7. About a few weeks ago, I started having problems using the internet. While the internet stays connected, my browser will stop working after about eight hours. Often times I listen to the radio online, and even when the internet browser stops working the radio will keep playing (it is live). It will keep working unless I refresh it. There is no issue with the internet connection. I cleaned out all of my internet history, ran multiple virus scans, eliminated lots of spyware, and got rid of a lot of stuff I don't need on my computer. This did not solve anything.

I suspect I may have accidentally deleted part of the program, but I am not sure at all. I also think it may have happened when I was trying to connect to a new network but started having problems. I was trying to refresh just about everything involved with the connection and finally got connected, but perhaps I did something to cause the problem. Again, I know very little about computers in general but would truly appreciate any help you guys may have for me. Thank you.

[richard5]

Hi, I have a problem with my internet browser. Please understand that I am not a computer genius and I do not understand a lot of the jargon you guys use. However, I need help and would appreciate it if you guys helped me out.

I use Windows Vista and browse the internet with IE Version 7. About a few weeks ago, I started having problems using the internet. While the internet stays connected, my browser will stop working after about eight hours. Often times I listen to the radio online, and even when the internet browser stops working the radio will keep playing (it is live). It will keep working unless I refresh it. There is no issue with the internet connection. I cleaned out all of my internet history, ran multiple virus scans, eliminated lots of spyware, and got rid of a lot of stuff I don't need on my computer. This did not solve anything.

I suspect I may have accidentally deleted part of the program, but I am not sure at all. I also think it may have happened when I was trying to connect to a new network but started having problems. I was trying to refresh just about everything involved with the connection and finally got connected, but perhaps I did something to cause the problem. Again, I know very little about computers in general but would truly appreciate any help you guys may have for me. Thank you.

Wow I just typed out a massive reply to you but I closed the damn browser window and lost it all.

Anyways, there's a couple possiblities but I'll go over the most probable possibilities for it. First one is that it could be you anti-virus program bocking IE. Which are you using? Most mainstream AV programs will cut off access to internet browsing through IE if something isn't working right, i.e. it's not up to date, windows isn't up to date or you have a virus/spyware. In some cases, it'll cut off IE for no reason at all. You can try uninstalling the AV software or simply disabling it if you know how. If you don't, let us know what AV software you have and we can walk you through it.

Another option is that you may have inadvertently deleted some of the system files associated to IE, or they became corrupt some how. To fix this in Windows XP you can just reinstall it, however with Windows Vista, IE7 is built in and not re installable. To fix this you need to run system file checker with your Windows Vista install cd in the drive. You probably received this cd with the computer when you purchased it, however some manufacturers don't ship the computer with the install cd, they ship the computer with what's called a recovery partition. That means they've taken the windows install cd and put it on a separate part of the hard drive that can be used at any time to recover the computer back to the way you originally purchased it. In some cases the manufacturer also has software you can use to write that recovery partition to a cd/dvd. Let us know what the case is and we can walk you through it.

This is getting long.

Ok, so if they did happen to give you the reinstall cd (most likely says something to the effect of "OS reinstall dvd", "Windows Vista install dvd" etc. Take that disk and put it in your dvd drive, open up the start menu, in the search bar at the bottom, type cmd, at the type of the start menu a little command prompt icon will come up. Right click that and select run as administrator. A black box will come up called the command prompt. In the box, type sfc /scannow. This will run the system file checker, basically it checks the system files windows needs in order to run and makes sure they are not corrupt or modified. If they are, they replace them with the files from the install dvd. It'll take a while, so grab a beer. After it's finished restart the computer. If these two haven't fixed the issue, let us know and we'll walk you through some more possible cases.

[Unregistered]

It sounds to me like there is more than one problem being addressed in this thread.

From what I can tell after reading every post there are at least 3 different problems of similar nature:

1) One is caused by ZoneAlarm
2) One is caused by Cisco VPN
3) One is a Windows Vista glitch with Internet Connection Sharing

In my particular case I am using Windows Vista and had the problem with the browsers stopping while still connected to the internet (note: this occurs after a few HOURS not a few minutes which seems to be a part of the problem with ZoneAlarm/CiscoVPN). I can still ping, stay on AIM (which does eventually disconnect after a long amount of time), download torrents, etc. I have never installed ZoneAlarm or any type of firewall or antivirus. I have never installed any Cisco VPN software.

I cannot connect to a website using its IP address (which leads to believe it is not a DNS problem), and cannot connect to any https:// addresses.

Restore/renew and flushdns do not help.

The fix recommended on this forum of disabling the Automatic Metric on your connections did not work.

THE FIX THAT WORKED (for my case of Vista's Internet browsing not working after HOURS):
It seems to be a problem with Vista's Internet Connection Sharing. The fix that worked instantly for me was simply turning off Internet Connection Sharing:
1) Navigate to your Network and Sharing Center
2) Click Manage Network Connections on the left side
3) Right click your connection and go to Properties
4) At the top click the Sharing tab
5) Uncheck the box "Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection."

The fix recommended on this forum of using the command "netsh interface tcp set global rss=disabled" may be a more permanent fix than disabling it all together. I have it re-enabled after using that command and will give it a day or two to see if it stops working again and will update back then.

Those having this problem but only after a few minutes the fix is as follows (seems to usually be as a result of either the Cisco VPN Client or ZoneAlarm):
1) Boot your system into Safe Mode (tap F8 during startup)
2) Go to Start>Run...>regedit
3) Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\vsdatant and change the Start parameter value to 3.

Good luck!

I cannot register as I'm not affiliated with UA but will check back periodically.

[Unregistered]

i am connected to the internet but when i open the page .yhey put that the page cannot be displayed what is the problem???

[Unregistered]

It sounds to me like there is more than one problem being addressed in this thread.

From what I can tell after reading every post there are at least 3 different problems of similar nature:

1) One is caused by ZoneAlarm
2) One is caused by Cisco VPN
3) One is a Windows Vista glitch with Internet Connection Sharing

In my particular case I am using Windows Vista and had the problem with the browsers stopping while still connected to the internet (note: this occurs after a few HOURS not a few minutes which seems to be a part of the problem with ZoneAlarm/CiscoVPN). I can still ping, stay on AIM (which does eventually disconnect after a long amount of time), download torrents, etc. I have never installed ZoneAlarm or any type of firewall or antivirus. I have never installed any Cisco VPN software.

I cannot connect to a website using its IP address (which leads to believe it is not a DNS problem), and cannot connect to any https:// addresses.

Restore/renew and flushdns do not help.

The fix recommended on this forum of disabling the Automatic Metric on your connections did not work.

THE FIX THAT WORKED (for my case of Vista's Internet browsing not working after HOURS):
It seems to be a problem with Vista's Internet Connection Sharing. The fix that worked instantly for me was simply turning off Internet Connection Sharing:
1) Navigate to your Network and Sharing Center
2) Click Manage Network Connections on the left side
3) Right click your connection and go to Properties
4) At the top click the Sharing tab
5) Uncheck the box "Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection."

The fix recommended on this forum of using the command "netsh interface tcp set global rss=disabled" may be a more permanent fix than disabling it all together. I have it re-enabled after using that command and will give it a day or two to see if it stops working again and will update back then.

Those having this problem but only after a few minutes the fix is as follows (seems to usually be as a result of either the Cisco VPN Client or ZoneAlarm):
1) Boot your system into Safe Mode (tap F8 during startup)
2) Go to Start>Run...>regedit
3) Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\vsdatant and change the Start parameter value to 3.

Good luck!

I cannot register as I'm not affiliated with UA but will check back periodically.

I have the same problem and also have concluded that the problem is with Windows Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)! I use ICS between my Vista host and XP client computers. I noticed that if I stop the ICS service on the host computer, the internet starts working again on the host without re-booting, but then of course the client computer can't use the shared internet. But if I stop and start, the ICS service multiple times, both the client and host can again use the internet. WHY???

To stop/start ICS temporarily on my Vista host, I click on Control Panel, and then Administration Tools, then Services (Note: I have a shortcut to Services on my desktop), then right click on Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) service, click on Stop (or Start).

Can anyone get Microsoft to look at this problem?

[Unregistered]

I have Vista and the problem started after I installed and uninstalled Cisco VPN. My internet seems to stop working about once per day. The symptoms (still being able to ping, etc.) make it seem like this must be the problem. I have tried every fix in this thread (and more), but nothing has worked. Specifically, I have tried:
flushing the dns
disconnecting and reconnecting / repairing the connection
disabling ICS
disabling RSS
disabling modem
running ad-aware
running spy-sweeper
running registry booster2
checked the registry for those 3 keys mentioned above, but they weren't there

If anybody else has any suggestions I'd appreciate them, but at this point I'm not too optimistic.

[Unregistered]

Great thread. Looks like this is a serious problem for a lot of folks.

For what its worth, I was having the same problem. IM programs worked. Gaming worked. Slingplayer worked. In short everything would connect just fine to the interent but browsers. After ~5 minutes, all browsers would not connect. Not IE, not Firefox, not Safari, not Opera. None. Only thing to do was reboot...and then the same thing. Worked for 5 mins, then nothing.

I use an AT&T VPN dialer to log into my company's intranet. I am running XP Pro SP2. Never had an issue until I installed this VPN software. Uninstalled it, and the problem went away. So I'm convinced this has something to do with these VPN clients.

[Unregistered]

For me, it is Zone Alarm. As soon as I shut it down my browsers start working again. I didn't even need to uninstall it. The problem may have started when I downloaded their latest update. Around the same time, I also used my cisco vpn client after a couple of years of not being used but I don't that caused the problem because I still have this client but no longer have the problem (once I turn off zone alarm).
One work around that I tried a couple of times before I figured out the problem was to reinstal firefox which took only a couple of minutes every time and solved the problem. It seems that ZA messes with the winsock.

[knorwood]

This thread is pretty long so maybe this has been said, but one possibility is that after leaving your computer on for a long time, firefox begins to take up an exceptionally high amount of memory. This happens on, I believe, all the OSCR computers whenever I use firefox for more than a few hours, but does NOT happen on my computer at home which I often leave firefox running on for long periods of time. I've always assumed this was because the OSCR computers are only imaged periodically or something so firefox isn't fully updated, hope this helps!

[Unregistered]

i have the same problem that my web browser would stop working after 5 to 10 mins, but my msn and downloads would still be working. I just reinstalled my win xp serv pack 1. This problem happened after i finished installing service pack 2. I tried everything to fix it.

I ran the ad-aware, zone alarm, registry booster 2, and spy-bot. nothing worked
I ran the ipconfig/flushdns,ipconfig/registerdns, renew the ip and the wixsockxpfix all did not work.

finally, i ran the ad-aware under the safe mode....

and it's working now....

[Unregistered]

My IE7 was working fine for a long time when suddenly it stopped working. My internet connections are fine because i can still open my webpages with mozilla and also update my antivirus. but whenevr i open IE7 the page cannot be displayed msg appears..plz tell me what could be the problem and the solution of it...i hav scanned my laptop several times but it shows nothing....could it be due to adwares..because i hav deleted certain adwares when it was detected..

[Unregistered]

I was having this problem and I eventually figured out that my anti-spyware program, Spyware Doctor, was causing it. It seized something in my browser and wouldn't allow the process to terminate. When I closed that program, the browser process I was observing in Task Manager closed with it. Since removing Spyware Doctor from my startup, I no longer experience problems with my browser.

[Unregistered]

So I'm having this exact same problem of browser not working (IE and Firefox). And it's definitely not a DNS problem. I just recently formatted my desktop computer and running WinXP pro (wired connection with router), and this problem popped up (mainly after installing most of the updates from windows update Specifically after WinXP Service Pack 2 was installed). I think my problem might be slightly worse in that the browser only works after loading 3-4 pages (approx. 30 secs). After that, can't visit any more websites until I re-log or restart. I've tried many of the fixes posted here. This is my situation so far:

-ipconfig /release, /renew, and /flushdns does not seem to work
-winsockxpfix.exe does not work
-I have no Zone Alarm or VPN
-No virus protection / ad-aware software
-Reinstalling my network driver card does not seem to work
-Internet Connection Sharing is already disabled (Both my laptop and PC)
-Can't disable modem in system hardware (as I don't have a modem or can't find it in my system hardware list)

*I'm typing this post up on my laptop, running Vista Premium Edition, connected to same router of my home. (Also have ICS disabled on this laptop)

This is definitely a serious problem. I am currently re-formating my hard drive and reinstalling windows as I type this post. Hopefully this might work (cross fingers). If this fails somehow, I'm going to need a miracle.

Anyone else have any suggestions?

[Unregistered]

I have exactly the same problem. If there is a cure please post it!!!

[Unregistered]

Hi,
Been having the same problem as many in this forum. I have 2 computers which intermittantly loose the ability to browse, although AIM, outlook, etc, continue to function. One computer connected to the same router does not have this problem.

Things tried that had no effect- release/renew, flushdns/registerdns, disable modem, repair wireless

I discovered that my browser would still connect to https sites. This suggests that it is a port 80 problem (port for http requests). If you are able to go to https://mail.yahoo.com, and you also have a Symantec/Norton Antivirus or Internet Security product installed, try this:

My Computer (right click) - Manage - Services -
Restart the Symantec Network Proxy service

This restored immediate connection for me. Not a permanant solution, as I can't figure out what causes it to shut down in the first place. Launching EVENTVWR and checking to see when it errors out may reveal that.

[Unregistered]

Hi All
I had exactly the issue as described here and searched high and low for solution, tried many of the stated solutions that did work temporarily, but only one has effectively been successful in the long term.

My ISP provides a static IP address, although it is static, in TCP/IP it recommends setting "Obtain an IP address automatically". This I had done but connection still dropped out every now and again. I then surmised that internet connection from modem to net was still working but connection between modem and pc was not.

Something I noticed while doing an "ipconfig /renew" in command prompt was the listing of my private IP (ie 10.1.1.2).

So under the 'alternate configuration' tab in tcp/ip settings I used 'user configured' and entered this private IP address and other fields as follows;

ip address 10.1.1.2
Subnet Mask 255.0.0.0
Default Gateway 10.1.1.1 (this is my DLINK modem settings address)

and then the DNS servers I got from my modem status page, or from ISP.

ever since then I have not had an unexplained internet connection issue. Only once did I experience a failure to reconnect after I had reset my modem while pc was in sleep mode, and when waking the PC, the modem was not recognised. In this case I used some batch files I had created earlier to run in command prompt the

1 "ipconfig /release"
2 "ipconfig /renew"
and
3 "ipconfig /flushdns"

but apart from this one occasion, the tcp/ip settings fix has stopped my connection from dropping for over a month now, which use to happen 2-3 times a day.

goodluck, I hope this solves this annoying issue for some of you out there.

Justin

[Unregistered]

My browser would not connect to https sites or anything (not even my own router) and I'd tried pretty much every fix in this thread with no luck. A couple of days ago I stopped internet connection sharing (under services - not by disabling it in internet options) and the internet started working right away and has worked since. Hopefully this can help a few others out there, because after having this problem for many months I know how frustrating it can be.

[Unregistered]

Well, i was pulling my hair out on this one too guys. But I seemed to have solved it. My machine has been up for 34 hours and no internet loss yet. That includes sleep mode for the past two nights. The problem would have occurred by now in the past.

So I'm going to cross-post some of my information form this thread: http://forums.techguy.org/windows-vista/727852-vista-cannot-connect-webpages-after.html
I recommend reading that whole thread if you are having this problem though.


Alright, I have had this problem for about a week now. After a few hours (maybe more or less), I cannot reach anything through HTTP.
I can, however, PING any website or IP and get a response. Any IRC servers that I was connected to before the problem occurs, stay connected and I continue to send/receive messages. But I connecting to a new server is a no-go.

I'm still using FF2 because FF3 is still not compatible with a lot of plugins I like to use. I doubt it's Firefox, the number of tabs, or a memory issue, as this problem affects IE and Opera as well.
I am behind a router and a modem, but I am 100% the router is not at fault. All other machines can connect and access the internet fine through the router.

The problem is temporarily fixed after a reboot. But if there's anything I hate to do, it's rebooting my computer.
Anyway, it would seem this is a Winsock and/or TCP/IP related issue. (If I remember correctly, I ran into the same issue in Win2k once) So I recently followed these two quick guides:
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/0...og-corruption/
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/0...a-2003-and-xp/

Restarted, but I still cannot shut down without having to hold the power button. Odd thing is that I could shut down fine the first few times the connection error occurred.

Well, my LAN wasn't connecting after the reboot. I reinstalled the drivers, and rebooted again. Still had to hold the power button to get it to shut off.

I could connect through my wireless card (This is a desktop, not a notebook), but I got a "Server not found" error MUCH more frequently than before. Reloading the page would work, but it was a problem, and I prefer not use LAN.

Finally, I had to mess around with Windows' user-UNfriendly and unorganized network settings dialogs and the command prompt to finally get it to reset the LAN connection and connect to the internet.

Well, I'll know in a day or so if this fix worked or not. I hope it works for others, and I wish you all luck (and patience, much patience)!
Well, my system has been up for 34 hours now and the problem has not occurred yet. I think it's solved.

Please note, after I did those fixes, I reinstalled the LAN drivers that came with my motherboard, rebooted, and messed around with my network settings a lot. Things like ipconfig /release, ipconfig /flushdns, disable LAN connection, disable wireless connection, "diagnose and repair" and select re-renable LAN, ipconfig /renew, and I had to reset the IP reservation on my router because the whole processed changed my LAN's MAC address.

And if you have any static IP settings on windows itself, remove them.

PS: To the admins of this site, I commend you for allowing unregistered posts. It definitely promotes more useful information on forums such as this. I've been warded off from posting solutions on many forums because they required registration, so nice job.

[Unregistered]

Install safari from www.apple.com/safari/download
It works always whether your IE,Forefox, Opera work or not!!!
Permanent solution..and it's so faster too...too cool!!!

[Unregistered]

Microsoft has a KB article for this problem "IE 7 works fine - then stops working"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926431
This worked for me - good luck. You'll be amazed at how many Add-Ons (leach programs) are running at IE startup !
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Method 5: Use the Internet Explorer (No Add-ons) mode
To do this, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Internet Explorer (No Add-ons).

If this resolves the issue, follow these steps to isolate the browser add-on that is causing the issue:1. Click Tools, and then click Internet Options.
2. Click the Programs tab, and then click Manage add-ons.
3. Click an add-on in the Name list, and then click Disable.
4. Repeat step 3 until you identify the add-on that is causing the issue.

[Unregistered]

i had the same problem and this worked for me i notice everyone was using a cable modem via a cable to the ethernet what i did was to remove the cable to the ethernet.
my cable modem (arris came with a cd and a usb cable) i install the software and cable and the problem was solve. my opinion is that it is the cable wire to the ethernet or the ethernet. LET ME KNOW IF THIS WORKS

[Unregistered]

microsoft has a kb article for this problem "ie 7 works fine - then stops working"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926431
this worked for me - good luck. You'll be amazed at how many add-ons (leach programs) are running at ie startup !
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Method 5: Use the internet explorer (no add-ons) mode
to do this, click start, point to all programs, point to accessories, point to system tools, and then click internet explorer (no add-ons).

If this resolves the issue, follow these steps to isolate the browser add-on that is causing the issue:1. Click tools, and then click internet options.
2. Click the programs tab, and then click manage add-ons.
3. Click an add-on in the name list, and then click disable.
4. Repeat step 3 until you identify the add-on that is causing the issue.

hello - i posted this message - 1 day later it failed again - so this is not a good fix. Sorry.

[Unregistered]

THE EASIEST FIX FOR THIS PROBLEM ...
I saw this on another site. Someone recommended that I go here:
http://secunia.com/software_inspector/
Run the Software Inspector - my Java and Flash software were out of date. I updated the software and now everything appears to be working fine. The browser continues to display information. This makes sense if Windows did an update and it's only compatible with the latest versions. Let me know if this works. Good Luck !

[Unregistered]

My browser would not connect to https sites or anything (not even my own router) and I'd tried pretty much every fix in this thread with no luck. A couple of days ago I stopped internet connection sharing (under services - not by disabling it in internet options) and the internet started working right away and has worked since. Hopefully this can help a few others out there, because after having this problem for many months I know how frustrating it can be.

I just wanted to let everybody know that it has been over a month since i did this and I haven't had it fail a single time since... that solved it for me, so hopefully it can help some other people as well :)

[Unregistered]

Hello. It's pretty obvious to me that this problem has different causes for everyone. I tried several things at once, so I'm still not 100% sure what fixed the problem but I'm pretty sure I fixed it by disabling the Web Shield in Avast! This was mentioned as a possible fix in this thread: http://forums.techguy.org/windows-vista/727852-vista-cannot-connect-webpages-after.html that someone posted earlier. Of course, disabling a piece of antivirus protection to use the internet is not ideal, but I believe ( haven't tested yet) that you can adjust settings to avoid doing that. Follow the steps below:

1. Right click Avast in your system tray, and click "On-Access Protection Control".
2. Click "Details..." in the dialog box.
3. Scroll down the list and double-click on "Web Shield"
4. In this dialog you'll see a box labeled "Redirected HTTP Ports:". I think that if you clear port 80 out of that box, you should be able to fix the problem without turning off web shield entirely. I haven't tested this myself yet, but I'm hopeful.

So there's another method to try if you still suffer from this problem. Interestingly, I also have Avast! on my Desktop PC and I've never had a problem with it before. It might have to do with the wireless my laptop uses or with Vista instead of XP. Your mileage may vary. :)

[Unregistered]

Almost forgot... A brief description of the problems I had, in case it helps you:

After a few hours, both Firefox and IE would stop loading web pages. I could not connect to my router, but I could ping both IPs and domain names, as well as use services like Steam. I could not load pages by IPs or domain names, but I could load secure sites. So a DNS problem was largely ruled out. Just in case that info helps you out. :)

[richard5]

Install safari from www.apple.com/safari/download (http://www.apple.com/safari/download)
It works always whether your IE,Forefox, Opera work or not!!!
Permanent solution..and it's so faster too...too cool!!!

Just FYI, that is not true, on both accounts. No offence.

[Unregistered]

Hey guys, had the same issue and was pulling my hair until I called our help desk and he said, go to device manager, show hidden devices, disable datant then reboot...
then regedit and modify it from 2 to 3 then reboot again! hope that helps...

[Unregistered]

So, I am experiencing the exact issue described here. I recently started a network consulting gig, and my expereince is with Cisco, HP, Checkpoint, Juniper network gear, definitely NOT with Windows (most of my OS experience is in *NIX platforms). I mention my background and current profession as it relates to my theory of the root cause of the issue.

Web browsing using either MSIE or Firefox worked fine until very recently (within the last 2 weeks). In my profession I connect to multiple networks daily - so I have the cisco IPSEC vpn client installed, as well as Juniper's SAM, multiple vendor SSLVPN clients. Connecting and disconnecting from many networks, which modifies DNS and routing each time in various ways.
I have noticed that when most URL browsing fails, browsing to public services on my company's networks still succeeds... I have verified that no VPN client processes are running but I suspect something on my system's network stack has been modified, or perhaps not modified BACK after disconnecting from my company's VPN connection.

I have noticed that when browsing fails:

1. DNS is not an issue - all names still resolve correctly and browsing to an ip address still fails.
2. Only port 80 traffic is affected - any other srevice running on a port other 80 still succeeds (ICMP, UDP, TCP other than 80, etc).
3. I can route traffic through a proxy server, SSH tunnel, NAT gateway - so long as my system thinks it's connecting to some port other than 80 (the remote system will proxy my connection to the final destination on port 80, my system connects to some intermediary on another, arbitrary port).
4. When browsing fails, subsequent connection attempts result in 'SYN Sent' status. Each connection goes through a "3-way" handshake to initiate. 1-(synch start request), 2-(synch acknowledge), 3-(synch complete acknowledge). It appears that step 1 is not completing, as in that first packet is never reaching the remote system (I will test with packet capture to see if my system is even sending the first packet or if it's sending the first and for some reason not getting or ignoring the response...)
4. The browser is not the issue - all software attempting a connection to a remote system on port 80 fails. This includes direct telnet / putty to remote system on port 80.
5. I downloaded from Microsoft the WS2_32.dll and mswsock.dll and replaced the existing files. These are the only two common components involved in browsing sessions from multiple browsers (seen from the output of 'netstat -abvn'). This did not fix the issue.

I will be investigating the winsockfix and hijack this options mentioned previously in this thread and will update with my findings.

[Unregistered]

Hi

Thanks for all the posts here.

I also have (had, I hope) this problem. It started last week after installing the latest Windows security updates. I do not have automatic update turned on so I can choose when to install them, because windows XP SP3 also stopped my internet from working last summer, but I could system restore my way out of that one.

I had all the issues here, browser not accessing internet after 10 minutes and email and https sites still working. Also system restore stopped working so I couldn't go back to an earlier working setup.

The idea to uninstall ZoneAlarm worked for me. I used to use it but I stopped using it by running msconfig and unchecking it as a start up item. It turns out that it was still being loaded somehow. My security centre in control panel said I still had a firewall on but in the help file it mentions that security centre can indicate that your firewall is on even if it isn't, so I assumed that I didn't have a firewall loaded because I thought I wasn't running any. Defender was off and ZA was unchecked.

I took the advice here about ZA and I uninstalled it completely and my problem seems to be solved. I have been up and running for a few hours now and everything seems to be fine.

Thank you very much for the advice.

Jan

[Unregistered]

The idea to uninstall ZoneAlarm worked for me. I used to use it but I stopped using it by running msconfig and unchecking it as a start up item. It turns out that it was still being loaded somehow.

Jan

ZA loads in two parts. The first part loads as a service and has no visible sign when loaded. The item you unchecked in msconfig is probably just the GUI (visible) part - since you didn't say you've unchecked it as a service in msconfig.

It's the first part that's causing the browsing problem.

[Unregistered]

These are the kinds of problems that should never occur, but do, far too often.

I had two occassions that were very frustrating. My first time, took a week to resolve, with most of the time spent on checking support pages and contacting technical support folks.

I was sure it was due to work-provided VPN software, which I was convinced changed settings and did not properly clear those settings when I closed out of the VPN software.

The first time, I was not able to connect any browser to the net. The second time time, I could connect Firefox but not MS Internet Explorer.

I talked to tech support at work and they looked at me like I was speaking Martian. I also called my ISP to be sure those setting weren't part of the issue. Typically an ISP is only concerned that you (your modem/gateway or some PC in your location can connect to them. To be sure the PC settings for their service was correct, they did help me with checking those settings. However, that wasn't the issue - and we confirmed it. I knew from the get go, since my modem was connected to my ISP and my other pc was working fine with the net.

I tried many suggestions from the web, and finally went to Circuit City and a tech guy listened to the problem and agreed right away that the approach that I had tried from the web blogs was on the right track. It was a matter of doing everything in the right order and correcting MSIE settings.

I did the defacto ipconfig resets:

Start > Run > cmd (cmd is typed at the command line/open type:)
at the black screen type these commands in this order:

ipconfig /release

ipconfig /renew

ipconfig /flushdns

(Then close the CMD.EXE screen)

You should get responses at each one.
That should remove (clean out) any IP addresses that seem to get "frozen". That was the problem my first time, when no browser connected to the net. At this point firefox started working the first time (my second time, firefox didn't stop working). So, now the MSIE settings:

MSIE is often reconfigured for a VPN connection. Essentially, proxy settings are installed or changed.

Open MS Internet Explorer (MSIE) >>> Select Tools > Connections

This should show you a few items in the "Dial-up and Virtual Private Network settings"
box. You should have one for Internet Access, and one for your ISP. If not, call your ISP to reset their needed item(s).

The item you might need to fix, after VPN was used, is "Local Area Network (LAN) settings"
Select > LAN Settings

If your ISP needs you to have a Proxy Server set up, th configuration should match their requirements. However, VPN probably changed them. However, many setups do not need a Proxy Server. In such cases, uncheck "Use a proxy server....", and check "Automatically detect settings".

Then try MSIE.