Mike wrote:
> The problem involves not being able to connect to the internet most of the
> time when using a browser, and when I am able to connect, it is only fleeting
> in that after one or two links the browser either continues to indicate it is
> waiting for the site, or I get the pop-up box informing me the page contains
> no data, or I receive the "page cannot be displayed" alert.
>
> Part of what has made this more frustrating is that other programs on the
> computer having the problem which must connect to the internet have no
> problem doing so and downloading the required files. These are Norton AV
> 2005, Spybot, Ad-Aware, MS AntiSpyware, and Zone Alarm. All programs which
> must connect directly are able to connect and download whatever is required.
>
> The browsers I use are MS Internet Explorer, Netscape 7.2, and the latest
> versions of FireFox and Mozilla. All have the same problem.
>
> When I attempt to check for the MS updates with MS IE, IE will hang at the
> page that states it is checking, but it never goes beyond that page. Today,
> although the other programs listed above accessed the internet and updated
> their definitions and any other necessary files, my attempt to check MS
> updates again resulted in the "Page cannot be displayed" page.
>
> The other browsers end up simply "waiting" for the site per the status bar
> (lower left hand side) and there they will stay.
>
> I am using MS XP SP2 Home on the computer that is having the problem. This
> particular computer is a Gateway 2K with an Intel PIII 500 MHz with 640 MB
> RAM. The computer having the problem is part of a home Ethernet and wireless
> network using Netgear components and dial-up access to the internet through
> the free access to MichNet provided by my employer. There are three other
> computers hooked by Ethernet to the home network, none of which have this
> problem. One of the computers, an old Gateway 2K with an Intel PII, with Win
> 98SE as the OS, I use to dial-up and act as the gateway for the home network.
> It only has the minimum programs needed to do its sole job. The second of
> the three wired computers is also a Gateway 2K with an Intel P4 with Win 2K
> as the OS. The third wired computer is another Gateway 2K with an Intel PIII
> with Win 98 as the OS, and while it can have access to the internet I do not
> use it for that purpose.
>
> If you wonder, by now, why I am providing so much information, I am a big
> believer in giving as much information as possible so those from whom I am
> seeking help so they have as much information as I do and I may not know what
> is important anyway, so I try to give it all to help someone to figure out a
> solution.
>
> This problem did not exist until this past April as I was able to browse
> with any of the browsers named above and to update XP prior to that time. I
> am not sure what occurred at that time, but I have a suspicion it may have
> been a certain MS patch which I have since uninstalled and, unfortunately,
> also forgotten the identification number.
>
> I have tried the following:
>
> 1. Virus scan.
>
> 2. Spyware scan using all three programs listed above.
>
> 3. Searched the MS Knowledge Base.
>
> 4. Searched the Web.
>
> 5. Asked various persons at work who are more knowledgeable about
> computers, operating systems, and programs.
>
> This problem was occurring prior to me upgrading the OS with XP SP2, which I
> just did recently, hoping the upgrade might result in it over-writing or
> fixing whatever was causing the lack of being able to connect to the internet
> with any browser.
>
> I have recently found information regarding the winsock.dll, winsock32.dll,
> and the two "wsock" files. I did what MS advised as far as the only place
> they should be is in the dllcache folder, in addition to the only ones needed
> are the two "winsock" files.
>
> Bottom line, I have had various hopeful possible solutions but always have
> ended up at the same place, browsers that will not browse, but other programs
> not dependent on using a browser connecting fine and downloading what had to
> be downloaded.
>
> I have played with each browsers settings and still no improvement.
>
> I have sat with my laptop, which has XP Pro, next to the computer with the
> browser surfing problem and compared the various settings and the services
> running to make sure there were no significant settings that differed or
> services not running on the computer with the problem, and found all to be
> pretty much the same.
>
> I have tried the various user accounts on the computer and none of them
> allow the browsers to browse. I even created a new administrator account and
> for a short while thought I had a work around. The MS update got as far as
> checking to ensure the computer had a valid copy of XP installed (which it
> does) but once past that page it then displayed the "page cannot be
> displayed" notice. It would also seem this behavior with MS update would not
> explain the inability of the other browsers from browsing.
>
> One last thing, when MS IE does display the "page cannot be displayed"
> notice at its usual point, which is before even displaying the screen
> informing me that it is checking for a valid version of XP, the "page cannot
> be displayed" notice, over a period of time, will be displayed 3-4 times
> within the same open IE window along with scroll bars for each notice. At
> the bottom of the notice it also states "Cannot find server or DNS error".
> However, I am able to ping the local computers on our home network plus ping
> Web sites. I also ran some of the net tools Windows has to check various
> things, and the results appears to be fine, though most of the output report
> does not mean much to me.
>
> One of the possible solutions could be to re-install XP Home after
> re-formatting the hard drive, but I am holding that thought until I believe
> there is no other possible solution since it will involve a rather long
> process and could cause problems with NAV 05 3-user license in an inevitable
> SNAFU resulting in losing the third of the 3 licenses which I am holding for
> another of the computers.
>
> Is there any common program, file, etc. that all browsers use? Or a common
> setting other than within the browsers themselves? Any suggestions?
>
> I first have to thank you for reading to the end of this message. But
> hopefully someone will know what the problem is and will be able to help me
> with this very frustrating problem.
>
> Thanks
>
> --
> Have a good day.
>
> MI Mike



I've had similar experiences and found the problem to be the Zone Alarm
settings. Open Zone Alarm and point to "Program Control" on the left
side of the screen. Then click on the "Programs" tab at the top of the
screen. Then play with the "Access" and "Server" settings for the
program/s that are giving you trouble. Also, you may check your
settings on your routers' firewall. Sorry I cannot give more
specifics. Just some options to look at. Good luck.