Connected to ISP but cannot surf

thedinger · Joined: Dec 13, 2002 Posts: 14

I have a customer who WAS using AOL but has uninstalled it (using the add/remove applet in winME control panel). Now he's using ISPWest, for which he had to enter a specified primary and secondary DNS IP in DUN. Now he can connect to ISPWest (the active connection icon shows up in the system tray), but when he fires up IE5.5, it will not connect to his homepage (google). He's tried other websites to no avail. I've had him wipe everything out of the DUN folder, and we've removed/re-added tcp/ip, the dialup adapter & the microsoft client in the network settings dialog, along with re-creating the ISPWest DUN entry. More background info: this HP Pavilion machine is running winME; we recently cleaned the machine of the klez virus; he doesn't have any important data that needs to be backed up for harddrive reformatting/reinstallation purposes, but he's adverse to going thru that much trouble to surf again. I've suggested that all of the time spent trying to fix the current configuration could add up to more than what it would take to just wipe the drive clean and reinstall, but he'd like to exhaust all possible troubleshooting routes first. Any suggestions as to what I could try or about what I'm overlooking? Thanks in advance for your time!

kc0dxh · Joined: Dec 05, 2002 Posts: 53

When connected, can he ping google.com? If so, can he get to google by putting http://216.239.51.100 in the url field? If that fails, he probably has a proxy set. Just clear the proxy info from the internet settings and that should do it. You never can tell just how AOL can mess things up.

Jeremy · Joined: Dec 05, 2002 Posts: 302

AOL can and usually does corrupt any and all Network Adapters and components.

I would walk them through removing network adapters and reinstalling them.

YOU NEED THE WINDOWS CD

(delete any dialup connections before doing this, Start settings Dial up networking)

Start, settings, control panel, network settings

Remove everything in the list, Client for microsoft, Dial up adapter, TCP/IP, and all.

Restart the machine.

Go to add/remove programs and windows setup

uncheck the networking box (Communications)
Ok, apply, dah dah dah.

Reboot

Go to add/remove programs and windows setup

REcheck the networking box (Communications)
Ok, apply, dah dah dah.

Reboot

Now, just create a new dialup connection

Start ->Programs ->Accessories ->Communications ->Dial Up Networking

Fill in the blanks. That will install the Dial up adapter and you should be done.

That may not be the most efficient way, but, from experience, it is one of the most effective ways without having to do it over and over again.

Hope that helps.

Jeremy

thedinger · Joined: Dec 13, 2002 Posts: 14

After attempting the above suggestions to no avail, we ended up simply backing up important documents and restoring the machine to it's original factory defaults with the system restore cds provided by HP. All was well with the world after that process. Thanks all for your suggestions! I appreciate your time!

Rons · Joined: Dec 07, 2002 Posts: 5667

You made the right decision. AOL is notorious for corrupting systems and preventing DUN from working.

geaker · Joined: Aug 02, 2007 Posts: 1

Manual steps to determine whether the Winsock2 key is corrupted
To determine if the symptoms are caused by a problem with the Winsock2 key, use one of the following methods.
Method 1: Use the Netdiag tool
To use the Netdiag tool, you must install the Microsoft Windows XP Support Tools. To do so, follow these steps.

Notesâ€¢ If you already have Support Tools installed, go to the second procedure in this section.
â€¢ If you do not have Support Tools installed and you do not have the Windows XP Setup CD, go to Method 2.
1. Insert your Windows XP Setup CD, and then locate the Support\Tools folder.
2. Double-click the Setup.exe file.
3. Follow the steps on the screen until you reach the Select An Installation Type screen.
4. On the Select An Installation Type screen, click Complete, and then click Next.
When the installation is complete, follow these steps:1. Click Start, click Run, type Command, and then click OK.
2. Type netdiag /test:winsock, and then press ENTER.
The Netdiag tool will return the test results for several network components, including the Winsock. For more details about the test, use /v at the end of the netdiag command: netdiag /test:winsock /v
Method 2: Use the Msinfo32 program
Note Use this method only if you do not have a Windows XP Setup CD and you do not have Support Tools installed. 1. Click Start, click Run, type Msinfo32, and then click OK.
2. Expand Components, expand Network, and then click Protocol.
3. You will have ten sections under Protocol. The section headings will include the following names if the Winsock2 key is undamaged: â€¢ MSAFD Tcpip [TCP/IP]
â€¢ MSAFD Tcpip [UDP/IP]
â€¢ RSVP UDP Service Provider
â€¢ RSVP TCP Service Provider
â€¢ MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
â€¢ MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
â€¢ MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
â€¢ MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
â€¢ MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
â€¢ MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
If the names are anything different from those in this list, the Winsock2 key is corrupted, or you have a third-party add-on, such as proxy software, installed.
If you have a third-party add-on installed, the name of the add-on will replace the letters "MSAFD" in the list.

If there are more than ten sections in the list, you have third-party additions installed.

If there are fewer than ten sections, there is information missing.

Note These entries represent an installation with only the TCP/IP protocol installed. You can have a working Winsock and see additional entries if another protocol is installed. For example, if you install NWLink IPX/SPX, you will see 7 additional sections, for a total of 17. Below is an example heading of one of the new sections:
MSAFD nwlnkipx [IPX]
Also, each of the new sections that are created by installing NWLink IPX/SPX start with "MSAFD." Therefore, there are still only two sections that do not start with those letters.

If the Netdiag test fails, or if you determined that there is Winsock corruption by looking at Msinfo32, you must repair the Winsock2 key by using the steps in the next section.
Manual steps to recover from Winsock2 corruption
Windows XP with Service Pack 2 instructions
To repair Winsock if you have Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) installed, type netsh winsock reset at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.

Note Restart the computer after you run this command. Additionally, for computers that are running Windows XP SP2, there is a new netsh command that can rebuild the Winsock key. For more information, visit the following Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2netwk.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2netwk.mspx)
Warning Programs that access or monitor the Internet such as antivirus, firewall, or proxy clients may be negatively affected when you run the netsh winsock reset command. If you have a program that no longer functions correctly after you use this resolution, reinstall the program to restore functionality.

Note If these steps do not resolve the problem, follow the steps in the next section.
Windows XP without Service Pack 2 instructions
To repair Winsock if you do not have Windows XP SP2 installed, delete the corrupted registry keys, and then reinstall the TCP/IP protocol.
Step 1: Delete the corrupted registry keys
Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

For more information about how to back up the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/) How to back up, edit, and restore the registry in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. In Registry Editor, locate the following keys, right-click each key, and then click Delete:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock2
4. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.
Note Restart the computer after you delete the Winsock keys. Doing so causes the Windows XP operating system to create new shell entries for those two keys. If you do not restart the computer after you delete the Winsock keys, the next step does not work correctly.
Step 2: Install TCP/IP
1. Right-click the network connection, and then click Properties.
2. Click Install.
3. Click Protocol, and then click Add.
4. Click Have Disk.
5. Type C:\Windows\inf, and then click OK.
6. On the list of available protocols, click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click OK.

If Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) does not appear, follow these steps:a. Click Start, and then click Search.
b. In the Search Companion pane, click More advanced options.
c. Click to select the following three check boxes:â€¢ Search system folders
â€¢ Search hidden files and folders
â€¢ Search subfolders

d. In the All or part of the file name box, type nettcpip.inf, and then click Search.
e. In the results pane, right-click Nettcpip.inf, and then click Install.

7. Restart the computer.

micker377 · Joined: May 27, 2005 Posts: 869

One problem with you great instructions: "this HP Pavilion machine is running winME;" (from first post)

User: inactive Posts:

Micker,
Where DO you dredge up these old threads? Confused

Man, the last post to this thread was in 2002.....hardly pertinent in 2007.

But one thing remains constant.....AOL can be worse than any virus, trojan or spyware. Almost as bad as Norton (NIS).

Cheers!
Shadow Cool

micker377 · Joined: May 27, 2005 Posts: 869

I was replying to:

"geaker" - PostPosted: 02 Aug 2007 05:02 pm Post subject: Re: Connected to ISP but cannot surf-

I was not worried about the "original" post!