Can't Get on-line

PAULDEP · 30th November 2008

Howdy,hope this is best place to post this. My nephew has a HP Pavilion DV2000 Laptop with Vista on it. When I try to get online with IE 7 no matter what site I enter in address the window opens but it says cannot get online, check Connection, spelling of url etc. The strange thing is that I can update his Anti-Virus progam, the window updates, etc. Also I can lauch AOL's AIM and that works fine sending or recieving messages. Its only IE7 that won't go online

Any help would make me a hero over their house, please help me out

~Paul

Evan Omo · 30th November 2008

Hi Paul. I have seen many instances of situations where people have the same problem that you are describing. Try this:

1. Run Internet Explorer with no addons (Start< All Programs< Accessories< System Tools< Internet Explorer No Addons)
2. Download and run ATF Cleaner, http://majorgeeks.com/ATF_Cleaner_d4949.html Run the program and select all the checkboxes and click empty selected. See if Internet Explorer will display a webpage after running ATF Cleaner.
3. If those options don't work then open IE and go to Tools< Internet Options< Advanced tab< Reset option.
4. Boot your computer into Safe Mode and Networking by pressing the F8 key on startup and see if IE works there.
5. If all of those otpions don't work then download and run WinSock Fix, http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winsockxpfix.html

Good Luck!

PAULDEP · 30th November 2008

Great help Evan! This will take a little bit of time because I'll have to call my nephew back and we will try your fixes..So I will be back in the morning. I really appreciate all your info Evan,,Evan is this a problem just with Vista? The poor kid has had this problem for over a month and never reached out to anyone for help. I was there today and only had about 30 mins to mess around and see if I could fix it. The PC is only a few months old I think....1 more thing, the main PC a desktop is working fine and my nieces Mac Laptop was also able to get online. They have DSL with a Modem and a router, just wanted you to know,,,
Thanks,
~Paul

**Steve R Jones** · 30th November 2008

IE Tools->Options->Connection tab->Lan Settings->make sure nothing is checked/enabled.

PAULDEP · 30th November 2008

Thanks Steve, Its a little early 6:30 EST to call him yet but I will check out the Lan on connections tab for checks. I just thought of something, Evan had some great ideas also for me but I can't get on-line to download anything, like ATF or that winsock fix...I read about the winsock fix and it said its for XP, he has Vista will it work with Vista?
Thanks again Steve,,,You always contribute and I really appreciate it !!!!!!! opps, one more thing, I was looking at in Internet Options/Advance tab and near the bottom it has a "RESET" button for only when IE is unuseable, will that help?

~~Paul

PAULDEP · 30th November 2008

Okay people, I went thru everything from the posts except where the ATF and the Winsock had to be DL but can't. I did the "reset" in the Internet Options Advanced tab made sure nothing was clicked in LAN settings. We can still get on with AIM to send and receive but I can't update the AVG anymore. It says Update failed and the Icon in the Tray has a black Explanation point. I disabled all the IE add-ons (6)of them. Kind of stuck here, do you think I should have them DL the winsock fix to there desktop and burn it to a CD-R so he can try and install it on his laptop?? He has Vista it says that winsock is for XP...
Any other ideas??? Thanks everyone for your help...
~Paul

Evan Omo · 30th November 2008

Hi Paul. If you can burn WinSock Fix and ATF Cleaner onto a CD and try it on his labtop then that would be great. Since its a labtop I assume that its using a wireless internet connection and not a wired connection. Click Start< Connect To Menu. When the connect to a network window appears try connecting to an available network to see if you can establish a connection. Also try this, Open Internet Explorer and click Tools< Diagnose Connection Problems. Follow the wizard through the steps and see if it can repair your connection.

PAULDEP · 1st December 2008

Hello everyone again,,I think Vista has System restore, correct? well if it does and hopefully it does maybe I can use that for this problem. I only worry how far back it saves a "image" of hard Drive. I am finding out that my nephew didn't say or do anything about this problem, not getting IE to show web pages, for 2 to 3 months....As long as he could get onto AIM and use laptop for schoolwork it did not matter to him, go figure.I'm also wondering if his laptop, (HP dv2000) where I don't think he has much of anything on it that he wants to save could be restored to how it was when new.....Just thinking out loud because nothing seems to be allowing the problem to be fixed

Thank You
~~Paul

**Rockster2U** · 1st December 2008

It sounds like you are thinking about wiping that thing and rebuilding the OS from a recovery disc or partition. I realize and appreciate your frustration but let's not rule out the possibility that this machine has been "bitten". You've gotten some good advice but I too am a little skeptical about that Winsock fix because there was one Winsock Fix floating around that does absolutely no good depending upon installed updates and I'm talking XP there - I think you raise a good question re: Vista and while I am not questioning Evan's guidance, I'd like to suggest heading in a slightly different direction. There is a tool that will safely check and repair the Winsock but it goes way beyond that. Since your nephew is big on AIM, its also quite possible he picked up a little "excess baggage" along the way.

On a known good working computer, down load ComboFix and then burn it to a CD so you can copy it to your nephew's machine and run it from the desktop. Note: you must disable any real-time scanners or system monitors and can find a list with more detailed information over on the Malware forum. Ordinarily, I'd send you over there and leave out the instruction to run ComboFix but you are stuck between a rock and a hard spot right now. Once started, let the program run and don't go clicking on anything - be patient. Upon completion and a reboot (either by ComboFix automatically or yourself manually), try to connect to the Internet again. If you can connect, head over to the malware forum and start a thread so an expert can help you finish cleaning up this machine.

PAULDEP · 1st December 2008

GREAT Rockster2u,,,I'm going to give ComboFix a try so hopefully I'll have some luck. I checked the AVG Virus vault while I was over there and all it had was a couple of cookies showing. No Viruses were showing or in Qurantine. I mentioned earlier that I was able to get on AIM and update Windows security and AVG updates. After I did the steps above though, mostly the "Reset" button fix they would get a unable to connect to internet window but AIM was still sending and receiving. So thanks again rockster2u for your time and knowledge ......I'll let you know how we do, hopefully my nephew or his dad can get ComboFix on a CD, they like me are Polish HaHa...LOL
~~Paul