Windows Update site not reachable in XP

I'm looking for suggestions. I have a compag 732US laptop that started to have trouble with Windows Update. First, I started having trouble finding updates and was sent to the troubleshooter page. Now, I can no longer reach any pages at microsoft with this machine.

I have no trouble reaching windows update with my main win 98 machine or any of the other windows flavors that have passed through my network for repairs. The V4 site and the windows update site are set as trusted sites. I'm using the version of XP that came bundled with the machine and it has been authenticated. I haven't done anything but apply updates. I have tried turning off my antivirus software.

At this point, I can no longer reach the V4 troubleshooting site to look for more possible solutions.

Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

1. Run a cleanup on your system drive and if you happen to store temp files of any sort on another partition, cleanup on that/those partitions as well.
2. start~run~ipconfig /flushdns

If you still can't get to the update site, try
ping www.microsoft.com
and if that fails, your ISP has a problem with the Microsoft information the have in their DNS cache.

 

Newt, great ideas. I followed your suggestions and I was able to ping www.microsoft.com after the "ipconfig /flushdns" one time.

I'm not able to ping or reach any microsoft or msn site at this time from this machine. I can reach other sites, Yahoo, etc..

I think we must be on the right track. Can I really look at my ISP if my other computers that connect through the same cable connection are able to reach these sites?

Along the vein that you set me on, I have tried turning everything off: cable modem, router and computers and started them over again. This had no effect. I started looking for other files that might provide some DNS support. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

Hello euphonius,

Have you looked in your hosts file? Windows > System32 > Drivers > etc.

Look for any MS entry or akamia entry. The last is a server that MS uses to distribute their traffic. It is also a frequent entry on generic hosts files that ant-spy sites distribute.

Regards - Charles

 

or rename your hosts file to hosts.sav or something to see if that fixes you up. If it does, then charlesvar nailed the problem - that you have an entry that points to the wrong place.

If your other PCs can reach those sites, the problem is not with the ISPs DNS cache because that will affect all their users. But XP checks the hosts file to match name & IP address before looking at any DNS information so if hosts is the problem, you'll never get to them.

 

Maybe you have the same problem I had. I just fixed my non-working WU last nite. In IE, under the Tools pulldown / internet options / General Tab / Languages button, check to see if at least one language is listed. If not, add English. WU started working for me again after that.

Good luck
Top Dog

 

Hosts file was the problem!

Thanks to Newt, charlesvar and top dog! I'm grateful for all three of your interest and help.

I deleted all the IP lines in my "hosts" file and found myself back in business. I appear to be in great shape. Renaming my hosts file, as Newt suggested, or looking at the liine entrys, as Charles suggested, would have been much more prudent approaches than the bull in a china shop method I selected. I should be more careful.

I'm glad to be back in business. I'm a little embarrassed, about 2 months ago I had a similar experience on my Win 98 machine that wasn't as extreme that required the same remedy and I couldn't remember how I fixed it. The answer was in the windows troubleshooter after I dug an error code out of the update log. That time I could at least get to the troubleshooter. Thanks to this thread, I think I've missed this solution a couple of times with clients too.

I'm grateful for the help. Thanks to all for making my first experience here on the "Windows BBS" such a rewarding one!

 

Mike - glad you got things fixed.

Stick around. Post when you have a problem but also when you see a problem and know a fix.

 

Hi,
I have the same problem. I cant access web sites other than MSN sites. My IE only opens msn sites and no other web sites. Some msn sites are also very slow. msn messenger and yahoo messenger are also signing in ok.

This is a problem on client side PC running windows XP Professional. On the server, which is also running windows XP professional, all things are ok. I am using DSL and using cross over cable between the two computers.

It was working fine some days ago. Now, it starts giving problems on client side.

I have a HOSTS file with the following enteries:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Copyright (c) 1993-1999 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host

27.0.0.1 localhost

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Is there any problem with this file which stops IE to open web sites? Any suggestions would be highly appretiated.

Thanks

 

Hi Nasir

No, nothing wrong with the Hosts file that I can see.

Read this article http://www.windows-help.net/WindowsXP/troub-08.html

Another possibilty, read this thread - problem turned out to be malware http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?threadid=22213

Regards - Charles

 

How are you connected to the internet? Are you using a second network interface card or USB or PCI? What type of DSL modem are you using? Are you currently using microsoft ICS to do the connection sharing? What are you using for a firewall, the microsoft firewall or a third party?

What happens if you hook the client computer directly to the DSL modem? (Assuming that it is not an internal card in the host computer and the modem is not tied to the mac address of the NIC of the host.) Are you able to surf with the client computer without being encumbered?

I have had limited success with ICS. A gateway/switch always seems to be a much more satisfactory solution for me. There is still some configurable protection betweeen you and the outside world and you don't have to run DHCP services on a host PC. Both PCs can work as clients and you still have all the advantages of having the PCs networked. Costs for gateways seem really reasonable now that all the attention is on wireless.

 

Hi Nasir

I looked at your Hosts entry again. Mine 127.0.0.1 localhost

Is that lack of a 1 in front of the 27 a typo?

Regards - Charles

 

Good catch Charles. I have no idea exactly what that entry in an active hosts file would do but it might not be pleasant.

127.0.0.1 is the standard loopback address the NIC uses to talk to itself. And if you name it, localhost is the correct name to use but it has to be pointing to that address.

Nasir - do this please. Lets call the host system PC1 and the client system PC2. You should wind up with a text file from PC1 that has info about 2 network cards and a text file from PC2 that has info about only one card. Just copy the contents of each text file and paste the information here.

start~run~cmd
ipconfig /all > c:\ipconfig.txt

I'm moving this thread to the networking section since it's pretty much a pure network issue at this point rather than XP specific.

 

Hi, Sorry for late reply.

I checked the Hosts file on my PC1 computer and it was blank. I thought that this may be the problem. So, I just copied the Hosts file from the PC2 to PC1, but the problem remains the same. I can see another file hosts.ics on PC1. The Hosts and HOSTS.ICS file on PC1 are below:

HOSTS
----------------------------------------------
# Copyright (c) 1993-1999 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host

127.0.0.1 localhost

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOSTS.ICS
-------------
# Copyright (c) 1993-2001 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This file has been automatically generated for use by Microsoft Internet
# Connection Sharing. It contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names
# for the home network. Please do not make changes to the HOSTS.ICS file.
# Any changes may result in a loss of connectivity between machines on the
# local network.
#

192.168.0.4 rose.mshome.net # 2003 9 1 29 5 29 29 468
192.168.0.1 spider.mshome.net # 2008 9 1 22 3 3 56 397

-------------------------------------------------------------------


The ipconfig/all of PC1 is:
--------------------------------------
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>ipconfig/all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : spider
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Internet:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel 21140-Based PCI Fast Ethernet
Adapter (Generic)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-F8-02-69-47
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.70.108
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

Ethernet adapter LAN:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : IBM Netfinity 10/100 Ethernet Adapte
r
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-04-AC-66-A5-6D
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

PPP adapter Sympatico Access Manager:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : WAN (PPP/SLIP) Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-53-45-00-00-00
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 67.70.173.163
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 67.70.173.163
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 206.47.244.60
206.47.244.79

The ipconfig/all of PC2 is:
--------------------------------------
Microsoft(R) Windows DOS
(C)Copyright Microsoft Corp 1990-2001.

C:\DOCUME~1\NASIRJ~1>ipconfig/all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : rose
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : mshome.net
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Compaq NC3121 Fast Ethernet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-08-C7-49-D2-84
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.4
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, September 23, 2003 9:30:05
PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, September 30, 2003 9:30:05
PM

 

Well - you have a problem with one of the network cards.

XP uses Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) if the network card is set to automatically obtain configuration information and cannot find any server to give it real set up values. This automatically assigns an address in the special range between 169.254.0.0 and 169.254.255.254 so

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel 21140-Based PCI Fast Ethernet
Adapter (Generic)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-F8-02-69-47
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.70.108
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

is basically not able to connect with the DHCP server at your ISP. Could be a speed issue, cable issue, or similar but for all practical purposes, it's alive but not working.

The NIC that connects to your internal network looks fine as does the virtual PPP thing.

 

Nasir, I was just trying to sort through the input that you had provided for Newt.

I'm trying to figure out if your WAN interface uses a fixed IP address? I may not be in the ballpark here? Maybe Newt could help clarify? Maybe you have to assign an IP adress to this wayward NIC?

It seems like your WAN interface is reporting that it is not DHCP enabled yet it is still reporting an IP address, a default gateway equal to itself and DNS. Those numbers must be coming from somewhere?

Can your DSL modem provide DHCP services for this wayward NIC?

I'm trying to figure out how PC1 is getting through to the internet if the NIC connected to the DSL doesn't have an IP address?

This is great stuff. I'm anxious to see what comes up next? Good Luck! Mike

 

Thanks Newt and euphonius for reply.

Now, should I try to disable dhcp on the network card. But I dont know how PC2 can browse some msn web sites, msn messenger and yahoo messenger. It should not open any web site and messenger if network card has a problem.

I have 2 network cards on PC1. One that connects to PC2 and one going into DSL modem. In the network connections on PC1, I have 3 connections set up. One for PC2(192.168.0.1), one for DSL modem and last one is PPP Adaptor. I shared PPP adaptor connection for internet sharing.

Please, let me know what should I do next.

Thank You

 

Hi Nasir-

Could you give me a little more information about your DSL interface modem and your ISP? Newt will have a better handle here, but I'm thinking that maybe you should be showing some kind of MAC network bridge. With this additional information I would have a better idea of what to expect.

I hope I'm not asking too many details. There are so many flavors of DSL.

Have you tried attaching the client machine (PC2) directly to your DSL interface and turning off the DSL interface for a few minutes and then restarting the client machine (PC2). We might be able to get some more information about your DSL. You might want to wait for Newt's thoughts. He might have a more streamlined approach.

Disabling DHCP on the NIC on PC1 won't help unless you have 2 fixed IP addresses from your provider.

I'm still not sure why your getting any Internet on either machine with that NIC card unable to configure?

 

euphonius - you are doing fine. I'd have been asking for pretty much the same info/testing.

 

Hi Newt and uphonius,
Really, u r helping me a lot. Thanks again.

I am using Spead Stream 5260 Ethernet ADSL Mpdem. I tried to delete all the conenction on PC1 and PC2 and installed again. but same problem. I can browse hotmail, msn sites, can log on to msn messenger but no other web site.

The one network card on PC1 which is connected to PC2 has an IP address 192.168.0.1, which is correct. The other NIC on PC1 which is connected to modem has an IP 169.254.70.108 and subnet 255.255.0.0.
The PPP adaptor, which is installed by installing the software from ISP, has an IP given by ISP. I shared this PPP Adaptor for Internet sharing.
On PC2, its getting IP address dynamically(192.168.0.44)

All things are going ok but where is the problem.

Please, help me to solve this issue.

Thanks