IE SP 2 Problem

I am running IE SP 2 and am unable to get to the site usps.com. I have tried netscape browser with my firewall, antivirus and pop-up stopper turned off but can't get to the site. After many hours of frustration I have concluded that I have a bad SP 2 install. I would like to remove/uninstall it and do a reinstall using the software that came with my Dell system. I have two questions:

1) How do I back up my outlook folders and address book
2) What is the simplest way to uninstall SP 2 and how can I ensure I do not get updated to SP 2 (set autoupdate to off?)

I have backed up the data I wish to keep except for # 1 above. Any and all help is appreciated. If I cannot save my mail folders and address book I will do a format of my hard drives and reinstall using the Dell provided cd's as I am enduring a large number of problems with the system right now.

In short how do I easily remove SP 2 and how do I save my outlook files/folders and address book and go about installing them once I rebuild my system. Whew!
I DON'T WANT TO RUN SP 2 ON MY SYSTEM!!!

THANKS...

 

You can easily uninstall SP2 using 'Add/Remove Programs' in the Control Panel. I don't think SP2 is the problem, since I can access the USPS site using three different browsers and SP2. The proper extension for the Postal Service website is ".gov" NOT ".com ".
(www.usps.gov)
To answer your other question about backing up Outlook Express files... use File search and look for "*.dbx" (without the quotes) this will locate your Inbox and other folders. Then search for "*.wab" (without the quotes) for your address book. Make a note of the location of where you found these files, then after you have done your reinstall, copy them back to the proper location.

B

p.s. Welcome to WindowsBBS

 

joev--Based on Mr. B's advice, I hope you have reconsidered about uninstalling SP2, since it probably is not the problem in accessing the usps.gov site.
But it is always good to know how to backup files, and OE messages and Address Book are tricky to do right. The easiest is to use the program OEBackup
http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx
The official MS way is
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/270/6/70.ASP

 

same problem...usps a no go...

Hi joev:

You're not alone.

Since installing SP2 I cannot get to usps.com or usps.gov (usps.gov will normally redirect you to usps.com).

However, I can get there on my old laptop running the same version of IE with Win98, or even an old version of Netscape.

I tried the same things - turning off firewall etc. without any luck.

This is a WinXP issue in my opinion. Anyone else?

Mark

 

Osiris and joev,

Look at IE's security settings, the defaults have changed.

Three areas to look at:

ActiveX, java scripting, and IE has a popup blocker now. The security can be set on a site basis, and have you tried putting this site into the trusted zone?

Regards - Charles

 

Accessing usps.com

I have taken a look at security and placed the site in the trusted zone. I still cannot access the site. I am considering installing windows 2000 and see if that resolves this problem. If you have any other ideas I would like to hear from you. Thanks for your assistance.

 

Hi joev,

If you have any other ideas I would like to hear from you.

The only one at the moment, is to look in the Hosts file - is this site listed there? \WINDOWS\System32\Divers\etc\Hosts If it is by some chance, delete it.

Do you have any internet filtering/blocking software running? By this I mean popup blockers - SpyBot's resident Teatimer or the immunize feature.

Don't say what firewall is running, XP's or a third party one. Make sure there are no rules blocking this site.

Regards - Charles

 

Firewall, etc.

I have attempted to access www.usps.com with my firewall, antivirus and pop-up blocker disabled but to no avail. I am running Zone Alarm Pro, Panicware for pop-ups and Norton antivirus. I'm at wits end with this one and am thinking of installing windows 2000. I haven't surrendered yet but the white flag is out!!

 

Two questions:

- what happens when you try to reach the site?

- have you tried using the IP address rather than the www.whatever name?

 

I have used the IP address and that doesn't work either. Below is what I am seeing. I know the site is up and available as I have had friends access it to ensure I wasn't chasing down a non-existent problem.

The page cannot be displayed
The page you are looking for is currently unavailable. The Web site might be experiencing technical difficulties, or you may need to adjust your browser settings.

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

Please try the following:

Click the Refresh button, or try again later.

If you typed the page address in the Address bar, make sure that it is spelled correctly.

To check your connection settings, click the Tools menu, and then click Internet Options. On the Connections tab, click Settings. The settings should match those provided by your local area network (LAN) administrator or Internet service provider (ISP).
See if your Internet connection settings are being detected. You can set Microsoft Windows to examine your network and automatically discover network connection settings (if your network administrator has enabled this setting).
Click the Tools menu, and then click Internet Options.
On the Connections tab, click LAN Settings.
Select Automatically detect settings, and then click OK.
Some sites require 128-bit connection security. Click the Help menu and then click About Internet Explorer to determine what strength security you have installed.
If you are trying to reach a secure site, make sure your Security settings can support it. Click the Tools menu, and then click Internet Options. On the Advanced tab, scroll to the Security section and check settings for SSL 2.0, SSL 3.0, TLS 1.0, PCT 1.0.
Click the Back button to try another link.



Cannot find server or DNS Error
Internet Explorer

 

Locate a file in \system32\drivers\etc named hosts (no suffix). If you have one, open it in notepad and copy the contents here.

 

This is the hosts file. I also have a file called lmhosts which is the 2nd one listed here. The file hosts (1st one is on my C drive and the second file is on my F drive.

# 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


# Copyright (c) 1993-1999 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample LMHOSTS file used by the Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to computernames
# (NetBIOS) names. Each entry should be kept on an individual line.
# The IP address should be placed in the first column followed by the
# corresponding computername. The address and the computername
# should be separated by at least one space or tab. The "#" character
# is generally used to denote the start of a comment (see the exceptions
# below).
#
# This file is compatible with Microsoft LAN Manager 2.x TCP/IP lmhosts
# files and offers the following extensions:
#
# #PRE
# #DOM:<domain>
# #INCLUDE <filename>
# #BEGIN_ALTERNATE
# #END_ALTERNATE
# \0xnn (non-printing character support)
#
# Following any entry in the file with the characters "#PRE" will cause
# the entry to be preloaded into the name cache. By default, entries are
# not preloaded, but are parsed only after dynamic name resolution fails.
#
# Following an entry with the "#DOM:<domain>" tag will associate the
# entry with the domain specified by <domain>. This affects how the
# browser and logon services behave in TCP/IP environments. To preload
# the host name associated with #DOM entry, it is necessary to also add a
# #PRE to the line. The <domain> is always preloaded although it will not
# be shown when the name cache is viewed.
#
# Specifying "#INCLUDE <filename>" will force the RFC NetBIOS (NBT)
# software to seek the specified <filename> and parse it as if it were
# local. <filename> is generally a UNC-based name, allowing a
# centralized lmhosts file to be maintained on a server.
# It is ALWAYS necessary to provide a mapping for the IP address of the
# server prior to the #INCLUDE. This mapping must use the #PRE directive.
# In addtion the share "public" in the example below must be in the
# LanManServer list of "NullSessionShares" in order for client machines to
# be able to read the lmhosts file successfully. This key is under
# \machine\system\currentcontrolset\services\lanmanserver\parameters\nullsessionshares
# in the registry. Simply add "public" to the list found there.
#
# The #BEGIN_ and #END_ALTERNATE keywords allow multiple #INCLUDE
# statements to be grouped together. Any single successful include
# will cause the group to succeed.
#
# Finally, non-printing characters can be embedded in mappings by
# first surrounding the NetBIOS name in quotations, then using the
# \0xnn notation to specify a hex value for a non-printing character.
#
# The following example illustrates all of these extensions:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino #PRE #DOM:networking #net group's DC
# 102.54.94.102 "appname \0x14" #special app server
# 102.54.94.123 popular #PRE #source server
# 102.54.94.117 localsrv #PRE #needed for the include
#
# #BEGIN_ALTERNATE
# #INCLUDE \\localsrv\public\lmhosts
# #INCLUDE \\rhino\public\lmhosts
# #END_ALTERNATE
#
# In the above example, the "appname" server contains a special
# character in its name, the "popular" and "localsrv" server names are
# preloaded, and the "rhino" server name is specified so it can be used
# to later #INCLUDE a centrally maintained lmhosts file if the "localsrv "
# system is unavailable.
#
# Note that the whole file is parsed including comments on each lookup,
# so keeping the number of comments to a minimum will improve performance.
# Therefore it is not advisable to simply add lmhosts file entries onto the
# end of this file.

 

Hey Joe,

One last shot on my part, after this no more ideas.

Can you get a fresh copy of the url for the site? I mean something like googling for it and using that? On the theory that the url that you have is bad in some fashion that's not apparent.

Regards - Charles

 

This may repair Internet Explorer 6 on an SP2 system :-

Run "iexplore /rereg" (not the quotes but the space). This will re-register the DLLs (particularly useful for accessing secure web pages).

 

IE SP2 Problem

Charles, I tried a fresh copy of the url and it still does not work. I believe I have exhausted all means at attempting to repair this problem. I will do a complete reformat of my two hard drives and reload the entire system and start reinstalling my other software. When it rains it pours!

 

IE -SP2 Problem

I ran the program but am still seeing the problem. What a bummer this problem has turned out to be. It is getting nearer to a complete rebuild of my system. Reformat hard drives and reinstall all software. Thanks.

 

Hi Joe,

Really sorry we had no luck in solving this. If you ever find out what is causing this, please let us know.

Regards - Charles