Can't Seem To Connect Through IE or OE Anymore.

Guys,

When I try to connect through IE & OE anymore, it says it can't establish a connection with the remote computer. I can't launch Mailwasher & have it connect anymore either. I can't connect through shortcuts in e-mails, or on my desktop anymore either like I used to could.
I can only connect through the Dial UP Networking Icon that connects directly with my remote server. Once connected this way, all other stuff works fine.
I have run updated Virus Scans, updated Trojan scans & all is clear.
This is annoying. What can I do to fix this.

 

Check that your (connection) settings match those which your ISP provided.

Do you have a firewall? If so, disable it from running at startup, reboot and see what happens.

 

brett,

I have checked my isp connection stuff & all looks fine. I don't see anything that appears to be any different than it was before.
I have two Firewalls, ZA & Sygate. I've had both for a long time. I am afraid to turn them off at boot up & then try to connect, because I have been getting an unusually large amount of NetBios hits for the past week or so. Even when I'm just checking my e-mail, I get a bunch of them.
If you don't have any other suggestions, I will risk it, but I don't feel comfy about it.

 

Disabling the firewalls and establishing a brief connection poses no risk whatsoever and it would certainly make life easier if the firewalls could be eliminated as a possible cause.

You don’t run both at the same time, do you?

 

I agree with Brett...running two firewalls at the same time is not only overkill but a wreck waiting to happen.

1. As for IE not auto-connecting anymore, go to Tools>Internet Options>Connections tab and make sure "Dial whenever a network connection is not present" is checked and that the correct dialup account is marked at the default.

2. Then in IE, go to File and make sure "Work Offline" is NOT checked. There are various reasons why that would get checked but once it is, it's usually necessary to manually uncheck it.

3. Finally, if none of that works, back in Tools>Internet Options>Connections tab, click the "Add" button next to "Virtual Network and Dialup settings" and set up a new instance of your default dialup account. Delete the old one, mark the new one as the default and try again. I have no idea why the old account gets unusable but it sometimes does and setting it up again often solves the problem (although suggestions #2 is more often the culprit).

LOL! When I hit the "Post Reply" button for this post, I got that annoying message "No connection to the internet is currently available." I hit "Retry," as usual, and it suddenly found the always-on DSL connection, also as usual. Who knows why? It's just one of those little things that keeps life with Windows so entertaining.

 

OK,

I've run two Firewalls together for a year or more & never had a problem with these two working together very seamlessly. They seem to get along just fine. Many people say you should run two. Others say you shouldn't. I've not had a problem from it so far.

I checked the Work Offline & it was not engaged. Whenever it is & I try to connect, it will always pop up a window telling me I am working offline & do I wish to go online now? I always say yes.

I checked the Internet Options connections & changed the "Always Dial My Default" to "Dial Whenever A Network Connection Is Not present" & it connected through IE & OE, but I've always had the "Always Dial My Default" checked until I changed it, & that never has stopped anything from connecting, through any attempted route before, in any of the ways I've mentioned. Then I went & checked how Mailwasher was configured in the Firewalls. All was well there too, but to try & fix the problem, I deleted Mailwahser from both Firewalls & allowed it to ask permission again after I'd connected in a different manner than Mailwasher, but Mailwasher still would not launch an Internet connection on it's own as it had always done before. So I went back & changed it back to "Always Dial My Default" because that's what Mailwasher says it has to have it set at. Now, this is truly confusing, but IE & OE are working again in the previous mode that I had to begin with, but Mailwasher still won't launch a connection. I checked the MW e-mail settings. They are still the same as they always were.

I disabled the firewalls from loading on boot-up one at a time, then both at the same time, rebooting after each instance. Still Mailwasher will not connect. IE & OE are doing fine now though. Go figure!

I can't figure out why MW can't connect anymore. I have never had this problem with Mailwasher before, so not being able to launch a connection with Mailwasher as I've always done is still an annoyance, but I can live with things the way they are now, as long as I can connect directly through IE & any URL shortcuts on my desktop & any in e-mails. That's a big plus, since I don't have to use the Dial Up Network Icon for initial connection anymore, further annoying the **** out of me. I will keep looking for possible reasons why Mailwasher will not cooperate anymore. I may have to un-install it & re-install it.
Just had a thought, I recently installed IE5.5SP2, maybe a couple weeks ago. DUH! Could that have had anything to do with this whole mess, since this all seems to have started along about that time, or shortly thereafter? Never know about them thar things.

Thanks for all your help & suggestions. I'm at least batting 900 now.

 

The Japenese version in Haiku:

 

bobmc,

Then tomorrow it will work again & who the heck can figure out why.

 

Hopefully, somebody who uses Mailwasher (I don’t!) will be able to shed some light on what’s going on. If not, maybe you could e-mail the developer?

In relation to the firewall issue "¦ ho hum "¦ you’re in no way enhancing your security by running two simultaneously (and those who claim otherwise are talking through their bums <g>). What you are doing is running the risk of meeting with a serious conflict and wasting your resources.

I’d suggest that you lose one!

 

Deloris - are you running 2K or XP?

 

Newt,

Neither one. I'm still running good old Windows 98FE.

Is that bad?
************
brett,

By the way, if I should decide to dump one of the FW's, which would you suggest dumping, ZA or Sygate?
I know that you're very fond of Kerio, but it's basically a clone of Tiny, & Tiny really did a number on my computer before I even tried to set up any filters. It changed a bunch of my settings in IE & OE both, & installed files that did not get along with some of my important programs, so I'm not even inclined to try it's brother/sister application, since it will basically contain the same DNA pattern as Tiny. Nothing against your judgement here, but not all systems can tolerate the the same programs.

 

How about changing that at little.

First off this morning they worked. ( MailWasher & Eudora )
1 hour later they did not work
2 hours later they were working again.
Windows does have a mind of its' own don't it ?

Nothing other than a restart of Windows was done in the meantime.

Or should that be, Something was done but who did it ?

BillyBob

 

LOL BillyBob,

My husband & I are constantly accusing our computers of talking to each other. No, they aren't networked, but it seems like that every time one of them takes a nosedive, the other one takes an almost, if not identical nosedive within hours, or minutes of the first one.

Maybe we shoudn't discuss our problems in front of each other's computers. Reckon?

Hmmmmm! Since his computer contains some of my old components, (MBoard) maybe they are confering. Telepathy maybe.

 

Either! They're equally good products. Keep whichever you like best!