Member Avatar for bill786

-I have a Toshiba Laptop running Windows XP SP2-

Problem: My problem is not actually only in IE, but all browsers. Some Ads which appear on a webpage are not displaying correctly. Instead of the Ad being displayed, it says "The Page Cannot Be Displayed" where the Ad is supposed to be. This problem is not only with Ads, but with other things also. Like when I try to change my password in AIM, I put in my current password and then my new password twice, then I click "submit", and instead of taking me to the "Successfully changed password" page, it takes me to a "The Page Cannot Be Displayed". Below are links to 2 pictures of the pictures which explain what I am talking about. Yes, one of them is from www.daniweb.com itself, the thing on the top and the thing on the side is not being displayed properly.

Pic 1: http://img138.exs.cx/img138/5716/pro10jo.jpg

Pic 2:

(You can save the picture to see it better)

In the first picture, I highlighted one of the error pages, and I am pointing with my mouse at the other one. In the second one, I am just pointing at the "The page cannot be displayed" part.

This happens on many websites, and because of this I can't change my passwords on many websites also. !!!!

  • 5 Contributors
  • 10 Replies
  • 256 Views
  • 2 Years Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by lem_murch

Dani AI

Generated

Several good leads are already in this thread: rightly pointed at browser/settings and cache issues, and multiple members (notably and ) reported that a Winsock repair cured the same symptom. The behavior described by — embedded ads and some form/post pages failing across Mozilla, Netscape and IE on the same XP SP2 machine — strongly points to a system-level networking problem (corrupt Winsock/LSP, system proxy/hosts redirection, or local security software intercepting HTTP), rather than a single browser bug.

Common, practical diagnostics and fixes that have proven useful in this situation:

  • Verify there is no unwanted system proxy configured (Internet Options → Connections → LAN Settings). System proxy settings affect all browsers.
  • Inspect the hosts file at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts. Back it up and remove unexpected entries that redirect third-party hosts.
  • Temporarily disable firewall/antivirus web‑scanning or HTTP filtering (many security suites insert hooks that block or stall third‑party frames). Re-enable after testing.
  • Reset the Winsock catalog (restores the network stack hooks that many tools modify). Run the built‑in command and reboot:
netsh winsock reset
(reboot the PC after this)
  • If the reset does not help, reinstall the network adapter driver from Device Manager or test the laptop on another network (or test another machine on the same network) to separate PC vs router/ISP causes.
  • Run a full, up‑to‑date anti‑malware scan (malicious LSPs and ad‑blocking toolkits can produce identical symptoms).

Caution: Winsock resets remove third‑party LSPs — VPN clients or some security products may need reinstalling afterward. When the reset succeeds it usually indicates previous LSP corruption; if the problem persists despite the above, the issue is likely at the router/ISP level or hardware and should be diagnosed by comparing behavior from another device on the same network.

Recommended Answers

All 10 Replies

Member Avatar for DMR

I know this sounds obvious, but check all of your cookie/pop-up/privacy/security etc. settings. Since you seem to getting the main pages OK but not the pass-through/pop-up pages, it looks like you might have one of the above options set a little to restrictively.

Member Avatar for bill786

I checked all of my settings, but nothing changed. My secutiry levels were all default levels, so that can't be the problem. Thanks though, but do you have any other suggestions? !!!!

Member Avatar for DMR

Sorry, nothing else comes to mind right at this moment, but if it does I'll repost.

Member Avatar for bill786

Ok, thanks, and one more thing. Like I said in my first post, this problem occurs in all browsers. I have 3, Mozilla, Netscape, and IE. The problem occurs in all of them. So, the problem is probably not an IE problem itself, but could be a problem in the system. Please reply when something comes to mind. !!!!

Member Avatar for DMR

1. It's a real long-shot, but try flushing your DNS cache...

Open a DOS box, and type the following command at the prompt:

ipconfig /flushdns


2. Another thing to try:

- Reboot into safe mode (you get to the safe mode boot option by hitting the F8 key as your computer is starting up)

- Open Windows Explorer, and in the Folder Options->View settings under the Tools menu, select "show hidden files and folders", and uncheck "Hide protected operating system files" and "Hide extentions for known file types".

- For every user account listed under C:\Documents and Settings, delete the entire contents of these folders (but not the folders themselves):

1. Local Settings\Temp
2. Cookies
3. History
4. Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5

- Delete the entire content of your C:\Windows\Temp folder.

Note- If you get any messages concerning the deletion of system files such as desktop.ini or index.dat, just choose to delete those files; they'll be automatically regenerated by Windows if needed. Windows will allow you to delete the versions of those files which exist in sub-folders within the main Temp/Temorary folders, but might not let you delete the versions of those files that exist in the main Temp folders themselves; this is normal and OK.

- Empty your Recycle Bin.

- Reboot normally.

Member Avatar for bill786

Well, I tried what you told me, but the problem remains. Thanks for your help though. Any other suggestions would be very helpful. !!!!

Member Avatar for bill786

Any other suggestions? That problem is still giving me alot of problem. !!!!

Member Avatar for behlov

Any other suggestions? That problem is still giving me alot of problem. !!!!

Hi,

I had this same problem and read lots of different forums where the same problem was reported.

Then, I found this:

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winsockxpfix.html

This file fixes the WinSock and everyone who has tried applying it, including myself, has had the problem you are having corrected.

Good luck!

Member Avatar for Misterbum

Hi,

I had this same problem and read lots of different forums where the same problem was reported.

Then, I found this:

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winsockxpfix.html

This file fixes the WinSock and everyone who has tried applying it, including myself, has had the problem you are having corrected.

Good luck!

Hi all... I also have been having the same problem for several months now and just tried this fix. Worked perfectly! Thanks very much for the link.

Member Avatar for lem_murch

Hi all... I also have been having the same problem for several months now and just tried this fix. Worked perfectly! Thanks very much for the link.

I had the same problem... tried this solution and it worked for me as well.... THANKS!

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.