Member Avatar for swood75729

Hi, I'm new here so please forgive me if I am posting in the wrong place. I have been having problems for the last two weeks and have tried everything I can think of but have got nowhere. Basically about 2 weeks ago IE6 started acting up it would not browse certain websites coming up "cannot find server or dns error" aol browser worked partially on these sites but not completely ie if i needed to log on it wouldn't do. I've tried deleting temp files etc ran anti spyware and adware and Mcafee Anti virus. When all this failed i installed Opera - same problem and today i installed firefox(which I must say I do like the looks of) but still sites won't load. One example is www.royalmail.com it just comes up blank. I used to be able to click on a link in Outlook and it would load but now nothing. I know you knowledgable people are volunteers but I would really appreciate some pointers. I know roughly how to use computers but haven't a clue how they work
Please take pity on me. Oh I use XP SV1 (my machine doesn't like sv2) IE6 &AOL9 on broadband if that is of any use. Thanks

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Adams Kogi

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Cross‑browser failures (IE, Opera, Firefox) plus links from Outlook failing strongly point to a network or system issue (DNS, proxy or socket/LSP corruption) rather than a browser bug. ’s suggestion to check DNS/lease behavior was the right direction: the nslookup timeouts in the thread make the resolver/proxy a prime suspect.

Practical checks to run next:

  • Verify system proxy settings (Internet Options → Connections → LAN Settings) and Firefox’s connection settings; many ISP/portal helpers can install a system proxy—disable any proxy entry and retest.
  • Inspect the hosts file (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts) for unexpected mappings.
  • Temporarily stop personal firewall/antivirus/AOL helper and test browsing.
  • Test another device on the same LAN; if it works, focus on the PC; if it fails, the router/ISP or upstream DNS is likely.

If those don’t fix it, reset the Windows network stacks and reboot both PC and router. From an elevated prompt run:

netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset

Reboot after those commands. If command-line steps are undesired, uninstalling and reinstalling the network adapter from Device Manager has a similar effect.

If problems persist, collect a sanitized HijackThis log (redact public IPs) and report whether other LAN devices can browse, whether a proxy entry was present, and whether disabling AOL/helper changed behavior. That information will narrow the root cause quickly.

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Member Avatar for Cain

aww.. like the begging helps. there is no pity here. only help, if that is what you seek. :)

when you experience a "dns error"
try to bring up a command tool [start menu > run command > cmd > okay]
and type 'nslookup ' without the single quotes

also try to post the output of the above and the 'ipconfig /all' command [in the same window]

this will give us all a bit more to go on
but before try a 'ipconfig /release' followed by an 'ipconfig /renew'

also, when was the last time this machine was rebooted? dns servers could
have changed and you *could* be runnning on only cached addresses..

Member Avatar for swood75729

aww.. like the begging helps. there is no pity here. only help, if that is what you seek. :)

when you experience a "dns error"
try to bring up a command tool [start menu > run command > cmd > okay]
and type 'nslookup ' without the single quotes

also try to post the output of the above and the 'ipconfig /all' command [in the same window]

this will give us all a bit more to go on
but before try a 'ipconfig /release' followed by an 'ipconfig /renew'

also, when was the last time this machine was rebooted? dns servers could
have changed and you *could* be runnning on only cached addresses..

Hi Cain

Thanks for your reply.

I did the ipconfig/release (router didn't like that much) but did renew. Router back on line, but still have browser problem.
This machine rebooted alot just lately trying to sort problem.

Done the nslookup thingy - do I post all IP numbers it came up with, I think I saw on one of these forums not to post this info because people can do weird things if they have this info (please excuse my ignorance) I have posted the output without the numbers let me know if they are needed too.

Thanks again

DNS request timed out.
timeout was 2 seconds.
*** Can't find server name for address ***.***.*.*: Timed out
Server:
Address: ***.***.***.***

DNS request timed out.
timeout was 2 seconds.
DNS request timed out.
timeout was 2 seconds.
*** Request to timed-out

Member Avatar for swood75729

Hi Cain

Thanks for your reply.

I did the ipconfig/release (router didn't like that much) but did renew. Router back on line, but still have browser problem.
This machine rebooted alot just lately trying to sort problem.

Done the nslookup thingy - do I post all IP numbers it came up with, I think I saw on one of these forums not to post this info because people can do weird things if they have this info (please excuse my ignorance) I have posted the output without the numbers let me know if they are needed too.

Thanks again

DNS request timed out.
timeout was 2 seconds.
*** Can't find server name for address ***.***.*.*: Timed out
Server:
Address: ***.***.***.***

DNS request timed out.
timeout was 2 seconds.
DNS request timed out.
timeout was 2 seconds.
*** Request to timed-out

Would it help if I did the hijackthis thing

Thanks

Member Avatar for Adams Kogi

I have problem browsing with opera it always show me not properly connected, but other browsing engines i dont find any problem , i love browsing with opera thanks

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