IE stopped working but OE, Media Player Radio etc does work

[cparky]

Hi All

I have a desktop PC - W98, 256 Mem, 40G HD. Internet Explorer has always worked well on the PC. A week ago it stopped working. IE opens but I get the DNS Error Message. However, Outlook Express continues to work (thank goodness) and I am able to play Radio Stations on Media Player.

Just to give you the background as I assume this is relevant. A month ago the machine got a Virus, perhaps more than one. Various Free and Shareware tools could identify Virus or Spyware infections but none seemed to actually permanently fix it/them. The tools I have used in varying degrees of frustration have been AVG Free, AVG Professional, HijackThis, Kaspersky, Lavasoft, XCleaner Free and The Cleaner.

The Virus names were/are identified as Backdoor.Small.d, PSW.BispyA and B with bi.dll and biprep.exe associated with them, then later PSW.BispyA and C with C having preInsBI.exe associated with it. The latest tool, The Cleaner, found Downloader.KenvalC and B.

Last week my partner ran XCleaner which identified a file for deletion. She OK'd the file for deletion. She rebooted later and when she tried to fire up IE it would not connect. She cannot remember what the file was called. She associates this event with the loss of IE but I assume it could also be virus related, or some combination?

As of yesterday I started to check out various things. I have reinstalled IE from Microsoft (got the startup file via my laptop, transferred it to the desktop and downloaded the latest version of IE from Microsoft) and reinstalled the connection to my ISP. This did not result in IE connecting, although OE and Media Player connected again as before. I have had no messages from the anti-virus programs so far today telling me there is a problem but I haven't used it much.

If anyone can suggest any software and/or series of steps to isolate and fix whatever is causing the problem, (whether a missing file as a result of the deletion or some other reason as a result of the Virus problem) I would be very grateful.

Thanks in advance - Chris :)

[MAD_DOG]

Seriously Chris all your problems will go away and you follow my steps.

First your PC went through a lot stuff. I would highly recommand www.mozilla.com drop IE for now you will go back to it every now and then you will like mozilla a ton better.

Also if you still love IE I would download this. SP1
Have it reinstalled

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1e1550cb-5e5d-48f5-b02b-20b602228de6&displaylang=en

Have a good day let me know how it goes.

[DMR]

What is the exact text of the DNS error? Knowing that will give us more to go on.

IE, Outlook, and media players use different network protocols; the fact that OE and Real work doesn't necessarilly have any bearing on your IE problem. If it's a question of not being able to find sites by their URL, I'd check the following:

1. Open your Network Connections Control Panel, right-click on Local Area Connection, and choose Properties. In the "General" properties tab, double-click on the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) listing and check your DNS server settings in the resulting properties window. Are the IP addresses of your DNS servers correct? Is your system set to obtain those addresses automatically?

2. Try to reach a site by IP address instead of URL:
- Open IE, dismiss the DNS error message, and type the following into the location bar: http://216.239.57.99
If that takes you to Google (it should), then you're having some problem with DNS name resolution; double check your DNS server IP entries again.

3. If the above doesn't work, open a DOS box and try the following 2 conmands:

ping www.google.com
ping 216.239.57.99

What happens?

[cparky]

Thanks Jimmy/MadDog ... I actually downloaded Opera and that works fine ... what are the pros and cons of Opera v. Mozilla? But I still want to fix the IE problem.. so will keep chipping away .. given that Opera works this obviously reduces the set of options for IE not working ....

[cparky]

Thanks so much for the suggestions:

The message is:

"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."

However, I have just noticed that the URL Address line in the IE screen has disappeared completely (??) ... I had not noticed that before ... so I cannot even do your task 2.

1. I am not sure how to locate the Network Connections Control Panel

2. See above

3. How do I bring up a DOS box in Windows 98? I think may have done it before but it was some time ago and I have forgotten.

As I mentioned in response to another message, I have Opera running now so this has reduced the pressure to find the source of the IE problem.. however I am determined to fix it some how ... thank you so much for your help so far.

_________________________________

What is the exact text of the DNS error? Knowing that will give us more to go on.

IE, Outlook, and media players use different network protocols; the fact that OE and Real work doesn't necessarilly have any bearing on your IE problem. If it's a question of not being able to find sites by their URL, I'd check the following:

1. Open your Network Connections Control Panel, right-click on Local Area Connection, and choose Properties. In the "General" properties tab, double-click on the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) listing and check your DNS server settings in the resulting properties window. Are the IP addresses of your DNS servers correct? Is your system set to obtain those addresses automatically?

2. Try to reach a site by IP address instead of URL:
- Open IE, dismiss the DNS error message, and type the following into the location bar: http://216.239.57.99
If that takes you to Google (it should), then you're having some problem with DNS name resolution; double check your DNS server IP entries again.

3. If the above doesn't work, open a DOS box and try the following 2 conmands:

ping www.google.com
ping 216.239.57.99

What happens?

[kc0arf]

Hello,

Network control panel can be found by right-clicking on Network Neighborhood and choosing Properties, or by opening the Control Panels and finding the Networking CP.

To open a command window in W98 (or W95), go to the start menu, and choose RUN, and type in command

Enjoy your freedom from Internet Exploder... :)

Christian

[DMR]

given that Opera works this obviously reduces the set of options for IE not working ....

Given that, yes- it seems to be a specific IE problem rather than a problem with your general network settings. Since you also said that your IE location bar was acting wonky, I'd suspect that IE has been corrupted by spyware/hijackware or the like. If you still want to pursue the fix for IE, I'd suggest that you have a read through the posts in our Security forum- in them you'll find out how to identify and remove these parasitic programs.

[MAD_DOG]

Go on google and type what you asked me they both have there up's and down's it's personal perference.

Not a problem I told you what I would do.

Thanks Jimmy/MadDog ... I actually downloaded Opera and that works fine ... what are the pros and cons of Opera v. Mozilla? But I still want to fix the IE problem.. so will keep chipping away .. given that Opera works this obviously reduces the set of options for IE not working ....

[cparky]

The TCP/IP settings are all for automatic, although I am using Broadband via my BT telephone line and an Alcatel Modem. The setting for that is for NDISWAN, not TCP/IP ... not sure what that means. There is another TCP/IP setting which is for VIA RHINE II FAST ETHERNET ADAPTER ... not sure where that came from.

When I type in DOS or MSDOS from Start/Run I get 'cannot find the file 'dos' (or one of its components) ... what is the correct syntax? or has the virus messed that side of things too?

[cparky]

I posted this a part of a Security Post but if anyone has any ideas please let me know...

Is there a virus that changes specific elements of IE? I thought I had lost the URL Address Line but found it had been locked ... not by me either ... this remained the same when I went to Control Panel/AddRemove Programs ... and Repaired IE (you can only Add or Repair ... not delete and start from scratch... ) ... the lock was still on... anyone come across this before? Once I removed the lock I had the Address Line back but IE would still not connect to the internet ...

This enabled me to use the direct link you suggested http://216.239.57.99 but that did not work either. If I can bring up a DOS box I will try from there next...

[DMR]

The TCP/IP settings are all for automatic, although I am using Broadband via my BT telephone line and an Alcatel Modem. The setting for that is for NDISWAN, not TCP/IP ... not sure what that means. There is another TCP/IP setting which is for VIA RHINE II FAST ETHERNET ADAPTER ... not sure where that came from.

Your particular connection might use the NDIS WAN adapter, but it also can get installed by default with some networking/communication programs whether you need it or not. Not being familiar with BT, I can't give you a definitive answer.
The VIA RHINE entry is your Ethernet card/chipset; you definitely need that. If you don't use a modem, about all you need in you network settings is "client for Microsoft Windows", TCP/IP, and the entry for your Ethernet card. I'm away from my Win98 box, so I can't be more specific than that right now.

When I type in DOS or MSDOS from Start/Run I get 'cannot find the file 'dos' (or one of its components) ... what is the correct syntax? or has the virus messed that side of things too?

In Windows 98 you should have a "DOS Prompt" entry somewhere under the Programs menu of your Start menu; that will open a DOS box for you. You should also be able to type "command" in the run dialog to bring up the box.