I can connect to the internet via dial-up but when I try to browse any web site I get a message that states "error 404-cannot resolve hostname to IP address". I have been on the phone a number of times to my ISP support and they cannot help me. I have looked on Microsofts help site and it tells me to do the same thing as the support people are telling me. It does not fix the problem. I am running windows XP. I have tried reinstalling Windows and it still does not fix the problem. Can anyone help me?

First off, What did Microsoft and your ISP support people tell you to do that didn't work and what else have you done? Once known, we'll have a decent starting point.

I was instructed to click on the Start button, then run, then type in cmd and hit enter. At the prompt I typed in the following: ipconfig /flushdns and hit enter. I recieved the message successfully flushed the dns cache. I then restarted the computer. This did not fix the problem. Any other suggestions?

I have not been able to make any progress on this problem. Does anybody have any suggestions on what to do so that I can browse?

Have you tried disabling your Firewall, then try browsing?

Configure TCP/IP to use DNS. Go to Start/ Control Panel/ Network Connections.
Right click on your default connection, usually Local Area Connection or Dial-up Connection if you are using Dial-up, and and choose Properties.
Double-click on the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) item. Write down the settings in case you should need to change them back.
Select the radio button that says Obtain DNS servers automatically.
Click Okay twice to get out of the properties screen and restart your computer.

Ihave tried to open internet connections and click on properties but it does not respond. What would cause it not to respond? Also please let me know how to disable my windows firewall.

Can you explain the procedure you are doing to open Properties?

If you aren't running a third party Firewall, we'll skip this step.

I am going to start, then control panel, then network connections, then right clicking on my dial-up connection, then clicking on properties. This is where it stops responding. It reacts the same way if I go to tools, then internet options, click on the connections tab, then settings, then properties. This is the step that it fails to respond to during this process. What causes this? Help.

Hi Dan,

I'm unsure what causing this.
Here is an idea if nothing else here has worked:

Go to the Control Panel then Network Connections.
Click once on your active Connection.
From the menu on the left, select Repair This Connection.
Try to connect to a site.

Is there any Proxy set or used?
Check to see if set to automatic:

In Internet Explorer,
Go to Tools/ Internet Options/ click on the Connections tab, then click on LAN Settings.
Select Automatically Detect Settings.
Click Okay twice.

TMack,

OK, I have opened my network connections. It shows two seperate connections- my dial-up and my LAN. It is the dial up that I am working on since this is the only connection that is available in my remote area. When I click on it, it becomes highlighted but that is as far as i can get. I can not get any menus to appear-right click, or tools or any of the other tabs to work. This computer was infected with viruses, spyware, you name it. I got most of it cleaned up to the point that I can at least connect to the internet with my dial-up but I am stuck there. I can take this computer to a different location and try to hook it up with Wild Blue, a satalite provider. Assuming that I can surf using that, is there any download I can use to try to find the problem? Do you think it is a registry problem or something else. I am not real knowledgable on how a computer works, but have learned a little by dealing with this problem. What would you suggest?
I have searched for this problem and have found very little that I can understand as it relates to my computer. There is a help page from the Microsoft site but it seems to relate to Windows 2000. I am running XP. I don't know where to turn to.
Thanks for the time to try to help me.

If you are able to access the internet from a different location, the problem is definitely in the hands of your ISP.
Error code 404 is typically a "Web Master must Resolve" issue anyways.


It sounds like there may still be malware on your OS, that could be the root of this problem.

If you can't connect from a different location, and before you go back to your ISP,
Try resetting the IP address:
Go to Start/ Run and type: cmd
Press Okay or Hit Enter. A dos Window will appear.
At the command prompt type or copy/paste: ipconfig /release
Hit Enter.
When the prompt comes back, type: ipconfig /renew
Hit Enter.
Close the command box and and see if that fixes the connection. No reboot needed.

TMack,

I tried each command but got the following message after hitting enter: This operation failed as no adapter is in the state permissible for this operation. What do you make of that?

It looks like this is a Winsock2 corruption issue.
In the many cases, these symptoms are caused by running certain spyware programs. These programs may destroy your internet connectivity by removing certain necessary Registry entries. Or the registry is corrupted after installing/removing a software incorrectly.

Carefully follow these instructions; How to Recover from Winsock2 corruption.

The above advice, involves a Registry Edit.
Improper changes to the registry could render your computer inoperable.
Remember to backup the registry, before making any changes.
Instructions on how to do that, can be found here: Backing Up the Registry.

TMack,

I have tried this and still have the same problem. I am almost to the point of taking somewhere and having a professional tech try to fix it. My concern there is that the cost of the service might be more than it is worth.

I am wondering if I can reformat the hard drive and basically start anew. I purchased this computer from Dell about 7 years ago and I do have the CD entitled "Reinstallation CD". Might this solve my problem and if it might, how do I go about doing it?

I found one of the threads here since I had a similar problem, after malware was removed it left a broken connection to the internet

http://cexx.org/lspfix.htm

I though this would be hard but the program found the bad lsp file and removed it and I was back online right away

Chewy,,

I went to this site and downloaded the software. The next time I tried to connect to the internet I got a message that I needed to install a modem. I have gone into device manager and it tells me that my modem is working fine. What is going on and how do I fix it?

try uninstalling the modem from device manager and rebooting, then query the modem from control panel and make sure you get an at command string back

have it dial out and listen for the handshake

I did as you suggested. When I query modem I get a don't hear anything. I get a list of AT commands in a window. I have no idea what they mean. Could it be possible that my modem went bad?

http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how_do_i_...aler_to_wor.htm

try to turn on the modem sound

you can dial your isp manually and listen for the failed handshake since they will reject just a call but at least you know the modem is calling

modems are very sensitive to voltage surges

another check is listen on a phone connected to the modem, it should disconnect you when it dials out

Hi guys,

I've been having to "Repair" my internet connection every time I start my PC. Sometimes the "Repair" fails "TCP/IP is not enabled."

I then have to renew my IP using the cmd release and then renew.

It used to happen once and a great while, but recently it's been happening each time I start my PC. I also notice that my desktop is taking longer to load as well. Any ideas why?

My OS is XP Home. I ran Winsockxpfix and Winsock2fix and when I try to back up my Registry I get failure notices stating "error saving file." Since I can't seem to back up the registry I opted not to continue.

I've run a2, Spybot S&D, Ad-Aware and SAS and they all find nothing. I checked my HJT Log and didn't find anything suspicious. Any Suggestions?

I have recently installed STEAM in order to play Team Fortress2. I removed Steam from Startup via Spybot S&D. Do you think this has anything to do with it?

hey doc,

have you been power cycling your modem/router in the proper way?

have you blown out your tcp/ip stack, uninstalling your network adapter from device manager and rebooting?



I would start a seperate thread in the appropriate OS section

hey Chewy,


Nope. Not sure what that is. Just unplugging it?


Nope.

Guess I have some work to do.

Thanks for your input!!

I guess I have hung out with too many telephone support people over the years


a broadband modem and a router are like computers, they need rebooting from time to time, even cell phones!

I shut down the modem and the router, after a minute or so I bring the modem back on line

after another minute or so I bring the router back up

firmware is another issue with routers


http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/files/lspfix.php

does this show anything irregular?

This program should only be used under the supervision of an advanced computer user.

Hey Chewy,

I've "recycled" my modem before by pulling out the power cord and letting it sit for a few minutes. Just didn't know if the way I did it was the "proper way".

Results of LSP-Fix:


"NO PROBLEMS FOUND"

These were listed under "KEEP."

mswsock.dll Tcpip
winrir.dll NTDS
mdnsNSP.dll mdnsNSP
imon.dll (Protocol handler)
rsvpsp.dll (Protocol handler)


Nothing listed under "REMOVE."

Any of this look irregular? I know absolutely nothing of what I see there.

P.s.

I love the "Advanced" check box option on Lsp-Fix:

"I know what I'm doing (or enjoy re-installing my operating system)"

the more you learn, the more you realize you don't know

lsp saved my butt a time or two but all I had to do was auto remove

have you removed your network adapter from device manager and rebooted?

sure your driver is fine?

I have 4 network adapters.

1394 Net Adapter
1394 Net Adapter #2
Marvell Yukon 88E8001/8003/8010 PCI Gigabit Ethernet Controller
NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller

Which one do I remove and reboot?

no wonder your tcp/ip stack is probably confused



disable everything but the one you use in device manager

to see which one you are trying to use go into network connections and see what's under connect using?

a client had 6 on her laptop, I like to never got it to even connect, she said what if i want to use one of the others, I said fine go into device manager and enable it

I have never even seen a firewire connection to the internet, at least xp seemed to have gotten rid of those durn bridges they had before?

Not sure what you mean by "connect using"?

All show being "connected" except for Marvell Yukon in Network Connections.

right click on your connection, properties

Ahhhh....

The NVIDIA is the one listed. should i disconnect from the the other ones in network connections? also, should i remove/delete them from network connections?

disable the ones that you aren't using in device manager(hint--right click)

then uninstall the one that's in use(hint)

reboot

that should force windows to renew the stack?????????? or something like that

now if you had a hidden rootkit you may just bsod

Thanks Chewy,

I'm at work right now. I'll try those steps when I get home.

Your comment about the rootkit worries me.

Should I run an anti-rootkit thingie before trying this? I would hate to have to deal with a bsod.

is your hosts file ok?

zonealarm? protection conflicts bother me almost as much as malware

This is becoming a Pandora's Box for you Chewy. How do I check my Host files?

I do have ZoneAlarm...how did you know that?

[edit] Actually I should probably research that myself, shouldn't I?

when your computer becomes an accident waiting to happen, format C solves a lot of problems

but you don't learn a lot that way

If you have not changed the windows host file you should make sure it is not corrupted.

You may find HOSTS file in this folder: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc
Right click HOSTS, select Open, select Notepad to open the file.

Windows original Host file should be like this:

If you see additional lines you may want to restore the original host file. Let us know if anything odd is there.

Hey farbar,

Checked the Hosts. After "127.0.0.1 localhost"

there is about an eleventy million additional lines!!!


followed by the eleventy million entries all starting with 127.0.0.1


Are these cool, since it says Spybot - S&D?

I have the same, 8308 at last count according to immuniation

OHHHHH!!! That's what the immunization thing goes! lol!

Guess I'll keep them there. Gonna try your instructions on the Device Manager thing.

Thanks again Chewy

when 1.5x was new I got into a few discussions about that, seems 1.4 didn't handle it that way

A lot of web pages won't even open now

GOOD

should go there with IE in the first place

Tried the device manger instructions for network adapters.

When you had me check the "connect using" by right clicking on one of the connections I saw that it said nVidia.

When I tried your instructions, the nVidia one couldn't connect. So I right clicked on all of the connections....each one had it's own name in the "connect using" box. Did I follow your instructions wrong?

Anyway, I re-enabled one of the "1394 Net Adapter" and I got connected to the internet. So I have the nVidia nForce Networking Controller and one of the 1394 Net Adapter connected.

whatever works, I try to stay away from nforce myself, nvidia has some screwy drivers, they have a habit of beta testing on the public enthusiast market

Marvell Yukon 88E8001/8003/8010 PCI Gigabit Ethernet Controller

make sure you have the latest driver and try this one, it should be the only other ethernet connection

It could be that the fixes you do are temporarily because the changes won't save to registry. It is just a hypothesis but it it doesn't hurt to try:

1. Download REG File Association Fix unzip and apply it.

2. Check if you can backup your registry. if yes move on to the next step.

2. Perform the repair, IP release, renew and flushdsn then reboot.

Is being able to create a Restore Point the same as Backing Up the Registry?

No it is not the same thing.

An alternative: Go to start > Control Panel > Folder Options > File types > under Extensions check if you have REG. You can create the file association from there. But check first.

OK, I have the REG. What exactly am I doing here?

how does this fix backing up the registry?

Where did I said this fix is going to back up registry?



What I meant and failed to explain clearly was this: Regedit should export the registry and save it as a .reg file. But if the .reg file association is corrupted backing up the registry is not possible. So in order to backup the registry you need to restore default .reg file association and that is what this fix does. (step 1).

Then the registry should be backed up of course by using regedit (step 2).

thank you farbar,
that's what I thought you meant, but wasn't certain

Well, I found this Canned Speech that worked for backing up my registry.

So I now have a back-up of my registry.

I got lost though. What should I do now to try and fix my problem regarding having to release and renew my ip all the time?