RESOLVED: IE6 does not recognize DSL connection

[pctrainer]

My friend has a P4 with Windows XP SP2.
Another friend just converted her to ATT DSL (old SBC) from AOL dial-up, upgraded her to IE7 and installed Norton Internet Security 2007. All seemed to be well until one day, she got the "page could not be displayed" message whenever she opened IE7. The DSL connection seemed to be working, but IE could not see it. it actually seems as if a firewall or antivirus software is blocking it.

I tried the following things to fix it: reset the modem, checked settings, used msconfig to turn off background programs, using Add/Remove Programs uninstalled Norton Internet Security 2007, Active Security Monitor(AOL), AOL 9.0, and any other nonessential software. Still no webpage came up.

I spent 2.5 hours on the phone with SBC tech support. We tried resetting, checking settings, but still nothing. I could not PING a website in DOS nor could the tech PING me. SBC's solution was finally to do a system restore to the point just after DSL was connected.

That actually seemed to do the trick. I set my friend up with AOL web mail on AOL.COM All was well for about a week. Then the same thing happened again. - opening IE7 resulted in "page could not be displayed" Something still seems to be blocking it.

I uninstalled IE7(went back to IE6) There were a lot of messages saying files were missing, but they all seemed to refer to Windows NT, so I ignored them.

Norton Internet Security, AOL Active Security Monitor, and AOL software reappeared after the system restore, but they would not open. Apparently most of the uninstall files are missing, so I can't run the programs or uninstall them. I also noticed that there are multiple copies of AOL 9.0(9.0, 9.0a, 9.0b, etc) on the hard drive, each one with a missing uninstall file.

I downloaded Norton Removal Tool.exe from Symantec and removed all Norton software.

Still cannot open a webpage with IE6. Seems to be blocked.

So, my questions are:

Is there a program or some way to remove all the AOL software, including Active Security Monitor?

Will removing the AOL software fix my problem or do I need to reload WindowsXP? If so, please walk me through how to do that.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[nickster_uk]

Hi..

AOL software can be a huge pain when switching ISP's so uninstalling it may help.

Just out of interest, if you go into:

- Control Panel -> Internet Options -> Connections tab
- What box is checked please?

[pctrainer]

Thanks so much for the quick response. Unfortunately, I am not near the computer with the problem. I needed an internet connection to contact you, of course. =)

If I recall after my 10 hours or so of troubleshooting, I deleted all the dial up connections, so the white box is blank. Under the LAN settings, the automatically detect settings box is checked.

Hopefully that is that the answer to your question?

If I need to do some kind of registry cleaner, would you please walk me through how to backup the registry? The knowledge base articles are a little confusing.

Thanks...

[nickster_uk]

I don't advise cleaning the registry at this stage...those kinda programs can do more harm than good.

So...I take it your friend connects to the net via router then?

[pctrainer]

It's not a router. Just a standard dsl modem from SBC with that computer being the only one connected. There is a filter/splitter at the phone jack, which allows her to connect her fax machine/phone and dsl modem to the same line.

I have powered the modem down to reset it multiple times. The DSL connection status window indicates that the connection is working properly. Even the activity light on the modem is blinking.

If I am remembering this correctly, specific programs can access the internet, like the "Send error report for an unresponsive program", but IE will not open a webpage.

[nickster_uk]

Hmm if you deleted all the connections under the connections tab, that may be the problem???

However, as you say the error reports are getting through it suggests otherwise....but that doesn't explain why you're unable to ping anything?? Have you since tried pinging any other websites?

Also, when everything is set up..run the following command from the Command Prompt:
ipconfig /all

Have you attempted to recreate the users internet connection manually...entering in their username/password etc?

Also, is there any other security type software installed apart from what you have mentioned?

Is there any chance you can provide a screenshot or note down all the items in the msconfig startup tab when you get a chance please?

[pctrainer]

The thing that keeps bothering me is why did everything work right after the system restore and only work for a week? I can't figure out what changed. Maybe I should start all over and check everything again.

Answers to your questions:
Actually I deleted all connections except one. It is the LAN Connection. It shows up under Control Panel, Network Connections. The status window under properties shows connected.

I tried to ping yahoo.com and aol.com. I've done so many things now, I'm not actually sure if the error messages are still getting through.

I tried to set up the connection again using the setup CD from SBC, but I didn't delete the old connection first. Should I try that again?

I am almost sure that there are no other security software programs running. As I said, I removed all the Norton with Symantec's tool. I had never heard of Active Security Monitor, but it is listed on AOL.com and seems to get automatically downloaded somehow. Right now, it seems to be only partly there, and the uninstall file is missing. (something.dat) I have a feeling that this program is the problem...

I talked with an AOL tech, who tried to walk me through deleting the multiple copies of AOL 9.0, but the uninstall file was missing in each folder. She said the manufacturer(Dell) would have to walk me through removing the files from the registry...

I haven't checked msconfig startup in a while. The SBC tech and I unchecked a lot, but it didn't seem to help before the system restore. Is there some way to copy it to notepad or print a hard copy? I must get it from her computer and bring it to mine to send to you. (Would HijackThis work?)

What about trying safe mode? If so, what should I try when there? Ping?

Would it be easier to just reload Windows XP? We have the CD, and she only has a few files in My Documents that we could backup.

Since I have to drive back and forth to her house, could you possibly give me a list of multiple things to try? I can make a CD of the programs to use and take them with me. FYI: It is 7:15am Central time here.

Thanks so much...

[nickster_uk]

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

Yes by all means try loading the ISP software again but uninstall/remove all existing settings beforehand.

It seems strange that AOL have referred you to Dell for manual removal instructions of their own software...surely AOL would have the answers for that one?!

Safe Mode may be worth trying but be sure to choose Safe Mode with networking otherwise pinging will not work.

Also a Hijack This log would help determine if there is anything running which is causing the problem so that is worth trying. It could well be malware related as it started suddenly and your original post say things were going well after the ISP change which may suggest it isn't an AOL confliction issue.

Other things to try:

You can use the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility which you can download here. You can use it to remove 'sticky' installer/uninstaller entries from the registry which may help getting rid of traces of the AOL software.

You can also try creating a new admin profile on the PC to see if that is able to gain access successfully.

Also, perhaps try disabling all startup entries in msconfig to see if one of those is blocking/conflicting with the connection.

Plus...if your modem shows your are connected, try the ipconfig /all command as described earlier.

Format and reinstall is an option but save that to last as this is very fixable in my opinion.

Post back on your progress please

[pctrainer]

Well you won't believe this one!!! My friend called me this morning and said the internet was working!!! It still wasn't last night, but it was this morning.

My thoughts on the reason for this...
It is possible that nothing was wrong with the computer. Maybe the ISP's server was just down temporarily. This would explain why it worked before and then stopped suddenly. I didn't think of that, because I had spent so much time with the ISP's tech a few days before. I was so sure it was a computer problem. I will warn my friend that this is common with high speed connections.

I did reload the ISP software and re-setup the account. Maybe it takes a few hours to reestablish connection, but 36 hours seems a little too long.

Possibly all the reloading, refreshing, deleting startup programs I did actually did fix things and I just missed a restart. The order in which tasks are completed seems to be extremely important in working with computers.

Your thoughts please...

Thank you for all your suggestions. I'm sure I will come across this problem again and I know someone studying this thread will benefit from our conversation.

I am very impressed with the expertise at Tech Support Forum. You have helped me several times and I have used the forum as a resource as well. Thank you...

[nickster_uk]

Glad it's all sorted now.

In my opinion, I think it was something at the ISP end but it's hard to say for sure....the ipconfig /all command may have helped diagnose that one. It's also possible that your efforts cleared the problem and all it needed was a restart (the simplicities of Windows eh?)

Anyway, you're welcome for the help. Be sure to stick around and offer your knowledge to others or just feel free to come back anytime you like.