Help!

[Enlightened27]

Ok, Ive been having a problem for the last couple of days. Ive been getting this message:

"Connection Reset"

On Firefox.

Well now it says:

"Connection Timed Out"

Ok, well thats fine, I tried IE. Well it wont connect either.

Now for the strange part, I can sign onto AIM, MSN, and Pal Talk. I cant sign into Yahoo or use Firefox/IE. Its obvious that I have internet, but I dont know why I cant connect. I uninstalled Avast, that didnt work. I turned off Windows Firewall, that didnt work. Any suggestions?

Also, my PS3 wont connect to the internet.

[Haynie]

Sounds like you have an IP Address issue. Might need to reset your modem or call your net provider to make sure.

[Enlightened27]

Well, I reset the modem, still didnt work. My friends computer goes online, thats what Im using now, its something to do with my comp and I cant figure it out.

[Enlightened27]

Thanks for the response.

[CowboyzAdam]

Eric...Question...Is your PC normally connecting to the internet by a wireless Router? Meaning you are not hard cable connected? Or does your PC connect by a cable directly. Before I can answer your question I need to know exactly how you connect...Then I may be able to help you trouble shoot the problem.

[Enlightened27]

Its wireless.

[CowboyzAdam]

OK since you are re-booting your Router and it does nothing to resolve the problem...and since your Roommate can still connect to the Internet that tells me that something is wrong with your internal Wireless card installed in your PC. It is not the router itself that is failing but your card that sends signals to the router is not working right. (But what stumps me is the fact that your PS3 is not working either which makes me think the actual router itself is not right & your Roommate is able to connect because his PC is the main hub "If you will" to the router. Another words his PC is hard wired to the net)

It could have gone bad (Which happens all the time and are very easy to replace or it could have been hit by a small surge and you just need to re-set up the card to sinc with the router.

First you need to go in to your system Devices and make sure your PC is recognizing the card and that it is even working properly. Do you use a Link Sys Router? After that we can try to move on from there.

[Enlightened27]

Ok, I have a Linksys card, but the router is Verizon. Its one of those router/modems in one. My room mate is wireless too, just so you know.

Ive checked my connection and it tells me that Im connected to the internet. Like I said, Ive gone on AIM, MSN, and Pal Talk. I cant connect to Yahoo Messenger, Firefox, or IE though. Thats what makes no sense. I can connect to some things, but not others.

[CowboyzAdam]

Did you just recently let windows do an automatic update?
And are you XP or Vista?

[Enlightened27]

No and I have XP

[CowboyzAdam]

OK try this link out first when you get the time and then get back with me. This is the process we use at my PC Shop to slowly try to resolve the problem and find out what is exactly going on. Unfortunately Reset and no connection errors when everything seems to be set up as normal are a pain in the butt to find right a way. So you have to go through a step and process of elimination to try to find the problem.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/maintain/troubleshoot.mspx

[Enlightened27]

Well, Im at work right now, Ill have to try this when I get home. If my room mate lets me use his comp again.

[Enlightened27]

That doesnt cover me Adam, it says I have a connection, but its firewalled. Other than that its fine.

[CowboyzAdam]

OK Let me do some more digging and get back to you. You have a very weird one on your hands. Neither me or my Buddy who owns the Shop has ever heard of being able to connect to some things and not the Browsers.

Let me work on it some more.

[CowboyzAdam]

First to hopefully fix it for now what I suggest you do is go back and do a system restore to a date before the browsers stopped working. That should get you back up and running for the time being. But if you have some Malware that has got in to your PC some how it could be the cause and start up all over again after a while. But go a head and do a system restore from like 2 weeks earlier and you should be OK if it is not Malware. Let me know what happens.

You do know how to do a system restore right???

[b_cadvantag]

You do know how to do a system restore right???

I tried that one day and hit something like F10 of something like that and it took the whole computer back to day one....:mad: What a mess that was...

[CowboyzAdam]

I think you are having a Winsock Problem Eric. Especially since you are running on XP.

You can always try running from the Command Prompt: 'netsh winsock reset'

But do the system restore first before you do this. I have a hunch that will fix your problem.

[CowboyzAdam]

I tried that one day and hit something like F10 of something like that and it took the whole computer back to day one....:mad: What a mess that was...


Oh my gosh Tag...You did a system restore from boot up Buddy. That is a MAJOR system restore. ERIC you do not want to do that! You want to do the system restore under your Programs...Accesseories....System Tools...and the System Restore. LOL


I know exactly what you did Tag. That is a last ditch effort when all else fails and you have one hell of a virus on your PC. I'm glad you brought this up. I would hate for Eric to do that and reset his whole computer. He would be so pissed at me. LMAO.

That is why I asked him to make sure he knew how to do a system restore. I did not want him doing something he was not sure of.

[DCfan60]

Eric couldnt get pissed at you.. thats like Gillian getting mad at the skipper :)

[CowboyzAdam]

Eric couldnt get pissed at you.. thats like Gillian getting mad at the skipper :)


I LOVE it DC. Your TOO...Funny! BTW are you insinuating that I'm fat and I waddle when I walk?

[Enlightened27]

Adam, a friend of mine got me to do this last night.......it failed. I restored my comp to the 1st of September, and it didnt work.

[CowboyzAdam]

OK then try the reset I told you at the Command prompt to reset your winsock. Let me know how it goes. I am really starting to think you have a serious Malware that has got in to your system that is blocking your Browser connections. That is NOT a virus but one pain in the ass to remove. We may need to get you to download off your buddies system a good Malware removal App. If we get to that I will provide you with one. Man what a B itch this is turning out to be. But I love a PC challenge. I deal with this stuff every day at my job. BTW what Virus program do you run on your PC?

[Enlightened27]

I had Avast, but I got rid of it. I cant download anything off my "friend's" computer, were kinda not talking right now.

[CowboyzAdam]

Can you get E-mail at all? I can download it for you and send it your way if you would like.

[Enlightened27]

Well, not really. We get in trouble at work if we open our personal email. You can wait until I have a work one.

[CowboyzAdam]

Man trying to help you out here is like a monkey phucking a football. LMAO

[Enlightened27]

LMAO, that reminds me of a Dane Cook joke :D

Sorry Adam, its not my fault that the person I live with is so immature. Ill see if I can get on there today, I doubt it though. I even let someone I know go into my computer through Team Viewer and they couldnt fix it. If you were to get on MSN, Pal Talk, or AIM I could talk to you on my laptop at home. You could even get Team Viewer and check everything out yourself.

[CowboyzAdam]

Well you get back with me when you are ready or able to move forward with this. I am determined to get this fixed. Stuff like this pisses me off and drives me to not stop until I figure it out.

[Enlightened27]

You sound like me. :D

Like I said there is a way that you cant check my computer from yours, if you want to. Then if you need to put something on my computer you just drag it over.

[b_cadvantag]

Man trying to help you out here is like a monkey phucking a football. LMAO

What the heck is that!! :eek:


Things like this is why I do not use IE... I hate Microsoft...Or Mr Softie as we call them...

I use Firefox and Opera only....

[Enlightened27]

I use Firefox, but it wont connect either. I dont use anything other than Firefox.

[CowboyzAdam]

Tag that was just one of my Pulled out of my Butt phrases Buddy! LOL
I use FireFox. It is much better with the last update. The previous one had bugs and problems that annoyed the crap out of me. Opera is not bad but there are a lot of movie sites like NetFlix that are not compatible with their instant watching that bugs me. Same with Google Chrome.

IE SUCKS!!!!!!

[Enlightened27]

When I got home I ran my Anti-Malware software. Well, it didnt find anything, but my internet is working now, :D

[CowboyzAdam]

Oh Eric the Malware worked...trust me. It does not have to give you a report of a detailed Malware intrusion in your final scan summary to have found some small errors that some small rinky dinky script changed in your Winsock settings. It is not uncommon after a scan to get a report telling you that it found nothing wrong or any issues. By Default most Malware Apps are set to automatically fix and address changes that are minor that it knows the PC Admin did not make or allow. If it showed all those in the final scan report do you have any idea how many you would have to sort through to decide to let the App fix? It worked. What you just think it all of a sudden decided to stop messing with you or something and just started to work again with out fixing your Winsock or removing or resetting it the way it was before your PC was altered? I knew it was a Winsock issue since you could connect to some things and not others. It was altered and many P2P apps as well as Apps such as PalTalk are killers for crap like this stuff getting through. Just be careful

My Malware solution comes through once again. Oh just stop it. Quit fussing over me so much...I just can't take it.


BTW...you never did tell me who your Virus Program is. One of the best ones out there right now that is not a Ram killer and loads in no time is Bit Defender. I used Norton for over 10 years and swore I would use no other but they eat up so much Ram and take freaking forever to load on launch up. Not to mention it slows the hell out of your PC when doing a Deep system scan. Once I switched to Bit Defender when I really studied up on them and they won the 2008 newcomer tech & utility essentials Award for 2009. I jumped ship and have never been happier. It really in such a short time period and a company founded in Germany has put Norton and McAfee scrambling to catch up or keep up.

It is half the price of the top Dogs and takes about an hour to do a complete deep system scan compared to the leaders 3 to 4 hours while it slows your PC down to a crawl. Once all you have your subscriptions expire...If you are interested just let me know and I will hook you up. I promise you won't be disappointed.

[Enlightened27]

Well I had Avast, but I got rid of it. I wouldnt mind trying the one you mentioned :D

Avast is a ram killer also, thats why I got tired of it.

[DCfan60]

Adam I use micro trend antivirus. Have you ever heard about it?

[b_cadvantag]

Adam,

Please send me info on Bit Defender.

I have had the Norton, Trend Micro and now Kaspersky... All really slow down the computer on start up and scan...Could there really be one that did not do this...

Any discount for number of computers?? I have a few....

[Enlightened27]

Any discount for friends, lol.

[CowboyzAdam]

Tag, DC & Eric, Here is the link to get all the information you want to know about Bit Defender. It is also great for businesses and not just personal home use. You can also purchase it off this site and download it to your PC direct and ask for a hard copy of the program to be mailed to you too. What we did at the shop & I did the same at my House was we bought it over a year ago and downloaded it to our PC's to be able to use it right away. Then we requested to have them send us the Software to our addresses...which they did in a bout 2 weeks. You really want to get them to send you the software in case you ever need to reinstall it for whatever reason. It makes it easier for people like Tag & myself who plan on using it on more than 1 PC.

Here's the Link: http://www.bitdefender.com/

Trust me when I say if you do decide to go with it you will be blown away at how fast it will load up when you boot up your PC. You will also be surprised at how quick it does a complete deep system scan of your whole hard drive. It has Spyware, Malware Phishing all built in to one App. It has caught and blocked many Worms and bogus Active X and Java and Inter net Scripts for me since I have been using it. Eric it will also lock up you Winsock and not allow any changes to be done to it without your approval. It also protects your system Registry which was a HUGE plus to me.

It updates in the background more often than your top Dogs as well. What I think impressed me the most that I could never think of doing with Norton or McAfee is...I can have Bit Defender run a Deep System Virus scan and then while it is doing that launch a PC game that takes up a lot of RAM and you will not be able to tell a difference. Bit Defender does not use much Ram or system resources to do it's job just as well as the other Virus Programs do that are designed to use up so much of your PC while doing maintenance work.


BTW Tag...$49 Bucks for 3 PC's.

[Enlightened27]

Thanks Adam. Now, I have a question for you that you may not be able to answer.

WHY WONT MY PS3 CONNECT? :(

[CowboyzAdam]

Just to ADD to our discussion a little more for you all thinking about Bit Defender.

02October 2009 BitDefender Antivirus 2010 Receives Advanced+ Certification



Top certification from AV-Comparatives awarded to the antivirus software with high detection rates and the lowest false positives rating



BitDefender® (http://www.bitdefender.com)announced today that BitDefender Antivirus 2010 received the top certification level from AV-Comparatives for its high detection rates and the lowest false positive rating.

AV-Comparatives August 2009 test was performed on 16 antivirus products to determine which software had the highest detection rates and lowest false positives. AV-Comparatives used a 4-level ranking system: Tested, Standard, Advanced, and Advanced+. The test introduced a set containing both clean and malicious samples that are first run with the software’s default settings, then under the most paranoid settings.

“We are particularly pleased with AV-Comparative’s Advanced+ Certification for BitDefender Antivirus 2010 because this further solidifies that in addition to providing solutions offering the highest level of protection, BitDefender also provides antivirus software that out performs all other test subjects in false positive ratings with the lowest number of occurrences,” said Viorel Canja, BitDefender’s head of antimalware lab.

For further details on the results of this test, please visit av.comparatives.org (http://www.av-comparatives.org), or obtain a PDF of the comparative by clicking here (http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/stories/test/ondret/avc_report23.pdf)

[Enlightened27]

Adam, you probably responded too fast, go back and check out my last question. Please.

[b_cadvantag]

Thanks Adam!!

[CowboyzAdam]

Thanks Adam. Now, I have a question for you that you may not be able to answer.

WHY WONT MY PS3 CONNECT? :(


Sorry Buddy my specialty is the PC. I would have to turn on your PS3 and go to your Network settings and look around in there to see if I could see something that looks wrong.

[CowboyzAdam]

You are Welcome Tag.

Hey you guys have any trouble in the future with your computers...Please just ask me for some help. This is what I do for a living and If I can help you fix it and get back up and running I will do everything I can. A plus is I live in the United States of America. I can assure you when dealing with me I will not sound like I am coming all the way from India. LOL Plus you don't have to worry about being put on hold with elevator music. LOL


Tag, Eric if either of you decide to make the switch and get confused with initial set-up (Which is really easy and both of you are smart guys) let me know and I will do my best to help you get it running right and help/teach/show you how to use all the features Bit Defender has. It is compatible with FireFox. IE, Opera and Google Chrome. None of the other Virus Programs can say that.

[b_cadvantag]

Awesome!!

I have 3 PC's that need virus stuff now and 3 that are on the last 6 months with Kaspersky, when that is up I will switch them also...

[Enlightened27]

Thanks for all the help Adam, and Ill be sure to ask again when I need to.

[CowboyzAdam]

Awesome!!

I have 3 PC's that need virus stuff now and 3 that are on the last 6 months with Kaspersky, when that is up I will switch them also...


Cool Buddy. Just shoot me a PM if you need any help. Feel free to contact me direct by my personal E-mail if you need and I can even give you my personal Phone number if you needed it.

[Enlightened27]

Hey now, I dont get those things, I see how you are. :(

[CowboyzAdam]

Thanks for all the help Adam, and Ill be sure to ask again when I need to.


No problem Gilligan and your welcome.

[CowboyzAdam]

Hey now, I dont get those things, I see how you are. :(



You've never needed it or asked for it. I would give it to you if you wanted. You know that. I have caller ID and could ignore you if I wanted to. LMAO

[Enlightened27]

Yeah, I was messing with you.

[Enlightened27]

Well I just did my first scan with BitDefender and it found 30 freaking infected files on my computer. Thanks Adam, I liking it already.

[CowboyzAdam]

Man Eric that is a lot Buddy. Glad you downloaded Bit Defender. I think for the price and the speed and updates it is the absolute best out on the market today.

[Enlightened27]

Well it took almost 4 hours to scan my computer, lol.

[CowboyzAdam]

Of course it did. Look how many Viruses you had. That bogs it down fixing it. LOL

[Enlightened27]

Well :P

It seems to be slowing my computer down a lot, but thats probably because Im only running on 512 MB of RAM.

[CowboyzAdam]

Dude that is awful. You need a major Ram upgrade Bro. That is way to little Ram Eric to be trying to run a PC on nowadays. Heck you can 1 GB of ram fir about 30 bucks depending on the type that is in your PC. I have a hunch it is probably DDR Ram 1 or 2 you have which is even cheaper.

Order you some off of Tiger Direct. Get Kingston or Acer which is top quality and won't go bad on you or fail.

[DCfan60]

http://www.crucial.com

its a great place.. a short scan will tell you what your systems needs and the bays that are available.. then prices follow..

[Enlightened27]

Well Adam, Im on a laptop, before long Ill be on a desktop so no worries. I wonder if I can get some laptop DDR RAM, I havent been able to find any, just DDR 2.

[Enlightened27]

http://www.crucial.com

its a great place.. a short scan will tell you what your systems needs and the bays that are available.. then prices follow..
Thanks man, I appreciate that a lot.

It says the most I can put in is 1 GB. I have two slots and it takes DDR, of course. Each memory slot can hold DDR PC2700 with a maximum of 512MB per slot. They want to charge me $69.98, do you think you can find some cheaper Adam?

[b_cadvantag]

Adam,

Hey I am getting some weird pop up ads when using firefox..They have passed 4 different scans- Bit Defender, TrendMicro, Kaspersky, CCleaner......

The ads only happen when using firefox...They have a icon in the left corner just like the firefox icon...but in the title on top of the page it says- Internet Explorer.....

Any Ideas??? This is weird... Usually I can figure these things out....

Thanks Man!!

[CowboyzAdam]

Yeah I have to play around with it Tag. I am getting the same stuff once FirFox did an auto Update of itself. It is annoying as hell.


Eric. Use TigerDirect.com

[b_cadvantag]

>It is annoying as hell.

You got that right Buddy!!

Thanks Man!!

[Enlightened27]

Well, I have a whole new comp now, thanks though.

BTW, Tigerdirect over charges you.

[b_cadvantag]

Adam,

I re-loaded firefox 3.5.3
http://www.filehippo.com/download_firefox/6154/

This seems to have fixed the problem. BUT, firefox needs to fix this problem.

Or I could use Opera and stay away from firefox completely... I like Opera and it is fast in downloads...

[b_cadvantag]

Returning to FF 3.5.3 did not fix the problem. I posted this problem on the Firefox support forum, but no replies.....

I may have to just use Opera for now...

[CowboyzAdam]

Tag I downloaded RegCure which we use at work all the time. It is $29 Bucks a year. I ran it on my PC and it cured the problem. FireFox is working great again for me.

[b_cadvantag]

Tag I downloaded RegCure which we use at work all the time. It is $29 Bucks a year. I ran it on my PC and it cured the problem. FireFox is working great again for me.

THANKS ADAM!!!

I knew you where the man with the plan on this!!

[CowboyzAdam]

Welcome Buddy.

[b_cadvantag]

Tag I downloaded RegCure which we use at work all the time. It is $29 Bucks a year. I ran it on my PC and it cured the problem. FireFox is working great again for me.

Adam,

I tried there free scan on their main web page....but, it loads on my computer but after installing nothing happens..... do I have to purchase it... I thought I could run the free scan and see if it could fix things first.... or do you recommend any other registry cleaner/repair program..

I have looked at Registry Patrol & XP Medi- but they cost more than the 29/year

Thanks

[CowboyzAdam]

Yeah buddy you have to purchase it for IT to fix anything. IMO it is the best Reg Cleaner that is out there. No other free or paid for program can touch or do as well as RegCure does. It will speed up your PC as well.

It's a great program that I have used for over a year & a half now.

[b_cadvantag]

Ok! Thanks Man! I will get it tonight...

[Enlightened27]

Adam, Im having problems with my internet again. My computer says Im connected but the only things that connect are AIM, MSN messenger, and EverQuest. My Yahoo messenger and Firefox wont connect. I dont get it. Ive run BitDefender, reset the router, and did a system restore, nothing helps.

[CowboyzAdam]

Eric you have me and my Partner at a loss right now. That just does not make any sense. It appears that there is something running on your PC that is launching itself in the background that is blocking certain connections on your PC.

Do you have Wi-Fi Connect on your PC? If so try taking it somewhere else that has Wi-Fi and see if it still does the same thing or not. If it doesn't than it is definitely a problem with the router your buddy has going there or something in that house.

Really wired Eric.

[Enlightened27]

Well, I got internet back last night. Somehow.

This is where it gets weird. My laptop wont connect to anything in my room, but if I take it to the bathroom (which is right next to my room) only AIM will connect. Ok, well if that wasnt weird enough. My PS3 is recognized when I log into the router, but it wont connect to the internet. The router recognizes its IP but it wont connect. Then of course the other thing is my computer loses and gaining internet off and on. I dont get it.

[CowboyzAdam]

Man your friends Router is F'ed up Eric. His works fine because he is the main hub but you are not. It has to be the router that is going. I am starting to think it is not your PC especially since the PS3 is being affected by it as well. What does that tell you right there? It is not your PC or PS3 but the router that is suppose to be allowing the signal through properly. That is not happening so it has to be the router.

[DCfan60]

Eric you chat with people in AIM while in the bathroom?? dude get a life lol..

[Enlightened27]

DC, I took it in there because it was close to my room, lol.

[DCfan60]

sure ya did.. you are probably in there now sitting on the throne while posting in here.. Ewwww. lol

[CowboyzAdam]

I bet he's waxing his legs as we speak.

[Enlightened27]

Ummmm, actually Im in my office.

NO NOT THAT ONE!