Help!

[maveRick]

Okay Guys (and Gals),

I'm writing this message from the office (be vewy vewy quiet....).

The problem I'm having accessing ANY web address on my home PC is that it 'times out' before ANY page can be loaded.

Although I have a dial up, this rarely happens. Something "I" changed or another program (Kazaa) changed is causing it.

I've tried to unistall IE 6. and reload it using one of the freebie AOL disks. I also read in a help file (AOL) that once I install IE 6.XX, I can't uninstall it. "BS" I say! Well, I re-installed it and it didn't work. I also re-loaded Windows 98 SE - no luck.


FWIW, I couldn't even get the freebie AOL to work.

Also, after all the uninstalls I did (thinking they may be the trouble spot), I ran "Registry Healer". Still no luck.

I've changed my security opts to allow script writing, Java apps, etc. to no avail.

I am using EV1.NET. Maybe I'll give them a call (if I can find a number).

In the mean-time, does anyone have any suggestions as to where to continue the search for the cause?

Thanks,

Rick

[HangNail]

i sounds like you may have some network settings messedup. i cant remember what they should be, but call tech. the number is 713-333-7873, opt 2 for ev1, opt 2 for tech. they should be able to help you out.

[Rusman]

Definitely agree with James. EV1 should be able to straigthen it out fairly quickly.

[maveRick]

Agreed. They [i]should[/] be able to.

[b]Still talking with them (120 minutes on cell phone to them to the last 6 daze).

"You have a corrupt IE." Re-downloaded and installed IE6. - still no internet access.

"AMERICAN" ends with "I CAN" (Yes...so does "Mexican") .



Still chopping at it,

Rick (at work)

[OK91LX]

Rick,

Try and do exactly what this page I'm going to give you says.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q175722

Do the part where it says to replace them...Easier solution is to remove these files and reinstall windows.

I had this same problem on a machine and took me forever to get it, but it fixes this problem.

Todd

[maveRick]

Thanks Todd,

I'll give that a try.

It's now down to me having to insist MCI come out and do a "on-site line-noise test" - of which they reluctantly agreed. Somehow I think they'ere going to say that the problem is inside my house (like they've said before and it wasn't).

Oh, I also have to bring my pc into Circuit City or Best Buy to have them check my modem out (of which I've removed/reinstalled the software for that as well). I'll do that if the line-noise check and the link you gave doesn't solve the problem.

The last tech (which I was referred to) at EV1 told me he was a "Level II". I responded, "So that means you've been there over a week, ay?" (sarc). He didn't laugh.

Thanks for the link. I'll let you know the outcome.

Rick

[Blue91]

Originally posted by maveRick

The last tech (which I was referred to) at EV1 told me he was a "Level II". I responded, "So that means you've been there over a week, ay?" (sarc). He didn't laugh.

Rick

haha, good ol Rick. Hope you get it worked out soon!

[maveRick]

Todd,

I gave that a try - to no avail (thanks very much though).

MCI came out and said the trouble (line noise) was 'inside' the house (of course) and that all I have to do is pay them $160.00 to have them fix it. $75.00 if they don't find anything! "EXTORIONIST!!" I replied. I also quized them about THEIR telephone line leading to my box - "Shouldn't that line be BURIED?! THEN, we'll talk about line noise 'inside' my house."

Next step - take pc to Circuit City to have modem checked out.




/me can't.....feel....pulse......

/me fading...fast

/me must.....access......porn.....soon.....

[AGirlWithACoupe]

Rick, you want me to stop by and check out your computer before you hafta pay Best Buy some bullshit amount of money? :)

I am off this weekend, just call me.

Cristina-

[HangNail]

you should be able to get a new winmodem for like $15-20

[maveRick]

Thanks guys!

I'll have to check into the modem thingy.

(Cristina - someone is using your user id on this board. - They offered for YOU to COME OVER AND HELP ME! HA! HA! HA!).

Uh...that'd be nice. :cool:


I just might call on you if I can't get it going soon. Bring the Fredster so he can help me work on the garage while you're resuscitating my POS computer! :D

Thank you VERY much for the offer! You're a doll, Doll !


Signed,

Poor-Poor-Pitiful-Dumb-Ass-Me


edit: "I'm not worthy" : praise :

[AGirlWithACoupe]

LOL!!!

No problem Rick, just let me know. I have some modems laying around here, too... just need to find drivers.

James - Winmodem!? Blasphemy! :p

Actually (been out of the PC loop) do they actually MAKE hardware driven modems anymore?

[HangNail]

James - Winmodem!? Blasphemy!
haha ... yeah i know ... i know


Actually (been out of the PC loop) do they actually MAKE hardware driven modems anymore?
well .,.. yes and no ... you can still get a hardware modem, but theyre more expensive than theyre worth. they cost like $50-60 and computers are so fast these days (meaning anything 233mhz+) you really wont notice the extra drag on the cpu.

[Rusman]

External modems are the best!

I like to see the blinky blinkies ;)

[grass]

EV1 tech is a waste of time :hail:

[maveRick]

Update:

EV1 (tech level dos - not "DOS") says I have to reformat hard-drive.

No problem - except that my HP CD Writer isn't working either! and I don't want to download all my porn on 1.4 floppies!


Oh the agony!


:mad:

[YesItsFast]

It sounds to me that you have a WinSock issue. You may have contracted a virus (AOL is a virus!) that corrupted or destroyed your WinSock support. This is the interface between your IP protocol stack and Windows applications, such as your browser.

If you're using a dial-up connection, do you actually get connected (i.e. do you get the two little computers with the blinking green lights on your system tray?)? If so, connect, then bring up a DOS command prompt. (Start|Run [type] COMMAND <enter>)

Type: PING ns1.ev1.net <enter>

Did you get 4 replies? If not,

Type: PING 216.88.76.6 <enter>

Did you get 4 replies?

If you got replies on the first one or the second one, you're getting a good connection and the problem is with Windows. If you got replies only on the second one, you have DNS issues, which could also be a Windows issue since ev1.net uses DHCP-delivered DNS server addresses.

The next thing to do is fix WinSock. The most common problem is a corrupt WSOCK32.DLL file. Some viruses will simply rename the file and leave the original out there. Boot your machine to DOS and from the root of C: type: dir wsock32.* /S <enter>. You SHOULD only have one file (WSOCK32.DLL) in your C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 directory. You may have another if you've installed service packs or Windows updates, etc.

If you find another file with a different byte size and date, do the following. Go to the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 directory and type:

COPY wsock32.dll wsock32.sav<enter>

Then go to the directory where you found the other file and type:

COPY wsock32.* C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WSOCK32.DLL<enter>

Reboot.

See if this fixes the problem. If not, boot to DOS and go to the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 directory and type:

DEL WSOCK32.DLL <enter>

REN WSOCK32.SAV *.DLL <enter>

You're now back to where you started.

GOOD LUCK!

PS: Do you have virus protection? Have you scanned for viruses? If not, you should. Norton, McAfee and others have online scanners, so as soon as you make it online, I'd visit their site and scan your PC.

[grass]

YesItsFast: hey come take my job ;) PPLEEASSEE

mave: If you get the newest version of the EV1 CD it has some 'repair tools' on it.. you could run the winsock rapir etc... might clear up the prob.. (winsock thing is prob it! like yesitsfast said)

Have you done a basic repair on IE?
Start> Settings> Control Panel> Add/remove programs> Click Microsoft Internet Explorer and then the Add/Remove button

[YesItsFast]

Originally posted by grass
YesItsFast: hey come take my job ;)


And WORK? Yeah, right... :hmm:


Originally posted by grass
mave: If you get the newest version of the EV1 CD it has some 'repair tools' on it.. you could run the winsock rapir etc... might clear up the prob.. (winsock thing is prob it! like yesitsfast said)

Like he said... If there's a good third-party winsock repair, by all means, use it. I know the Microsoft ones don't work worth crap.

If all else fails, you can pull wsock32.dll and related files out of your Win98 cabs. That's gets a little more involved.

Have fun.

[grass]

:p yeah.. manual repair of winsock can be so much fun the first time.. watch out.. good luck.

[YesItsFast]

I've found the best way to fix a computer is to just walk into the room.

I have hundreds of documented cases where a computer had problems, but when I walked into the client's office, it started working; didn't even have to touch it. Damn I'm good!!! :p

[grass]

ahah.. that's why they pay you the big buck$$$$$$$$$$$$ ;)

[maveRick]

Originally posted by YesItsFast
It sounds to me that you have a WinSock issue. You may have contracted a virus ...

Thanks for the info.

I've printed it out here at work and will run the tests tonight.

BTW - I can connect okay to EV1, however, I cannot 'ping' to any site. Also, I was attempting the ping using "PING WWW.EV1.NET" (or any site). I didn't use the "NS1". Will try that.



I made sure there was only one WSOCK32.DLL (but I will run the fix you outlined above also)

Grass: The CD has been sent. EV1 told me it'd take TEN DAZE to receive it! I told them I'd pay for overnighting - "we don't do that" was the reply. I don't really know when I'll receive it.


I 'had' AVG (freebie anti-virus) but was asked to unload it (while the 'fix' was being performed).

I've tried the basic repair also.

Thanks for all you guys help. :)

Still plugging away, I am

/me

[grass]

mave: yep.. no overnights unless the sup gives OK so if you cry about it they will prob do it.. :D

if you live around houston the address is : 2600sw free #500.. someone is here 24/7 so you could pickup a CD?

It won't take 10 days to get the CD most of the time.. it will be more like 5-7.. :(

again.. hope you get that going without a format!! don't want to lose all your porn.. ahah.

[Rusman]

Originally posted by maveRick


BTW - I can connect okay to EV1, however, I cannot 'ping' to any site. Also, I was attempting the ping using "PING WWW.EV1.NET" (or any site). I didn't use the "NS1". Will try that.



This sounds like you have a DNS issue. Hopefully the WinSock repair dealy will fix that. If not, you need a bigger hammer. :D

[maveRick]

Well, I got my HP-CD Writer up and going (after re-installing twice). All my porn is backed up - if I have to re-format.


I printed the instructions from http://tech.jmwebdesigns.com/software/expert/reformat.html in the event I have to re-format.

Are there any other precautions I should take or files I need to back-up in addition to the ones show?

I intend to try to the EV1 fix first. If that doesn't work, I'll be reformating the hard drive (= down another 6 weeks).


Questions to ponder:

To Partition or NOT to partition?


If I get that far, do I FAT16 or FAT32? (something ELSE I know chit about). . The reason I ask is that I read where FAT16 is 'faster', but FAT32 has it's finer points. /me 's head hurts.




So many questions - so few brain cells left.....

[grass]

Like you said if the EV1 fix doesn't work just do a full format and that will fix everything.

go with fat32.. I've never heard fat16 is faster? I could be wrong.

[Rusman]

Go with FAT32 for sure :).

Rick, backup anything you think is important. Pron first! :).
If you play games and don't want to start over, save the savegames. You might want to check the game website for info on this as sometimes it's not as simple as saving the files.

Make sure you know all your website passwords, etc. as the cookies are going to get wiped.

If you use any instant messengers, you might want to back them up so you'll have your contact list.

Did I mention to make sure you got all your pron? :p