Hi,
I've been having a problem with my computer and have almost given up.

Here are some of my system specs...
KT7A-RAID
GeFORCE 2 Ultra
Soundblaster PCI128
Network card
Athlon 1.33GHz

Here is my problem...
My computer will start up and work fine but after a random amount of time
from 1-5 hours the internet just stops working. (I connect over a LAN). If I
had any downloads going they will keep going and chat software like AIM or
YIM still work but I can't browse the net (page not found error), start any
new downloads, check my e-mail, or connect to any new servers (mIRC,
hotline, ftp....). The only way to fix it is to reboot.

Here's what I've tried (none of which has had any effect)...
I've put three different network cards in my machine, all different brands.
I've tried setting my bios settings to the default settings.
I've tried switching which slots the PCI cards are in.
I've done a reformat of my computer with both Win ME and 98 installed. Both
times, even before installing any programs, just the base system with IE and
the problem occurs.
I've tried cussing at it.
I've tried various setting on my network cards like forcing it to 10 base.
I've tried two different ISP's. One here at my college, the other was a DSL
connection.
I've swapped out different ethernet cables.

This has been going on for a few months and when I use my computer all day
it's really starting to piss me off. E-mailing you guys is my last resort
before completely stripping down my board and sticking it in someone elses
computer.

The thing is that I haven't added any new hardware or anything since this
started (except a couple PCI cards which I have taken out and still
experienced the problem) and like I said I have reformatted my drive with
clean installs so the only thing I can think of is that something on my
motherboard went out.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Do you think I have a faulty
board? Something with the BIOS or registry?

Thanks for your help.

One word...winmodem.

If you can find one, try a hardware modem. The problem you describe is typical of winmodems. The only solution I know of is to replace the modem with a hardware based one and use the old one for target practice.

------------------
Support the right to keep and arm bears.
Note: Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

Computer Information Links (http://www.dreamwater.com/paleopete/computer.htm) has been moved, please update your bookmarks.

Hmmm,
Connects over a LAN, so no modem.
You surf all day, do you hit a LOT of sites?
Have you tried clearing your cache? Maybe set it to a little bigger size and clear it more often.

The fact that everything else is working, just loosing browsing capability would not indicate a hardware problem. So don't scrap it yet.
Good luck http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/cool.gif

------------------
Waiting patiently for the future to arrive. Frank's Place (http://dreamwater.net/tech/frankscomp/)

How do you actually connect to the internet, Cable,DSL, T1, Dial up??

Do you have ICS??

Do you have a router???
Is the router stopping downloads because all of the ports are in use by you or other users.

If you provide some more info, we can help. I have several clients with DSL where you have to set the router to re-connect after a specified period of time.

What version of IE? Are all of the patches up to date?
Have you scanned for viruses recently?



[This message has been edited by classicsoftware (edited 02-22-2002).]

The next time this happens see if you can ping your DNS servers or type "http://209.68.14.80" into your browser. That address should take you to the PCGuide web site. Also are you setup to use DHCP? ( To find this information, if you don't know already, just open the Network icon in control panel and highlight "TCP/IP" and click "properties". There are several tabs in the "properties" window that show these settings.)


Because you say that in-progress uploads and IM software "keeps working", I don't belive your internet connection is going down or that your hardware is to blame.


Good Luck http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

I think you misunderstood. After the problem occours everything goes out. Except... if there are any downloads going they will continute (in any client - IE, Netscape, mIRC, Hotline, Direct COnnect...) and I can still chat. But say if I got kiked from AIM I wouldn't be able to log back in. And yes, I hit a lot of sites.


Originally posted by bassman:
Hmmm,
Connects over a LAN, so no modem.
You surf all day, do you hit a LOT of sites?
Have you tried clearing your cache? Maybe set it to a little bigger size and clear it more often.

The fact that everything else is working, just loosing browsing capability would not indicate a hardware problem. So don't scrap it yet.
Good luck http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/cool.gif

Hey,
I'm not sure what ICS is so I'm sure I don't have it. I use a router sometimes though this doesn't have an impact on the problem at all. I use both a specified IP (which my ISP here at school assigns) or DHCP with the router and at home with the DSL modem which has a built in router. Again the problem occours either way so I've eliminated that to be the problem.

And to answer the first question I use my schools OC3 line here at school and when I go home for occations I use a DSL connection (ZyTEL modem I believe)

I run virus scans weekly with the latest updates and also I have all of the current IE 5.5 and windows patches.

To give a complete set-up of my computer when it's stipped down (the problem still happens)...
NEC 19"
300W power supply
16 DVD
12x CDRW
60GB HD
FLoppy
386MB ram
GeFORCE 2 Ultra
Sounblaster PCI128
KT7A-RAID with 1.33GHz athlon

and a network card.

Originally posted by classicsoftware:
How do you actually connect to the internet, Cable,DSL, T1, Dial up??

Do you have ICS??

Do you have a router???
Is the router stopping downloads because all of the ports are in use by you or other users.

If you provide some more info, we can help. I have several clients with DSL where you have to set the router to re-connect after a specified period of time.

What version of IE? Are all of the patches up to date?
Have you scanned for viruses recently?

[This message has been edited by classicsoftware (edited 02-22-2002).]

I’m not sure if this is going to help.
But I have seen it on my own network here at home.

I show a large number of out going connections .
Even when only one system (along with server) is running and only one page displayed.
At the moment for example . This page and no other programs running.
I show having 156 connections already this morning.
For some reason these connections add up.
And Yes I have had to reboot in the past to clear this number.

You may be running into another one of Windows limits if in fact you stay on line for hours at a time

OK..some "backgrounding" is needed.

Each computer has over 65,000 TCP ports or sockets it can open. Now not all TCP Stacks are the same but unless your being "DOS" or running a server, I doubt your using up connections. ( connections or sockets will time out after awhile anyway unless you've hit a "tarpit" which is a nasty little security box that keeps connections open till you reboot and close them.)


However, that doesn't mean that your internet connection isn't being managed by your school or even your ISP. I would still strongly recommend that the next time you have that problem follow the steps I've outlined. And post back your resultes if you don't mind waiting awhile for a solution. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif You may still be suffering from something that has nothing to do with you TCP stack or how your connection is managed, but the steps I outlined before will help to find out just what is the cause of your problem.

Also to see how many connections are being used, type "netstat" at a DOS command prompt. Connections listed as "established" are open/busy connections. Connections listed as "SYN-Sent" and "SYN-recieved" are in the process of opening.( you can also use this command to see what state your connections are in the next time your problem occurs)


By the way,what Microsoft OS are you using?...I don't see it mentioned anywhere


Good Luck http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif



[This message has been edited by Ghost_Hacker (edited 02-26-2002).]

GH-
What Microsoft OS are you using?...I don't see it mentioned anywhere

that was going to be my question, we know everything else about this machine except that!

http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif



------------------
sea1_69@hotmail.com

homepage (http://www.seanweb1.homestead.com/3.html)

Sea


Yeah, and it's the most important. Depending on what OS he's using and the amount of installed memory his problem could be with Max TCBs. Since he has over 256MB of memory his TCB limit should be rather high. ( and in any case even if you did reach the limit only new connections would be affected not already opened ones.) But like Rick mentioned who knows? There are a few registry entries that control TCP paramenters and in XP the "netsh" program can be used to reset TCP/IP. (sort of like reinstalling it with actually reinstalling it http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif )

Oh well......




[This message has been edited by Ghost_Hacker (edited 02-26-2002).]

If I have understood most of the above (and without being able to be too technical) the slowdown is likely to be software related; with the CPU probably becoming increasingly busy (but inefficient) over time; (eg trying to reassemble more and more fragmented IP packets or resending data over and over). All this either pointing to a malconfigured network or even a soft-modem's underlying chipset and drivers.

My empirical approach to narrow things down would be to remove the network card and all network settings apart from basic dialup and then dialup with a (borrowed) hard modem and see if all works OK. Would this have any merit?

------------------
Take nice care of yourselves - Paul
"There are old pilots and bold pilots but there are no old bold pilots."

I still need to try a couple of the things you've suggested but after the questions I recieved I decided to revise my orginal message. Here it is....

KT7A-RAID
GeFORCE 2 Ultra
Soundblaster PCI128
Network card
Athlon 1.33GHz
Win 98 (currently)
60GB HD (20GB free)
386MB ram
OC3 internet connection (currently)

Here is my problem...
My computer will start up and work fine but after a random amount of time
from 1-5 hours the internet just stops working. (I connect over a LAN). If I
had any downloads going they will keep going and chat software like AIM or
YIM still work but I can't browse the net, start any
new downloads, check my e-mail, or connect to any new servers on (mIRC,
hotline, ftp....). The only way to fix it is to reboot.

To clarify.. after the problem occours I can't do anything except chat and if there were any downloads going they will continue. But if say, I got kicked off of AIM I can't reconnect. I can't look at web sites. I can't connect to ftp servers. I can't check my e-mail. I can't use mIRC. I can't telnet.............

Here's what I've tried (none of which has had any effect)...
I've put three different network cards in my machine, all different brands.
I've tried setting my bios settings to the default settings.
I've tried switching which slots the PCI cards are in (like swaping the sound card with the network card).
I've done a reformat of my computer with both Win ME and 98 installed. Both
times, even before installing any programs, just the base system with IE and
the problem occurs. Right now I'm using Win 98 but this problem also happend when I had 98 installed.
I've tried cussing at it.
I've tried various setting on my network cards like forcing it to 10 base.
I've tried two different ISP's in two completely different areas. One here at my college, the other was a DSL
connection.
I've swapped out different ethernet cables.
I've tried using a DHCP setup with a router and also using the specified IP/gateway/.... my ISP here at school gives me.
I don't use a router, firewall....
I don't use any 3rd party internet software such as Zone Alarm or any speed boosting software.
I have all the up to date Windows and IE updates off the mircosoft site.

Heres what I know...
It can't be my ISP becasue the problem happens on two different ISP's and no one except me on the whole network experiences this problem except me.

It can't be my network card or a PCI slot because I've tried three different network cards in different slots and 've put other cards in those slots and those devices work fine.

I don't think this is a software based problem because I followed these exact steps... I reformated my HD, I installed Windows 98, I completed the set-up of Windows 98, I browsed the internet for a few hours, the problem occoured. This is before installing ANY programs except Windows 98 and some drivers.

-----------
This has been going on for a few months and when I use my computer all day
it's really starting to piss me off. E-mailing you guys is my last resort
before completely stripping down my board and sticking it in someone elses
computer.

The thing is that I haven't added any new hardware or anything since this
started (except a couple PCI cards which I have taken out and still
experienced the problem) and like I said I have reformatted my drive with
clean installs so the only thing I can think of is that something on my
motherboard went out.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Do you think I have a faulty
board? Something with the BIOS or registry?

Thanks again for your help.

Let's review what we think we know:

It'not the OS we tried two of them

It's not the ISP we also tried two of them

It's not the NIC we tried two of those as well.

It's not the cable, we tried a few of them.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is one thing we have not checked are the power settings in the BIOS and the OS. Make sure they are set to not power down/sleep mode/hibernate the drives/monitors/system etc...

If that's not it, then I would STRONGLY suggest you do what Ghost Hacker Says:
either go to a DOS/Command prompt or hit start run and:

type: ping 209.68.14.80
report the results back and the experts here will guide you.
The results will look like this

Pinging 209.68.14.80 with 32 bytes of data:


Reply from 209.68.14.80: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=241

Reply from 209.68.14.80: bytes=32 time=21ms TTL=241

Reply from 209.68.14.80: bytes=32 time=20ms TTL=241

Reply from 209.68.14.80: bytes=32 time=21ms TTL=241

If you get any other type of repsonse, then there is a problem we can fix.

Let us know.

It sounds like you're doing some heavy duty multi-tasking. Out of curiosity what are your system resources after a fresh reboot? Maybe install the system resource monitor and keep an eye on it for a while.

------------------
Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons. -- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

I tried getting a monitor and watching it. It started out using about 100MB of ram. I then opened a ton of programs and about 10 IE windows each with streaming video and stuff. I was able to get the problem to occour after only about 20 minutes and there was still about 100MB of ram free.

Originally posted by Gallaeglagh:
It sounds like you're doing some heavy duty multi-tasking. Out of curiosity what are your system resources after a fresh reboot? Maybe install the system resource monitor and keep an eye on it for a while.

Hi,
I tried looking at my BIOS and Windows power settings and they were all set to keep things on and never go to sleep or turn off.

I also waited until after the problem occoured and I did the ping test and I got this...

C:\WINDOWS\Desktop>ping 209.68.14.80

Pinging 209.68.14.80 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 209.68.14.80: bytes=32 time=111ms TTL=242
Reply from 209.68.14.80: bytes=32 time=98ms TTL=242
Reply from 209.68.14.80: bytes=32 time=137ms TTL=242
Reply from 209.68.14.80: bytes=32 time=101ms TTL=242

Ping statistics for 209.68.14.80:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 98ms, Maximum = 137ms, Average = 111ms

So it appears that even though I can't do *EDITED* I can still ping servers. The question I have is what is the differece between pinging a server and getting data from that server when I want to view a web site or connect to an FTP server?

Thanks a million. It actually feels like we're getting somewhere now.



[This message has been edited by Paleo Pete (edited 02-27-2002).]

Hello,

I had a problem a while back that seems eerily similar to what is going on here. For me, whenever I used IE, I could browse for a while but then web pages would stop loading (actually, I usually lost the ability to load pictures, then 2-3 clicks later could not load anything). Although IE always caused the problem, it also screwed up my ability to to use email programs and other browsers (Opera). (It did not, however, affect my ability to browse my local network, so it wasn't corrupting everything). To make a long story short, I spent a couple of months to troubleshoot it, and I'm pretty sure IE was the problem. (Unfortunatley, I never found a solution, it just went away when I upgraded to XP).

Anyway, I guess I'm suggesting IE might be the problem, although I don't know what the solution would be.

Good Luck,

John

FYI, I use a cable modem, and 'local network'=2-4 PC's connected w/ a router.

Could it simply be that you're trying to do too much at once. Anytime system reources drop down to about 30 percent it's time to start shutting programs down. Maybe you should consider Win2000 or XP.

------------------
Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons. -- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

The question I have is what is the differece between pinging a server and getting data from that server when I want to view a web site or connect to an FTP server?


When you ping a server's IP address you request that the server responded to you by sending back a packet. Sort of like a sonar "ping" if it's there you'll get an echo. (unless it's prevented from responding or your request never reaches it.) Also because you placed the IP address into the ping command and not a server name ,like www.somesite.com, (http://www.somesite.com,) you bypassed any DNS servers. When you use a browser or any internet program that uses server names you have to "talk" to a DNS server to translate that name into an IP address. Then a connection or socket is opened between you and the external computer. Once this socket is established data can be transfered. (unlike "ping" where a socket is never formed)


Your ping test proves that your connection is still up, so the next test would have been to try to ping a server name instead of an IP address. (ping www.yahoo.com) (http://www.yahoo.com)) this would test DNS server responce. If the DNS server doesn't responded your ping will fail and you've found your problem, if the ping works the name will be translated into an address and we can move on to something else.

That "something" else would then be to type "netstat" at the command prompt and view the status of your TCP connections. From this we can learn how and if the old connections where torn down and if the new connections are being established.


A recap of suggestions so far....


Paul's suggestion of removing and then reinstall the TCP/IP protocol and all networking is a good one and normally I would suggest that too. But in your case you've already done this by reinstall 2 versions of Windows.


Classicssoftware's suggestion about "power management" was also a good one . 9X is famous for it "power management" problems rearing their ugly head where you least expect them. But ME should have fixed that problem ( or so says MS http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif ) and your not using it anyway.

Some folks have suggested that IE could be the probem, but if I remember correctly 98 and ME install 2 different versions of IE and it's not the problematic IE 5.5 . Now one thing about HTTP you should be aware of is that there is a limit of 2-4 connections per web server request. (depending on what version of HTTP the server is using .) Normally this isn't a problem because the browser simply tries again a little later.( I belive this is the problem John ran across)


Now normally I would start looking for old versions of the winsock dll file. But in your case you've reformated and done a clean install of Windows, so I don't think winsock can be the cause of your problem. (unless someone else knows something about the default 98/ME winsock files that I don't.)

So depending on the outcome of the "netstat" test I'm leaning toward a TCB problem. TCBs are TCP "sessions" that are held in memory. If you can't create new TCBs you can't connect to any "TCP/IP" servers. (www, FTP, Telnet, etc,etc) Because you say you open many programs and web sites at the same time. It's possible that you've used up your TCBs if old connections aren't "exiting" correctly. Netstat will report this ,so right now "netstat" is your friend http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif



[This message has been edited by Ghost_Hacker (edited 02-27-2002).]

Sounds like a problem with your HTTP Port (80). Something is not allowing you to view websites. I would try other browsers. Also, there are other DOS network utilities that may help, ex. TRACERT, NETSTAT, etc.
I used to have problems with my dial-up connection on IE.
it usually puttered out on me after about 15 to 30 minutes.
I just got an ISDN Line, he..he.

Good Luck

------------------
("If at first you don't succeed, suck harder, then you will succeed!" cited Curly Howard of the 3 Stoogies)

Hey,
I tried what you said and here are my results after the problem occoured....

C:\WINDOWS\Desktop>netstat

Active Connections

Proto Local Address Foreign Address State
TCP power-puff:1031 216.136.224.143:5050 ESTABLISHED
TCP power-puff:2572 64.156.47.43:81 TIME_WAIT
TCP power-puff:1040 205.188.8.146:5190 ESTABLISHED
TCP power-puff:1050 64.12.28.12:5190 ESTABLISHED
TCP power-puff:1102 202.188.117.222:6665 ESTABLISHED
TCP power-puff:2664 205.188.165.25:80 TIME_WAIT
TCP power-puff:2665 64.12.184.25:80 TIME_WAIT


C:\WINDOWS\Desktop>ping www.yahoo.com (http://www.yahoo.com)
Unknown host www.yahoo.com. (http://www.yahoo.com.)


Right now after I rebooted I can ping yahoo fine. So this might be some sort of DNS problem?

Originally posted by Ghost_Hacker:
So depending on the outcome of the "netstat" test I'm leaning toward a TCB problem. TCBs are TCP "sessions" that are held in memory. If you can't create new TCBs you can't connect to any "TCP/IP" servers. (www, FTP, Telnet, etc,etc) Because you say you open many programs and web sites at the same time. It's possible that you've used up your TCBs if old connections aren't "exiting" correctly. Netstat will report this ,so right now "netstat" is your friend http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif
[This message has been edited by Ghost_Hacker (edited 02-27-2002).]

..So this might be some sort of DNS problem?..


Yes, I belive so. To test that theory so that no doubt remains type http://216.115.109.7 and then type www.yahoo.com into your web browser the next time this error comes up. If only the IP address works then that's the final proof.

By the way the netstat command shows that 3 connections(time-wait) are closed but the TCB hasn't been deleted just yet. (But they will time out.) The other connections are open and running.

I've seen DNS problems like this on Windows 2000 systems but never on a 9X box. I've also heard of certain DSL providers having DNS problems. However, unless you school connection and your DSL connection are with the same ISP, I would rule that out.

Here's what I would do first. Check that the DNS server addresses you use are the right ones for your connections. The DNS servers used by the "school" connection probably won't work for your "home" connection and vise-versa. Make sure that not all of the DNS servers are listed in your TCP Properties. You'll want only the DNS servers listed that "work" with that connection. If all your DNS servers are listed then Windows is "jumping" to invalid (for a certain connection) DNS servers for name resolution.



[This message has been edited by Ghost_Hacker (edited 02-27-2002).]

This is for Ghost Hacker:

Did you see the times on those pings?

Even on my slow P-II 233 I get better response times on my Cable modem connection.

Does that signify anything to you?

I'm starting to run out of ideas. If it's the TCB's as you suspect, how do we fix it?

Classicsoftware

I don't think it is a TCB problem now. I supected that either lack of name resolution or TCBs was causing his problem, since his connection appeared to still be up. But because he has this problem no matter what ISP he uses I was orginally leaning more to TCBs.

However the Netstat command didn't show that many TCP connections and the "closed" ones where in the process of releasing their TCBs. The "ping" test however showed that DNS name resolution wasn't working. So,if he follows that last web browser test we'll know for certain whether it's a DNS issue.


The ping times he's getting are not great but thier "workable". Also it looks as if he's about 13 hops from that IP address. (255 being I belive the starting TTL for Unix systems.)


EDIT The only way to fix a TCB problem on a Window 9X is to increase memory. TCB "space" is created depending on how much installed memory you have.

[This message has been edited by Ghost_Hacker (edited 02-27-2002).]

I tried going to http://216.115.109.7 and that didn't work. I also went to www.yahoo.com (http://www.yahoo.com) and of course that didn't work either. I then tried pinging 216.115.109.7 and that worked but I couldn't ping www.yahoo.com. (http://www.yahoo.com.)

Going back, the first time I put in the IP it worked, and then when I put in www.yahoo.com (http://www.yahoo.com) and that worked to. So just to make sure it wasn't loading the pages from cache I cleared the internet temp files and then nither the IP or the address worked as I desribed above.

Originally posted by Ghost_Hacker:
..So this might be some sort of DNS problem?..

Yes, I belive so. To test that theory so that no doubt remains type http://216.115.109.7 and then type www.yahoo.com into your web browser the next time this error comes up. If only the IP address works then that's the final proof.

By the way the netstat command shows that 3 connections(time-wait) are closed but the TCB hasn't been deleted just yet. (But they will time out.) The other connections are open and running.

I've seen DNS problems like this on Windows 2000 systems but never on a 9X box. I've also heard of certain DSL providers having DNS problems. However, unless you school connection and your DSL connection are with the same ISP, I would rule that out.

Here's what I would do first. Check that the DNS server addresses you use are the right ones for your connections. The DNS servers used by the "school" connection probably won't work for your "home" connection and vise-versa. Make sure that not all of the DNS servers are listed in your TCP Properties. You'll want only the DNS servers listed that "work" with that connection. If all your DNS servers are listed then Windows is "jumping" to invalid (for a certain connection) DNS servers for name resolution.
[This message has been edited by Ghost_Hacker (edited 02-27-2002).]

Ghost's last comment was about RAM. Is it a red herring or a just a typo that the RAM-total is 386MB? (256+128=384). Interesting thread this - better than a who dunnit. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

Another thing. If this is just after a clean install - what is taking-up 40gig of a 60gig drive?

[This message has been edited by Paul Komski (edited 02-27-2002).]

Sorry about that, yes it is a typo, 384MB of ram. To answer your other qustion I was just stating the problem occoured right after a clean install. This was a couple months ago. Since then I have installed and downloaded a lot of stuff taking up the 40 or so gigs.

Originally posted by Paul Komski:
Ghost's last comment was about RAM. Is it a red herring or a just a typo that the RAM-total is 386MB? (256+128=384). Interesting thread this - better than a who dunnit. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

Another thing. If this is just after a clean install - what is taking-up 40gig of a 60gig drive?

[This message has been edited by Paul Komski (edited 02-27-2002).]

If Ghost_hacker is correct:

You need to contact your ISP if you're home or the IT people at school and review the DNS settings. Once you get that squared away at either place,
go to: http://www.netswitcher.com/

order a copy of netswitcher.

This program will allow you to keep two distinct network settings and switch between them without re-booting. It;s either that or XP and the
netswitcher is cheaper.

Se if you can get going with one IP.

Just grasping at straws:

you may want to try:

A) Opera
B) Netscape
C) IE 6
That's all the help I can offer. I'll follow the thread to see where this ends up. I think I've learned more from Ghost_hacker on this than I care to admit. Hats off to GH...

So whos God , any one solve the problem. Its to long to read http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

------------------
Murph's Law: 1.Everything takes longer than you think
2.If anything can go wrong it will
3.Nothing is as easy as it looks

Almost one step ahead of you here. I checked with other people on campus and they all use the same DNS settings I use as well as all the other network settings except the IP, this is from multiple people to. Also I installed IE 6 this morning, didn't help any, and I installed Opera about 3 hours ago, also didn't help any. I mean 98 worked fine for about 6 months so thats whats weird. It's looking like I may have to go to Win 2000 or XP though I've spent about 60 hours trying to get XP installed on my machine with no luck but I'll leave that for another thread.


Originally posted by classicsoftware:
If Ghost_hacker is correct:

You need to contact your ISP if you're home or the IT people at school and review the DNS settings. Once you get that squared away at either place,
go to: http://www.netswitcher.com/

order a copy of netswitcher.

This program will allow you to keep two distinct network settings and switch between them without re-booting. It;s either that or XP and the
netswitcher is cheaper.

Se if you can get going with one IP.

Just grasping at straws:

you may want to try:

A) Opera
B) Netscape
C) IE 6
That's all the help I can offer. I'll follow the thread to see where this ends up. I think I've learned more from Ghost_hacker on this than I care to admit. Hats off to GH...

just as I was about to discontinue tracking this thread I see:

though I've spent about 60 hours trying to get XP installed on my machine with no luck but I'll leave that for another thread.

please tell us about that!

(in a different thread!)

http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

------------------
sea1_69@hotmail.com

homepage (http://www.seanweb1.homestead.com/3.html)

[This message has been edited by sea69 (edited 02-28-2002).]

Hmmmmm, now this is really interesting. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

To review:

We've tried a "ping" test. So far you can always ping using an IP address but not when using the server name. You also at times can't surf the web using either the server name or the IP address but can still ping the web site's IP but not the server name. ( this is the one that puzzles me so I would suggest you go here: Earthlink (http://help.earthlink.net/techsupport/dialers/win95/dun/html/sfc_utility_extract_98.html) for instructions on how to install a fresh copy of wsock32.dll. There are virus and worms which replace wsock32.dll with a version of their own. )

We've looked at the results of "netstat" which show a normal amount of TCP connections all of which are in the correct states.

We know it's not the OS or the network card because you've changed these and still have the same problem.

We know the connection is still "up" because you can ping an IP address and in- progress downloads aren't affected.

We know it's not the “network” because you've tried two different internet connections. (home and school)

We know it’s not the topology of the network because at your school everyone’s settings are the same yet only you experience this problem.



And last I’ll assume that you don’t have any firewalls or other Internet “connection” programs. (Speed programs; net monitoring; or security programs). If you do, disable them for now and try the ping/web browser tests again. If none of this works ( a strong possiblity http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/frown.gif ) then I afraid we're stuck (at least till I think of something else). All the other troubleshooting methods I know need 2 computers to carry out or the installing of extra tools.

Sea

just as I was about to discontinue tracking this thread I see


Running away just when the story is getting good. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif



[This message has been edited by Ghost_Hacker (edited 02-28-2002).]

I've been standing and watching this one i will say it's very interesting,I would have to say that I would have to agree with GH on the Winsock virus that is about all that is left.personally if your on campus and every one else is not haveing the same problem I would toss the board and get a new one,you must have a someone there taking care of campus IT they should have a NetTool Connectivity Tester. OR (Not to make anyone mad or not being hurtful here, not my intention).But if nothing that these fine gentalman have mentioned has not worked nor a connectivity tester can't find,nor trying this set-up in another machine fails then i would have to say your jerkin someones chain here?

------------------
Death has come to our windows.

-- Jeremiah 9:21
(undoubtedly a Biblical reference to a Microsoft product!)

YODA74@carolina.rr.com

We've tried a "ping" test. So far you can always ping using an IP address but not when using the server name. You also at times can't surf the web using either the server name or the IP address but can still ping the web site's IP but not the server name.....


Ok, I've been thinking about this one. Here's what I know.

Pinging an IP address does not use TCP/UDP ( or a port is another good way to look at it) it uses ICMP.

Pinging the server name uses UDP at first because name resolution takes place using port 53.


All web browser request we've used use TCP port 80.

All your other programs use high ports (like 6665 for IRC )

It looks like your TCP stack has "crashed" because rebooting "fixes" the problem. Take a look at this link :
Q241344 (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q241344) we've already done varations of most of these steps but there are some additional steps they list that you might want to try.

EDIT I agree with Yoda if none of this works then it's time to ask your school IT guys to look at it. They'll have the extra tools need to investgate your problem


Good Luck http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif



[This message has been edited by Ghost_Hacker (edited 02-28-2002).]

Humor us all a liitle:

Please give us the content of the registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURR ENT VERSION:
Run
Runonce
RunOncex
RunServices
RunServicesOnce

Also when the problem occurs:

Hit <Ctrl>+<Alt>+<Del> once and share the contents of the close program
dialog with us.

Maybe there is something running that is causing this to happen

Time for a Part II.

Has this been mentioned before???? Get a new network card.

------------------
This space reserved for highly intelligent observations and witty remarks.

"We all went up to the conception room and had a big time up there"
-------- Tommy Smothers

Quoting from my original message... "I've put three different network cards in my machine, all different brands."

Originally posted by BigBlue66:
Time for a Part II.

Has this been mentioned before???? Get a new network card.

It'd be great if you could answer classicsoftware's last post. A lot of us would really like to see this one cracked!

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Run]
"ScanRegistry"="C:\\WINDOWS\\scanregw.exe /autorun"
"TaskMonitor"="C:\\WINDOWS\\taskmon.exe"
"SystemTray"="SysTray.Exe"
"LoadPowerProfile"="Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme"
"CriticalUpdate"="C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\wucrtupd.exe -startup"
"EM_EXEC"="C:\\PROGRA~1\\LOGITECH\\MOUSEW~1\\SYSTEM\\EM_EXEC. EXE"
"NewsUpd"="C:\\Program Files\\Creative\\News\\NewsUpd.EXE /q"
"Disc Detector"="C:\\Program Files\\Creative\\ShareDLL\\CtNotify.exe"
"CreativeMixer"="C:\\Program Files\\Creative\\Audio\\PROGRAM\\CTMIX32.EXE /t"
"NAV Agent"="C:\\PROGRA~1\\NORTON~1\\NORTON~1\\NAVAPW32.EXE"
"NPROTECT"="C:\\Program Files\\Norton SystemWorks\\Norton Utilities\\NPROTECT.EXE"
"WinampAgent"="\"C:\\PROGRAM FILES\\WINAMP\\WINAMPa.exe\""
"wcmdmgr"="C:\\WINDOWS\\wt\\updater\\wcmdmgrl.exe -launch"
"CreateCD50"="C:\\PROGRA~1\\COMMON~1\\ADAPTE~1\\CREATECD\\CREATE ~1.EXE -r"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Run\OptionalComponents]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Run\OptionalComponents\IMAIL]
"Installed"="1"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Run\OptionalComponents\MAPI]
"Installed"="1"
"NoChange"="1"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Run\OptionalComponents\MSFS]
"Installed"="1"

-----------------------

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\RunOnce]

-----------------------

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\RunOnceEx]

-----------------------

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\RunServices]
"Hidserv"="Hidserv.exe run"
"LoadPowerProfile"="Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme"
"SchedulingAgent"="mstask.exe"
"ScriptBlocking"="\"C:\\Program Files\\Common Files\\Symantec Shared\\Script Blocking\\SBServ.exe\" -reg"
"CSINJECT.EXE"="C:\\Program Files\\Norton SystemWorks\\Norton CleanSweep\\CSINJECT.EXE"
"NPROTECT"="C:\\Program Files\\Norton SystemWorks\\Norton Utilities\\NPROTECT.EXE"
"SymTray - Norton SystemWorks"="C:\\Program Files\\Common Files\\Symantec Shared\\SymTray.exe \"Norton SystemWorks\""

-----------------------

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\RunServicesOnce]

-----------------------

And here is the contents of the close program dialog...


registry.reg - Notepad
The PC Guide Discussion - Reply to Topic
***** - Intant Message
***** Buddy List Window
Inbox - Outlook Express - *****
Registry Editor
Explorer
ATI Launchpad
Navapw32
Createcd50
Monwow
Mediadet
Csinsm32
Em_exec
Winampa
Ctnotify
Ctmix32
Systray
Hidserv
Nprotect
Csinject


[quote]Originally posted by classicsoftware:
Humor us all a liitle:

Please give us the content of the registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURR ENT VERSION:
Run
Runonce
RunOncex
RunServices
RunServicesOnce

Also when the problem occurs:

Hit <Ctrl>+<Alt>+<Del> once and share the contents of the close program
dialog with us.

Maybe there is something running that is causing this to happen

[/quote]

Synet
I am in now way technical so i cannot give tech input. But no-one has asked (That I can see) what browser you are using could it be IE5.5 or 6?
if so there is a known issue with links in both of them MS has released a patch for this "Feature" ?


Just re-read and saw tht GH has mentioned my thought. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/redface.gif
------------------
Ernie

[This message has been edited by ErnieK (edited 03-01-2002).]

Hi,
I believe I addressed this somewhere that I have all the patches and I've tried IE 5.5, IE 6, and Opera 6.01. Thanks though

Originally posted by ErnieK:
Synet
I am in now way technical so i cannot give tech input. But no-one has asked (That I can see) what browser you are using could it be IE5.5 or 6?
if so there is a known issue with links in both of them MS has released a patch for this "Feature" ?


Just re-read and saw tht GH has mentioned my thought. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/redface.gif

Hi synet,

Is that "Createcd50" one of those programs like InCD that allow you to drag and drop files to a cd?

Those things can cause some "wacky" problems like you have described.

Just a shot in the dark.

Good luck!





------------------
I was called "hacker" before there was a HeathKit.

It's Easy CD Creator 5. While it can do what you describe with a part called Direct CD I don't have that installed. I only install the barebones CD Creator program.

Originally posted by hacker:
Hi synet,

Is that "Createcd50" one of those programs like InCD that allow you to drag and drop files to a cd?

Those things can cause some "wacky" problems like you have described.

Just a shot in the dark.

I'm more interested in the following entries:

"CriticalUpdate"="C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\wucrtupd.exe -startup"

"NewsUpd"="C:\\Program Files\\Creative\\News\\NewsUpd.EXE /q"


"Disc Detector"="C:\\Program Files\\Creative\\ShareDLL\\CtNotify.exe"

"WinampAgent"="\"C:\\PROGRAM FILES\\WINAMP\\WINAMPa.exe\""




------------------
sea1_69@hotmail.com

homepage (http://www.seanweb1.homestead.com/3.html)

I think you are straining your resources.

Before we proceed furthur fo the following

Re-Boot your system

Rt-click on my computer

choose properties

Click on the performance tab

it will look like this:

Memory xxxx Mb

System Resources xx% free

What are you starting out with;

Once we know that, we start eliminating some of the programs that may be causing the problem. The Norton csiinject program with is an installation monitor can cause all kinds of problems.

Before we jump to conclusions, let's see if you resousrces are too low

384MB of ram and 81% free.

Originally posted by classicsoftware:
I think you are straining your resources.

Before we proceed furthur fo the following

Re-Boot your system

Rt-click on my computer

choose properties

Click on the performance tab

it will look like this:

Memory xxxx Mb

System Resources xx% free

What are you starting out with;

Once we know that, we start eliminating some of the programs that may be causing the problem. The Norton csiinject program with is an installation monitor can cause all kinds of problems.

Before we jump to conclusions, let's see if you resousrces are too low

What you can try is to type:

start->run->msconfig

Choose startup and uncheck programs one at a time
and see what happens.

Start with the one that were mentioned in the post 3-4 back & see what
happens.

Synet
re Sea's last post

Originally posted by sea69:
I'm more interested in the following entries:
"CriticalUpdate"="C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\wucrtupd.exe -startup"

"NewsUpd"="C:\\Program Files\\Creative\\News\\NewsUpd.EXE /q"

"Disc Detector"="C:\\Program Files\\Creative\\ShareDLL\\CtNotify.exe"

"WinampAgent"="\"C:\\PROGRAM FILES\\WINAMP\\WINAMPa.exe\""



Could one of these "Updates" be the cause of this? Automatically starting up whilst you are working and causing -IE \any browser - to freeze \ crash.

Also have you tried running "DrWatson"? built in with 98. Never used it but this takes a snapshot of your system when you start it up (DrWatson) and then another if \ when your comp goes on the blink. You can then see what is happening. I think you can keep taking snapshots as you work on. Someone else can say eaxactly. Might not help but but then again it might.


------------------
Ernie

In thinking back I also had this problem 3 times.

The first thing that that cured it was what I asked about the first time I posted. I deleted DirectCD and it stopped.

Later, it was the old Sprint internet call-waiting program trying to connect to it's home, after Sprint discontinued its service, and taking over my connection. I found this out by installing Zone Alarm and seeing all the atempts to connect.

The third, was my provider was having problems with their provider and when they changed their providers the problems stopped.

The things I would do, because it seems to be a software problem, is get a Firewall of somekind to see if something is trying to take over your connection.

Next, I couldn't tell, does your Lan connect via a dial-up or something else? In either case try a free dial-up service or Earthlink, and quit before you have to pay, and connect directly, not thru the Lan, and see if the problem continues.

You could try this with you present HD configuration and if the problem persists, with a fresh install.

Well, I'm out of ideas.

Once again, Good luck gth



------------------
I was called "hacker" before there was a HeathKit.

Synet,have you tried moving your computer to a different part of campus, just to see if there isn't some weird thing going on at your location? Geez, it seems you've tried just about everything else. I commend your diligence and patience, and I also am impressed by the attention and thought given to this problem by so many others. This site is a gem. Now if someone could just figure out the problems I've been having with my fax software. . ., ah, never mind. Good luck.

Marty

[This message has been edited by alex666 (edited 03-03-2002).]

Since you can ping but cannot use friendly names like www.yahoo.com, (http://www.yahoo.com,) this clearly points to a DNS problem. To confirm this, try building a static HOSTS file on your computer that contains the IP addresses and the friendly names of the most common places you go. This is just a workaround to isolate the problem to DNS.

To accomplish this, open the following file with Notepad on your system:

c:\windows\hosts (for windows 9x/Me)
c:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc\hosts (for windows NT/2K/XP)

Note: If you have don't have a hosts file, but you have a hosts.sam file, open the .sam file and then save it as just "hosts" with no extension.

You will place entries, one line each, at the top of the file as follows:

64.58.76.223 www.yahoo.com (http://www.yahoo.com)
207.68.173.254 www.msn.com (http://www.msn.com)

You only need to enter one such line to run the test. However, if we can't solve the problem right away, then you would want to put additional IP addresses and friendly names in the hosts file.

Save the file, making sure neither you nor the system adds a .TXT extension to the file.

With these entries in the hosts file, your computer will now resolve the IP address from the name you enter in your browser instead of DNS. If you find that you can then connect to the web site corresponding to the entry you made in the hosts file, your computer has a DNS problem. That narrows our search quite a bit and will provide us with useful information.

Let me know the results as soon as you can.

Regards ... Alan Harper

This is definitely an interesting thread. I think Hacker's point is very valid. If you don't have any firewall installed yet, try to put one on. I have similiar problems before and it normally happens after you were surfing online for quite a while.

Besides, are those errors come in surges? If yes, more than likely someone is trying to hack in.

Last sunday, my firewall blocked like 40 hacks in an hour

Hey folks....you're stirring the pot here...the residue from this problem settled to the bottom quite some time ago! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

------------------
May all your dealings in life be win/win!


Whyzman
----------------------
Reserved for Punishing Humor...A Pessimist's blood is always B-negative!