Chrome and Firefox Not Working

[coronagigantes]

People,

Can anyone help me out here please? I have been banging my head for ages and searching and getting no where. I did a few updates to Vista Home Premium a couple of days ago which also upgraded to IE9. At that point IE9 stopped working, I could open it but it just kept saying "cannot display page". Now, my Internet connection was working fine, I could do other stuff such as Yahoo, MSN etc.. Even tried Chrome and Firefox they did the same thing.

In the end I got so frustrated that I did a system restore back to a point when I remembered IE8. I put it back and IE8 now browses fine (so I will not be updating anything else at this time). But I'm still stuck on why Chrome and Firefox cannot browse any pages? Just get the message "can't connect...". They are already in the exception firewall. I even turned the firewall completely off and they still don't work. I don't have any third party virus software etc.. i.e. Norton, McAfee etc.. I only have Win Defender and Win Sec Essentials.

Can anyone help with any suggestions on what else I can do. I don't think I have anymore restore points and I don't fancy re-installing Vista from scratch which seems ridiculous if I have to. Just don't understand I have a Laptop with XP and everything works perfectly!!!!

 

[linney]

System Restore will have created an "Undo" restore point if you want to return to the present.

Try testing your current browsers from within Safe Mode with Networking.

Advanced startup options (including safe mode)

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Advanced-startup-options-including-safe-mode

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/929135

If you get them working via the above, you might want to undo the System Restore and test.

Have you also tested with another user in case your current one has become corrupted.

As you have restored files it may be worth while running these two programs to check for malware.

I see lots of recommendations here for programs like -

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free

SuperAntispyware

http://superantispyware.com/

 

[BadBigBen]

after doing a scan, with the software that Linney suggested (last two links), and removing everything they find, install CCleaner...

1. then uninstall both Chrome and FF.
2. run CCleaner have it remove any unwanted log and tmp files.
3. then do a registry scan with CCleaner, clean out any issues, repeat several times until it shows no more issues with the registry...
4. reboot
5. install Chrome or FF, but not both, and test...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[coronagigantes]

Thanks guys. I tried all and the CCleaner and reinstalls etc.. but when I go into Normal Mode I still get the same problem with Firefox and Chrome (can't open any pages).

If I goto "Safe Mode - Networking Only" they both work fine along with IE8. Is there any simple way to fix this rather than going through the Safe Mode and looking for all the points etc...

Thanks in advance.

 

[aich69]

If there were a 'simple' way to fix it you probably wouldn't be posting here

If they work in Safe Mode w Networking but not in Normal Mode then they are being blocked by a program...

I would look to stopping Win Defender from starting up with Windows- Start > Run > msconfig > OK -and take it out of the startup list; or at least check the settings of Win Defender...not used it in ages but I know it can block programs from running etc. Boot again once this is done and test.

Do the same with Win Sec Essentials too if you can (not tried it). Maybe an update to this app at the time of updates to Vista has created an issue.

It might not be a bad idea to turn off the Windows Firewall too but don't do this and the above two together, take it one step at a time.

I suspect one of these apps is blocking the traffic to the web.



I used to have a handle on life... but it broke. Cpt. Red Bull

 

[linney]

When you install Microsoft Security Essentials it will disable automatically Windows Defender to prevent doubling up on processes and to prevent corruption. Some other Anti Virus software do the same concerning Windows Defender.

As well as using the Clean Boot procedure to eliminate your problem, have a look at the Add-ons and Plugins that run in the various browsers.

How to use Reset Internet Explorer Settings (RIES)

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923737#appliesto

Internet Explorer stops responding, stops working, or restarts [Guided help]:

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/pc_ie_intro:

Tips for solving problems with Internet Explorer

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/8038f9ac-9bf9-4809-8d75-fc42818d8af71033.mspx

 

[BadBigBen]

see the following link:

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Error_loading_any_website

skip down to the Only Mozilla applications are having problems section and see which might apply...



Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[flyboytim]

You could try resetting the TCP/IP stack (1)and the Winsock catalog (2)to default values if they have become corrupted:

(1)
At the command prompt, copy and paste (or type) the following command and then press ENTER:
netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt
Note If you do not want to specify a directory path for the log file, use the following command:
netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/299357

(2)
To reset Winsock for Windows Vista, follow these steps:
Click start, type cmd in the Start Search box, right-click cmd.exe, click Run as administrator, and then press Continue.
Type netsh winsock reset at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811259

After following these steps a reboot is required.
This may affect antivirus, firewall and proxy clients, and they may need to be reinstalled.

http://www.fxxxingcomputers.co.uk