IE can't connect to http sites, but Firefox can. 1

[cm82]

Hi,

Since last night i've had problems with Internet Explorer 6. I'm running XP Home Edition SP2.

When i try to connect to any http site i get no response whatsoever,(no error messages, no "the page cannot be found screen", nothing!) It's as if it didn't get any instruction to do anything. The result is the same if i use a hyperlink from an e-mail, a link from my favourites, or if i type the address manually. I can't connect to my router using IE either. I can however connect to https sites. E-mail works fine through Outlook, and i can connect to msn messenger.

I can also connect to any site i want if i use Firefox (which i installed to see if this was a problem solely for IE - i was only able to get to the firefox download site using my a laptop and transferring the file over my home network)

I thought this may be a problem with Symantec Client Security, so i uninstalled it, and this had no effect. I re-installed it shortly afterwards.

I'm certain my IE settings are fine, i'm not trying to use a proxy or anything.

I've repaired the IE installation but this was to no avail.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Apologies for the scattered post, but i'm at work and don't have much time.

Thanks.

 

[BabyJeffy]

Scan for any kind of spy ware that may have insinuated itself into IE... that's the most common cause of problems in my experience. There are plenty of recent posts on this subject that ought to provide specific links etc.

Jeff

[tt]Jeff's Page [/tt][tt]@[/tt][tt] Code Couch

http://www.codecouch.com/jeff/

[/tt]

 

[cm82]

Thanks for the suggestion.

I've already scanned with Ad-aware, clean bill of health, but i'll give Spybot Search & Destroy a go when i get home.

I'm not convinced that spyware/malware is the problem though, i'm very careful and check regularly for those types of problems. I've seen the mess they can make of systems, some of my friends aren't very clued up when it comes to that type of thing!

 

[cm82]

I'm at home on Firefox just now.

I ran Spybot and it found no problems. I'm sort of at a loose end. I will probably re-install windows, which i've done plenty of times before for myself and others, i'm slightly hesitant this time though, as it will be my first time installing on to a SATA drive, so i need to make sure i get the right drivers onto a floppy disk before i go ahead.

Any more suggestions will me more than welcome.

 

[cm82]

Problem solved - after trying various combinations using the Manage Add-ons feature in IE, i thought about anything i had installed recently that interacts frequently with IE.

I uninstalled Fresh Download, a free download manager that i was trying out for a few days, and voila, everything is as it should be.

Thanks to Jeff for his prompt reply earlier.