internet connection question

Question

Dimension 2200, Windows XP, four users for one home computer.   We just installed Verizon DSL and three of us can connect to the internet and one cannot (using her personal log-in page). Verizon tech support helped to the extent they could but, in the end, the problem remains: she still cannot connect using her 'log in' page. The computer, using her 'page,' communicates (we did the 'ping' thing using Google, which checked out) but, when directed to a website, says either that the address is invalid or that the site could not be found.   Has anyone else had this problem? If so, is there a solution that won't jeapordize all of the documents, photos, etc., on that user's personal page/settings?   A couple of suggestions were to uninstall/reinstall Internet Explorer or to download Mozilla Fire Fox.   If this has already been covered in other posts, I'll be happy to read them if someone can tell me how to search for that.   Thanks.

tgsmith · Answer

Damara,   Sorry, but I don't grasp the 'personal login page' emphasis.  Do you mean she can't connect to a specific web page, or she can't connect to any web page?   Tony

damara · Answer

Hi, Tony. Sorry for the lack of precision. In as few words as possible, no, she cannot connect to any web page.   There are four of us who use this computer (each with our 'personal preferences' that have to be loaded when we click our name). So I guess 'user' is probably the more appropriate term. Anyway, I have the full complement of Verizon desktop icons (support, search, and home; I suppose they are on my page since I'm the one who worked through the connection setup, etc.), while the other three users have none of them. Instead, they use--as I do--the desktop 'Internet Explorer' icon to connect to the web.  Except when my wife does that, the default page and any other websites she successively types in invariably leads to the message that the 'page cannot be displayed.'   I'm afraid I'm not a technophile, so my understanding of and ability to convey the problem and what we've done to this point may not be very helpful.   Thanks for your patience.

tgsmith · Answer

Damara,   OK. We're on the same wavelength now.  Have you run XP's Connection Wizard for your wife?  See this for a walkthrough:  http://www.rescom.psu.edu/pages/xp/icw/default.htm.  In Step 2, if any connections currently exist, remove them.   Even though you are on a DSL connection (most of which have a username and password), use the selection: 'Connect using a broadband connection that is always on'.   After you do this, attempt to connect again by clicking on Internet Explorer icon on desktop.  If no connection, then click on Start|Run.  Type cmd.  Press Enter.  In the command prompt window, type ping verizon.net.  If you have a connection, you should see something like this   Pinging verizon.net [206.46.230.37] with 32 bytes of data:   Reply from 206.46.230.37: bytes=32 time=47ms TTL=238 Reply from 206.46.230.37: bytes=32 time=44ms TTL=238 Reply from 206.46.230.37: bytes=32 time=44ms TTL=238 Reply from 206.46.230.37: bytes=32 time=43ms TTL=238   Ping statistics for 206.46.230.37:     Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss), Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:     Minimum = 43ms, Maximum = 47ms, Average = 44ms   Let us know what happens.  Your wife's user profile may have a 'browser hijacker'.   Tony

damara · Answer

Hi, Tony. Thank you for your suggestions.   1. I didn't find the 'New Connection Wizard' the way that the link indicated (rt. click on IE icon), but I found it. Mine was slightly different, but I'm confident I followed the same steps in the link that you mentioned. (No connections were listed in the box, 'Connect using broadband that is always on,' etc.) After doing that and clicking on the IE icon, it was the same result as before: 'cannot display the web page.'   2. I don't know if it matters, but the address on the top of that page always is for AT&T, which until we switched to Verizon provided our dial-up service. I've typed in other major websites, but the result never changes.   3. Using the 'ping' test, I got a response similar to what you put in your message; the only differences were in the numbers at the ends of each line.   We are using XP Home Edition, Version 2002.   If you have any other suggestions they are, of course, greatly appreciated.   FWIW, after logging on to my wife's account I managed to do something that resulted in an 'Internet Explorer Script error. I copied all of that information, in case it may be relevant.   Again, thanks.   Dan

tgsmith · Answer

Dan,   Ok, looks like something may be left over from AT&T.  Click on Start|Control Panel|Add/Remove Programs.  Look down the list for anything related to AT&T or Bellsouth or whichever Baby Bell you were using.  Most of the phone companies have a connection manager program.  Remove that program if found.   If you find nothing, then go here:  http://www.majorgeeks.com/WinSock_XP_Fix_d4372.html.   Download WinsockXPFix.  Run it to reset your Internet Explorer settings to their default.   As for the Internet Explorer home page, you can change that by opening Internet Explorer.  Click on Tools|Internet Options.  On the General page, you can type in the address of whatever web site you want for a home page and apply the change.  Selecting Default and applying the change sets the home page to www.msn.com.   Let us know if you get connected.   Tony

damara · Answer

Hi, Tony.   I deleted the ATT program from the computer (using add/remove program). After doing that I noticed that the 'shortcut' icon remained on the desktop, so I deleted that, too. Unless there are more files hidden somewhere, they should be gone.   When I tried to connect to the internet using IE on my wife's account, however, nothing changed. In fact, 'att' was still the default choice.   I downloaded Winsock XPFix. At one point I got the dialogue box 'Local area connection status.' The message was 'Limited or no connectivity. You might not be able to access the internet or some network resources. This problem occurred because the network did not assign a network address to the computer.' Then it listed:   IP address 0.0.0.0 Subnet Mash (sorry, can't read my writing) 0.0.0.0 The remaining items: Default gateway, DNS Server, WINS server had nothing after them.   After rebooting, the problem remained, again defaulting to the att website.   Again, I appreciate your suggestions. If you have any others, I hope you can pass them along.   Thanks.   Dan

damara · Answer

Tony--a little additional information.   Comparing the contents of the Internet Explorer desktop icons (my wife's page and mine), I noticed a number of differences when I right-clicked on 'Properties.'. First of all, hers dates back to 2002, while mine was created last Monday when we downloaded the DSL software from Verizon. The 'Target' information is somewhat different. Also, her 'Start in' information is %HOME DRIVE%%HOME PATH%, while my box is empty. The size of hers is 803 bytes, while mine is just 104. Also, under properties she has a 'Compatibility' tab, while I don't.   Does any of that matter? Could that be the source of the problem?   Dan

tgsmith · Answer

Dan,

The properties of your wife's Internet Explorer shortcut are standard. Same as mine. Did you change the Start Page as I suggested in my last post? Open Internet Explorer. Click on Tools|Internet Options. Click on Use Default button beside Home Page. Click Apply.

The WinsockXPFix should have eliminated any changes made by a browser hijacker, but it's still possible your wife's user profile has a bug. Click on Start|Run. Type cmd. Press Enter.

At the command prompt, type ipconfig /release. Press Enter. Note any messages.

At the command prompt, type ipconfig /renew. Press Enter. Note any messages.

Close the command prompt window.

Try to connect again. If unsuccessful, do the following: Log off your wife's account. Login with your account. Click Start|Control Panel|Network Connections. Right click on your LAN connection. Left click on Properties. Scroll down and highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Click on Properties. Write down the values in the IP address, subnet mask, gateway, Primary DNS, and Secondary DNS. If blank let us know. If not, then log off your account. Login to your wife's account. Click Start|Control Panel|Network Connections. Right click on the LAN connection. Scroll down and highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Click Properties. Enter those same values in the IP address, Subnet Mask, Gateway, Primary DNS, and Secondary DNS. Apply the change. Click OK. You should now be able to connect to the Internet.

Tony

Message Edited by tgsmith on 08-15-2007 11:32 PM

damara · Answer

Hi, Tony.

Changing the Start Page: I hadn't realized I was letting Norton block me from doing that. IT is now set to the default.

ipconfig/release messages:

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection

Connection-specific DNS Suffix:

IP Address: 0.0.0.0

Subnet Mask: 0.0.0.0

Default Gateway:

C\Documents and Settings \ Deborah . . .

On the bottom right corner of the screen there was a message box: "This connection has limited or no connectivity. You might not be able to access the Internet or some network resources." It led me to another box that asked if I wanted to "Repair Local Area Connection," so I clicked on repair.

At Start/Control Panel/Network Connections I didn't find "LAN," but did see Local Area Connection. All of the boxes were blank. So were my wife's. Her Control Panel's appearance is different from mine, but I'm sure that doesn't matter.

Again, I appreciate your help, and patience, with this.

Dan

tgsmith · Answer

Dan

Would you by chance be using Norton Internet Security? If so, Norton's built in Firewall may be stopping Internet Access. Someone could have answered a question about "Allow/Block" a particular program's (iexplore.exe) access to the Internet. If you are running Norton Internet Security you can check the blocked programs list and unblock any program that may need Internet access.

I would probably unblock all and "retrain" the firewall.

Little late in the discussion to ask, but after you set up Verizon DSL for your user did you have to setup the other users with something like "Connect using a broadband connection that requires a user name and password" or did the others just connect to the Internet automatically when they clicked on Internet Explorer without having to install any software or set up anything for them?

Tony

Message Edited by tgsmith on 08-16-2007 10:31 AM

damara · Answer

Tony,   We use Norton Internet Security. I checked on my wife's screen and, looking under 'Norton Antispam,' nothing was listed as blocked. Also, the setting was to allow, rather than block, internet 'traffic.' If there is somewhere else on the program I should look, I'll be happy to do so. After sending this message, I'll rummage around in there a little more, in case I missed something obvious.   When I installed DSL, I created a user name and password during the installation, but it was just for me. I didn't do it for the others. As you mentioned, the others connect to the internet automatically when they click on IE; nothing was set up by me for them.   Sorry not to have anything more positive to report, but I really appreciate your staying with this.   Dan

damara · Answer

Tony,   When I switched from my account to my wife's, I got the following box & information:   Internet Explorer Script Error Line: 12 Char: 1 Error: Automation server can't create object Code: 0 URL file:///C:/Program%20Files/Verizon/OCB/b0135696-3cea-49b0-8aa5-8797a650c454/start.htm?VendorID=Verizon,isHidden=true.CommectivityRequired=true.flo   Do you want to continue?   I don't know if that has any clues as to what is going on. This happened one time yesterday, too, but I couldn't remember what I had done to get that message so didn't mention it.   Dan

tgsmith · Answer

Dan,   Something is amiss in your wife's user profile.  Let's do this:   Log into your user account.  Click Start|Control Panel|User Accounts.  Under Pick a Task, click Create a New Account.  Type a name (Wife) for the user information, then click Next.  Click an Account Type (Computer Administrator), then click Create Account.   Now, log off of your account.  Login to the Wife account.  Attempt to connect to the Internet.  If you can connect to the Internet, then log off the Wife account.  Login to your account.  Go here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811151   Follow the instructions to copy your wife's user profile (Deborah) to the new user profile (Wife).  Log off of your account.  Login to the new user (Wife) account.  See if you can still connect to the Internet.   Don't worry about the name for the time being.  That can be fixed later.   Let us know how you fare.   Tony

damara · Answer

Thanks, Tony.   Part I worked: the new account connects just fine to the internet.   Transferring the files: I went to the website and took a look and went through a number of the steps recommended. A few questions: 1. Do I need to select each individual folder or file ('Recipes') and document ('Christmas Letter, 2006') or can they be transferred as a group ('My Documents,' for example)? 2. What about the things she didn't author but that are under her name: NetHood, PrintHood, etc.: do all of those get copied, too? Everything under her name on the 'C' drive? 3. Finally, I didn't open all of the folders and subfolders, but after looking at a few of them I didn't see the 'forbidden to copy' trio mentioned in the Microsoft Support document: 'Ntuser.dat,' 'Ntuser.dat.log,' and 'Ntuser.ini.' Do you know where they are located?   Again, thanks.   Dan

damara · Answer

Thanks, Tony.   Part I worked: the new account

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