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good day all,
i have been experiencing a weird behavior for quite sometime now, i am unable to visit some websites(mainly microsoft.com) on my OS(Windows XP Professional SP2).
however, i have no problem visiting other websites.
it keeps telling me website cannot be found, at first i thought it has to do with my web browser(FF3), but then i realized its the same result with other browsers(Opera, IE7, Safari, even Chrome).
what do u think can be responsible for this?
Sounds like it might be your ISP have you contacted them?
no, but what possible reason would they have to deny access to microsoft.com?
Nameserver issues?
Try Pinging the domains you are having problems with see if you can get a reply
you are absolutely right, i can't even ping the domain microsoft.com.
it returned with "Ping request could not find host www.microsoft.com. Please check the name and try again."
how annoying...
but can you be more clear on the Nameserver issues stuff you mentioned earlier?
Hey,
Your nameserver (or DNS) is the place that your computer will look to when you type in www.microsoft.com to resolve that domain's IP address so that it will be able to find it. The fact that you can't ping microsoft.com means that your computer can't resolve the IP Address from the domain name via the nameserver.
You normally get the nameserver from your IP, but there is nothing stopping you overriding the default nameserver with another one.
Gary
thanks for the responses, i just discovered something else - i am the only person on the network who cannot go to microsoft.com.
all other computers could visit microsoft.com, my OS is Win XP Pro(while others are Windows Vista).
could this have anything to do with my OS?
Have you reported this to your inhouse admins? Your PC may need to be restaged.
What DNS servers are reported if you open the command prompt and enter "ipconfig /all"?
Do you have the possibility to check what DNS servers are reported on the computers, in the same network, that has no problems?
To follow up on what Atheist has suggested, can you check whether the DNS Server is automatically assigned, or whether they are manaully assigned.
You can check this by going to control panel, network connections. Then right click on your LAN connections and go to properties, scroll down until you find TCP/IP select it, and hit properties.
Gary
@gep13
thanks, the DNS is automatically assigned(if this helps, am connecting using a wireless network).
i don't understand what you mean.Quote:
Originally Posted by Atheist
Atheist means go onto another computer that is working, open up a command prompt and type:
Then read the DNS settings. Compare that to what you are getting on your machine. Are they the same?Code:ipconfig /all
Gary
yes, they are the same(i just checked).
Hey,
Are the machines that work also connected via a wireless connection, or hard wired?
Gary
@gep13
thanks for the quick reply - some of them are wired, while others are wireless.
Okay, out of interest, can you hit this:
http://207.46.232.182
This is the IP address for microsoft.com.
Gary
By any chance, are you using a firewall and is it misconfigured to block some legitimates sites? I had this issue once and I found that there was an entry in the firewall's blocked list corresponding to wikipedia.com which was being blocked by my firewall.Quote:
Originally Posted by modpluz
Try disabling your firewall and then visiting that site?
the ip above seems to be going at first, but as soon as it resolves to microsoft.com - it stops going.Quote:
Originally Posted by gep13
thanks, but it's still not going - even with my firewall disabled(i am using ESET Smart Security).Quote:
Originally Posted by Pradeep1210
Hey,
The only other thing I can think of is that microsoft.com has made it onto your restricted sites in Internet Explorer (or the equivalent in other browsers).
Is it possible for you to check this?
Gary
how do i check for this?Quote:
Originally Posted by gep13
Are you using Internet Explorer?
If so, go to Tools, Internet Options. Then go to security, click on restricted sites, and then hit sites. Are there any entries in there?
Gary
thanks for the reply, i am using FF3, but i did check with IE7 - it does not have microsoft.com in the list.
i did check with FireFox also, i could not find any listed site.
I am stumped then, I can't think of anything else that could be causing this problem, unless perhaps a virus on the machine is stopping it from accessing the site.
Is it possible that you can run a full virus and spyware scan on your machine?
Gary
yes, 'll do that - thanks all for the time.
Since the problem is happening with all browsers on your machine, something they use in common is wrong.
Probably your hosts file might be screwed up.
Goto folder C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc and look for a file named "hosts". First backup this file to some safe location, less we run into more problems.
Then open this file in notepad.
Remove anything that is there in that file except this line, (or comment them out by putting a # before them):
Then save the file and try opening that site in the browser again.Code:127.0.0.1 localhost
@ modpluz
What programs/plug-ins have you got installed on your computer?
Try a system restore and go back to a date when you know the computer was operating normally and see what programs/plug-ins you had installed.
i did check this file, and as it appears, this is the only thing i have there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pradeep1210
this is not funny any longer.....this issue has been stopping me from doing some downloads from M$.Code:127.0.0.1 localhost
pls help...
i have series of apps installed and it's hard to say which is responsible or to know the date when this problem started(i just discovered this some few days ago)...Quote:
Originally Posted by Nightwalker83
and i did the virus scan like gep13 suggested, but it still would not solve my problem.
Hey,
Okay, the only thing left that I can think of to try would be to start up your computer in "Safe Mode with Networking", you should be able to do this by hitting F8 during your computer boot sequence.
Once loaded into safe mode, try hitting microsoft.com. If that works, then that means it is definitely a piece of software on your computer that is stopping access to that address. If this is the case, then start using msconfig to do a restrictive start up of applications and services, and this should point out the culprit.
If on the other hand, you still can't hit microsoft.com, this means that it is definitely something on your network that is stopping you from having access, and you will need to speak to your IT department.
Gary
i tried to start windows in "Safe Mode With Networking" and it keeps returning the "The Blue Screen of Death", then it restarts the system.
am going nuts here....arrrrrrrrrrgh
Hmmm, that is very strange, that certainly shouldn't be happening!
When was your computer last rebuilt?
what do you mean? i do i find this out?Quote:
Originally Posted by gep13
and also, where are temporary files downloaded on the system?
i am trying to download Visual Web Developer Express edition, and since it won't download from my computer, i am using a colleague's system to download and am wondering - if i know where this file are downloaded temporary, then i can copy and install them manually.
Thank You
and oh...my colleague's OS is Vista
Hey,
What I mean is, when was the last time the OS of the computer was re-installed? Over a period of time a computer's performance was get worse, and odd things might start happening, so I will decide that it is time to re-build, and I will do a fresh install of the OS. Do you know whether this has been done recently on your machine? It is not a small undertaking though, and one which you will have to think about a lot, but it might be an option, rather than spending any more time trying to resolve the issue that you are having. Just a suggestion.
As for the download location, did it not prompt you for a place to download to? I would think that it should have?!? If not, have a look in the "Download" folder in your colleagues "Document" folder.
Gary
Hey,
I have just done a quick google, and it doesn't look like you are the only person with this problem:
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r221...com-or-msdncom
Having read that thread, it definitely looks like it is a virus/spyware problem.
What anti-virus package are you using? Do you have any spyware programs, if so, what are they?
Gary
the only time i can think of the re-build was when i bought the machine(it came with Vista-then i drove it back to XP.that was 4 months ago - and it wasn't easy doing it as there are driver issues and so on).
as for the download, i had downloaded the installation file "vwdsetup.exe", it is this installation file that is doing the rest of the download itself, so i need to know where this "vwdsetup.exe" is downloading those files temporarily(so i can copy them).
In WinXP there is a folder called "Temporary Internet Folder" located in the Windows directory. I'm not sure where the Vista equivalent is located.Quote:
Originally Posted by modpluz
On some systems (XP, 2000, Vista?) it allows the user to save to the location you had previously saved to. It saves the files in the location automatically.Quote:
Originally Posted by gep13
i am using ESET Smart Security v4x and also the url above dslreports did not open either.Quote:
Originally Posted by gep13
Hey,
I am not familiar with that application, I personally use a combination of the following applications:
AVG Anti-Virus
Spyware Blaster
SpyBot Search and Destroy
MalwareBytes
ZoneAlarm
This may seem a bit like overkill, but in my experience, one package doesn't protect you from all the threats. I would recommend trying some of the above packages to see if there is a problem on your system.
As for where the setup is downloading the rest of the setup to, it's hard to say. Try searching the hard drive for files over a certain size, as it is likely that it will turn up in that list.
Gary
hey,
ok, i just download and installed ESET NOD32 Antivirus v4x and i am currently doing a system scan.
Guess what? i tried to visit M$ again, it went through like magic!
i am more than happy guys, thanks a trillion.
Hey,
Glad to hear that you got it working, looks like it was some spyware causing you problems.
:)
Remember to mark you thread as resolved.
Gary
yeah i just did...once again, thanks all.Quote:
Originally Posted by gep13
That's Great! :thumb:Quote:
Originally Posted by modpluz
Did NOD32 find any virus or anything? I'm curious to know the name of that virus :D
yes, it did found some viruses(including the Conficker.Worm).
i have read couple of articles on Conficker and to my knowledge, what it does exactly has not been known yet(maybe this is one of its mission).
keep in mind though, that i might be wrong here.
Hey,
Since it is the Conficker.Worm that was found, you are going to want to make sure that you have the most recent Windows Updates applied to your machine. Microsoft released a knowledge base article which resolves the vulnerability that Conficker.Worm exposes. As a rule of thumb, you want to try and keep your Windows Patches as up to date as possible.
Gary
hi gep13,
thanks 4 the tip, i have just installed IE8 - but it wouldn't connect to any website(M$ or not).
and when i visit the Windows Update site from FF3, there's a message that says i should visit the website with IE5 or higher.
what do you think could be the problem?
Hey,
It sounds to me like your system still has symptoms of being infected with some sort of virus/spyware. I would make sure that the definitions of your security packages are up to date, and that you run another scan. If that still isn't working, then I would suggest trying additional packages, such as the ones I posted earlier, in particular, spybot search and destroy.
With regard to not being able to visit Microsoft Update with FF3, that is normal, as it states, it only works with IE5 and upwards.
Gary
i just confirmed it, its Conficker(i disabled my Anti Virus because of the issue i was having in this thread - some of the suggestions were that i should disable any antivirus before installation).
then i tried to visit M$ for windows update, it refuses to go(so i know just what the problem is here).
and oh...i already now have Malwarebytes' Anti Malware and am going to check out Spybot search and destroy right away.