PC connects to internet, but no data transfer

[flenn]

I'm trying to help out a neighbor. They have a single PC using Win98 with dialup internet access. The PC connects with the ISP fine (dialup networking icon in tray), but no pages load in IE. It's not just an IE problem because Norton Live Update can't see a connection either. The Norton firewall is disabled. I tried connecting to a different ISP but same problem. Removing/reinstalling TCP/IP doesn't cure it. This is weird, but I'm pretty sure I've seen this before, just can't think of the solution. Anyone have any suggestions? Worse case, we'll wipe the disk clean and reinstall, but I want to try to avoid that.

 

[Pqee]

Try reinstalling the modem. I've seen this before and reinstalling sometimes helps. I can't explain why but it does.

 

[Doh!]

Can you ping out? If so, we can eliminate the hardware and narrow the problem down to internet connection settings in win98.

 

[JustinLerner]

Can you ping anything when connected to the internet, like Yahoo.com or your ISP? Can you ping a IP address as opposed to a name (like Yahoo.com). Ping the following IP address if you don't know any: 216.115.109.6 (This is also the IP address Yahoo.com responds with.)

If a NIC is installed in the PC and TCP/IP is installed as a protocol, you should be able to ping 127.0.0.1 which is the local loop address and get a response. If no NIC is installed, then you need to connect to the Internet when pinging the 127.0.0.1.

When connected to the Internet, type ipconfig /all. You should see two DNS server addresses and a gateway address. If you don't, the WAN connection (dial-up or DSL or cable modem) isn't registering correctly when connecting to the ISP.
My thoughts on your problem: probably just the wrong DNS addresses. Contact your ISP, get the right DNS server addresses. These can make a big difference, since if these are incorrect, your neighbor probably can't get to most domain names -- website names. You should still be able to connect via IP address, but who remembers IP address numbers as opposed to domain names?

With Windows 2000/XP it's possible to eliminate the static DNS server addresses by enabling 'obtain an IP address automatically' and make sure that no DNS address is entered into the DNS server box. Windows 98/ME should also do this, but there seem to be more inconsistencies and problem doing so in Windows 9x. (For example, if you change an IP address, Windows 9x wants to reboot, and after it reboots, then you have to check the address again.)
Windows 2000/XP will automatically negotiate with the ISP for this and set it correctly if the ISP enables these features. Then your neighbor will probably never have to manually update the DNS server addresses again if this works.

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Don't reinstall, isolate the problem. Then find and implement the correct solution. I can't figure out why so many people consider reinstalling a solution instead of fixing the problem.

 

[dexmanone]

I'm havng the same prob here My Problem . I'm using DSL. Same thing, get the icons in the tray. Originally had DNS given by provider and I was able to ping a couple places but not all. Then changed setting in add/remove programs/communications. After that it was fine for the most part. I just don't remember which one I changed.

At this point I can "connect" but can't ping out. Will try suggestion here also but more help is needed too. Any other ideas? I'm using Win98SE and I've got more reboots than anything!

 

[flenn]

OK guys, I appreciate your help. I'm not going to be able to try anything tonight, my neighbor's not around. Supposedly the PC worked fine up until a NIC was installed and a home network was setup. I did this for them about 5 months ago. They have 3 machines and a laptop on the network. They don't have any need for broadband and only occasionally will go online. That's why I just found out about the problem now. One more thing, Norton Firewall was also installed at the same time. Don't ask me why, without broadband and such little internet activity I don't think they have anything to worry about, but it was already installed when I went over to do the network. I have this weird feeling that, even though it's disabled, the firewall may be causing these problems. I'm going to uninstall it just to be sure. Although with Norton, even an uninstall doesn't mean too much.

One quick thought about the DNS server, Norton System Works uses Live Update to search for program and virus definition updates. I would imagine that the program searches using Symantec's IP addresses, right? If Live Update couldn't see the connection, wouldn't that rule out a DNS server problem?

Here's my plan when I go back over:

1. Check for line noise
2. Try pinging - if works, follow up on DNS settings.
3. Uninstall Norton Firewall
4. Reinstall modem drivers
5. Reinstall DUN

I'll keep you guys posted.

 

[dexmanone]

This was my plan: Get help so I don't have to do drastic things.

What did I do: REFORMAT!

But yes, it worked!

 

[Doh!]

Also run "winipcfg" at command prompt and see if you're actually "connected" to the ISP.

 

[flenn]

OK, here's the update. My conclusion is that Win98 is hosed. I can ping out fine, but website addresses don't work. Classic DNS issue, but the ISP and I tried everything and cannot get Win98 to resolve addresses. The tech said that he has seen this before and the only solution was to reinstall Win98.

Just to recap:
I removed firewall
unistalled/reinstalled TCP/IP
reinstalled wsock.dll

The fact that the machine can ping IP addresses says that everything is OK with the modem and TCP/IP. We tried setting DNS to "server assigned" and also to the actual IP addresses of the ISP's DNS servers. When we try to ping website addresses in a Dos box, it just doesn't work. At this point, my neighbors will start using another machine for internet access and when the time is right, I'll do a reinstall or upgrade for them. Thanks for everyone's help.