WinMe gets on the Net but browsers don't work. Help!

[WoundedWallet]

I installed WinMe on a friends computer and I think I might have done something(and forgot) that prevents him from surfing with his browser.

As it is he can go on the net and we are able to use NetMeeting. But when he uses his browser it's like he is not connected.

His DNS servers are set automatically by his ISP, so that is not the problem.

Every once in a while IE gives me this crap saying that it is offline and whether I want ot be online. I never figured out why that happens as I'm always online(DSL).
Is there any setting that makes the browsers be offline? Maybe I set him up this way and I don't remember.

Anybody has a clue on what I could have done that is preventing him from browsing the net? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

WW

 

[bigfootmd]

Hi,
I had the same problem. See my postings from the past two days.
What happens sometimes when you Upgrade from 98 to ME is that the Win 98 versions of Dialup networking and winsock get imported into ME. Also, check support.microsoft.com (no www).

You did nothing wrong. The fault lies with Microsoft. If the fix is not on the Microsoft site, have your friend call them. When I called and described what was happening the TECH had the solution at his fingertips.

 

[WoundedWallet]

Thanks bigfoot,

I saw the 5 files on your post. We searched the CD and found all but one of the files, ws_32.dll. Instead we found ws2_32.dll

Could that be a typo on your part?
If not could you tell me where you found that file or would you be willing to email that file to me?

Thanks again,
WW

 

[bigfootmd]

FILES are
winsock.dll
ws2_32.dll
wsock.vxd
wsock2.vxd
wsock32.dll

Sorry for the typo. The key important thing is to restore all 5 files to C:\TEMP
Then BOOT with a boot disk to the A: prompt rename all current files on C:\windows and C:\windows\system with different extentions. Then copy the restored files from C:\temp in the following locations. YOU MUST DO THE COPY from a system booted with a bootdisk or START UP disk.

winsock.dll is in c:\windows and c:\windows\system
ws2_32.dll is in c:\windows\system
wsock.vxd is in c:\windows\system
wsock2.vxd is in c:\windows\system
wsock32.dll is in c:\windows\system.

Once you have renamed and replaced the files take the boot disk out and restart.

Then load Dialup networking and NETWORK TCP/IP and your modem.

This should put you back in business.

 

[urbantechie]

Also have you made sure TCP/IP is binded to dial-up adapter?

 

[reitz]

Am I the only one who is shocked by the frequency of this problem?

 

[bigfootmd]

Let us be even more shocked that THERE IS NO INFO about this problem on the http://support.microsoft.com site! Had it been there in the first place none of us (including myself) would be having problems. As for myself, I won't mind the LD charges to WA. As a Senior Support tech in the Treas. Department (US) I rarely call tech support for anything.

 

[WoundedWallet]

...well... it hasn't worked yet...

But I didn't follow bigfoot's suggestion to the t either, so hope is not gone yet. All I managed to do is to replace the files. Later on we reinstalled dial-up, but that didn't do it. BTW he told me that dial-up showed zero kilobytes under the windows setup screen. That's a good sign of a fück up.

Since my friend lives a few hundred miles away, our communication is over the phone and over netmeeting. But when you have to delete dial-up and work in DOS the phone becomes the only contact.

And spelling out DOS commands over the phone gets old real fast. As you could imagine my friend is a good guy but not a computer type.

So in a couple days I'll try again with him. I'll try to find out which files the upgrade checks and delete everything else and do a "fresh" install. That may be the best way at this point as I have wasted way too much time on this stupid program.

No wonder a top MS guy called ME a toy OS. I don't remember seeing this kinda shit since the W95 upgrade CD. I'm glad I managed to get everything working on my W2k. Screw ME! Oh wait.. they already did

 

[bigfootmd]

Then have your friend call MICROSOFT.
They will walk him through the repair as they did for me. Good luck

 

[snow patrol]

Damn, I was thinking about upgrading to ME, but I'm gonna forget that now - going by all the negative posts about it here . I think I'll just upgrade to WIN 98 SE instead (need ICS)