Severely Stumped with Browser Connectivity

[SPOOLIN]

My wifes dads computer is not very old, barely a year old, has vista x64 on it.

Lately for some weird reason, the only browser that will connect is SAFARI of all browsers. Firefox, chrome, IE 7, and IE 8 will NOT BROWSE AT ALL, just act like there is no connection. Im a Network infrastructure person at my job so i deal with computers all day and i have already cleared it of any malware or stupid shit that might have caused the issue, checked all of the running processes and there is nothing out of the ordinary. I rolled the PC back to an earlier date and all was good, as soon as i did windows updates, the problem came back so im pretty sure its an update, but i removed them one by one from that update and it never fixed it but when i roll it back, its fine. Im doing the SP 2 update right now, we'll see what happens.

WHAT THE FUCK???

[guinness]

have you gotten the windows update for vista,outside of the SP updates?

[SPOOLIN]

not yet i just did sp2, still not working., im on the safari right now.

[SPOOLIN]

i did the latest updates, still, just safari will work lol


wth?

[guinness]

are you using 32-bit browsers only or do you have the ability to use the 64-bit as well?

[guinness]

also,you do have internet,but it's just letting you use the other browsers.it would sound to me like you need to reinstall them again.i would try that and see if that may fix the problem.

[SPOOLIN]

i installed firefox, and chrome and ie8 after i started having the problems, its not a software problem. all 3 browsers wouldn't stop working at the same time due to their respective installs. Like i said, If i roll back to like oct 4th...all of them work, but as soon as i do windows updates...it all stops working...EXCEPT SAFARI for whatever reason.

[DaSmittyman]

it is possible that if her dad is not technical literate, that he could of messed up a network file. If that is the case, try safe mode with networking and see if that works. If not then try to system restore to last known configuration. If not, then i hate to say but the networking files are fudged and probably a full reinstall will be the only fix.

[guinness]

look back at your system on the date that it allows you to use those browsers and see what it is that is being changed from that date to after the updates.i hate to say it,but this will require you to go through every file and see what is there before the update and then see what has been added and/or removed after the update is complete.like was said above,if it is the networking files,then there really only is one option left to do.i would use my suggestion,as long and tedious as it may be,before you decide to go ahead and do a full reinstall and lose what you already have on that machine.

[guinness]

meaning the network,driver,system,windows,etc.folders.i didn't mean for you to go into every single folder.also,it would help your search if you knew what folders are being added to/altered with the updates.that can really cut your work load and time down.

[SPOOLIN]

it is possible that if her dad is not technical literate, that he could of messed up a network file. If that is the case, try safe mode with networking and see if that works. If not then try to system restore to last known configuration. If not, then i hate to say but the networking files are fudged and probably a full reinstall will be the only fix.

well its not anything he did because i can roll it back to october 4th and everything will work, all browsers and then if i windows updates after i roll it back everything goes back to not working except safari. Then i can roll it back and the problem starts all over again...and when i pick out the updates that were installed and remove them...it still persists until i roll it back. LOL im about to roll it back and turn any kind of windows update OFF. Might just have to reformat it, all its used for is browsing ebay and craigslist lol.

[sikfricks]

my grandads comp is doing the same thing with xp i cant figure it out for nothing

[Verik]

I despise windows "network setup".... was always an epic fail imo with way too many weird quirks.

are you using 32-bit browsers only or do you have the ability to use the 64-bit as well?

32 bit browsers work fine on x64 pro (firefox doesn't even offer 64 bit last i checked [ver 3.0 then i switched to chrome]). Actually, some webpages don't even support 64 bit browsers (iirc java based like pandora) so his best chance of success lie in the 32bit browers.

[87 Turbo II]

if its just used for ebay and Craigslsit, then why does anyone care that it only work w/ Safari? It could be worse, it could only work with IE, and that would be awful.

[guinness]

if its just used for ebay and Craigslsit, then why does anyone care that it only work w/ Safari? It could be worse, it could only work with IE, and that would be awful.

lmfao

[SPOOLIN]

because he wants his computer to work properly and he wants to use IE like he always does. Its really annoying and it still isn't working, im about to just blow it all away and start over.

Apple for the fucking Win.

[civicturbo10]

if you can't figure it out reinstall windows. This is why i had a ghost image of my machine ready to go. Up and running in 20 - 30 min flat, everything installed. Minty fresh.

Many times i couldn't figure out what was wrong but my image was fresh. No software problems b/c it was captured at a point in time, when it was minty. Just have to make sure to grab your raw data....GL

[DaSmittyman]

Lol apple for the win? Congrats you just spent 4 times as much as a normal computer just to surf the internet real legit. Look the internet just doesn't stop workinng, someone screwed it up. Maybe someone was clearing there cookies and fucked it over. I see this problem on a daily basis and the only way is to reinstall windows.

[SPOOLIN]

Lol apple for the win? Congrats you just spent 4 times as much as a normal computer just to surf the internet real legit. Look the internet just doesn't stop workinng, someone screwed it up. Maybe someone was clearing there cookies and fucked it over. I see this problem on a daily basis and the only way is to reinstall windows.

yes apple for the win that is what i use personally and all of the ones i have had have been flawless, i have never seen any of the crap on my computers that i see on a daily basis IN MY JOB that involves fiber and copper LAN's and WAN's and daily PC maintenance with clients. Have you read the thread..i told you a windows update is causing the problem but i cant figure out which one, and when i remove all of the fucking ones that were installed right before the problem would re-occur, IT STILL WOULDN"T WORK. No person or user did ANYTHING to cause it.

I'll gladly spend 1100$ for a bad ass imac that is flawless than spend "less" on a high performance PC that still is ran on retard code.

[DaSmittyman]

Well Blame microsoft all you want but i have store bought computers and i have home built computers with microsoft os from 2000 all the way up to Windows 7 now. I can't comment on windows 7 but for 2000 xp and vista i stayed with all the updates and not twice have a problem. My one issue was with XP when service pack 3 came out, i had a HP piece of crap which still sits here ever being turned on. Besides the fact, HP's OEM image of windows xp was intel and amd based, and when updateing customers with AMD(such as myself) got the blue screen after updating. Nothing a safe mod and disabling the intel startup from the update. and yes i have been with the thread since the start at the top when i suggested to reinstall windows in the first place. Like i said i see this everyday at my work. You probably are right the code went retarted after a setting was changed. I am just saying, there are plenty of pc's outt here without problems. You can't blame Microsoft, its all user error or the 1000's of incompatible software that the creators don't send out updates themselves.

[DaSmittyman]

I despise windows "network setup".... was always an epic fail imo with way too many weird quirks.

word, never install the nic drivers windows recommends.

[civicturbo10]

that's a drastic change to go over to mac b/c your windows sux so bad. I had one pc build that was very problematic. I tried all sorts of things to recover windows to boot up. It got to the point i could not boot up to windows at all. This was a build i did and somehow the mobo went bad over time. I replaced it and from then on used imaging to get me back up and running in no time.
Since then, every time i was in a jam and could not diagnose what was wrong (can't surf, pc locks up, weird virus, software doesn't work right, etc) - image installs and wipes it clean. I was back at square one ready to surf and transfering over all of my data while surfin on the net. It's pretty effective but i guess your looking for more of a fool proof setup that just works all the time. And don't have to fool with fixing it all the time.
I see your point though -
On somethings i only use oem parts. Had a aftermarket rear main seal fail on me in a short time frame. Switched it to OEM Honda and haven't looked back. That part just flat out works for occasional racing. Granted the aftermarket seal works for reg driving but for occasional racing not a chance.

[SPOOLIN]

oh ive been using macs for years, this issue isnt my personal issue, i left PC about 8 years ago. I use PC only at work now. Whenever i get time im just going to blow it away or upgrade it to windows seven point owe.

[Maki]

can you ping out? if so then its an application or security issue, safemode and try again.
if safemode is good then reinstall apps and redo your a/v software. I do this all day so if you need help hit me up.

ping = tcp/ip works
no surf = application broken

[Paul]

didn't you post you can't use any browser but Safari but you can do windows updates... windows updates use IE services by default so obviously IE is working.

*** i haven't read the entire thread but here are some things i would do ***

run an updated anti virus like avg + malewarebytes in safe mode then try running IE in safemode. i would also clean out your registry by hand if you know what to look for. i would uninstall all browsers and run windows updates.

[Maki]

or scan with bitdefender.com, free 3rd party scan just incase something is messing with your a/v

[SPOOLIN]

ive done all of the above.

yes updates work, but they dont use IE? atleast in vista it has its own window?

safari works, the other 3 browsers will not work. i can ping everything on the planet.

[Paul]

ive done all of the above.

yes updates work, but they dont use IE? atleast in vista it has its own window?

safari works, the other 3 browsers will not work. i can ping everything on the planet.

updates have always used ie services to download; if you've tried everything listed - i read it is a common problem no one has found a fix for yet. some people had issues w/ an update turning on your proxy settings others just reinstalled vista to correct.

you can reinstall the machine in under two hours so i would just do that.

[Maki]

yeah it a program issue, My answer to stuff like that is FORMAT

[Allshow97]

Have you tried an LSP fix yet?

Google for WinSockXPFix or LSP-FIX and download it from MajorGeeks, run it, reboot, post results. 9 times out of 10 this clears up any connection issues regarding browsers or just general connectivity. It essentially replaces all network files within windows with OEM originals. I've used it for years and it's always been for me. Just my

[SPOOLIN]

haha yeah i tried lsp fix and hijack this.

[RBS]

go in safe mode with networking, and see if it works.

[blaknoize]

well I dont have a problem and my PC is still rockin the XP 2002 update. Fuk a Service Pack

[kain]

does it ever occur to you that you have way too many browsers and that using only ONE will suffice? did you go down the osi layer and figure out what is getting snagged? did you test to see if there are any other browsers currently blocking other browsers from viewing the internet?

i already know the answer.