One account, One issue with the internet

Okay, we got the comptuer about 2 weeks ago. It is running Windows Vista, Home Premium, Its an Acer Aspire, and we just got through a little spatt of viruses and spyware (got rid of it). BTW we use Firefox primarily. My mother's account is an admin account, and it's having a problem. Pages that she uses frequently WON'T work. She can get to the initial page (after a very long time) and after that she cannot get into anything. hotmail.com will open up, but you can't sign in. It says that the page is done loading, but the page remains blank. jobbank.gc.ca will get you to the main page, but after selecting your city, it stops working (so you cannot do anything) google will also open, but you cannot search for anything. We are only experiencing these issues with that solitary account. What the Tech is going on!? (sorry I couldn't resist)

Hi Kirsten, I have an "intuitively correct" suggestion, but I have not tried it, nor do I find any authoritative sources that recommend it as yet. I have posted to an advanced tech site for review. I'll post back with the solution, if it bears out with our research. Just wanted you to know that you and your Mom are not being ignored. Sometimes it takes a little time to validate a solution, before it is safe to recommend. This is especially true of problems with Vista OS, since it is still relatively new and many of the trouble-shooting and solutions are still being developed. Please be patient. Doug

Hi Kirsten,

The research and practice trials worked out just fine.

I'll post the solution in (3) steps according to your results.
However, the first step should fix the problem without need for either of the second two.
This solution is really no big deal, and is well documented for XP.
I simply wanted to assure that it would work with Vista without any adverse effect.

Here ya go:

1. Click on Start button.
2. (Type)cmd in the Start Search text box.
3. Press Ctrl-Shift-Enter keyboard shortcut to run Command Prompt as Administrator. Allow elevation request.
4. (Type)netsh int ip reset in the Command Prompt shell, and then press the Enter key.
5. Restart the computer

Try your internet browsing now.
And please post back with your progress.

Best Regards

I followed your steps and tried to access the websites again, and could not access them. they did however, load signifigantly faster. and i know that we are not being ignored, I'm just pleased that someone can help. take your time if necessary. Thank you

OK, good work so far. Next:

Repair and reset the Windows Vista Winsock Catalog:

1. Click on Start button.
2. (Type)cmd in the Start Search text box.
3. Press Ctrl-Shift-Enter keyboard shortcut to run Command Prompt as Administrator. Allow elevation request.
4. (Type)netsh winsock reset in the Command Prompt shell, and then press the Enter key.
5. Restart the computer.
_____________________________________

Kirsten,

There are two additional steps that "may" be necessary, regarding Internet Explorer 7.0.
I am still researching them, as they are along a different line than the above.

Please provide some additional information to help us help you.

I think the following is correct, according to your original post:

• Your recovery from malware infection has been completed.
• Your internet browsing (from your Mom's account) continues to be problematic.
• Internet browsing from a second user account (yours?) functions just fine with none of the problems that "Mom's account" experiences.
• You are browsing with IE 7.0

Do you use other internet Browsers? For instance, do you use FireFox or Opera?
If so, does "your Mom's" account have similar difficulties when browsing with FireFox or Opera?

Do you have JAVA Runtime Environment JRE 6.5 installed?
Do you have Adobe FlashPlayer installed and updated?

Thanks,
Doug

Doug, We run Firefox Primarily, sometimes we use IE 7.0. Yes we have Java and Adobe FlashPlayer installed. and yes we have recovered from a malware issue. and again, yes my mom's internet is the only one being persistantly problematic. Have a good one, Kirsten

Did you run the second set of instructions that I posted above (looks kinda the same, but on close reading it is actually a different instruction, addressing the Winsock catalogue, which is different from what I posted earlier) Please give it a try and post back.

For clarification please:

yes my mom's internet is the only one being persistantly problematic.

Your account, which is functioning well, is on the same computer as your Mom's account?
Only difference is the Welcome Page login to your account or your Mom's account?

Thanks

yeah I just, just finished doing so and testing. and its still being miserable. and this is all on One computer. the same Acer. the problem is only her account.

The following procedure may or may not have been embedded in the procedure prompted by the above instructions.
If not, I'm including it here as a separate instruction.

1. Click on Start button.
2. (Type)cmd in the Start Search text box.
3. Press Ctrl-Shift-Enter keyboard shortcut to run Command Prompt as Administrator. Allow elevation request.
4. (Type)ipconfig /flushdns in the Command Prompt shell, and then press the Enter key. (notice the required space befor the "/"
5. Restart the computer.

Please log in on your Mom's account.
Then run the PCPitstop Full Tests, here:

Please Run the PCPitstop Full Tests, here:
http://www.pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/default.asp
Register and create a password
Accept the ActiveX component to allow your machine to run the Full Tests
Registering and accepting the ActiveX are both SAFE and FREE.
Full Tests is the first item in the left hand column of that page.

The Full Tests take less than 5 minutes for most machines.
Once you have your Results, please post the TechExpress Link back here into this thread for review.
TechExpress is the last item on the list in the yellow box in upper right area of any Results page.
Post the entire URL link information back here into this Forum thread.

Caution: During the testing of Video Adapter, a variety of patterns, shapes, colors and text are “flashed” onto the users monitor screen. In the many thousands of daily uses of the PCPitstop Full Tests over several years, two individuals who suffer epilepsy experienced discomfort and temporary dizziness when viewing the flashing patterns.
If you know that you are susceptible to photo driven seizure, look away from your screen during the Video Adapter testing sequence.

Hey Doug.

here's the link:
http://www.pcpitstop.com/techexpress.asp?id=9S48TWC6UCGS8RRG

Doug, hope you don't mind me jumping in.

Kirsten, since your account works but you Mom's doesn't, there has to be some corruption in the account. I don't have Vista so have no way of testing this but I know with XP, you could create a new account and see if the problem exists or not. If not you can copy all your data from the old account to the new one, then after a test period, delete the old one.

Ah ha, found one! Kristen, read through this and see if it's doable for you. If yes, give it a try.

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/e…22001e1033.mspx

Ztruker,

I don't mind at all.
In fact, Kazzoo also suggested the same to me earlier during a consultation.
(as did Starjax in a separate consultation.)
I just hadn't got to the point of making the recommendation.

You are certainly correct to offer the instructions, particularly since the strategy that I had hoped to follow hasn't worked.

It will be interesting to see how it goes for Kirsten.

The aftermath of malware corruptions has become increasingly problematic.and challenging.

We'll all stand by, Kirsten, as you get an account for your Mom up and running.

Doug

Note about PCPitstop Full Test results.

Nothing appears that is in the realm of "awful", however, there are some adjustments you may decide to make.

• JAVA updater is not necessary to run active.
• Google Toolbar notifier is not necessary to run active.
• Windows Vista Sidebar is "cool" but hogs resources
• DVM (Desktop Windows Manager (controlling Aero visual effects) is a huge resource hog. and you may want to turn it off and return to Classic View.
• Since your machine runs from an Onboard Graphics chip, it "borrows" RAM from the machines main board, thus dropping overall resources.
  
  You should Uninstal the older version of your JAVA and keep your current up to date version.
  Limewire and poker stars may put you at increased risk of malware (especially limewire). (your choice)
  
  Sims is seriously resource intensive, but may be one of the features that you enjoy. (user preference)
  
  The above are some of the ongoing "complaints" about Vista that new users experience.
  We all hoped that Vista would give us more security and a more pleasant viewing experience.
  It does seem to be more secure.
  But the "viewing experience" comes at a high cost to system resources and often "lag".

By the way, Ztruker… Thanks for that link. It appears that sometimes useraccounts (particularly with Vista) can become scrambled and the investigation/trouble-shooting can become quite exhaustive and detailed, involving extensive work in the Registry. We gave it a good try with the Winsock catalog and netsh fix. Probably better in a situation like this to just get a fresh start with a new user account. Doug