Help Please

[Bazile]

I've been unable for nearly two weeks now to get unto ANY website , from my home computer .
I have dial up internet

I keep getting a message saying that ' internet explorer cannot display web page '

There is a message stating that i'm connected to the ISP and it is running

I've even tried deleting explorer and reinstalling another copy , without any sucess .

I'm getting desperate now .
Can anyone help , please

[Buenchico]

It could be a DNS ( = 'domain name server') problem. Here's a quick test:

Instead of typing in an address like www.google.com, try putting this in your address bar (and, of course, clicking 'Go'):
72.14.205.103

If you still don't see any web page, it's not a DNS problem and everything that follows is pointless. However, if you find yourself looking at Google's web page (which I strongly suspect that you will), it's definitely a DNS problem.

All websites have a 'real' numeric address (such as the one I've given you for Google). When you type in a 'www' address, your request is routed to your ISP's domain name server, which converts it to the numeric address. Sometimes your PC can fail to access the DNS correctly, leaving you with no access to the web.

Domain name servers also have numeric addresses. To fix the problem, you need to know the addresses of the two domain name servers used by your ISP. (There's a 'primary' and a 'secondary' server, which share the load between them). The information will be buried deep somewhere among the support pages on your ISP's website. (Or you phone them and ask them). However, if you're with one of the UK's principal ISPs you can probably get the information easiest by simply looking here:
http://www.idl.uk.com/email/isp_settings.htm

Now go to Start > Settings > Dial-up Networking. (That's the route in Windows Millennium, which I'm using. It might be slightly different in other versions of Windows). Right-click on the icon for your internet connection. Select 'Properties'. Click the 'Networking' tab. Click 'TCP/IP' settings. Click on the 'radio button' next to 'Specify name server addresses'. Enter the primary and secondary addresses. (Leave the other lines showing zeros). Click 'OK' and 'OK' again.

Chris

[ACtheTROLL]

have you got zone alarm as your firewall?
'tis almost certainly dns

there has been a huge security hole fixed which has shifted the port used for DNS - unfortunately .... they used a port that ZA blocks .... which messed things up

if what Bueenchico suggests doesnt work ... disable your firewall and try again .... don't stay online for any longer than you have to "bareback"

the only flaw in these theories is if you don't have a firewall