dxdiag ON COMPUTER:
O/S: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) (sp2 installed)
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 (1.60 GHZ)
RAM: 512 MB
Direct X Version: 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
Internet Explorer Version: 6.0.2900.2180.xpsp_sp2_rtm
.040803-21
58
HELPFUL INFO:
The computer I am using is not mine, but is used by my family. There are six users each with their own user accounts. We run AdAware 6.0 and Spybot S&D 1.3 regularly to remove spyware and adware. We also are running Norton Internet Security 2005. Our internet is through a Comcast Cable modem. We are also running a wireless home network with a D-Link (DI-614+) wireless router. There are two computers on this network: this one (home PC) and my sister's laptop. We are experiencing the problem on both computers.
THE PROBLEM (please read all before offering a solution):
During the past week, we have been experiencing difficulty when trying to view web pages through Internet Explorer. Some pages load and other don't. When they don't load we either recieve the message "the page cannot be displayed" or the more frequent "Error Page Assistant - Microsoft Explorer" window which displays "helpful" search results for the site we might be looking for. Here is what comes up when we try to visit, for instance, gameblast.com:
http://dr.webservicehosts.com/index.php?tpid=10217&ttid=102&dst=2&st=http%3a%2f%2fgameblast.com%2f This is happening to most if not all of our favorites including banking and other game sites. I can use Yahoo! Mail, but my mom cannot use her Hotmail. Sometimes working web pages get the same error, but after refreshing one or more times they work. Other times we will get working results for certain web pages if we type, for instance, "
www.yahoo.com" instead of "yahoo.com". Keep in mind this is not a problem that has occured immediately after installing XP sp2. Both computers have been working fine for over a month and then about a week ago suddenly started displaying these errors. The problem is isolated to Internet Explorer only. All other programs, including messaging programs, are working fine. However, when trying to view internet links from other programs we do recieve these errors once Internet Explorer loads. I have tried some recommended fixes from similar problem posts on this site to no avail. I also tried to system restore before the date we figure the problem occured and system restore cannot restore to any point before that. On the day that we figure the problem arose, system restore made three checkpoints:
-- system checkpoint
-- Software Distribution Service 2.0
-- Spybot-S&D Spyware Removal
I restored the changes that Spybot S&D made and that did not solve the problem either. I do not want to have to reformat my hard drive to fix this problem unless I absolutely have to. If so, I have never done this before and will need help to do this. Keep in mind I have the Windows XP sp1 disk, but do not have the sp2 disk if that matters for reformatting. Also, when I make changes to the computer on my account, do the changes take affect for all accounts or will I have to make these changes on every account? I have never worked with user accounts before so I am not familiar with them.
Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this. Please help us as this is very annoying and frustrating for all of us. Thanks again!
