I cannot get on interenet, but my virus scanner can connect

Do you check if the anti-virus comes with firewall program...Most of them today comes bundled with one.  Like McAfee Security or Norton 360.  Make sure the firewall is not blocking access to anything.

Agree possible firewall blocking issue. If not, have you tried Winsockfix?

WinsockFix to restore internet connectivity.

http://www.spychecker.com/program/winsockxpfix.html

The Winsockfix Utility will:
· Detect your current Operating System
· Release the IP address, taking you "Offline"
· Reset the TCP stack using Netsh.exe (Windows XP only)
· Delete the current Registry TCP and Winsock Values
· Import new "Working" Registry Values
· Backup any Current "Hosts" file
· Replace the "Hosts" file with a default one
· Reboot the Computer

Instructions:
http://www.home-network-help.com/winsockfix.html

i haven't had a chance to check on this, will do so today


thanks

One quick test that you could do is to disable the anti-virus or firewall temporarily and see if internet explorer is able to connect...If it still can't connect then there's a possibility that a spyware(trojan) has infected and damaged your system.  I would suggest to get spybot from other computer and clean it.

ok i ran spybot and found nothing i did the winsock reapair and still will not connect to the internet, i ran the diagonstics in IE it says something about winsock catalog and it supposidly repaired it, but still no internet.  i installed firefox and now i am on......i prefer IE anyother ideas to fix it?

IE says top contact my Xp provider.....???? does this mean i need my XP disk to repair IE ?