[djs425]

I can't connect to certain websites that I regulary vist. I get the "Web page won't load" message.
Operating system is Windows XP.
Internet conection is OK as I can get to other sites.
Web sites are Ok as I asked someone else to go to these sites - they did with no problem.

There are 2 specific web sites that I visit quite often that won't load.
They are "wagerline.com" and "sportbet.com".

I have disabled norton firewall -- this did not help.
Not sure what to try next. Please help.

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Have you tried a different web browser to determine if it's a problem with the browser (even though it only affects those two sites, a browser-specific problem is still a possibility). That possibility needs eliminating before looking elsewhere for the cause. The main alternatives to Internet Explorer (assuming that's what you currently use) are:

Firefox - here: http://www.mozilla-e...oducts/firefox/

Opera - here: http://www.opera.com/

Netscape - here: http://browser.netscape.com/

Another possibility is that somehow those two web addresses have been added to the Window's HOSTS file in a manner which stops them from being found.
The HOSTS file can be used for this purpose when you wish to prevent access to malicious or unsavoury websites, but some malware can also put perfectly legitimate websites in there just to frustrate you --- the Windows Update website is a common victim of this.

The HOSTS file is here on Windows XP: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\

It's simply called 'hosts' or 'HOSTS' (there's no 3-letter extension at the end), and it can be opened, edited and saved with Notepad (right-click, 'Open with...')

If you see in there the two problem web addresses with the numbers 127.0.0.1 at the beginning of each line, delete those two lines and save the file.

Edited by pip22, 10 November 2007 - 08:38 AM.

[pip22]

Have you tried a different web browser to determine if it's a problem with the browser (even though it only affects those two sites, a browser-specific problem is still a possibility). That possibility needs eliminating before looking elsewhere for the cause. The main alternatives to Internet Explorer (assuming that's what you currently use) are:

Firefox - here: http://www.mozilla-e...oducts/firefox/

Opera - here: http://www.opera.com/

Netscape - here: http://browser.netscape.com/

Another possibility is that somehow those two web addresses have been added to the Window's HOSTS file in a manner which stops them from being found.
The HOSTS file can be used for this purpose when you wish to prevent access to malicious or unsavoury websites, but some malware can also put perfectly legitimate websites in there just to frustrate you --- the Windows Update website is a common victim of this.

The HOSTS file is here on Windows XP: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\

It's simply called 'hosts' or 'HOSTS' (there's no 3-letter extension at the end), and it can be opened, edited and saved with Notepad (right-click, 'Open with...')

If you see in there the two problem web addresses with the numbers 127.0.0.1 at the beginning of each line, delete those two lines and save the file.

Edited by pip22, 10 November 2007 - 08:38 AM.

[djs425]

Thanks for the response. Here is what I have done so far -->
1) I found the "host" file you referred to. It was lower case anyway and not modified since 2004.

2) I have installed FIREFOX and I am still unable to get the problem sites. Is it any use to try the other browsers?

3) Last night I installed and ran "AVG Anti spyware 7.5". It indicated it found some problems and I allowed it to apply the recommended actions. Still no improvement.

Thanks again for the response and let me know if you have any ideas on what to try next. My guess is that something like the "HOST" file has been tampered with.

Edited by djs425, 10 November 2007 - 10:05 AM.

[djs425]

I am still having the same problem , any other ideas as to what I might try - Thanks.

[ChuckBaker]

djs425 did you ever find a solution to your problem??

[spade=I3=]

Not sure if you have repaired your problem yet but, I had a similar problem that I worked on for 2 days. I download files off the internet like crazy and suddenly I couldn't get past my google homepage. I tried both IE 7 and Firefox. I could look at all the pages in google like images, video, mail... but could not search or login to anything. AVG virus scan picks up nothing, Uniblue scans pick up nothing. So... I went to start/run/type msconfig. I looked in my startup items which I normally keep completely clear because of gaming and I found a file that was odd. The file on startup was mclwddjh.dll. This is an odd file name because it should not exist and especially in a startup location. I did a web search for this file and found nothing. Not even in the uniblue .dll file extensions search. So... I knew it shouldn't exist. I couldn't delete the file because it was in use and every time I tried disabling it on startup, it would turn back on. So... I went into C:windows/system32/ and found the mclwddjh.dll and renamed it with some numbers before and after like 0000mclwddjh1234.dll just to confuse the program. Restarted my computer and got a error that mclwddjh.dll could not be found. YAY! I was then able to remove the file from startup under msconfig and delete the file completely. The internet works perfectly now and no other issues are to be found.

So, if you see any odd named files in msconfig startup and they wont disable because all should... then follow my steps of searching for the extension to see if its good or bad... or exists at all. Then rename, restart, and delete that poop. Hope this helps you.

[societyrain]

Have you tried a different web browser to determine if it's a problem with the browser (even though it only affects those two sites, a browser-specific problem is still a possibility). That possibility needs eliminating before looking elsewhere for the cause. The main alternatives to Internet Explorer (assuming that's what you currently use) are:

Firefox - here: http://www.mozilla-e...oducts/firefox/

Opera - here: http://www.opera.com/

Netscape - here: http://browser.netscape.com/

Another possibility is that somehow those two web addresses have been added to the Window's HOSTS file in a manner which stops them from being found.
The HOSTS file can be used for this purpose when you wish to prevent access to malicious or unsavoury websites, but some malware can also put perfectly legitimate websites in there just to frustrate you --- the Windows Update website is a common victim of this.

The HOSTS file is here on Windows XP: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\

It's simply called 'hosts' or 'HOSTS' (there's no 3-letter extension at the end), and it can be opened, edited and saved with Notepad (right-click, 'Open with...')

If you see in there the two problem web addresses with the numbers 127.0.0.1 at the beginning of each line, delete those two lines and save the file.

Heya, thanks alot buddy! You solved my problem w/o the need to switch browser. All I need to do was to get rid of the affected URL from the HOSTS list (editing from notepad, would like to add, wordpad won't work) ... =)