Best Answer
If it appears that the Internet is connected but that just Firefox is broken then you can try to download Opera via FTP:
Start, All Programs, Accessories then Command Prompt.
Text in boxes with extra spaces so you can see where one space goes is what you type with an Enter after each line. Regular text is the expected response. Text in parentheses are my comments.
ftp ftp.opera.com
Connected to get2.opera.com.
220 (vsFTPd 2.0.7)
User (get2.opera.com:(none)):
anonymous
331 Please specify the password.
Password:
any
230 Login successful.
ftp>
cd pub/opera/win/1151/us
250 Directory successfully changed.
ftp>
ls
(That's actually L S Here you may get a windows prompt that it has blocked the program. Tell it to unblock)
Opera_1151_int_Setup.exe
ftp>
binary
200 Switching to Binary mode.
ftp>
get Opera_1151_int_Setup.exe
200 PORT command successful. Consider using PASV.
150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for Opera_1151_int_Setup.exe (10307952 b
ytes).
(It will take it some time to download the file. There is no indication that anything is happening but if you go to Task Manager and look at the network traffic you will see that it is working.)
150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for Opera_1151_int_Setup.exe (10307952 b
ytes).
226 Transfer complete.
ftp: 10307952 bytes received in 44.73Seconds 230.44Kbytes/sec.
ftp>
bye
Now is the tricky part. Have to find where it got stored. Do a search of the C:\ for Opera and it should show up.
Usually it stores the file in XP at C:\Documents and Settings\YourLoginName\
Right click on it and Open File Location then run the file in XP by doubleclicking. (Win 7 or Vista => right click on the the file and Run As Administrator). It installs very quickly. See if it will go anywhere like to att.com
If ftp fails then we have other problems and will have to try something else.