IE 5 web-browsing inop, I'm stumped!

[JimC]

Heres' a tough one for you:
I have WIN98 SE, IE 5.0, and AOL 5.0. Web-browsing is inop, but AOL works OK otherwise. If I even click INTERNET from the top menu, which should take it to www.aol.com/starting www page) IE 5 reports ACTION CALCELLED or CANNOT DISPLAY PAGE. IE 5 itself is OK, as I can open HTML pages on my hard drive OK with it.
I ran a special utility obtained from AOL called WEBUTIL.EXE. This automatically fixed this very same problem on another PC of mine (the one I'm using now) with same software when AOL on that one became unable to access the www. But running it on *this* PC did not.
I got an article from AOL on fixing connectivity problems. The first step is to connect to AOL and then open a DOS box/ prompt. Typed: ping americaonline.aol.com [enter] The message returned was "Unknown host".... nothing else. I also tried typing: ping www.altavista.com...but DOS returned the same message.
It says that if the response is 'no response', then your TC/IP settings need attention, but it does not tell you what to check for the response "Unknown host".
I have re-installed AOL5 and IE5 , trying to
fix the web-browsing on this PC with no luck. I even upgraded to a new zoom K56 external modem, and temporarily installed AOL 6.0 (but am back with AOL 5), still no www. The only thing I haven't tried is re-installing WIn98 (which I have a feeling would fix this), but I can't do this since I have a dual boot with Win2K , and re-installing Win98 would (I'm pretty sure) damage Win2K so it would no longer run.
Any ideas? Leave AOL?

[bailey]

get rid of aol, nothing but problems

[Pakrat]

Click run type msinfo32 and then click okay. Click on Tools the first one down is Internet Explorer Repair.

[kraken]

Had similar problem when running AOL 5.0. Couldn't access the internet for some time and could only access AOLs LAN.
I did a reinstall of AOL 5.0 over the top of the old and was able to access but it was slow.

Then I upgraded to IE5.5. Problem reoccurred but went away with a reinstallation of AOL 5.0. It seems that the AOL software doesn't recognise that I had installed a new version.

Went to techlive and did some complaining about slow connections and all was soon fixed with the access speed.

I do all of my browsing outside of the AOL interface by logging on and using IE5.5 as a seperate program. Works a lot faster this way and if IE has some problem (lockup) you dont lose your connection, just Ctrl-alt-delete and end the problem task.

I am also using the Beta 6.0 with only minor problems (kept getting kicked off after just logging in one session) but just went back to 5.0 for that session. Otherwise running fairly good.

[Edited by kraken on 12-05-2000 at 04:00 PM]

[sedu]

Go to the AOL folder and delete "Global org" file. AOL will recreate it when it is reopened. Global org is the linkage between the AOL browser and the "real" IE.

If you are running a firewall, it will stop access to the Internet through AOL.

[JimC]

Tried deleting GLobal.org. Tried running MSINFO32, and checking box to repair IE5. I do not have a proxy or firewall, and USE PROXY is NOT checked or enabled. I found that I had *two* sets of protocols in Internet properties (aol adapter, aol dialup adapter, dialup adapter were all listed TWICE) so I deleted the second set. THen Windows and AOL rebuilt my network connections, but IE5 still cannot display any www page except if it is stored on my hard drive.
I KNOW I am using the right syntax for PING from dos box.
I know this because I can type exactly the same thing on my other PC on the same phone line to the same ISP, and I get normal 100% response.
Yet my problem PC says UNKNOWN HOST no matter what site (even AOL itself) I try. It cannot even find the host (IS this AOLs' gateway to WWW?)
I think this must be my TCP/IP settings?? Many thanks to all for your help!! Jim

[glc]

Time to completely rebuild your networking. Uninstall AOL after saving the appropriate files (file cabinet, etc.), and uninstall dialup networking in add/remove programs, Windows setup. Remove ALL networking components.

Restart the computer and reinstall dialup networking. Reinstall AOL if you must, and say NO when it asks you if you want AOL to be your default email and news handler, etc.

[etLux]

glc is on the right track.

In a similar problem, yanking dialup networking and re-installing -- followed by a forced re-install of IE5.5 -- corrected the matter.

[JimC]

I tried completely removing Dialup networking, and also completely removing AOL5. After re-install, my web-browsing is still inop. THis time I tried clicking on my IE 5.5 icon after making the AOL connection, just to be sure I couldn't browse the web that way either. IE 5 opened up, and I got the same "ACTION CANCELLED...IE was unable to display the website...." message. But in comparing IE 5.5 with my other PC which *does* work, I realized that there is something wrong with IE 5.5, as it shows the FILE, EDIT, etc. menu at the top, but there is not another row of function icons below that, and there is no favorites list on the left side of the page....it is damaged! THis is the only possibility left...it must be Windows IE5.5 that is causing the problem.
So I went to add/remove software/windows setup, clicked on MS IE 5.5, and then chose REPAIR. It did the repair routine, I rebooted, but web-browsing was still inop as before. I still have the PING: "Unkown HOst" message. Whatever it is, Windows can't repair it. Since MS apparently hasn't provided a way to remove/re-install the IE 5.5 component, which I feel sure would fix the problem, I am screwed, because if I did a full re-install of Windows 98SE I am pretty sure it would damage my Win2K OS so it would no longer boot. (I have a dual-boot set up)
So I tried installing IE 5.0 from a CD, but this caused a fatal blue-screen crash, it won't work.
Is there some way to repair IE5.5?

[JimC]

I see ETNUX mentions doing a forced re-install of IE5.5
....how do you force WIndows to re-install it??
That should be the fix. THANKS all!

[kraken]

JimC

I think he meant an over the top install.(running setup for IE 5.5 without removing the existing)

[JimC]

First my apologies to *etLux*(not ETNUX).
Well, I didn't find a CD-ROM anywhere with IE 5.x, so I went to Microsoft on my other PC and downloaded MS IE 5.5 SP1. To my dismay, the .exe turned out to be just an installer that pulls the needed files off of the WEB...so a lot of good that did me!!! ARGGGGH!
When I do get IE 5.x, what assurance do I have that I will really be overwriting/restoring the IE 5.5 files that are an integral part of WIN 98, rather than just installing it as a new separate app....if it installs as a separate app, couldn't it fail to fix whatever system files are missing or damaged?

[kraken]

Make sure it sets up in the existing directory. It should overwrite all files and keep your current settings.