need help/advice

[ech0]

win xp sp2 start>run>cmd>netsh winsock reset


To Reset the Winsock Registry Entries

Click Start >Run >regedit {enter}
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock and delete it; just below that, see HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock2 and delete it
Exit Regedit and reboot.

To Reinstall TCP/IP

To do this you need a copy of nettcpip.inf. There is one on the Windows XP CD and there may be one on your hard drive at C:\WINDOWS\inf\nettcpip.inf. Note: To see the inf folder, open My Computer and go to the menu item Tools > Folder Options... > View > and choose Show hidden files and folders.

Right click "My Network Places" select Properties.
Right click the connection(s) and select Properties.
Click Install >Protocol >add >have disk.
Browse to the location of nettcpip.inf .
Select nettcpip.inf then click Open then OK then Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) then OK then Close
Reboot

above is from here http://www.wedoc.com/tcpip.htm

[Moira]

if u r running that box behind a router then maybe u should try resetting the router... my friend had this problem once (not virus attack or anything) and he reset the router and it was back to normal and weeks later his router died... so just a thought... it might be just ur router going crazy

[EDIT]
in my friend's case, only his web browser and stuff is dead, he could still connect to AIM etc but cant get any traffic thru the web browser
[/EDIT]

That sounds more like DNS problems - can he access web pages through a something like Tor?

Godsrock37, it sounds like it would be just as easy by now to reinstall Windows and put this down to experience!