Troubleshooting the failure of web surfing

I am using IE8 on Windows XP Pro. When I type in an URL and the IE failed
to connect to the website. Can someone point me to the right direction how
to troubleshoot the cause of failure.

Thanks,

Scott

"Scott" <NoSpam-Scott.Xe@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:C7DEAFB0.CE29%NoSpam-Scott.Xe@gmail.com...
> I am using IE8 on Windows XP Pro. When I type in an URL and the IE failed
> to connect to the website. Can someone point me to the right direction
> how
> to troubleshoot the cause of failure.


Are you typing a full URL, including protocol prefix? Maximize your window
and watch what is happening in the various parts of the window, especially
the Status bar, to help refine your symptom description.

The symptom might be an indication of a deficiency in your DNS so you should
try to prove that that is not the case, e.g. using ping -n 1 -w 1 in a cmd
window. Then you might also have to pay attention to whether the host name
is an alias for a different (aka canonical name) which your DNS also has
trouble resolving. For completeness in this stage of your diagnosis you
could use ipconfig /displaydns to show that your OS is caching the lookup
so IE's symptoms couldn't be blamed on your DNS at all. Otherwise you
could use Fiddler2 to trace what is happening with any requests that IE is
generating.


Good luck

Robert Aldwinckle
---

In news:C7DEAFB0.CE29%NoSpam-Scott.Xe@gmail.com,
Scott <NoSpam-Scott.Xe@gmail.com> typed:
> I am using IE8 on Windows XP Pro. When I type in an URL
> and the IE failed to connect to the website. Can someone
> point me to the right direction how to troubleshoot the
> cause of failure.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Scott

Try the troubleshooting wizard when it finally times out;
sometimes it points to something useful, sometimes now but it
will eliminate a couple of possibilities and help you better
state your question. Include what you do, see and any error
messages (complete).

HTH,

Twayne`

Are you running WinXP SP2 or SP3?

Is the computer fully patched at Windows Update and is KB980182 installed?

What anti-virus application or security suite is installed and is your
subscription current? What anti-spyware applications (other than Defender)?
What third-party firewall (if any)? Were any of these applications running
in the background when you installed IE8?

Has a(another) Norton or McAfee application ever been installed on the
computer (e.g., a free-trial version that came preinstalled when you bought
it)?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002


Scott wrote:
> I am using IE8 on Windows XP Pro. When I type in an URL and the IE failed
> to connect to the website. Can someone point me to the right direction
> how
> to troubleshoot the cause of failure.

On 04/04/10 9:43 PM, in article #YDWgz$0KHA.596@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl,
"Robert Aldwinckle" <robald@techemail.com> wrote:

>
>
> "Scott" <NoSpam-Scott.Xe@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:C7DEAFB0.CE29%NoSpam-Scott.Xe@gmail.com...
>> I am using IE8 on Windows XP Pro. When I type in an URL and the IE failed
>> to connect to the website. Can someone point me to the right direction
>> how
>> to troubleshoot the cause of failure.
>
>
> Are you typing a full URL, including protocol prefix? Maximize your window
> and watch what is happening in the various parts of the window, especially
> the Status bar, to help refine your symptom description.

Full URL and should not have any misspelling. I tried www.hp.com as well.
>
> The symptom might be an indication of a deficiency in your DNS so you should
> try to prove that that is not the case, e.g. using ping -n 1 -w 1 in a cmd
> window. Then you might also have to pay attention to whether the host name
> is an alias for a different (aka canonical name) which your DNS also has
> trouble resolving. For completeness in this stage of your diagnosis you
> could use ipconfig /displaydns to show that your OS is caching the lookup
> so IE's symptoms couldn't be blamed on your DNS at all. Otherwise you
> could use Fiddler2 to trace what is happening with any requests that IE is
> generating.
>
>
> Good luck
>
> Robert Aldwinckle
> ---
>

What is ping -n 1 -w 1 in a cmd window? I will try it later and together
with Fiddler2.

On 04/04/10 10:34 PM, in article ukn9zPA1KHA.224@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl,
"Twayne" <nobody@spamcop.net> wrote:

> In news:C7DEAFB0.CE29%NoSpam-Scott.Xe@gmail.com,
> Scott <NoSpam-Scott.Xe@gmail.com> typed:
>> I am using IE8 on Windows XP Pro. When I type in an URL
>> and the IE failed to connect to the website. Can someone
>> point me to the right direction how to troubleshoot the
>> cause of failure.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Scott
>
> Try the troubleshooting wizard when it finally times out;
> sometimes it points to something useful, sometimes now but it
> will eliminate a couple of possibilities and help you better
> state your question. Include what you do, see and any error
> messages (complete).
>
> HTH,
>
> Twayne`
>
>

Tried it but not much useful to the cause of issue.

On 05/04/10 1:33 AM, in article OzyXN3B1KHA.260@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl, "PA
Bear [MS MVP]" <PABearMVP@gmail.com> wrote:

> Are you running WinXP SP2 or SP3?

Yes.

>
> Is the computer fully patched at Windows Update and is KB980182 installed?
>
May not be fully patched but most of updates have been installed.

> What anti-virus application or security suite is installed and is your
> subscription current? What anti-spyware applications (other than Defender)?
> What third-party firewall (if any)? Were any of these applications running
> in the background when you installed IE8?

Symantec SAVCE or Endpoint Protection in volume license. This had been
installed before IE was upgraded to IE8.
>
> Has a(another) Norton or McAfee application ever been installed on the
> computer (e.g., a free-trial version that came preinstalled when you bought
> it)?

No

"Scott" <NoSpam-Scott.Xe@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:C7DF7372.CFED%NoSpam-Scott.Xe@gmail.com...

>> Are you typing a full URL, including protocol prefix? Maximize your
>> window
>> and watch what is happening in the various parts of the window,
>> especially
>> the Status bar, to help refine your symptom description.
>
> Full URL and should not have any misspelling. I tried www.hp.com as well.


So, you may notice different effects from the latter as it is not a full URL
and depending on your options and lookup performance may be interpreted as a
search term.


> What is ping -n 1 -w 1 in a cmd window? I will try it later and together
> with Fiddler2.


A simple way of caching a lookup if you can do one. nslookup does the
lookup but does not interact with the dnscache.


HTH

Robert
---