AOL not allowing programs Internet access

Okay, I originally posted this problem in the Spyware forum (http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=66148), and was redirected to here. My mom's computer is 4 or 5 years old, running Windows ME, and uses AOL Broadband as its ISP. The problem that we are having, is that AOL seems to not be allowing any other programs access to the Internet, such as IE, Firefox, Netscape, or other programs that require Internet access to update themselves. Any suggestions/ideas on this problem?

 

First my excuse, I know next to nothing about aol, except when I beta tested version 1.

Okay, if I understand from your link, this is your mom's computer.

She runs windows ME, and uses AOL DSL.

I have some ideas for normal DSL, but I have a question. Is AOL DSL an always on connection? Or do you require a user name and password to access DSL through AOL?

When you previously posted on the above link, you said nothing can access the internet, does this include AOL?

Another question, what exactly happens when you log into aol?

Another thing to look into, right click "My computer", select Properties. When the properties dialog pops up, select devices tab. Do you have any red x's or yellow !'s under network/networking, anywhere else?

What happens when you also do the following:

Click START, RUN, type in: command (press enter)

When the "command prompt" appears type in:

IPCONFIG (press enter)

Does it show an IP? If you have no idea what I'm asking, simply display here your results.

If you recieve something that looks like 0.0.0.0, then try:

ipconfig /release_all (yes, yes, I know this releases an already obtained IP, this is just from bad habit)

ipconfig /renew_all (this should attempt to gain an IP.)

if you receive an IP now, try connecting to the internet through AOL.

Back at the command prompt, try:

ping 127.0.0.1

What are your results?

Do you have a solid green light where you plugged in your ethernet cable (cat5?)?

What about also a flashing yellow/orange light (this signifies traffic of some sort)?

Another thing I'm thinking of is if proxy is setup anywhere. Or if proxy is required with AOL DSL.


These were bascially the first things that came up in my head. There are more thoughts floating in my head.

 

I apologize for the large time-gap between posts, the computer I'm working on is at home, and I only get to work on it when I am home from college. Let's answer some questions, and I'll give some more details to clarify the situation.

The computer:

• OS: Windows ME
• ISP: AOL DSL (a DSL service ordered directly through AOL)

The connection:

• This connection is not "always on" like other DSL or Cable services, you must enter a screenname and password to connect, and this is done through the AOL software
• AOL can access the Internet (you can still sign on and off through the program)
• When you log into AOL, it logs in normally
• Other programs (any programs "outside" AOL - meaning external browsers, e-mail clients, AIM services, P2P programs, etc. - can NOT access or "see" the Internet

Devices:

• "Internet Connection Sharing" has a "!" with a yellow circle around it, but that is it concerning the network
• The sound driver has malfunctioned as well, but we can get to that later

IP:

• The computer is hooked up to the DSL modem using a USB cable instead of an Ethernet cable
• The Ethernet Connection for the modem has an IP address while not signed into the AOL service, all other Ethernet Connections have no IP address
• The "PPP Adapter" receives an IP address once AOL establishes a connection

Other:

• There was no proxy set up at any time
• Successfully pinged 127.0.0.1

Halo, could you explain what the MTU value means and why it would cause this to happen? Also, could it have been changed by a program or by malware? Hope all of that helps outline the problem better.

 

A few changes to the situation.

• The ISP is no longer AOL, it is now Comcast (so this removes AOL from the picture, and should make it a simpler problem to solve)
• I took a look, and found that her NIC is NOT in her IPCONFIG listing - leading me to believe that the card isn't being seen properly by the system (but it appears in her Device Manager as working properly)
• When looking at her NIC's settings, I saw in its properties that its "Network Address" was set to "2", I am not sure if that's what it is supposed to be, but I expected a MAC address there

So, I'm not sure about what's going on with it now, but it seems that one way or another, her NIC is not functioning properly, despite what Windows says (it does not light up when a live Ethernet cable is plugged in). Any new insight into this problem?

 

Haven't gotten any help here, I still think that it's the NIC, and my mother is getting impatient with the time it's taking to fix it, so we're going to buy a new NIC and test that out. There's a chance that it could be that the system isn't reading the NIC properly, but I guess whether or not the new NIC works will tell us that.

@_@;;;

 

Okay, I've replaced the NIC, and same results. Before I had removed the original card, I "Removed" it from the Device Manager list, and restarted the computer to have it reinstall the card. When it finished restarting, I checked its "Network Address", and it was set to "Not Present". With the new card, I checked the same setting, and its value is the same, "Not Present". This is definitely not an issue with the card itself anymore. I'm not entirely sure what it would be, but perhaps a botched Network Adapter installation during one of AOL's installs?

Also, although the lights on this NIC light up, the adapter itself does not show up in an "ipconfig /all" list. Just an "NDIS 5.0 Driver" and two "PPP Adapter"s show up.

Any ideas here? T_T

 

Hmm, I reran some of the steps from the "READ ME" in the Spyware forum, and SpyBot found some instances of NewDotNet. I had completely forgotten that this computer used to have Kazaa on it, as well as NewDotNet and various other things. Having been reminded, I think the Internet connection problem could likely be an LSP problem. After I've slept, I'll see what I can do about that using some instructions - unless someone has a better idea.