Losing sites...

Ioma · #1 February 10th, 2002, 04:50 AM

My Gateway computer running Windows Me will no longer go to certain sites that we used to go to a lot, like weather.com or ask.com. I get a DNS error page (an MSN search page comes up). I am using IE 6 on this computer. I have an old Compaq running Windows 98, that gets to those sites just fine using the same internet connection/phone line/software etc. Gateway serviced the computer (they claimed they replaced the motherboard, modem and other stuff I can't remember) and it came back with the same problem. I think it's a software issue. What do you think I should do?

Steven.Bentley · #2 February 10th, 2002, 11:07 AM

Hi Ioma

Do you run any of the programs that claim to speed up your surfing at all?

Many of these manage to do little more than defeat the whole purpose of the DNS

Ioma · #3 February 10th, 2002, 07:32 PM

Ummmm. Oops? Don't I feel stupid! Ok...what should I do about it? Now that I think of it, those sites got lost right after I installed that useless piece of software.

Steven.Bentley · #4 February 11th, 2002, 08:43 PM

That was a good guess

When you've removed it in Start>Settings>Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs then go into c:\windows or c:\windows\system and there's a file in there called HOSTS - there's also one called HOSTS.SAM but you're not interested in that one.

Open the file up in Notepad. The first entry should be for localhost mapped to 127.0.0.1 - you need to delete the other entries like that - but leave localhost. (I'd be inclined to back up the file first however

) It may then need a reboot, but you should be sorted.

Ioma · #5 February 11th, 2002, 09:06 PM

IT WORKED! Everything is sorted out now.

You are such a lifesaver! Thank you so much!

Steven.Bentley · #6 February 11th, 2002, 11:10 PM

Excellent

Thanks for posting back