Website won't work properly

[crispbreeze]

All websites open properly on my computer except Wikipedia. Why is this? Whenever I click on a Wikipedia link on Google, for example, or enter in the web address, Wikipedia pops up but the page is blank and the word "Done" appears at the bottom-left hand corner. As a variation, sometimes the Wikipedia home page opens but when I enter in an entry, the same thing happens, i.e. the entry page opens but is blank, etc. Wikipedia works properly on every other computer I've used and every other website opens up on my computer properly except Wikipedia (however, there may be other websites that behave like this that I don't know about because I haven't tried to access every website on the web or they behave like this but I contribute the problem to something else and move on). It has been this way for three or so weeks and is very frustrating especially due to the fact that I am clueless about what is going on and what to do about it. If someone can help me, it will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[dl65]

 crispbreeze....... It sounds a bit odd , that that is the only site you are unable to get to..........  How about telling us .........
What o/s your using ?
What happened 3 weeks ago ?
Have you tried using a differant browser to get to that page on that machine ?
Have you checked to see that something isnt blocking it ?

dl65  

[crispbreeze]

I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of my familiarity with computers, I'd probably be a 4.5. I'm not sure what an "o/s" is. In regards to what I did three weeks ago, I didn't do anything except for what I've done for years. Also, Internet Explorer is the only browser available to me. And finally, I would check to see if anything is blocking the website but I have no idea what to look for except the pop-up blocker but that certainly isn't the problem! Thank you for your reply.  

[dl65]

crispbreeze.......

I'm not sure what an "o/s" is.

  O/S = Operating system ...as in windows 98 , Windows ME , Windows 2K , Windows Xp.

In regards to what I did three weeks ago, I didn't do anything except for what I've done for years.

You have us over a barrel there as we have no idea what you have done for years ....... LOL

Do you have a firewall installed ?
Does anyone else use this machine ?

You could always try Downloading firefox (as a alternate browser ) and see if you can get to that site with it .

dl65  

[crispbreeze]

The o/s I use is Windows XP.

As to what I've done for years, just what a computer is for: Microsoft Word, e-mails, browsing the web, AIM, Power Point, etc.

My household only has one computer so two other people use this computer, but seldomly so.

In regards to a firewall, I'm not sure if I have it installed but if I do, how do I uninstall it?

Also, thank you for your advice about firefox; I will try it.



  

[Rob Pomeroy]

Could you please go to a command prompt (Start-->Programs-->Accessories, normally), and then type this: ping www.wikipedia.org

Post the results.

[GX1_Man]

I'm sorry, [highlight]I forgot to mention that on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of my familiarity with computers, I'd probably be a 4.5. I'm not sure what an "o/s" is[/highlight]. In regards to what I did three weeks ago, I didn't do anything except for what I've done for years. Also, Internet Explorer is the only browser available to me. And finally, I would check to see if anything is blocking the website but I have no idea what to look for except the pop-up blocker but that certainly isn't the problem! Thank you for your reply.  

I'll be generous and give you a 2.  

[crispbreeze]

Rob, I went to the command prompt, typed in "ping www.wikipedia.org," and here's what happened: when I typed "p" the "Paint" program got highlighted, when I typed "i" nothing happened, when I typed "n," "Notepad" popped up, then I typed up the rest in "Notepad," i.e. "g www.wikipedia.org". I'm not sure about the relevance of what you asked (it seems a bit awkward and random, but what do I know) so I apologize if I misunderstood you. Thank you for your input anyhow. Also, even though I have every base covered, I still can't download Firefox for some reason, nor can I download a newer version of Internet Explorer.

[GX1_Man]

Are you sure you are free of malware?

[crispbreeze]

GX1-Man, how do I definitively confirm whether I have malware or not?

[dl65]

crispbreeze.....well , for starters , d/l and install ....ccleaner  ...... get it at ........
http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/   this will empty your temp files and a lot more ..... ( it will not remove anything that will be required for your system to operate )
d/l Spybot ......... get it at ....... http://www.tucows.com/preview/310138 ...once its installed , be sure and get the updates ....then run a full scan ........fix or remove anything found .
d/l Ewido ...... get it at ...... http://www.majorgeeks.com/Ewido_security_suite_d4677.html  .... do a full system scan and remove anything it fonds .

Now reboot into safe mode and run a full scan with your anti virus ..........

report back on what was found and how things are now .

dl65  

[Rob Pomeroy]

Rob

Perhaps slightly more step-by-step instructions were called for.  Find the command prompt on your start menu and click on it.  A box will then pop up, mostly black, into which you can type.  Type as instructed, then hit enter.  Then report the results.

Ta!

[crispbreeze]

Hey Rob, these are the results:

Pinging rr.pmtpa.wikimedia.org [66.230.200.100] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 66.230.200.100: bytes=32 time=64ms TTL=47
Reply from 66.230.200.100: bytes=32 time=64ms TTL=47
Reply from 66.230.200.100: bytes=32 time=65ms TTL=47
Reply from 66.230.200.100: bytes=32 time=65ms TTL=47

Ping statistics for 66.230.200.100:
      Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 <0% loss>,
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
      Minimum = 64ms, Maximum = 65ms, Average = 64ms

[Rob Pomeroy]

Hmm.  That looks wrong to me.  I get:

ping www.wikipedia.org
PING rr.knams.wikimedia.org (145.97.39.155) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from rr.knams.wikimedia.org (145.97.39.155): icmp_seq=0 ttl=52 time=31.1 ms

Note the different IP address?  I.e., you get 66.230.200.100; I get 145.97.39.155.  There are two likely causes.  First, AOL may cause this problem.  Are you an AOL user?  Secondly, your "hosts" file may have an incorrect entry, though goodness knows why.  Do you have a file under C:\Windows called "hosts"?  If so, please open it in Notepad and tell us the contents.

[soybean]

I just pinged wikipedia.  Here are my results for comparison:

Pinging wikipedia.com [66.230.200.108] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 66.230.200.108: bytes=32 time=102ms TTL=47
Reply from 66.230.200.108: bytes=32 time=101ms TTL=47
Reply from 66.230.200.108: bytes=32 time=100ms TTL=47
Reply from 66.230.200.108: bytes=32 time=102ms TTL=47

Ping statistics for 66.230.200.108:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 100ms, Maximum = 102ms, Average = 101ms

[Rob Pomeroy]

Oh, okay Soybean.  That's that hypothesis out of the window.  I guess the target IP depends on your location.  Maybe in the US you get 66.xxx.xxx.xxx while in the UK we get 145.xxx.xxx.xxx.

crispbreeze, now you're a whizz at working the command prompt, could we move onto the next test?  This time use the following command: telnet www.wikipedia.org 80

Again, please give the output, if any.  If it appears that nothing is happening after a while, you can just close the command prompt.

[crispbreeze]

Hi Rob. Sorry for the lateness of the response but I had a ton of deadlines to meet and my computer didn't make it any easier with its constant stalling and loss of internet connection so I've been short on time. Anyway, there was no output.

[Rob Pomeroy]

<rob mumbles to himself>
  ping but can't telnet to port 80...  ping but can't telnet to port 80...
  ping but can't telnet to port 80...  ping but can't telnet to port 80...
</rob mumbles to himself>

I'm a bit foxed.  A firewall could cause this problem, but I don't see why anyone would just exclude Wikipedia's IP addresses.  Are you still having this problem?  Have you any other computers you can try?

Yes, it would be worth jumping through all the anti-spyware and anti-virus hoops.  If you need links to some reputable, free anti-malware programs, look in the software FAQ (see my signature).

[crispbreeze]

Hi again, Rob.

I uninstalled and reinstalled the whole microsoft system and wikipedia works now, finally! Thanks for all your help, Rob. See you around.

[Dilbert]

I uninstalled and reinstalled the whole microsoft system

[Raptor]

I uninstalled and reinstalled the whole microsoft system

Bill Gates was not amused.

[Rob Pomeroy]

Hi again, Rob.

I uninstalled and reinstalled the whole microsoft system and wikipedia works now, finally! Thanks for all your help, Rob. See you around.

Well I'm glad you sorted it.  I'm sure the format-reinstall was good therapy too.