# Solved: Programs cannot connect to internet



## Tropical Bob (Oct 4, 2008)

I have a few programs that are convinced I am never connected to the internet. Some of them have even worked before on this computer. As far as I know, they are:

-Sony Ericsson PC Suite for W580i
-Zune software (Has worked before, stopped after 3.0 update)
-Firefox (Worked for some websites at first, stopped working altogether, now works for only some sites again)
-EA Download Manager
-Spore
-Starcraft (Downloaded a patch through Battle.net, but can't connect anymore)
-Star Wars: Empire at War
-Impulse

I don't actually have an internet connection at home. I use the one on my college campus, and I also use a friend's dorm room internet connection, which he plays Spore with.

I have Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit. Would any more info be helpful/how do I get said info?


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## Tropical Bob (Oct 4, 2008)

Well, after thinking a bit with a not sleepy brain, I thought it would be a good idea to also give you firewall/anti-virus info...

I run Windows Firewall and avast!. I've already tried to disable both in order for the programs to connect, and I've also scanned for viruses/malware/whatnot.


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## Tropical Bob (Oct 4, 2008)

Bump?


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## Pollex (Oct 10, 2008)

Try checking your exceptions / allowed applications for your Firewall. Sometimes even if you disable a program (Norton) it will still keep working in the background to prevent things from happening.
It's not so much the connection, unless of course you can play from another connection successfully, so I would think you just need to check on the exceptions.
These are located in your Firewall Settings, under the Exceptions tab. 
To get there
- Open your Firewall Control Panel
- On the left hand side, choose "Allow a program through Windows Firewall"
- On the Exceptions tab, choose "Add program"
- Choose from the selection of your currently installed programs/ports the items you wish to allow through the Firewall.
- Click "Ok" to finish.

Also, are you having problems sending/receiving data in any other way? Like email, streaming video, web pages, etc.


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## Tropical Bob (Oct 4, 2008)

I've tried adding in exceptions, and it doesn't seem to work.

It's not that I can play from another connection. I've tried a couple connections with this computer to no avail. My friend uses his to play Spore, but I still get my connection problem.

Internet Explorer and the HP Update program work fine, and the Windows Update kind of works sporadically. Mozilla Firefox and the Safari web browsers work every once in a while for sites that don't require a log in. So far, those seem to be the only programs that I've found working.

And I don't think it has anything to do with the connections, because everything worked fine on one that I used before I moved to my current location. That connection was secured though, so is it possible that it has something to do with the connections being unsecured?


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## Tropical Bob (Oct 4, 2008)

Bump.


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## Rich-M (May 3, 2006)

Download, install, update and then run a complete scan with this:
www.superantispyware.com


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## Tropical Bob (Oct 4, 2008)

Downloaded and installed it, but when I tried to update it, it gave me the same basic error I've been getting for everything else: make sure my firewall isn't blocking the program, and that I'm connected to the internet.

Downloaded the latest definitions from the website and ran a complete scan, found a couple things and got rid of them, but I'm still having problems.

I talked to EA Customer Support yesterday, and the guy said it's possible that I have a process monitoring program that could be interfering with things. Any way to find out if that's true?


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## Tropical Bob (Oct 4, 2008)

I've heard that DxDiags help out, so I ran a normal and a 64-bit one. (I don't know if there's a difference between the two or not.)


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## Tropical Bob (Oct 4, 2008)

Bump.


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## Pollex (Oct 10, 2008)

1. Uninstall Avast! http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/be5d0190-7bdc-412e-b342-04471a2f56ca1033.mspx
2. Restart your computer
3. Test your connection.
4. Regardless, reinstall Avast!
5. If you can't connect with it uninstalled, then obviously that will not be the culprit. (skip to step 7)
- If you could connect properly with it uninstalled, you still may be able to connect when you reinstall it.
6. If you can't connect with it reinstalled, then you need to uninstall again, and get a different anti-virus program. I recommend AVG Free Edition.

7. Assuming none of that worked...

?? - Have you tried a system file check?

System File Checker checks that all Windows files are where they should be and that they're uncorrupted.

1. Open a Command Window in Administrator mode: * click *Start*
* click *All Programs*, then *Accessories*
* right click on the *Command Prompt *option,
* on the drop down menu which appears, click on the *Run as Administrator *option.

* If you haven't disabled User Account Control you will be asked for authorization. Click the Continue button if you are the administrator or insert the administrator password.
2. Start the System File Checker
* In the Command Prompt window, type: *sfc /scannow*,
* press Enter.
* You'll see "the system scan will begin".
The scan may take some time and windows will repair/replace any corrupt or missing files. You will be asked to insert your Vista DVD if it's needed.
If the SFC scans without finding any problems, you will receive the following message: "Windows resource protection did not find any integrity violations".
Close the Command Prompt Window when the job is finished.

The Microsoft version (with extra stuff) is here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833
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And then there is ...
• *Error-checking* - Error-checking performs read and write tests for every sector of a disk. If an area of the disk is detected as bad or failing, Scandisk attempts to move the data in that area to a new area and to mark that area as bad, meaning it will not be used in the future. 
Find Error-checking most easily by right-clicking over any disk in Windows Explorer. Choose Properties, then the Tools tab. The first option is Error-checking, which is also known as Scandisk or Check Disk. Select both checkboxes, automatically fix and attempt recovery, and then click the Start button. Most of the time, you are likely to get a message that this cannot be run at this time because the disk is in use. Click the Schedule Disk Check button. Most scheduled tasks run after Windows Vista has completely started; this one runs at boot time before Windows Vista loads. See also the sidebar "Command-Line Alternatives to Scandisk and Defrag."

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-us/help/bc1393cf-9f9c-79c7-0f91-9337c2c41f811033.mspx

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And once again, if none of that worked...
-- I would personally uninstall a few of those troubled programs, after backing up settings/documents/etc. Then reinstall and see how they respond.

Sorry it took a bit to respond. Life calls.


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## Tropical Bob (Oct 4, 2008)

Nothing there worked. Everything appears to be in order, yet I'm still getting problems.

I've already tried uninstalling Zune, Firefox, and Spore a couple times each and reinstalling them, but it never worked before. Just to make sure, I reinstalled Zune, and it's still acting up on me.

I don't know if this'll help, but I think it was right after the update to Zune 3.0 that everything started going haywire. Someone else on the Zune forums claims they're also having the same problem: connection issues after the 3.0 update.


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## Tropical Bob (Oct 4, 2008)

Something new caught my eye. I've seen a lot on the Zune forums that people having connection issues just need to make sure their region and time settings are correct. Well I've checked the settings and they're all correct...But something I noticed is that in a couple games, the date and/or time stamps on the save games are wrong. So it seems like there might be a communications error _within_ my computer.

Any thoughts on this or my previous post?


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## Tropical Bob (Oct 4, 2008)

Well, it turns out that all I had to do was run the Norton remover tool. It's all fixed now.


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