Browsing blocked, Windows 7

We would need information on what is happening when you try to access the web via a browser (error messages, behavior), rather than hardware specs.

Had you set this up for networking at all? Have you tried a different browser?

You are not having a Browser issue but you do have Windows 7 not loading.

Is that correct?

Also if you have some serious infections Running anything from within Windows isn't going to clean it out all that well, you need to use a Rescue Disc and boot off that to clean the system up properly.

https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/security/rescue-cds-tips-for-fighting-malware/3803

The problem with using things like this is that they can remove necessary Windows Files which then prevent the system from booting. This doesn't happen when you run things inside Windows because Necessary Files can not be deleted/renamed or whatever. It also means that if a necessary file is infected it can not be cleaned and the system will remain infected.

You need to run a Rescue CD to clean the system and then use the Windows 7 Rescue Disc that you where prompted to create when 7 was first loaded to repair the Windows 7 Install.

Col

First, my apology for the vague OP.

Windows 7 boots okay. If a browser is opened, IE8, Firefox, Mozilla, or Opera, they indicate that they are unable to display the web page, no other error message.

There is no problem with the router. I have other PCs connected both cabled and wireless which are functioning great.

I open a command / dos, (cmd), window, ipconfig indicates connectivity to the router, pinging the gateway is successful, pinging urls, www.google.com, www.yahoo.com, www.cnn.com, resolve to ip but packet transfer fails.

I ran Malwarebytes, which indicated that the database was updated to the latest version, and found 185 items which were removed. I ran Malwarebytes two more times, both came up clean.

I rebooted to the native Windows 7 and the problem persists.

I booted with a hirens.bootCD using miniXP and was able to connect to the router and browse with out any problem. In this boot SuperAntiSpyware and Spybot S&D were run.

SuperAntispyware found 3 register entries and 5 infected files and 192 cookies. All were removed successfully. Spybot S&D didn't find anything.

The machine was rebooted to the HHD Windows 7 without any change. This is when I left my original post.

This is the second time that I have friends come to me with similar issues. The first I resorted to reinstalling the OS, Vista Home, after many hours trying fixes on another support, ITToolbox. I have been an unsubscribed member of TechRepublic for a few months so decided to subscribe to have access to another resource.

A couple hours later I rebooted and ran the Windows 7 Restore. All is fine now.

The owner uses this PC for web browsing, yahoo messenger, facebook mostly so it is pretty painless to get back to the where they want it. Norton needs reinstalled and iTunes, that is about it. Windows 7 created a backup directory for the user profiles so all their photos, which is all that is stored locally, are saved.

My challenge was to find the problem without having to resort to a restore.

Thanks much for your posts and suggestions.

D.

you removed the malware, but that doesn't fix the stuff the malware had broken. Repairing this without restoring includes a lot of familiarity with the system, and a lot of eyeballing. Loss of connectivity could be due to missing files that Windows did not automatically replace, changed registry settings, etc. Could be mostly browser-related or OS related.

Basically, the fast way is to backup the user data and restore the OS and apps, unless you have an inkling of what you are looking for. It can take a considerable amount of time to fix manually, if it is even reasonably possible. Even re-installing the OS in-place doesn't always work, but you need to wipe the drive (minus any recovery partition!) and re-install.