I am having problems with the internet on my PC and am pretty sure its a DNS problem.
I am unable to view websites, sign into MSN messenger, update anti-virus, check email etc. but can sign into Skype, Xfire etc. Also, I can view web pages by typing their IP into the firefox address bar, and can ping the IPs, but cannot ping the web address (ie i can ping 66.249.93.147 but cannot ping www.google.com). I am also able to access the routers config page (by typing 192.168.11.1).
I am using a USB wireless adapter to connect to the internet through a wireless router and cable modem, but have tried using a wired connection to the router which had no effect (same symptoms). Every other computer on my network can connect fine, and my computer can when using when running linux (using a live CD), so I’m pretty confident that its an issue specific to windows (be it a configuration problem or running processes or whatever). I am running Windows XP Home (SP2).
Both the wired and wireless connections are set up manually (as they do not connect properly when set to automatically obtain settings from the router, which is again a windows issue. If anyone can help me with this as well then it is much appreciated, but not urgent, more of a mild annoyance) and as a result have a manually configured DNS server address which I have verified is correct (using my routers config page and the other computers on the network). I have also tried using OpenDNS servers, and using my ISPs servers directly but to no avail.
This problem started apparently randomly last Wednesday morning when I switched on my computer (was working perfectly the night before) and has persisted since then. I have of course tried restarting and running virus and spyware scans (but the definitions may not be up to date, and I cannot update them due to my lack of internet). I would try doing a system restore, but have no restore points from before when the problem started. I haven’t installed any new software recently. I have no proxies set up, and do not require one to connect to the web usually. Any help is much appreciated. I have even tried a repair install, and that didn’t help either. I have tried to be as thourough as possible, but if you need any more information let me know. Please help, I’m at a total loss.