My handy dandy Talisma Customer support agent decided I was too annoying to help or something, so he directed me here :P A lot of my programs are, for some reason, unable to access the internet, while others are perfectly fine. The farthest I've gotten toward understanding why this happened is with Windows Live Messenger, where it failed Troubleshooting's "Key Ports" test: "Failed to connect to the service. This could be due to improper proxy or firewall settings. Please review your proxy and firewall settings." That can't be right, though, because the same problem happened even when I disabled my Firewall temporarily. Can anybody help me on this please?

Hey there, What Windows are you using? Is this a Windows 7 specific issue, or you are also experiencing this issue on other machines? I would first check if you are behind a proxy, or if you are directly connected to the internet. Also, other than Windows Live Messenger, what other software doesn't connect to the internet? And are you connected to a wireless router or router? If it's a laptop, can you try connecting to another network and see if you can access the internet? This would help isolate the problem, whether it's a problem with your network, or your computer/windows. Hope this helps.Jabez Gan [MVP] - http://www.msblog.org Contributing Author for: (Sybex) MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure Configuration Study Guide: Exam 70-643

Agh, I always forgot to mention the machine specifications. Sorry lol- I'm using a Dell XPS 420 using Windows 7 Beta Build 7000. The computer came without any OS on it, so we installed Vista Home Premium. Windows 7 is currently my main OS- I don't recall having the problem using Vista, however. The internet in my house is set up so that there is a main wireless router (Linksys) that broadcasts internet throughout the house for the laptop(s). However, the desktop computers like mine obtain their internet through a wired connection that is obtained from a seperate machine, probably a modem (don't have too much experience with this :P). A few other programs that can't seem to do it are Google Chrome's setup, Crossfire (a game), and for a while, Windows Lives' setup itself. All of them claim or claimed that they couldn't access the internet.

Hi Mchief, Here's what I would do: 1. Try downloading and installing the latest wireless or wired network driver for your Win7. 2. Try updating the firmware of your wireless router. Also, please ensure that the properties of Chrome doesn't not have any proxy. Also please make sure that there's no proxy settings in IE's Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections -> LAN Settings. Hope this helps.Jabez Gan [MVP] - http://www.msblog.org Contributing Author for: (Sybex) MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure Configuration Study Guide: Exam 70-643

I went on the host computer, and the driver and network are both up to date. I went to the properties of the router (WRT54G Properties), then General, then Settings. There's a list of services there, is it possible to grant programs access to the internet through there, maybe?

Hi Mchief, I believe that the properties that you see in your router are to allow incoming connections for use of those programs. For example, if you are hosting a game or FTP on your machine, only then you configure those settings (to allow incoming connections). What network card and version is installed for your wireless adapter and wired adapter?Jabez Gan [MVP] - http://www.msblog.org Contributing Author for: (Sybex) MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure Configuration Study Guide: Exam 70-643

Erm, where would I find this out?

Hi, Please provide me with the hardware ID of both the wireless adapter and wired network adapter: 1. Start -> Right click Computer -> Properties 2. Click Device Manager 3. Under Network Adapters, right click on your network adapter and select properties. 4. Click Details. On the drop down list, select Hardware ID. Now, copy the first line of the hardware ID. 5. Provide us the first line of the hardware ID. Repeat step 3-5 for your wireless network adapter. Once you have posted your hardware IDs, I'll provide you the link to download the latest version and see if that fixes your problem. Hope this helps.Jabez Gan [MVP] - http://www.msblog.org Contributing Author for: (Sybex) MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure Configuration Study Guide: Exam 70-643

The only one my computer connects to is an Intel 82566DC-2 Gigabit Network Connection (the wireless is only used for laptops, my computer isn't even able to detect it): PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_294C&SUBSYS_02151028&REV_02 PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_294C&SUBSYS_02151028 PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_294C&CC_020000 PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_294C&CC_0200

Hi Mchief, Do you see any Unknown Device (with a yellow exclamation mark) in Device Manager? If yes, please provide me with the Hardware ID. For your wired network adapter, please go to this link to download and install the latest version. After installing, try if to see if this problem persists. Hope this helps!Jabez Gan [MVP] - http://www.msblog.org Contributing Author for: (Sybex) MCTS: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure Configuration Study Guide: Exam 70-643

Umm, there's no unknown device in the Device Manager- they're all named and ready. I installed the current software, but nothing happened.

Hi, Can you access Internet in Internet Explorer? If so, in IE click Tools->Internet Options, click the Connections tab, and click the LAN settings button. Let us know if you have set Proxy settings for IE. If currently the computer is connected to a proxy, please let us know if you could access Internet without proxy.Arthur Xie - MSFT

Well, nothing in the list of LAN settings is checked, and IE works. No proxies or anything like that, then.

Hi, I suggest that you enter the following command in Command Prompt. netsh winhttp show proxy If the computer does not connect to any proxy, the result should be Direct access. In this case, the issue may be caused by some local programs, such as anti-virus, anti-spyware. Which anti-virus do you use? I suggest that you boot in Clean Boot Mode. This method will help us determine if this issue is caused by a loading program or service. Please perform the following steps:1. Click the Start Button type "msconfig" (without quotation marks) in the Start Search box, and then press Enter.Note: If prompted, please click Continue on the User Account Control (UAC) window.2. Click the "Services" tab, check the "Hide All Microsoft Services" box and click "Disable All" (if it is not gray). 3. Click the "Startup" tab, click "Disable All" and click "OK".Then, restart the computer. When the "System Configuration Utility" window appears, please check the "Don't show this message or launch the System Configuration Utility when Windows starts" box and click OK.Test this issue in the Clean Boot environment, if the issue disappears in the Clean Boot environment, we can use a 50/50 approach to quickly narrow down which entry is causing the issue.Arthur Xie - MSFT

Well, I went into cmd and did the first step- Direct Access was there. I use McAfee Security Center 2008, Windows Defender, and Malware Bytes. I fully scanned my computer with each of them (not at the same time), and it came up clean. However, when I went into msconfig, and disabled everything, my computer couldn't access the internet at all- which programs should I leave checked to connect to my home network? Also, how do I go into a Clean Boot environment?

Maybe you are using wireless connection with a third party connection management tool. I suspect that the root cause is one of the following applications McAfee Security Center 2008Windows Defender Malware Bytes Please note that Windows Defender is anti-spyware program. If you keep to anti-spyware enabled, there may be some conflictions. I suggest that you remove Malware Bytes and only enable Windows Defender. If the issue persists, temporary disable McAfee and Windows Defender one by one and check the result. You may find the root cause then.Arthur Xie - MSFT

LOL! Thank you so much, I feel like an idiot! I disabled McAfee's firewall, and that was it! Rofl, thank you so much...