Hello, all of a sudden I have problems browsing the internet with one of the computers within a small LAN. The PC runs with WIN XP. The Internet Explorer is saying that there is a problem connecting to the DNS Server. Indeed, I can't "ping" it. "ipconfig /all" seems to be alright, the hardware is intact too. Additionally, the LAN access works without any problems. In Win98 I was able to replace i.e. the wsock32.dll file with a new one. WinXP doesn't allow this anymore. Can anyone help me out with this? Can I still copy a new -.dll file into the system folder or do I have to reinstall everything ...? Thanks a lot in advance and cheers Wolfgang.

DOn't take this as gospel, but it might be worth a try. I often have to delete Winsock and Winsock2 from the registry and replace them with good copies. (Make copies on a floppy from a known good computer before doing this.) In the registry the ones to delete are in HKLM/System/Current Control Set/Services. Delete these 2 winsocks on the left side of the page. Then put your floppy with the good winsocks in your A drive, and click (or double click) on each one in turn. You will be automatically asked if you want to add them to the registry. Say yes and it will tell you it has been done successfully. If you are using a router, does your ipconfig show a 192 IP address, or something else, like 169? As I understand it, routers' IP addresses must start with 192. Can you pin the 192 IP address? If you want to test the winsock replacement before doing it, you can go to the command prompt. Type ipconfig /release (note space after ipconfig), enter, wait for the response, and then type ipconfig /renew. If you get an error saying something like can't connect because of something that's not a socket, then the replacement is definitely in order. If none of this helps, let me know.

Delete winsock on XP??? DNS is an ISP issue, and you need to discuss this with your ISP. You could have a bad TCP/IP stack, so deleting and reinstalling it sometimes helps. (go into internet properties and delete the client, then the protocal, then the adapter, then reboot) Are you using a software firewall product or web proxy? If so removing this can also resolve these problems. hth,

Jeruvy - yes, you really have to do this sometimes. MS has a KB article on it. If you see the message I cited above when you do an ipconfig /renew, that's the tipoff. I have to do it virtually every time I change from cable to DSL or vice versa (one house has one, and one the other). In fact, my ISP AND router manufacturer said when I described the problem that it might be a socket issue but that they weren't allowed to tell me how to fix it because it involved the registry. I already knew that, and knew how to reinstall the winsocks. It's a little known problem, but a very real one.

Hmm, Deleting entries from the registry (unless they are executables in binary form) does not delete them from the machine. Hacking the registry is never a good idea even by experts, and the ISP and Router tech's are wise in not suggesting this step be taken. In your case I would simply have two network stacks rather than one, and connect to each when needed, disabling the last before I quit. However I see what your getting at, and this could well lead to a solution. I'd say remove the NIC, power up, then power down and add the NIC, problem probably solved too.