I am trying to resurrect an old Sony Vaio laptop running Vista that hasn't been used for at least 2 years.
This with a view to updating to Windows 10 to see amongst other things if it works with my JMRI Decoder Pro programmes rather than wrecking my new laptop if it doesn't.
Not surprisingly I had to run quite a few updates, even had to reset date and time but one thing is defeating me. Whenever I try to go on line with either Internet Explorer or Firefox I'm presented with a message saying:
"Connection reset whilst page was loading".
Checking with BT Desktop Help I am told:
"IE web browser has proxy settings that are incompatible with BT Total Broadband"
Desktop help then offers to reset the browser settings & after doing so I can get on line.
But next time I turn laptop on I have to go through the same rigmarole.
Disabling the Windows Firewall doesn't make any difference, neither did upgrading to IE 9. The laptop is only used at home on a domestic network using a BT Hub.
As I am semi computer literate (I can turn it on & off), would some kind soul tell me in layman's words of one (or less) syllables how I can permanently solve the problem and get onto trying to update the (pesky) machine.
Any advice/info gratefully received.
Ray
Might help if you tell us what they're getting you to do ?
Quote from: MikeDunn on August 25, 2015, 08:31:03 PM
Might help if you tell us what they're getting you to do ?
That's the whole problem, there not telling me, the system just gives this message
"IE web browser has proxy settings that are incompatible with BT Total Broadband"
I don't know what a proxy setting is, I don't know about proxy servers and even if I knew what to change (which I don't) I don't know what to change it to.
Ray
??? Are you allowing them remote access to your PC ? I'd not trust them, personally ...
OK, apart from that - give this a go ...
In IE, click the Tools icon (looks like a gear wheel, top right corner). Choose Internet Options. Go to the Advanced tab. Click the Reset button at the bottom. On the pop-up, click Reset again (don't select the tick-box though). Restart your PC.
This will fully reset your IE settings ...
A proxy server is a server that sits between you & the internet; it takes your requests & gets the pages, then passes them to you. Proxy settings point to / configure your PC to use the proxy.
Thanks for that Mike, did as you suggested.
After a restart I still get the same message "connection reset etc"
The BT Desktop help is a sort of App that was supplied by BT along with the wifi hub, I'm not actually on line to anybody.
Ray
Oh, an app ... OK, that's wasn't clear, thought you were speaking with a HellDesk ...
Right; let's see what we can do ... Make a few notes (or copy this into a text file).
Follow your current procedure to get a working connection, and then go here : http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable (http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable). This is a zero-footprint copy of FF. Extract it somewhere you can quickly find it & give it a test to a website to make sure it works; maybe save to a USB pendrive.
Now, reboot your system. Fire up IE, and also your copy of FF (not the one you just got); everything fail again, yes ? Close 'em down, & fire up the new version of FF - does it work ?
If yes - you have some setting that's going awry on your main version; you can open both up at once, and then check the various settings, see what's different on yours & change it.
Mike
Thanks Mike
Will give that a try once I can find a spare usb stick.
Ray
Or, if all else fails try :
Fire up your firefox,
go to Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Configure ,, Settings > Proxies
and tick the "No proxy"
press "OK" and back out.
see if you can connect.
Theory :
that your laptop is loading a proxy setting that BT doesnt like ( from when it was last used on a previous ISP who had a different proxy) and is re-loading it at power-up, , that the reset version is not persisting thro power-down.
Assumption :
I may be out of date but time was -
that a proxy server was a convenience to fast page loading ( a local, to your ISP, copy of frequently loaded web pages - to save fetching from the interwebby every time) but it was not essential.
So telling it "No proxy", will be a little slower for now, but will serve until we can determine the true setting for your BT proxy ?
Maybe :) I've just tried "No proxy" in PaleMoon (FF lookalike) and it worked, didnt want to destroy my main FF :)
Usual caveats apply - and Mike can tell you where the same thing is to be found in IE ??
Quote from: MalcolmAL on August 25, 2015, 09:36:51 PM
and Mike can tell you where the same thing is to be found in IE ??
Thanks for the vote of confidence :P
Tools --> Internet Options --> Connections tab --> LAN settings (at the bottom) --> and it's in the bottom half if set. Just untick the box ...
Quote from: MikeDunn on August 25, 2015, 09:40:37 PM
Thanks for the vote of confidence
:D
Been soooo long since I used IE !
Do you concur that a proxy service is optional still ?
Infact that may be what his reset is doing, wipes the existing wrongun back to a no proxy state ??
Yeah, these days outside of business systems it's not a vast amount of use ... of course, some ISPs still use it :(
If you're on a decent connection, I don't see the real need; it's not like the old days on modems :no: Then you needed it, as the local copy of the page (you hoped !) was faster.
Quote from: REGP on August 25, 2015, 09:34:25 PMWill give that a try once I can find a spare usb stick.
You dont need to use a USBstick for portable apps,
a USB hard drive (or even a folder on your C: drive) will do, any writeable permissioned folder if you want to preserve settings on power-down.
But it may still pick up system settings for proxy left elsewhere so again try the "No Proxy" mode in the portable version.
Malcolm & Mike
Thanks for the info I altered the proxy settings in both Firefox and IE as suggested, restarted laptop and still getting the connection reset message.
Looked into the proxy settings only to find the changes hadn't been saved and they had reverted to original setting.
Repeated exercise again and got exactly the same result, namely the connection reset message and settings reverted to original.
Ray
Let us know how the PA version goes ...
Out of curiosity - are you logging in as an admin user, or a limited-rights user ?
Quote from: MikeDunn on August 25, 2015, 10:28:58 PM
Let us know how the PA version goes ...
Out of curiosity - are you logging in as an admin user, or a limited-rights user ?
No idea,
I simply get asked for my password.
How would I Sign on as an administrator?
Ray
Quote from: MikeDunn on August 25, 2015, 09:17:04 PM
Follow your current procedure to get a working connection, and then go here : http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable (http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable). This is a zero-footprint copy of FF. Extract it somewhere you can quickly find it & give it a test to a website to make sure it works; maybe save to a USB pendrive.
Mike
Saved to a USB drive removed it from laptop, rebooted re inserted USB drive and guesse what " the connection was reset" so regrettably no further forward.
Ray
Quote from: REGP on August 25, 2015, 11:40:29 PM
Quote from: MikeDunn on August 25, 2015, 09:17:04 PM
Follow your current procedure to get a working connection, and then go here : http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable (http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable). This is a zero-footprint copy of FF. Extract it somewhere you can quickly find it & give it a test to a website to make sure it works; maybe save to a USB pendrive.
Mike
Saved to a USB drive removed it from laptop, rebooted re inserted USB drive and guesse what " the connection was reset" so regrettably no further forward.
Ray
did you set it to "No proxy" ?
edit
I'll rephrase that,
Have you also tried setting it to "No proxy"
No like a dummy I didn't. So I'll try again and let you know tomorrow what happened.
Thanks again
Ray
Ok,
we live in hope cos my PaleMoon portable did preserve.
by the way, above you said
>"Malcolm & Mike
Thanks for the info I altered the proxy settings in both Firefox and IE as suggested, "
but didnt say if it/they connected
>"restarted laptop and still getting the connection reset message."
which is where we needed the portable bit to eliminate mystery windows preservations of incorrect settings !
Good luck for tomorrow :)
all computer problems are simple - in the end,
it's the getting there that is baffling ;)
Back in the days of XP, I picked up a bug from a corporate network I was on that kept point me to a proxy server. There was a hack to the registry that I had to do to put it back to normal. I can't remember exactly what it was, but I had to set a Dword value to zero, reboot then delete the key. Probably under current version/windows/ie ?
Unable to resume working on this problem today, will try again on Thursday, thanks for your help so far guys.
Ray
I think this is what I had to do, Ray.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2289942
Quote from: Malc on August 27, 2015, 08:20:31 AM
I think this is what I had to do, Ray.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2289942
Thanks for the suggestion Malc, I thought it would be a simply process but Oh No.
I'm running Vista so instructions are click on windows symbol then click run.
When ever I click the symbol all I get is the start Menu at the bottom of that there is a search box, type run in that and all I get is Google desk top.
I'm clearly missing something very fundamental here any suggestions?
Ray
Try typing regedit or regedt32
Thanks Malc
That gets me into Registry Editor, but there's no search box, just a massive list of item mostly beginning (4D..
Ray
Ctl+F for find.
Ummm, you have made a backup of your Reg and know how to restore it if it all goes horribly wrong ?
Messing with the Reg can lead to unintended consequences :(
Fantastic, managed to get rid of the unwanted proxy settings.
Not quite sure how, I was struggling with your instructions Malc and left the laptop running a disk cleanup programme whilst I had a cuppa.
Afterwards I could get straight onto the Internet with no problems, checked the settings on IE & FF and both stated no proxy.
Thanks you both for help.
Ray
Quote from: MalcolmAL on August 27, 2015, 11:44:22 PM
Ummm, you have made a backup of your Reg and know how to restore it if it all goes horribly wrong ?
Messing with the Reg can lead to unintended consequences :(
Malcolm I never got that far, but didn't know about backup so thanks for the warning.
Ray
Quote from: REGP on August 27, 2015, 11:47:49 PMno proxy.
Brill !
Good to hear of a happy ending :)
The friendly forum comes up trumps again. :thumbsup:
Now if we were feeling very brave masochistic we could attempt to query the interwebby to discover the real
poxy address for BT :laugh:
Quote from: MalcolmAL on August 28, 2015, 12:38:04 PM
Now if we were feeling very brave masochistic we could attempt to query the interwebby to discover the real
poxy address for BT :laugh:
No way. :dunce:
All I want to do now is speed it up a bit, at moment it's rather like Stephensons Rocket when I need a Class 47 or preferably an HST.
Thanks again
Ray
Akshirly thinking bout it some more ,
now that we you have it preserving a proxy setting thro switchoff
and presuming that this is not your main machine
is it time to winkle out an alternative proxy setting from your main machine and try that in your vista lappy ?
You may need an IE and win10? expert for that though ;)