Help needed in getting back on line

[REGP]

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

[MikeDunn]

Might help if you tell us what they're getting you to do ?

[REGP]

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

[MikeDunn]

   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.

[REGP]

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

[MikeDunn]

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.  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

[REGP]

Thanks Mike

Will give that a try once I can find a spare usb stick.

Ray

[MalcolmInN]

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 ??

[MikeDunn]

and Mike can tell you where the same thing is to be found in IE ??

Thanks for the vote of confidence 

Tools --> Internet Options --> Connections tab --> LAN settings (at the bottom) --> and it's in the bottom half if set.  Just untick the box ...

[MalcolmInN]

Thanks for the vote of confidence

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 ??

[MikeDunn]

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    Then you needed it, as the local copy of the page (you hoped !) was faster.

[MalcolmInN]

Will 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.

[REGP]

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

[MikeDunn]

Let us know how the PA version goes ...

Out of curiosity - are you logging in as an admin user, or a limited-rights user ?

[REGP]

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