Cannot connect to internet

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I know nothing about the innards on computers. I know how to use one, but am no good trying to fix one.

My girlfriend's desktop PC all of a sudden will not connect to the internet now. It worked on Sunday and yesterday it did not. It says it cannot connect to the internet and will not open her broswer, which is Mozilla Firefox. A few weeks ago her virus program said it had found and quarantined about 3 different viruses and a worm or trojan horse program. The virus program subscription is expired and has not been updated in a year. She bought a new copy of Norton and can't even run that to fix it because Norton can't connect to the internet on her computer.

Any ideas? All cables are all plugged in and the cable modem is working. Her PC is a 5 year old HP something-or-other. Is it a safe bet that a virus has ruined her PC and it might just be better to replace it instead of trying to fix it?

Thanks for any help here. Like I said, I know nothing about fixing a computer.
 
Usually this can be something as simple as resetting the modem and router. Have you tried turning them off and then back on?
 
How does it connect to the internet? USB cable to a cable modem/dsl box? Is there a router/hub in between? Ethernet to the cable modem?

I'd start by going Start->Run and typing "CMD" and pressing OK. This will get you to a command prompt.

First type "ping http://www.msn.com" and hit enter. If you get a response, the connection is there but the browser isn't seeing it.

If you don't get a response, type "ipconfig /all". This will list the configuration on the PC. If the IP Address starts with a 0 or 169, you're connection from the PC to the cable modem or router isn't working.

Have you seen the South Park where they unplug the router, plug it back in and everything works fine? Should be required watching for any computer owner.

EDIT: the thing changes my ping command. should be "ping wwwmsncom" with dots between w and m, and n and c.
 
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I wondered why it looked like a URL in the post above

Code:
ping www.msn.com


Try wrapping it with the code tags
 
Thanks for the help. It's a desktop PC with an ethernet connection to a cable modem. The modem is connected to the cable outlet on the wall. I think ethernet cables are the ones that look like thick phone cables, right?

I don't know if she tried disconnecting anything yet. She will call the provider today and maybe they can help. I have the same provider at my house and have had no trouble but I live 50 miles away.

I'll try to get her to try to use the ping commands if the provider can't help. Thanks again.
 
Yup, that's the ethernet cable. I would just suggest turning off the cable modem for one minute and then booting it back up before you make a call. I am just saying that because I guarantee you will be on hold and once you get through, that will be the first thing they ask you to do.
 
OK. I'll try to walk her through these fixes tonight before she calls her ISP. I have talked to them once before and they were helpful so maybe it is just a simple problem on their end.

Thanks.
 
can't even run Firefox? Most likely there are some core files in Windows OS corrupted/missing/deleted during the process of virus cleanup.

This is gonna need some time and expertise than just a mere casual talk-u-throu-da-phone/post-it-on-board-reply kinda walkthrough to fix.

go find a tech and see if he/she can help you with (alternatively, find a geeky computer highschool kid around da neighbourhood to help.

Q.
 
Can you d/l a live Linux on a CD and boot that up while at your g/f's house?

That way, you can isolate the existing O/S. If the bootable linux can get on the interweb, then it's not a hardware or ISP issue.
 
I would shut off the modem and computer. Then turn the modem on and then the computer. You can also check the network connection in the control panel and make sure it is enabled. You can right click on the network connection and click repair or enable/disable.

I assume there is no router involved.

It could be the ethernet component failed and you may need a new ethernet card installed.
 
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1 in 10,000 chance but if her computer was hijacked by a virus/worm and sending out tons of spam email etc the ISP might have shut her down. This doesn't exactly match the symptoms you give so don't sweat it too badly.

The cable modem should have an "online" light, check that.

This thing should have internet explorer even if it's never used. Go start-run-type in "iexplore" (enter)

You don't have to chuck the whole computer if it gets virused up. If the personal data onboard is replaceable, a reformat and new OS would reset it to how it was when new. Either there are restore disks somewhere or a button like F12 you hit while the thing is booting. Being a major brand computer the process should be fairly streamlined.
 
the other day I was online, a lightening storm went through our town, power flicked off and on. computer shut off. restarted, the pc couldn't get online. all lights were on with the cable modem. I had to unplug the cable modem, plug it back in. restart the computer again. I was back online. you probably have to reset the cable modem.
 
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