I cannot download files from the internet. I can download pictures and access all websites. However, when I try to download a file, it goes to the "downloading file info" screen and after a while gives me a red x error message that states the site is unavailable or cannot be found. Dell and MSN cannot fiqure it out. I have been through all of the control panel settings with Dell. I have tried turning off the firewall and it had no effect on the problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

Try installing and using Netscape instead.

Nutscrape?  Yeah, right.  [rolleyes]

You can try a few things.  One is, to do a simple repair of IE... here is a sample of a repair:

On the taskbar, click Start , point to Settings , and then click Control Panel .

In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs .

In the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box, click Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1 and Internet Tools , and then click Add/Remove .

In the Internet Explorer 5.5 and Internet Tools dialog box, click Repair Internet Explorer , then click OK , and then click Yes to confirm the repair.

Click Yes to restart the computer.


If that dont do it, you might try uninstalling IE (it will revert to the last version it had) or by upgrading to IE6 and see if that fixes it.

Also, if you have Go!zilla installed, get rid of it.  Speaking of "get rid of".... MSN?  [rolleyes]

I have seen this before, and it is a mime issue, but I cannot remember what I did to fix it.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have however, already tried the IE repair through the control panel and I have upgraded to IE6 and still have the problem. I don't have GOzilla or Speedbit installed either. I'm stumped on this one. Thanks again for your help.

I'd try Netscape 6.2, if you can download with it, that'll narrow your troubleshooting down to Micosoft Exploder. It can't hurt, plus 6.2 has lots of neat stuff.

If your firewall is Linux/Unix then I may be able to help. If its a "personal firewall" on your local machine...your on your own.

It sounds like you can't get FTP traffic because the firewall is blocking it. Make sure your FTP port is enabled (on the firewall.)

[edited 35 times to get the stupid picture to work. It got personal after about 10 trys]

[img]personalpages.tds.net/~eflanagin/HW.gif[/img]

I'm using Norton Personal Firewall. However, I thought this could be it so I disabled it and I still have the same problem.

Uninstall the firewall, or put it at the "lowest security setting" that you can.
Are you using W2k or NT? If so, check to make sure your port 80 allows FTP. I'd lose the firewall software (read:uninstall) then reboot and try to download.
Check out the pic in my last post. The smile turns into a Ninja!

[B]If that dont do it, you might try uninstalling IE (it will revert to the last version it had) or by upgrading to IE6 and see if that fixes it.[/B]

I unistalled 6 because of the problems I had and it wiped Win ME completly off my comp

Before starting on the list below...back up anything of value....files, jot down personal preferences, make sure you have any saved passwords you may need for later, ISP dialup numbers if they apply, email, etc.

* Did this just start one day or has it always been this way?
* Which operating system?  Windows ME by chance?  Was Windows ever upgraded from another version (without reformatting the hard drive)?  Windows XP has a reset-tool that allows one to reset the computer settings to a previous date.
* Was IE upgraded from IE4 directly to either IE5.5 or IE6 directly?
* MSN dialup connection or a broadband connection with MSN as the ISP?
* Temporarily uninstall Norton Firewall.  It does a good job, but it is very capable of blocking connections, even when you choose 'disable.'
* Proxies...I'm guessing that all proxies should be empty and your ISP checked that already.  But if you have a proxy setting listed on the FTP line when there shouldn't be that could do it.  Or if you need proxy settings (kinda rare for a home connection) and the setting isn't there, that could do it too.
* Right-click on the AR15.com logo above and choose "Save Picture As.." and see if that gets you anywhere.
* Right-click on a link (try a link and not a "button") and choose "Save Target As.." and see if that lets you save a file.
* Depending upon which site your trying to download from...are they trying to place a cookie before downloading?  In IE6, temporarily go to TOOLS>INTERNET OPTIONS>PRIVACY then move the slider bar down to the bottom to 'Accept all cookies' (or just leave it there if you don't mind the cookies).
* Also on the Internet Options, clear all cache and cookies, then set Security to 'Default' then go to the Advanced Tab and click on 'Restore Defaults' there too.
* Any other programs at all that could cause this?  Yes, a very general question, but a program can do this.  To temporarily get rid of them, you can end all extra processes (on Win98/ME hit CTRL-ALT-DEL one time then End Task on everything on the list except for 'Explorer', 'SysTray' and if you have a broadband connection, you may need whatever program that controls the broadband connection, but I wouldn't know the name of it.
* Virus?  Basically another type of external program, but as long as your antivirus program has the latest update do a full virus scan, then we can mark that one off the list.
* If you're on a dialup connection, change the dialup numbers to see if that is a factor.
* If you're on a dialup connection...uninstall the dialup service and reinstall it (which is basically getting rid of your dialup settings and then putting them back in again, you may need some numbers, user ID's, passwords written down before doing this).
* Use an FTP program to connect to an FTP site or use Explorer and type in ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/ in the Address field, then see if that connects...if it does, open up a folder and try to download something.

(part 2)

* As mentioned, try Netscape.  Though my personal preference is Netscape Navigator 4.08...not the Communicator that has all the add-ons (AOL IM, Netzip, Netcape's email program, etc.).  And...download it WITHOUT the SmartDownload.  Since you're troubleshooting a download problem, you don't want another program that could jump in the middle of things. Here's the link for Navigator 4.08 for Windows...

[url]http://home.netscape.com/download/sd_nb32d408en.html[/url]

Choose the "here" link at the bottom of the page to download without the SmartDownload gizmo.  Test out Netscape to see if it will download.  Of course it may not even download considering the problem at hand...perhaps you might know somebody with a CD-writer that can download and burn off a copy of Netscape for you.
* Are there local "mom and pop" dialup ISP's in your area?  Some of them will give you a free userID and password to try out their connection for a week or so.

There's 11ty possibilities which could be at the
* web site level
* ISP level
* browser level
* browser-operating system communication level
* modem-operating system communication level
* external program level
* operating system level
* hardware level
* blame it on the dog

All anybody can do is use the process of elimination.  This is often done by trying a different method to test the same suspected error. Such as using a different browser to try the same task (if you get the same error with a different browser, then the problem is most likely not the browser in the first place).  Generally this is done by starting with the most common and easiest to fix (browser settings) and work our way down to the most difficult task (reformatting and reinstalling Windows...which is the most successful, but most difficult and erases all data).

Dump Winblows! Install Redhat Linux and use Netscape 6 [:)]
[img]http://www.isc.tamu.edu/~lewing/linux/sit3-shine.7.gif[/img]

I like Konqueror much better than Netscape 6 for Linux.

Slackware...Redhad is for the lazy ;-)