No browsers will load web pages

Question

So I've got a netbook that just refuses to actually load a web page; any page. Chrome, FireFox, IE7. IE8. It sits there and tries and tries, then nothing. If you're lucky and hit reload 15-20 times, you might get the page, but nothing works after that. I've ran Hijack this, and nothing abnormal comes up (I'm a minimalist). I've checked proxy settings, all communication configuration, tried removing the router from the equation completely. My friend's laptop hops on and works fine, fast as ever.

Today I noticed that Windows 7 had downloaded some updates, so clearly there is a connection being made, just not happening in the browser. Any ideas?

Answer 1

There are a few things I can think of (If you need any more details on any point/how to fix, please say in comments):

1. Incorrect DNS settings - but not likely due to "sometimes" working. If this is the case, go to network connections, right click the connection and check DNS settings - either go to automatic or copy the settings from another computer that is working.

2. Could be a virus/malware - unlikely, but you can never rule it out.

3. Check hosts file - c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts and see if there is any entries other than the localhost ones.

4. Finally the most likely - bad drivers. Sometimes Windows update downloads driver updates, whilst they do checking, sometimes bad ones can slip in - Try going to Computer Management > System Tools > Device Manager and select the network device then right click and choose Properties, go to the Driver tab and choose Roll Back.

If the above doesn't work, try going to the manufacturer's website of the network device and download the latest update / drivers as hopefully this will fix it.

All the above is assuming it was working at some point - if it wasn't, please say.