Problem with internet

Xenirina · Nov 1, 2013

So, at the moment, there's random programs which can't connect to the internet and some that can
Some programs that can't connect:

- Origin
- Google Play Music Manager
- Minecraft
- Steam

Some that can:

- iTunes
- Chrome
- mIRC
- FTPRush

As far as I can see, I can't see any correlation between the programs.
I've ruled out my antivirus, having disabled the firewall and protection (ESET Smart Security 6). I've also done a windows restore 'till two months ago, which is definitely before the problem started occurring. I've also checked router settings and nothing weird there either.

It's been happening for about 3 weeks now, and I checked install logs, and there's nothing that might've messed with it.
Anyone able to help? I really need Origin 'cause I want to play Battlefield 3 and well, I can't.

ILuvGames · Nov 3, 2013

Wired or wireless internet connection ?

Wombo Combo · Nov 3, 2013

Check windows firewall, and reset modem/router settings. Make a image of your pc the way it is now and install a fresh copy of windows and see if its still blocked. Or run a live version of linux distro and see if the apps are blocked in that.

The Real Jdbye · Nov 3, 2013

Xenirina said:
So, at the moment, there's random programs which can't connect to the internet and some that can
Some programs that can't connect:

- Origin
- Google Play Music Manager
- Minecraft
- Steam

Some that can:

- iTunes
- Chrome
- mIRC
- FTPRush

As far as I can see, I can't see any correlation between the programs.
I've ruled out my antivirus, having disabled the firewall and protection (ESET Smart Security 6). I've also done a windows restore 'till two months ago, which is definitely before the problem started occurring. I've also checked router settings and nothing weird there either.

It's been happening for about 3 weeks now, and I checked install logs, and there's nothing that might've messed with it.
Anyone able to help? I really need Origin 'cause I want to play Battlefield 3 and well, I can't.

Can other web browsers / FTP clients connect? Just to rule out whether it's an application specific issue, or a protocol/port specific issue.
If you can get ahold of a laptop to see if the same thing happens there, then it would rule out any PC-specific issues.
The more possibilities you can rule out the easier the problem will be to solve.

I suggest giving your ISP a call and see what they have to say about it. It could be a problem on their end. Ask around and see if anyone else in your area with the same ISP has problems?
Other things to try are updating your router firmware if there's an update available and resetting your router to factory settings.

It's also possible you got infected with some sort of malware that is interfering with normal internet communication. You may want to run SuperAntispyware and Malwarebytes and see if anything pops up.

If you are using wifi it's worth a shot to connect your PC with a cable, though I doubt this will make any difference.

calmwaters · Nov 3, 2013

Origin, Minecraft, and Steam are all servers: Minecraft is its own server and Steam/Origin host downloadable games. Google Music; well, obviously it's a server that hosts the music you have on your computer.

Most applications don't have trouble running, like Chrome and other internet browsers, and the other ones are just add-ons. Sounds like something messed with your ability to connect to servers. Try looking for such a program on your computer. Maybe get SpyHunter to look for keys that describe this program. Hope you fix this.

The Real Jdbye · Nov 3, 2013

calmwaters said:
Origin, Minecraft, and Steam are all servers: Minecraft is its own server and Steam/Origin host downloadable games. Google Music; well, obviously it's a server that hosts the music you have on your computer.

Most applications don't have trouble running, like Chrome and other internet browsers, and the other ones are just add-ons. Sounds like something messed with your ability to connect to servers. Try looking for such a program on your computer. Maybe get SpyHunter to look for keys that describe this program. Hope you fix this.

What are you on about? Everything you connect to on the internet is a server.

calmwaters · Nov 3, 2013

The Real Jdbye said:
What are you on about? Everything you connect to on the internet is a server.

Everything you connect to is on a server: yours. For some reason, this user's server isn't talking to the Origin/Steam server. Why? Well something is messing with this internet capability. Applications and plug-ins work just fine, but it's not letting him log onto servers, namely the Origin one. (Am I rambling? Sure sounds like it.)

Xenirina · Nov 3, 2013

ILuvGames said:
Wired or wireless internet connection ?

Wired.

Wombo Combo said:
Check windows firewall, and reset modem/router settings.

I've tried Windows Firewall, and still the same error.
As for resetting the modem/router settings, how would I go about it? I'm using a Netgear CG3100D-2.

Wombo Combo said:
Make a image of your pc the way it is now and install a fresh copy of windows and see if its still blocked.

Sadly, I can't do that as it's a family computer.

The Real Jdbye said:
Can other web browsers / FTP clients connect? Just to rule out whether it's an application specific issue, or a protocol/port specific issue.
If you can get ahold of a laptop to see if the same thing happens there, then it would rule out any PC-specific issues.

Both Internet Explorer and FileZilla work without any errors.
Also tried a laptop running Steam, and it worked fine. So it's something limited to my current computer.

The Real Jdbye said:
I suggest giving your ISP a call and see what they have to say about it. It could be a problem on their end. Ask around and see if anyone else in your area with the same ISP has problems?
Other things to try are updating your router firmware if there's an update available and resetting your router to factory settings.

My ISP is useless with technical help and seeing how it's limited to my computer I doubt they would be able to do much.
Would resetting my router settings help?

The Real Jdbye said:
It's also possible you got infected with some sort of malware that is interfering with normal internet communication. You may want to run SuperAntispyware and Malwarebytes and see if anything pops up.

~~I'm running Malwarebytes now and it's already detected one malicious file.~~ A full run of Malwarebytes led to 28 files being removed. After restarting the computer, the problem still persists.

Originality · Nov 3, 2013

Check if you have any processes that may be choking your upload bandwidth (like DropBox). That can cause handshake failures or timeouts with many servers.

Sicklyboy · Nov 3, 2013

calmwaters said:
Everything you connect to is on a server: yours. For some reason, this user's server isn't talking to the Origin/Steam server. Why? Well something is messing with this internet capability. Applications and plug-ins work just fine, but it's not letting him log onto servers, namely the Origin one. (Am I rambling? Sure sounds like it.)

...this website is on a server and he can connect to it just fine.

Yes, you're rambling.

ILuvGames · Nov 3, 2013

If you want to reset the gateway to default settings, there will be a reset pin/button on the bottom of your gateway. If you haven't got the setup disk from your ISP, make a backup of your settings within the maintenance menu of your gateway. Hold down the pin/button for over 7 seconds and it will reset itself (resetting the router settings as well). If you want to restore the settings from your backup, you can restore them in the maintenance menu. DO NOT GO ONLINE, TURN OFF THE GATEWAY OR YOUR COMPUTER WHILE RESTORING THE SETTINGS.

ILuvGames · Nov 3, 2013

Does running windows network troubleshooter or repairing the connection change/solve anything ?

Wombo Combo · Nov 3, 2013

Like I said download a Live DVD/CD of linux and burn it on a dvd or put it on a jump drive and see if those programs get block on linux. This changes nothing on your computer at all it is running off of the DVD and memory.

Ubuntu is just one distro you can try.
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/thank-you?release=lts&bits=32&distro=desktop&status=zeroc

Xenirina · Nov 3, 2013

Originality said:
Check if you have any processes that may be choking your upload bandwidth (like DropBox). That can cause handshake failures or timeouts with many servers.

I do not use DropBox, but did disable SkyDrive.
Problem still persists.

ILuvGames said:
If you want to reset the gateway to default settings, there will be a reset pin/button on the bottom of your gateway. If you haven't got the setup disk from your ISP, make a backup of your settings within the maintenance menu of your gateway. Hold down the pin/button for over 7 seconds and it will reset itself (resetting the router settings as well). If you want to restore the settings from your backup, you can restore them in the maintenance menu. DO NOT GO ONLINE, TURN OFF THE GATEWAY OR YOUR COMPUTER WHILE RESTORING THE SETTINGS.

I will do this as a last resort.
Presumambly I would have to fix the ports for hosting a Minecraft server correct?

ILuvGames said:
Does running windows network troubleshooter or repairing the connection change/solve anything ?

No.
It doesn't say I have an error (I presume the program can connect to the internet).

Wombo Combo said:
Like I said download a Live DVD/CD of linux and burn it on a dvd or put it on a jump drive and see if those programs get block on linux. This changes nothing on your computer at all it is running off of the DVD and memory.

Ubuntu is just one distro you can try.
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/thank-you?release=lts&bits=32&distro=desktop&status=zeroc

Will do this soon.
Does Steam run on Linux though?

The Real Jdbye · Nov 4, 2013

Xenirina said:
I do not use DropBox, but did disable SkyDrive.
Problem still persists.

I will do this as a last resort.
Presumambly I would have to fix the ports for hosting a Minecraft server correct?

No.
It doesn't say I have an error (I presume the program can connect to the internet).

Will do this soon.
Does Steam run on Linux though?

Steam works on Linux.
You've ruled out some possibilities, so it's now down to something you have installed on your PC that is most likely the issue. Did you install anything else that intercepts network communication? For example, I had some issues with certain software after I installed a proxy client that could tunnel any application (SocksCap I believe it was), it was preventing certain apps from connecting online correctly.
It could be some messed up settings on your router or Windows install as well. It's really difficult to track down the exact source of the problem, it could be a lot of things on your computer. I definitely suggest resetting your router to factory settings.
A Linux Live CD as Wombo Combo mentioned is worth a try, most likely everything will work correctly on that, but if it doesn't then you can rule out any software problems on your PC, the problem would have to be in hardware or your router settings.

calmwaters said:
Everything you connect to is on a server: yours. For some reason, this user's server isn't talking to the Origin/Steam server. Why? Well something is messing with this internet capability. Applications and plug-ins work just fine, but it's not letting him log onto servers, namely the Origin one. (Am I rambling? Sure sounds like it.)

You should stop talking before you make a fool of yourself. You are saying everything he connects to is hosted on his own PC. That plain doesn't make sense. Every website is running on a webserver, every e-mail service is running on a SMTP/POP3/IMAP server, every single thing you connect to is running on some sort of server.
Which servers he has problems connecting to is not that relevant in this case as he has ruled out a firewall issue. So unless there is some sort of webfilter enabled on the router (or installed on his PC without his knowledge) it really isn't relevant.

Xenirina · Nov 4, 2013

The Real Jdbye said:
Did you install anything else that intercepts network communication? For example, I had some issues with certain software after I installed a proxy client that could tunnel any application (SocksCap I believe it was), it was preventing certain apps from connecting online correctly.

Don't think so.
I installed Python, and then uninstalled after I used it, but after that the problem still persisted.

I managed to get into Steam today, but that's all.
The rest are still not working.

The Real Jdbye said:
It could be some messed up settings on your router or Windows install as well. It's really difficult to track down the exact source of the problem, it could be a lot of things on your computer. I definitely suggest resetting your router to factory settings.
A Linux Live CD as Wombo Combo mentioned is worth a try, most likely everything will work correctly on that, but if it doesn't then you can rule out any software problems on your PC, the problem would have to be in hardware or your router settings.

Alright, I'll try that in a few minutes then.
And will give the Linux thing a go as well.

Xenirina · Nov 5, 2013

Tried Linux and ran Play Music Manager and Steam. Both worked fine.
So it's definitely limited to my PC (on Windows). Also reset router settings and the problem is still there.

Also reset my router settings, problem is still there.

I really don't see what could be causing it...

Originality · Nov 5, 2013

What is your idle network usage like?

Also, are there any other devices on the network that may be using up bandwidth? (Smartphones, tablets, other laptops, neighbours, etc)

The only other idea I have is the DNS used. Try switching to googles DNS instead of your ISP DNS.

The Real Jdbye · Nov 5, 2013

Originality said:
What is your idle network usage like?

Also, are there any other devices on the network that may be using up bandwidth? (Smartphones, tablets, other laptops, neighbours, etc)

The only other idea I have is the DNS used. Try switching to googles DNS instead of your ISP DNS.

Or alternatively, if he already changed the DNS settings to a custom DNS, try setting it to automatic.

ILuvGames · Nov 6, 2013

Wish we could delete our own posts.

Problem with internet

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