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 Tuesday, 24 November 2009
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Why can't I access any websites?

If you are having trouble accessing a website and are receiving an error message such as "Page cannot be displayed" or "Website not responding", try the following steps.

Firstly, try again using the Refresh button. This is the small button that looks like a circular arrow on your toolbar to the left of the address bar. If the problem continues, try one of the following steps.

Restart the computer and try again

Restarting your computer will refresh the files and folders, and may help to solve the problem you are having.

Follow the instructions below to restart your computer:

1. Shut down your computer in the usual way by selecting Shut Down from the Start menu.
2. Wait 30 seconds.
3. Turn your computer back on and try to connect again.


Reset the web settings in Internet Explorer


If your Internet Explorer settings have changed, you can restore them to your original settings. To do this, follow the instructions below for your version of Internet Explorer:

Internet Explorer 8

1. Launch Internet Explorer by double-clicking the desktop icon or selecting the Start menu item.
2. Select Tools from the menu at the top (press the ALT key on the keyboard if the menus are not displayed). Then select Internet Options.
3. Select the Advanced tab.
4. Click the Reset button.
5. When prompted, click Reset again.
6. Click Close.
7. Click OK to apply the changes and then exit.
8. Restart Internet Explorer.
Note: After restarting Internet Explorer, you may be prompted with a Welcome screen.
9. Click Next.
10. Select an option for Suggested Sites and click Next.
11. Select Use express options and click Finish.

Internet Explorer 7

To restore your original Internet Explorer 7 settings, take the following steps:

1. Open Internet Explorer by double-clicking the desktop icon or selecting it from the Start menu.
2. Select Tools from the menu bar at the top.
Note: Press the ALT key on your keyboard if the menu bar is not displayed.
3. Select Internet Options.
4. Select the Advanced tab and then click the Reset button.
5. When prompted, click Reset again.
6. Click OK to apply the changes.

Internet Explorer 6

To restore your original Internet Explorer 6 settings, take the following steps:

1. Open Internet Explorer by double-clicking the desktop icon or selecting it from the Start menu.
2. Select Tools from the menu bar at the top and then select Internet Options.
3. Select the Programs tab and click Reset Web Settings.
4. Click Yes when prompted.
5. Click OK to apply the changes.


Set the MTU size to 1450 bytes


To view the steps to set the MTU size on your modem router, please select your modem router below.

Note: If you connect to the internet with a Thomson SpeedTouch modem router, please skip this step.

Netgear DG834G Netgear
D-Link DSL-2640R D-Link DSL-2640R


Check the web address

Check that the web address is typed in correctly. A typical web address looks like: http://www.xyz.co.uk or http://www.xyz.com/abc.html. Try accessing the site from another computer or ask someone else to try for you. If they can access the site without any problem then the cause of the difficulty is likely to be with the machine you are using.


Check if the site requires add-ins

Check if the site requires any add-ins to operate (such as Flash) and that you have a suitable version of the element needed.


The website may be busy or undergoing maintenance

Most websites are periodically unavailable because of maintenance or upgrades being carried out on their server. Certain sites can also become very busy, especially during peak hours. The only thing you can do in either case is to try again later. (Remember that international websites can have different peak times, depending on their time zone.)


Check if the website still exists

As the internet evolves, thousands of websites appear and disappear every day. People move to other jobs, companies go out of business and web pages move to other servers. When a web page is moved, a notice is usually left at the old web address informing people of the move, but this is not always the case.

If the above advice does not solve the problem, try the troubleshooting steps on the right of this page.


Clear the browser cache


Web browsers temporarily store images and text from web pages on your hard drive, in a storage area called a cache. If you experience any problems displaying web pages, you may need to clear your browser cache. Depending on the number of files in your cache, this process may take a few minutes.

Windows 7 - Run AOL System Information in compatibility mode

To run AOL System Information in compatibility mode, follow the steps below:
1. Click the Start globe and select All Programs.
2. Right-click AOL System Information and select Properties.
3. Select the Compatibility tab.
4. Tick the box Run this program in compatibility mode for.
5. Select Windows XP (Service Pack 3) from the drop-down list.
6. Click OK.

To clear your browser cache, take the following steps:

1. Right-click the AOL icon in the system tray (in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, next to the clock).
2. Select System Information.
3. In the menu on the left, select Utilities.
4. Click the Clear button, next to Current Cache.


Rebuild the AOL Adapter


The AOL Adapter is used by the AOL software to browse the internet. If it gets damaged, problems can occur.

Windows 7 - Run AOL System Information in compatibility mode

1. Click the Start globe and select All Programs.
2. Right-click the AOL System Information and select Properties.
3. Select the Compatibility tab.
4. Tick the box labelled Run this program in compatibility mode for.
5. Select Windows XP (Service Pack 3) from the drop-down list.
6. Click OK.

To fix the AOL Adapter, take the following steps:

1. Close the AOL software.
2. Right-click the AOL icon in your Windows system tray (in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen, next to the clock).
3. Select System Information.
4. Select Utilities from the menu on the left.
5. Look for Rebuild AOL Adapter and click the Start button to the right of it.
6. When complete, click OK.

Note: You can also use the One-Click Fix to rebuild the AOL Adapter

*To use this fix, you'll need to first download the One-Click Fixes. To run the fix you must be using the AOL software or Internet Explorer. One-Click Fixes are unavailable for Windows Vista and Macintosh users.


Configure the firewall to allow the AOL software


An active firewall on your computer could restrict the AOL software from making a connection. If you have firewall software installed, please configure it to allow the AOL software to access the internet.

Select your firewall below for steps on how to modify the firewall security to allow the AOL software to work with the firewall software. We recommend that you contact the firewall software supplier if you require any further information.

Windows 7
Windows Firewall
McAfee® Personal Firewall
McAfee® 2007
Norton 2003/2005
Norton Firewall 2007
ZoneAlarm 2.6 or 3.0
BlackICE
PC-cillin
AVG Firewall


Run the Quick Restore facility


This will reset the AOL software to its original state. It's faster than uninstalling and reinstalling the AOL software.

Run a Quick Restore via the One-Click Fixes

Note: This step is for AOL 9.0 and 9.0 VR users only.

Windows 7 - Run AOL System Information in compatibility mode

1. Click the Start globe and select All Programs.
2. Right-click AOL System Information and select Properties.
3. Select the Compatibility tab.
4. Tick the box labelled Run this program in compatibility mode for.
5. Select Windows XP (Service Pack 3) from the drop-down list.
6. Click OK.

If you have One-Click Fixes installed on your computer, you can use the link below to run a quick restore. Otherwise, follow the steps below to manually run the quick restore:

Use the One-Click Fix to run a Quick Restore*

Run a Quick Restore manually

1. Right-click the AOL icon in your Windows system tray (at the bottom right-hand corner of your screen, next to the clock).
2. Select System Information.
3. Click Utilities or AOL software.
4. Select Quick Restore and click Proceed or OK.
5. Click OK when prompted.

*To use this fix, you'll need to first download the One-Click Fixes. To run the fix you must be using the AOL software or Internet Explorer. One-Click Fixes are unavailable for Windows Vista and Macintosh users.


Delete and reinstall the AOL software


If you are experiencing problems with the AOL software (for example, persistent error messages), the software may have become corrupt. To fix this, you can uninstall the AOL software, and then reinstall a fresh copy.

Uninstall the AOL software

To uninstall the AOL software, take the following steps:

1. Click Start and select Control Panel.
2. Select Classic View from the panel on the left.
3. Double-click Add/Remove Programs or Programs and Features.
4. In the installed programs list, click AOL Uninstaller and then click Uninstall/Change at the top.
5. Click Search for Other Versions of AOL.
6. Wait while the uninstaller searches for versions of AOL on the computer.
7. Select the versions of the AOL software to be removed and click Uninstall.
8. Click Yes to confirm.
9. When AOL has been uninstalled, click Restart.

Download and install the AOL software

To reinstall the AOL software, take the following steps:

1. Open Internet Explorer and go to http://www.aol.co.uk/downloads.
2. Under AOL Members, click Get It Now.
3. Enter your screen name and password and click Sign In.
4. Beside AOL for Windows Users, click Download.
5. Click Run and then click Run again. The software will then download and the installation will commence.
6. Close any open applications and click OK.
7. Click I Agree at the licence agreement and then select Current Members.
8. Select Adding your existing AOL account to this computer and click Next.
9. Click Next again to select the default installation directory.
10. Allow the install to complete and restart the computer when prompted.
11. Once the computer has restarted, click Start and select Run.
12. Windows Vista users: Type "C:\Program Files\Common Files\aol\ACS\AOLacsd.exe -cpwmigrate" (including the quotes) and click OK.
Type the above command into the Search box and press Enter on the keyboard.