# Can't Google



## blhowes (Feb 1, 2012)

I have a weird problem with my computer. For some reason it won't allow me to connect to Google. When I used the troubleshooter, it came up with these things to try:

*Unlock Firewall*
Unlock Firewall and instantly allow all network traffic between your PC and any network, including the Internet.
1. In the Web and Email Protection drawer, click Firewall.
2. In the Security Levels drawer, select Outgoing Access, and then click Apply.
3. Click Done.


*Open System Service Ports*
Open an existing port to allow remote network access to a system service on your PC.
1. In the Web and Email Protection drawer, click Firewall.
2. In the Ports and System Services drawer, select a system service.
3. Click Edit.
4. Under Open ports to, do one of the following:
- To open the port to PCs on any network (for example, at home, work, or in a public location), select All PCs.
- To open the port to PCs on a work or home network only, select PCs in Work and Home networks only.
5. Click Save, and then click Done.


*Allow Programs*
Allow a blocked program on your PC to have full incoming and outgoing Internet access.
1. In the Web and Email Protection drawer, click Firewall.
2. In the Internet Connections for Programs drawer, select a program that has Blocked or Outgoing access.
3. Under Access, click Full.
4. Click Save, and then click Done.

Anybody know where I'd find the "Web and Email Protection Drawer"? Normally, I'd just go to Google and search for it, but...well...you know...


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## Ask Mr. Religion (Feb 1, 2012)

Can you use Bing or Dogpile, for searches in the time being?

AMR


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## Chellemonkey (Feb 1, 2012)

Whoa! Please make sure you know what you are doing before messing with firewalls and ports! That's a good way to get viruses or hacked. I do agree with using another search engine if necessary. 

Now troubleshooting questions. What browser? Did it work before? Did you change anything since it last worked? What is the exact message shown? I'm assuming you are accessing this from the same pc/browser.


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## blhowes (Feb 1, 2012)

Ask Mr. Religion said:


> Can you use Bing or Dogpile, for searches in the time being?


Good idea. I found what that stuff was - they're McAfee settings. I tried those procedures, but they didn't work. I guess its time for plan B (just gotta figure out what plan B is)

---------- Post added at 05:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:14 PM ----------




Chellemonkey said:


> Whoa! Please make sure you know what you are doing before messing with firewalls and ports! That's a good way to get viruses or hacked.


Agreed. When I followed the directions, one of the options was to allow basically unlimited I/O, which of course (In my humble opinion) would be crazy to select. I was basically looking through those directions for something that specifically said it was blocking Google.



Chellemonkey said:


> What browser?


 Internet Explorer



Chellemonkey said:


> Did it work before?


Yes




Chellemonkey said:


> Did you change anything since it last worked?


No. 



Chellemonkey said:


> What is the exact message shown? I'm assuming you are accessing this from the same pc/browser.


The message that comes up is "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage". When I click on the "Diagnose Connection Problems" button, the message in the original post was displayed.


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## Chellemonkey (Feb 1, 2012)

Try this:
Go to the start menu
Click run
type cmd
hit ok
type in (without spaces in the url): ping www . google . com

you should see something like:

Pinging google.com [XX.XXX.XX.XXX] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 64.208.34.100: bytes=32 time=210ms TTL=49
Reply from 64.208.34.100: bytes=32 time=211ms TTL=49
Reply from 64.208.34.100: bytes=32 time=200ms TTL=49
Reply from 64.208.34.100: bytes=32 time=201ms TTL=49

Ping statistics for XX.XXX.XX.XXX:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 200ms, Maximum = 211ms, Average = 205ms


If you don't see that, try typing in:ipconfig/release
It will show a bunch of text
then type: ipconfig/renew
It will show a bunch of text and then you should be good


That should pretty much unconnect you from the internet and then reconnect you.


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## blhowes (Feb 1, 2012)

Chellemonkey said:


> type in (without spaces in the url): ping www . google . com
> 
> you should see something like:...


When I tried that, it failed (100% loss)



Chellemonkey said:


> If you don't see that, try typing in:ipconfig/release


When I typed this, it came up with a message that said "No operation can be performed on Local Area Connection while it has its media disconnected.


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## gordo (Feb 1, 2012)

Is it just Google that doesn't work? 

Might want to try Firefox or Chrome instead of IE to see if they work. Then you will know if it's something with your connection or just a browser issue.


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## he beholds (Feb 1, 2012)

Can you search for google via Bing, and access the google search engine that way? Not that you're that loyal to google, but just to see if you can get there via links.


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## Edward (Feb 1, 2012)

Try Scroogle. 

Scroogle Scraper

That will get you the search results from Google without the spying. 

I'm thinking that you have a bug that's trying to get you open your system for a takeover.


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## blhowes (Feb 2, 2012)

gordo said:


> Is it just Google that doesn't work?
> 
> Might want to try Firefox or Chrome instead of IE to see if they work. Then you will know if it's something with your connection or just a browser issue.


I downloaded Firefox and gave it a try. It still couldn't access Google.

I ended up doing a System Restore and now it works ok.

Thank-you everyone for your help/insights.


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## Berean (Feb 2, 2012)

You may want to look into how to make disk images. I use Acronis True Image once a month so I have a totally clean system to restore. I save several images going back 2 or 3 months. It's much better than trying to go under the hood and repairing the unknown. You can save the images on a separate partition of your hard drive, DVD's, or an external USB hard drive. It's saved me a lot of grief many times. I do this for several computers I have.


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