Question : Windows XP - Strange Connection Issues (ping but can't browse)

Appreciate ANY help I can get with this.

First, my laptop was working fine for the first 6 months. But I've had issues ever since and now, they are rediculous.

I have a BT Homhub which my desktop computer is connected to. This is NOT the issue. I recently upgraded to 6.2.6.H because of some incompatibility with my laptop's wireless card (2200BG).

Since then, the connection has stabilized but the main problem persists.

****

When I first turn my computer on, I can browse websites as normal. But after a couple of minutes, everything stops. My browser doesn't even try to resolve the addresses - it just refreshes immediately. Effectively I can't browse at all or connect to anything via other programs.

Strangely, I can ping but can't browse. I can ping google.com and that resolves the ip so I've been told it's probably not a DNS issue.

SOLUTIONS I'VE TRIED

*using a wired connection - same drill
the winsock fix
fixing ip stack
flushing dns
renewing ip
reinstalling wireless card
reinstalling tcp ip
reinstalling xp sp2
upgrading to xp sp3
manually setting ip and dns

Really, I've tried almost EVERYTHING. I have no idea what to do now but reinstall xp and hope that works. As you can imagine, I'd rather not do that.

Does anyone have any ideas what this might be or if they have encountered a similar issue in the past and fixed it?

Just to clarify:

can browse internet moments after computer switched on, soon after cannot browse any more yet can ping using cmd and domains are resolved to ip.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Answer : Windows XP - Strange Connection Issues (ping but can't browse)

I disagree with Dan's first point, and agree with the second.

First:  Given that there is a desktop computer attached to the same router, sharing the same ISP connection, and it's having no problems, it is EXTREMELY unlikely that the router or ISP are to blame.  But you can try the laptop on a free WiFi connection as suggested to confirm this (McDonalds, Whataburger, Starbucks, library, etc.).  If the problem follows the laptop (which it most likely will), then the ISP is not to blame.

Second:  Given all the troubleshooting you've already tried, and the fact that you haven't mentioned any malware scans, I think malware is the most likely culprit.  I'd recommend scanning first with Malwarebytes.  If at all possible, pull the hard drive from the laptop and attach it to your desktop, or another known clean machine, and scan it there.

hth
:)