Vista - 32 bit programs can not access internet HELP!

Hey guys I really need some help here. Basically out of the blue none of my 32 bit applications are able to access the internet such as Internet Explorer, FireFox, Steam, etc... IE 64 does work.

This happened 2 days ago and I got frustrated and simply formatted and reinstalled. Now today on this clean install I'm having the same issue!

I've run numerous hardware test and have determined my hardware is not at fault, I need help guys. How can I fix this what could have caused this?

I have all released updates installed (through built-in windows update) latest drivers for mobo/video/sound/network/etc...

I ran a sfc /scannow and that came back clean, did a check disk and it says it fixed some file system problems but nothing changed with regards to my problem.

System Specs:

Vista 64
A64 4600+
2GB DDR800
250GB Seagate SATA 3.0
Geforce 8800GTX
Using onboard nic card/sound.

Hi Jort84,

Welcome to the Vistax64.com forum.

This tutorial will show you how to fix the "Help and Support". Look at the solution for, "The Windows Help (WinHlp32.exe) program is no longer included in Windows".

Help and Support in Vista

Shawn

Thank you for taking the time to read my post however, you seem to have completely mis-understood what my problem is.

I do not need nor care for the windows help file. My 32 bit applications can no longer access my internet connection however, my 64 bit programs such as IE 64 can. I need to fix this problem.

Thanks...

Wow Jort84,

I sure did miss what you where asking help on. I must have went blind. (haha) Stayed up to late.

Check and make sure that they are allowed access or added to the exceptions list with the Firewall program. If you are using Windows Firewall, then this tutorial will show you how if needed.

Windows Firewall

Shawn

OMG!

This is exactly the same problem I have!
It happend once when I download the beta SP1 for vista, so I reformatted the computer cause I thought the SP I downloaded was corrupted, but it happend again yesterday after I ran Windows Update!

32bit programs can't access the internet althought 64bit ones can access the internet (like IE 64 which I'm using right now).
I checked the firewall thing but it's not the issue.

Also, some 32bit programs keep crashing when I try to run them.
I think it's a problem with the 32bit emulator but I have no idea how to fix it. nor does Google since this is the only relevant link I've found regarding the issue.

HELP?

Hi Ricebus,

Welcome to the forum.

You might try Resetting IE7 to see if it will help you. You may have a add-on in IE7 that is causing it to not work properly. When you are done resetting, you can enable the add-ons one by one until you find out which one is causing the problem.

In IE7:
1. Click Tools - Internet Options
2. Click Advanced
3. Click Reset

To Enable/Disable the add-ons one by one:
1. Click Tools - Manage Add-ons - Enable or Disable Add-ons
2. Under Show, change this to see the other listings of add-ons.
3. Just dot Enable or Disable at the bottom.


For the other 32 bit programs, you might try running them in Compatibility Mode with XP (SP2) to see if they will run better. This tutorial will show you how.

How to Use Compatibilty Mode in Vista

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Resetting didn't really help, nor did compatibility mode.

Any other ideas?

Well Ricebus,

I would tell you to do a clean install to fix the problem, but you said you already did that. Since it is happening when you do a Windows Update, I would uninstall that update that you suspect is causing the problem. Once you have it narrowed down to the one(s) that is causing this, I would hide the update so it will not show up in Windows Update anymore. These tutorials will show you how.

How to Uninstall a Windows Update in Vista

How to Hide or Unhide a Windows Update in Vista


Hope this helps,
Shawn

Uhm brink, I used system restore to reverse the effect of the updates and the problem still exists, so I think it I already tried uninstalling the updates :\

System Restore should have removed it, but you might double check to see if the Update is listed or not to make sure it is uninstalled. See the Uninstall link above for how to see the list.

I do not know what else to try.

Shawn