Accessing Microsoft Home Page

[mike]

Whenever I try to access Microsoft's home page or product
page I get the "can't find this page" error message. I
can access Windows update and support pages. I've checked
my trusted sites settings and certificates. I'm running
Windows ME and IE 6.0.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP]

Whenever I try to access Microsoft's home page or product
page I get the "can't find this page" error message. I
can access Windows update and support pages. I've checked
my trusted sites settings and certificates. I'm running
Windows ME and IE 6.0.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Check for a file named HOSTS with no extension (not Hosts.sam). It may be a
hidden file. Open it with Notepad and remove any line referencing the site.
Or, rename HOSTS to OLDHOSTS

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
Please respond in Newsgroup. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

 

[mike]

Thanks much, that fixed it. What is this "HOST" file and
what's it's purpose?

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP IE/OE]

Thanks much, that fixed it. What is this "HOST" file and
what's it's purpose?

The hosts file stores the IP addresses for sites. IE checks there before
doing a DNS lookup. This can save a few hundred milliseconds.

It can also be used to block sites by putting in the local machine IP
address (127.0.0.1) like this:
127.0.0.1 ads.offeroptimizer.com

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
Please respond in Newsgroup. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/