Internet Explorer cannot open the Internet site

[Rani]

Running into the following message when attempting to
open web sites (not all, randomly tough):

Internet Explorer cannot open the Internet site http:...
Operation aborted

Any advice?

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP]

Running into the following message when attempting to
open web sites (not all, randomly tough):

Internet Explorer cannot open the Internet site http:...
Operation aborted

Any advice?

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

 

[Lucy Gant]

Which Directory would the HOSTS file be in?

And could it correct "this page cannot be displayed"
messages when trying to view webpages?

Many thanks

L**

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP]

Which Directory would the HOSTS file be in?

And could it correct "this page cannot be displayed"
messages when trying to view webpages?

Many thanks

L**

Use Start | Find or Search
If the problem is with all sites it is not a HOSTS problem.

 

[js]

HOSTS is in C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc

HOSTS is usually only used by people who are impatient, want redundancy,
or on an internal network. If your DNS server is working then you dont
really need to use this file. Go to Start | Run | type cmd and hit
enter. A black dos window should appear. In that window type in
"ipconfig" and if your ip address starts with a 0 or a 169 then you are
not connected. If your ip address starts with a 192 a 172 or a 10 then
you are probably using a router and probably just need to power cycle
everything including the router, your isp can tell you how. Now type in
"ping 66.218.71.198" and hit enter if you get replies you are connected
to the internet. Now type in "ping yahoo.com" if you get replies now
then your dns server is working. If you are not able to get replies in
either case then you probably want to reinstall the drivers for your
network card or modem.

If you are able to get replies in both cases then do these steps: Go
into Tools | Internet Options | Connections Tab, then remove all the
settings there where it says "dialup and virtual private networking".
Click on the LAN settings button below and make sure all that stuff is
*UNchecked*. Then go back to the connections tab and hit the setup
button and run the internet connection wizard again. At this point if
you dont know what to do then call your isp or local system admin person
and they will walk you through it.

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP]

HOSTS is in C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc

HOSTS is usually only used by people who are impatient, want
redundancy, or on an internal network. If your DNS server is working
then you dont really need to use this file. Go to Start | Run | type
cmd and hit enter. A black dos window should appear. In that window
type in "ipconfig" and if your ip address starts with a 0 or a 169
then you are not connected. If your ip address starts with a 192 a
172 or a 10 then you are probably using a router and probably just
need to power cycle everything including the router, your isp can
tell you how. Now type in "ping 66.218.71.198" and hit enter if you
get replies you are connected to the internet. Now type in "ping
yahoo.com" if you get replies now then your dns server is working.
If you are not able to get replies in either case then you probably
want to reinstall the drivers for your network card or modem.

If you are able to get replies in both cases then do these steps: Go
into Tools | Internet Options | Connections Tab, then remove all the
settings there where it says "dialup and virtual private networking".
Click on the LAN settings button below and make sure all that stuff is
*UNchecked*. Then go back to the connections tab and hit the setup
button and run the internet connection wizard again. At this point if
you dont know what to do then call your isp or local system admin
person and they will walk you through it.

That's true on WinXP. She didn't identify her OS.