Can't access a website. Just one, lonely li'l website.

[Josh Mandel]

Greetings,

I have a home network, and I use both Firefox and IE as my browsers (Firefox default, IE for some sites that don't play well with Firefox).

I have never had a problem getting into ANY website. But there is one single site that seems to give my system fits: the Windows Live Cashback site.

For instance, I can get to http://search.live.com/cashback with no problem. I can log into my Windows Live account with no problem, too.

But if I click on the link at the upper right hand corner that says, "See also: Your Cashback Account," it times out every single time. It does this with both IE and Firefox.

I've tried disabling my security (Mcafee) completely, and I've ensured that Windows Firewall is off. Doesn't seem to make a difference. It's the same for all computers on my network.

For some reason, the very FIRST time I disabled my security and logged on with IE, I was able to access the account. The next time I followed the exact same steps, no dice. I've tried dozens of times since then.

What's left to try? What kind of setting might I need to fiddle with to get to this one site?

Thanks for any advice!

--Josh

[Dencandy]

Welcome to the forum Josh Mandel.

There could be a number of reasons for this. I just accessed the 2nd site twice, no problems. It's a secure connection, so the problem probably lies there. I suggest you check the following to start with (I assume you have Administrator rights & this only applies to IE as I have no experience of Firefox):

Check your Security Settings in Internet Options & make sure the site is included in the Trusted list. Also check that it hasn't mistakenly been included in the Restricted list.

Make sure Active X controls have not been completely disabled for all sites.

Also check that you allow cookies from that site.

Please post back the result as feedback is very useful.

[Josh Mandel]

Hi, Dencandy,

Thank you so much for the response.

So far, no luck. I've done everything you've suggested: I put the site among "trusted sites" and ensured it's not double-listed in restricted sites. I looked at all the ActiveX controls for the site and ensured they're set to either enabled or prompt. Cookies are currently being accepted for all sites. And I turned off my firewall, just in case.

Still no luck...I'm now getting an "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage" error.

Any thoughts as to something else to try? This certainly has me stumped, since I've never had a problem like this with any other site (including secure sites).

I'm wondering if something in the way my entire network is configured is causing this problem, since I'm experiencing the same problem with the two other computers on my network.

Gratefully,

Josh

[Dencandy]

I just spent a few minutes browsing through some IE support groups & it seems this problem for certain websites is quite common, but there's no single simple answer. I suggest you go to Microsoft Help & Support (http://support.microsoft.com/) yourself and start searching by typing something like "Cannot access web page" in the box & read the threads.

Also specify which version of IE you are using (usually 6 or 7).

If you are using IE7 one solution that sometimes works is to uninstall it and delete the .exe, then download a new version & install it disconnected from the internet with all your security software turned off. You'll need to connect again for the final stage of installation, so just turn your firewall only back on for that. Once the new IE7 is installed set all your homepages etc, then re-start with all your usual security running. You might want to try this before going to MS Help & Support.

If you are using IE6, follow the above procedure to upgrade to IE7. (The upgrade process preserves all your favourites, etc, so don't worry about losing them.)

This might also work for Firefox - there's a new version available now.

Apart from this, I can't suggest anything else about this problem, but the IE user groups will give you lots of other suggestions. Good luck.

[Josh Mandel]

I just spent a few minutes browsing through some IE support groups & it seems this problem for certain websites is quite common, but there's no single simple answer. I suggest you go to Microsoft Help & Support (http://support.microsoft.com/) yourself and start searching by typing something like "Cannot access web page" in the box & read the threads.

Also specify which version of IE you are using (usually 6 or 7).

If you are using IE7 one solution that sometimes works is to uninstall it and delete the .exe, then download a new version & install it disconnected from the internet with all your security software turned off. You'll need to connect again for the final stage of installation, so just turn your firewall only back on for that. Once the new IE7 is installed set all your homepages etc, then re-start with all your usual security running. You might want to try this before going to MS Help & Support.

If you are using IE6, follow the above procedure to upgrade to IE7. (The upgrade process preserves all your favourites, etc, so don't worry about losing them.)

This might also work for Firefox - there's a new version available now.

Apart from this, I can't suggest anything else about this problem, but the IE user groups will give you lots of other suggestions. Good luck.

Thank you again, Dencandy. I'll give support.microsoft.com a try. I'm fairly certain the problem has to do with something larger than IE, since I get the same result from other browsers, and on three different systems...but all three are on my home network.

Many thanks,

Josh