Girl Geekette

Windows 9x and ME users:

A) Use Regedit.exe to navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetServicesWinsock. 
B) Export the Winsock key to a Winsock.reg file, to save it. 
C) Delete the Winsock key. 
D) Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetServicesWinsock2.
E) Export the Winsock2 key to a Winsock2.reg file, to save it.
F) Delete the Winsock2 key.
G) Exit Regedit.exe.
H) Control Panel / Network and Dial-up Connections.
I) Right-click Local Area Connection and press Properties.
J) Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and press Uninstall.
K) After uninstalling TCP/IP, shutdown and restart your computer.
L) If TCP/IP is NOT automatically re-installed, use Control Panel / Network and Dial-up Connections.
M) Right-click Local Area Connection and press Properties.
N) Press Install.
O) Press Protocol / Add.
P) Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) under Network Protocol, possibly under Microsoft, and press OK.
Q) After the TCP/IP install, power off and power on your external modem, or shutdown and restart your computer.

For Zyxel 645m-a1 modems (Might work on other Zyxel equipment, but I have not tested it personally yet)  The Zyxel modem can also help in determining if you have a Winsock problem. 

In Windows, go to a command prompt (Start/Run/CMD or COMMAND)

At the command prompt, type in
ftp 192.168.1.1

If you get an error back that has “socket” in the error, you can deduce you have a Winsock error.

There are various ways to tell if your Winsock is corrupt, or if it is being used by another program (such as a proxy or adware/spyware).

Signs of  Winsock errors and corruption include :

- You try to surf the web but you get 404 errors or errors showing the browser cannot find the server.
- If you do a “release & Renew on your IP address, if you get errors such as:

• An error occurred while renewing interface ‘Internet’: An operation was attempted on something that is not a socket.
• Unable to contact driver Error code 2. The operation failed since no adapter is in the state permissible for this operation.
• The attempted operation is not supported for the type of object referenced.

Winsock is a term that relates to interfacing programs to Windows Sockets API (Application Programming Interface). Put simply, it is a way for programs like FTP/Telnet/Proxies and even web browsers to interface with the TCP/IP protocol to allow a computer on a network or the internet.

Like other files, Winsocks can become corrupt. The files can be "hijacked" or altered by other programs as well. Lately, it seems that adware and spyware are also a common link to Winsock problems. Some adware and spyware can use a proxy to work and when/if the program is uninstalled, the Winsock my cease to work, may not work correctly, and cause many other numerous problems on a computer trying to access the internet.