Reseting WINSOCK2

If you are experiencing difficulty connecting to the internet or can connect to the internet
but cannot access web pages, Winsock is damaged and must be reset to a working state.
These issues may include a slow internet connection, the ability to connect to the internet
but not browse web sites, the ability to ping a web site by IP address but not by name.

Windows 98/SE/ME
Remove TCP/IP in the network stack
• Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Networking
• Remove all TCP/IP settings in the box -> click “OK”
• DO NOT Reboot
Remove Dial-Up Networking
• Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs -> Windows Setup
• Click on Communications
• Uncheck Dial-Up Networking -> click “OK”
• DO NOT Reboot
Remove the Winsock2 registry key
• Start -> Run -> type regedit -> click “OK”
• Search for Winsock2 and delete all instances (should be two folders)
• Exit Windows Registry
• Reboot
Reinstall Dial-Up Networking
• Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs -> Windows Setup
• Click on Communications
• Check Dial-Up Networking -> click “OK”
• Reboot

Windows XP
Remove the Winsock and Winsock2 registry keys
• Start -> Run -> type regedit -> click “OK”
• Follow the path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services
• Delete:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winsock
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WinSock2
Make sure all files are shown
• Start, My Computer -> Tools -> Folder Options… -> View
• Enable <Show hidden files and folders>
Re-install TCP/IP
• Start -> Control Panel -> Network Connections
• Right-click the connect you wish to repair -> Properties
• Click “Install…” -> highlight Protocol -> click “Add…”
• Click “Have Disk…” -> click “Browse…” -> point to the <c:\windows\inf folder>
  “Windows” folder may be named “Winnt”
• Click “Open” -> click “OK”
• Highlight “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)” -> click “OK”
  Installation will pause for a few seconds -> when finished, close all open Windows