Cannot Browse the Internet Using Internet Explorer While Connected to AOL

When you upgrade Microsoft Internet Explorer or America Online (AOL) and connect to AOL, you may not be able to browse the Internet by using Internet Explorer or you may receive the following error message: Note that you may receive this error message when you use the version of Internet Explorer that is included with the AOL software.

This behavior can occur under the following circumstances:

• If you do not update the Winsock2 registry key and the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) stack after the upgrade procedure
  
  -or-
• If you enable the AOL parental control restrictions for the current account
  
  -or-
• If you are using a 16-bit version of AOL

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
To resolve this behavior:

1. Verify that you are running a 32-bit version of AOL by clicking About America Online on the Help menu.
2. Verify that the AOL parental-control restrictions are disabled for the current account.
3. Document all the settings in Network properties for your LAN as well as for your Dial-Up Networking (DUN) connections.
4. Remove all network components (for example, adapters, clients, and so on). To do this:
   1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Network.
   2. Select a network component, and then click Remove.
      
      NOTE: Do not restart your computer if you are prompted to do so. You may need to repeat these steps to remove all of the adapters, clients, and so on.
   
   
5. Remove Dial-Up Networking. To do this:
   1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Add/Remove Programs.
   2. On the Windows Setup tab, click to clear the Communications check box.
      
      NOTE: Do not restart your computer if you are prompted to do so.
6. Use Registry Editor to locate and remove the following registry key, and then restart your computer:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\WinSock2
7. Start AOL.
8. After you start AOL, the necessary AOL components are rebuilt. After the components are rebuilt, restart your computer.

The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.