internet explorer issues maybe? using 7, basically sometimes it decides it won't connect to the internet and when you click the dianose thing it comes up with a winsock error and says something about a catalog needing to be reset. Rebooting sorts it out, but i'd sooner be able to work out why its doing it, also when it does it msn stays connected and downloads carry on so is isn't a net problem i don't think. Any suggestions?
In tools > options > connection > LAN Settings, is there an entry for the proxy server? uncheck that if it is. that's a start! You may need to manually reset your winsocks
assuming you have SP2, open up a command prompt and enter: netsh winsock reset then reboot. that's the first stage, if it doesn't work theres a longer way. more info and alternatives: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811259
