Can't connect to ANY websites, Can ping just fine, strangest problem I've ever seen!

[drnick5]

HI folks!

I have probably the strangest problem I've ever seen in my 15+ years of doing this.

Lenovo All in one came in, can't get to websites. They had no real data on the computer besides a handful of docs and pictures. It also had a normal HDD so it ran super slow. Rather then mess with it, installed a brand new Samsung SSD, and did a fresh install of Win 10 1903 (I usually install this instead of 1909 as I've had some issues)

Even after doing this, I still can't access ANY websites.
Whats strange, is in command prompt I can ping 8.8.8.8 just fine, and can also ping www.google.com (so its NOT a DNS problem best I can tell) I tried connecting with the computers wired and wireless nic's. Also tried using a USB wired nic adapter and USB wireless adapter. Same result.

I also tried manually changing DNS to 8.8.8.8 just to rule that out, no joy.

Here's where it gets more strange...If I open up Internet explorer, I can get to msn.com without issue! I can even click on articles and read them! But no other sites work. I installed Chrome with an offline installer, and chrome can't connect to msn.com Neither can Edge... only IE.

I updated all drivers for Wired and Wireless network, chipset, installed latest BIOS update, the works. Still the same result.

I also tried connecting to the open wifi of the cafe next door (to take my network out of the loop) same issue.

In chrome, when getting "This site can't be reached" I've seen a few other errors. one of which was ERR_SSL_BAD_RECORD_MAC_ALERT. Which leads me to think it could be a SSL problem. I double checked that the date and time are correct on the computer (they are)

To make sure I wasn't crazy, I did another fresh install of win 10 (completely wiping the SSD and starting from scratch, installed using a different flash drive, with a freshly made Win 10 1909 USB installer I made from scratch today. Still have the same problem.

Anyone experience anything like this? I can't imagine this is a software problem with multiple wipes and reloads... but nothing else seems to indicate this is a hardware problem, as I've used multiple NIC's and networks. No other computer on my bench network, or anywhere else has a problem with internet access.

Any ideas?

 

[urcomputech]

This looks promising:

If not, I would try a separate USB NIC / Wifi adapter. Based on the error, it may be some sort of MAC address mismatch. You can also try MAC spoofing utility.

 

[frase]

Sys restore?

 

[urcomputech]

Sys restore?

He's already done a nuke and reload of the OS, with no help.

 

[frase]

What model is the lenovo?

 

[drnick5]

This looks promising:
View attachment 11768
If not, I would try a separate USB NIC / Wifi adapter. Based on the error, it may be some sort of MAC address mismatch. You can also try MAC spoofing utility.

It has no software installed beyond whats in the Win 10 fresh install

I mentioned in my post I tried a USB NIC and a USB wifi adapter. no luck with either.

 

[Metanis]

Windows 10 is full of microcode updates especially for Intel processors. If you feel like experimenting further, take another SSD and throw a Win7 image on there.

 

[drnick5]

What model is the lenovo?

It's a lenovo AIO 700-27ISH (ideacenter all in one)

 

[drnick5]

It sounds like an MTU error or a MITM problem. (Have you offended any major governments recently?)

Anyway, we need more information.

• What happens when you hotspot it to your phone, or connect it to another network?
• Can you get Chromium or the Chromium-based Edge on that machine, and how do they behave?
• What about Firefox (or Opera, or Brave, or Safari, or...)?
• Are you using a VPN or smart DNS?
• Is a firewall involved and can you bypass it?

AS I said in my original post. I tried connecting to the open Wifi on the cafe next door, same problem.

I tried Firefox, and Chrome, no dice (as well as Ie and edge. the ONLY site it will connect to is msn.com, and only in IE, but I can ping any website and it resolves and pings back without issue, so it doesn't seem to be DNS)

No VPN or smart DNS or any nonsense. I did try changing DNS to 8.8.8.8, but that didin't help either

I turned off the windows firewall, no luck with that.

 

[glennd]

AS I said in my original post. I tried connecting to the open Wifi on the cafe next door, same problem.

I tried Firefox, and Chrome, no dice (as well as Ie and edge. the ONLY site it will connect to is msn.com, and only in IE, but I can ping any website and it resolves and pings back without issue, so it doesn't seem to be DNS)

No VPN or smart DNS or any nonsense. I did try changing DNS to 8.8.8.8, but that didin't help either

I turned off the windows firewall, no luck with that.

trying booting into linux

 

[glennd]

No VPN

try *with* a vpn?

 

[Computer Bloke]

It doesn't sound like a hardware problem but you've ruled out pretty much all of the software on the machine. I'll second Glenn's idea about Linux because that's what we always do with the weird ones, but I'm not sure what it'll tell you. I'd suggest taking a look at the traffic with Wireshark next to see exactly what's going on when you try to connect to a failing site, but that could easily burn through a weekend that you might have better plans for.

 

[Computer Bloke]

can also ping www.google.com (so its NOT a DNS problem best I can tell)

Hang on - what's the IP address that you're pinging when you think you're pinging www.google.com? You're getting a response from something, but is it really Google?

 

[jack-ant]

It can't hurt to flash the bios and try to clear the settings too. Try with and without secure boot too. Also +1 for testing in Linux.

Secure boot can have issues with drivers that are not correctly signed.

Sent from my VKY-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[Moltuae]

Which leads me to think it could be a SSL problem.

Presumably the system time and date are correct?

 

[Yosebas84]

Presumably the system time and date are correct?

I second this, had this problem with an old bios.
Option A) Update the bios and try again.
Option B) Boot with a Live Linux distro, see if the problem persists.
Option C) Update all drivers using driver booster.
Option D) Try a different SSD and a fresh install of win 7 (could be some old driver).

 

[HCHTech]

The actual error message you got talks about the MAC address, so that is the specific clue you have to follow. Also, you didn't state specifically that you got the same symptoms with wired and wifi, but it seems that way - did you? If everything works in Linux (test with wired and wifi), then you are left with software, which has to mean drivers as you've done a fresh install. If it doesn't work in Linux, then it's hardware, no matter how unbelievable. If you have a different brand/model of wifi card, I would try that.

Also, start quizzing the customer about when it went bad. What happened prior to that? Any clues there that might help?

My bet is that when you find it, it will be a simple thing.

 

[SlickMinnow]

Like @Moltuae and @Yosebas84, I have seen similar things happen when the date/time is not correct (at least close). If you find that the date/time is out of whack and fixing that fixes your problem, consider changing the bios/rtc battery.

 

[drnick5]

The actual error message you got talks about the MAC address, so that is the specific clue you have to follow. Also, you didn't state specifically that you got the same symptoms with wired and wifi, but it seems that way - did you? If everything works in Linux (test with wired and wifi), then you are left with software, which has to mean drivers as you've done a fresh install. If it doesn't work in Linux, then it's hardware, no matter how unbelievable. If you have a different brand/model of wifi card, I would try that.

Also, start quizzing the customer about when it went bad. What happened prior to that? Any clues there that might help?

My bet is that when you find it, it will be a simple thing.

Yes, I've tested with 4 different network adapters, all the same thing.

This morning, I also testing using my phones wireless hotspot (to take my local ISP out of it entirely) and still had the same issue.
It definitely seems to be a SSL issue based on the errors chrome is showing. and it only seems to effect HTTP traffic as I was able to get into

The customer seemingly had no idea, they believed it happened due to a win 10 update. But I'e now tried 3 different versions of win 10 that I have installers for, and all have the same issue.

As others have said, trying a linux distro might be a good idea. I think I have a bootable version of one on a USB around here somewhere.

 

[drnick5]

Update:

This morning I tried reloading the computer with an older version of Win 10 1809 (the oldest I had) and still had the same problems.
After the suggestion of a few to try a linux distro. I dug up a USB I had of Parted magic, and booted off of that. Lo and behold, it WORKS! The included firefox version can get to websites with no problem.

So that basically tells me this is a software problem with Windows...... but I'm still confused as to what the hell it could be!
I did try to load windows 8.1 on this computer, but its prompting me for a serial number. Meaning the computer doesn't have one in UEFI. So I believe the computer came with Win 10 out of the box, and wasn't an upgrade from what I can tell. Serial shows the computer was from December 2015, Win 10 released in July of 2015.

So while it works in linux, I'm still stumped as to why it doesn't work in Win 10. But seemingly everything else does.