403 (Forbidden) on all sites

[Toko]

I'm busy upgrading all the pc's in an office from 98 to XP and for most of them I simply made backups , formatted and installed a fresh copy of windows XP.

The company is part of a franchise and is forced to use a program called officeina, they are not allowed to keep cpoies of this software on site and have to pay an exorbitant fee to get the reps to come re-install the software if anything goes wrong.

In an attempt to keep the software working I upgraded the server from 98 to XP(not my preferred way to load an OS) and I was very happy when the software still worked but there is a problem.

All the pc's are fully functioning on the network and can use all the network resources including internet but I get a 403 (forbidden) on the 98-XP upgrade pc. I can update software, recieve and send mail, ping websites but not open them in a browser.

I've installed different browsers but I still get the same error and I'm about to give up and format the pc, I think it's a policy, certificate setting somewhere but I have no idea how to find and fix it.

I get this error when logged in as admin too.

Plz help

 

[Franna]

Check the HOSTS file, it may be corrupted:
http://www.johntopley.com/oldblog/kb/other/0017.html

But if the 98-XP machine is the server should you really use it to access websites?

A nice way to get around the issue of paying for installs is to do the following:
1) Get a packaging software program
2) Create a package install point
3) Call out the technician to come and do the install
4) After he has left, finish the package creation. This will compare all the system files and registry settings before the install with after the install, and package it in a compacted file.
5) Use this package to install on other machines