Clicking on a link many times results in no response or activity at
all (as indicated by no flashing on the internet icon monitor screens)
from 1 second to MINUTES with only the IE browser symbol rotating.
This started about the same time I went from IE 5.0 to 5.5, put in a
new hard drive and switched ISPs from Earthlink to BellSouth.  Going
to IE 6.0 made no difference. Going back to Earthlink didn't help
either. BellSouth's technical help instructions had no effect. I am
running WIN98SE which worked OK
before.  Bypassing all house phone lines didn't help.  I tried to ping
other sites during the delays and the ping command was also delayed! 
Other times response is immediate (normal).  Once action starts, there
is no delay or slowness. I am and was on dialup. HOW CAN I RESTORE
NORMAL ACCESS TIMES AND RESPONSE?

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Clarification of Question by alb-ga on 03 May 2004 04:51 PDT

The question would be clearer if written: "In many cases, when
clicking on a link, there is no response ..."

I will check for latest WINSOCK and modem driver and look into
tweaking.  Weather makes no difference.  Hard drive was only component
added. Will ask phone co. to check for noise.  Thanks for the ideas! 
Any others out there??

Other info:  1.  Problem is still there in OPERA, but seems less.
             2.  Line at top of monitor screen (title bar?) says "...
             Microsoft Internet Explorer provided by the HSPH IT Department",
             but I don't know why.

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Request for Question Clarification by hummer-ga on 03 May 2004 06:55 PDT

Hi alb,

It wouldn't hurt to run the following programs (in the order given),
just to confirm that you haven't picked up something.

1) HouseCall (very thorough online virus scan):
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

2) CWShredder (update before running):
http://www.spychecker.com/program/coolwebshredder.html

3) Adaware (update before running):
http://www.spychecker.com/program/adaware.html

4) HijackThis (update before running):
http://www.spychecker.com/program/hijackthis.html

Post your HijackThis log on the following forum:
Spyware and Hijackware Removal Support:
http://www.spywareinfo.com/forums/

Please let us know if that helps.

Thanks,
hummer

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Clarification of Question by alb-ga on 03 May 2004 13:47 PDT

Thanks,hummer.  I should have mentioned that I did run: trendmicro
virus scan, adaware and spybot.  Had same problem after fixing stuff
(they didn't find much).   Should I run anything else?  AB 5-3-04

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Request for Question Clarification by hummer-ga on 03 May 2004 16:43 PDT

Hi AB,

It could be your modem - I've gone through several myself. They just
don't drop dead one day, but rather gradually fade away. You could try
checking your speed - if nothing else, it's interesting.

http://www.numion.com/YourSpeed/

Another thought is your phone line - perhaps it is shorting out
somewhere. I've also experienced this and had to rewire.

hummer

Have you checked to see if you have the latest Win98 WINSOCK from
Microsoft? The latest driver from your modem manufacturer? Have you
tried tweaking your network settings with a program like PPP Boost
(www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/ 0,fid,8398,00.asp) or
TweakDUN/MaxMTU (www.sysopt.com/maxmtu.html)? Do you notice if it gets
worse with a certain type of weather (i.e., extreme humidity, rain,
etc.)? If you have (or none of it helps) can you get the local phone
co to check for noise on the line? (it should be a no-fee visit from
the junction box out). Have you added any other components to your
system or network other than the hard drive? Just a few thoughts...

Check out which DNS servers you are using

[2.  Line at top of monitor screen (title bar?) says "...Microsoft
Internet Explorer provided by the HSPH IT Department", but I don't
know why.]

That's the "IE Title Bar". It only takes a simple registry tweak to
get IE to say what ever you want at the top. A lot of companies do
that to "brand" their IE. Do a registry search (regedit) for "HSPH IT
DEPARTMENT" and see where it turns up.

There is some software available to do it for you
[http://www.digitalspider.cwc.net/tweak/] or if you want to do it
manually, backup your Registry, and browse your way to this branch:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\

If there is no value currently entered called "Window Title", go to
the Edit menu (or right click in the right pane), select New and
Create a new String Value called "Window Title" (without the quotes)
and double click it. In the Value Data Box, type in what you want the
title bar in Internet Explorer to say. You could change it to what
ever you want, like "Provided by several species of small furry
animals gathered together in a cave and grooving with a pict"*

Check these sites for more info:

http://aps.naples.net/community/NFNWebpages/storyboard.cfm?StoryBoardNum=195&PageNum=180

corwin02 brings up a good point too. Check your network settings to
make sure they are either clear and set on "Assign Automatically" or
that all the numbers match your latest ISP exactly (contact them or
check their website for the most up to date info on DNS server
addresses, gateways, etc.)



*The title of a very old Pink Floyd album for you youngsters...