I was called the other day to have a look at a computer that couldn’t go online. I thought “probably something small”. Yeah! RIGHT! On Vista? HA! So I go there. I have a look. User log on was taking minutes, welcome screen more. No IP address. No DNS server. What the hell? I had never seen something like this.
Kaspersky wasn’t working. It was complaining that some components couldn’t run. “Ok”, I thought, “let’s disable some Vista settings not needed. Maybe that will live things up a bit because the computer is ‘flowing’ like honey on sand; not at all!”.
I open up Services and disable the worst ‘evil doer of delays’ the Windows Indexing. As I was moving up and down on the list of services, trying to figure what else I can kill, I saw DHCP service stuck on ‘Starting’. “Wait a second”, I said to myself (yes I talk to me. We have the greatest conversations this way. Full of zest and intelligence. Anyyywayyyys), “that’s not right. Why is this taking so long to start? Isn’t DHCP a service that assigns an IP address from the server? Maybe that’s the reason why. Ok let’s hit Google for answers”.
Unfortunately there was NONE to be found for Vista. It was like Micro$oft didn’t want to give MORE evidence of their crap OS. I was getting angry and frustrated. I had the user asking me every 5 seconds if I can fix it? Why the damn thing is not working? I tried ipconfig /all. Media disconnected. Ipconfig /renew. Media disconnected. Nothing. I was getting even more angry in the point to just format the damn thing and put Linux in it.
All my tries with the Windows repair suggestions were getting to the same result. Nothing. But as M$ is putting it: “It seems that there is still an error with your connection. Please contact your System Administrator”. In other words “Piss off and leave us alone. Find your solution yourselves.”
But I would not get defeated. I will get to the bottom of this. As I was searching the internet, I stumble across in an article about repairing the winsock. I found some helpful commands that I run straight away:
Sfc /scannow
The command found some errors and repaired them. But at the end the connection wasn’t up still. So I tried the next command:
Netsh winsock reset
After a short run the TCPIP stack was repaired and I could see a connection again. I was overjoyed. My user was happy too. I can’t understand why M$ couldn’t add that simple command into their Automatic repairing crap that they have??? I will never find out (NOR I CARE!)
I would like to thank all those people that contributed to the technical forums that helped me fix this error and moved my knowledge, on the mystic arts of fixing Vista problems, on step further. I bow to you. Thank you.
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69 comments:
This happened to a client of mine with XP -- Her antivirus and antispyware programs were disabled in funky ways, and her Verizon Access Manager wouldnt even open.
This post saved me a very unhappy customer and i think i may get "netsh winsock restore" tattooed on my forearm so i don't forget it!
1. goto http://support.microsoft.com
2. search "unable to initialize winsock vista"
3. click on first result.
Apparently thats too hard for linux zealots these days.
I just got a call from a friend with the same problem. A google search brought me here, and your advice had him back online in no time.
Thank you!
I agree with the previous post.
DHCP Services not starting was causing me to pull my hair out trying to fix my sister-in-law's PC. I was neck-deep in checking registry permissions when I stumbled across this post. Great job.
Netsh to the rescue!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
My sister was having this same issue and I could not figure it out at all. Her computer is online and she is very happy.
Thanks again.
YOU ARE AMAZING, THIS LINE THEN A QUICK REBOOT AND THE INTERNET WORKS. 6 HOURS OF SEARCHING!!!!
Superb advice!!! Netsh really helped fix the issue.
great advice! netsh worked nicely.
M$ support should send you a check!
And I bow to you sir. Thank you for the post.
All I can say is THANK YOU - This problem plagued me all damn day (man vista blows)... wish I would have found your site first. Will send some good karma your way!
I went to the support.microsoft.com and the "unable to initialize winsock vista" came up but it just took me to a list of sites about vista and no useful information whereas the sfc followed by a reboot and netsh worked.
Thank you.
Brian
Brilliant. Worked flawlessly. *STANDING APPLAUSE*
Thank you! This worked perfectly. However I have a question.. do we know what causes this? I fixed it on my wife's laptop and the problem came back 2 reboots later.. at which time I fixed it again. It would be nice to know the source of the problem!
worked a charm on my neighbours laptop, cheers!
I got lock with same issue.I did google search and got your post.
When I tried by typing netsh winsock reset in command prompt by logging on as Admin user,got below error message.
Initialization Function InitHelperDll in NSHHTTP.DLL failed to start with error code 10107
The requested operation requires elevation.
To get around this went to All Programs, Accessories, right click Command Prompt and clicked Run as administrator.Now I typed netsh winsock reset in command prompt.Now the command got work and informed me to restart the machine.I restarted my laptop.
Now my laptop is online.Request you to include this point also in your post.
Please continue your great job.
My heartiest thanks to you.
You have no idea how your blog and the March 1 2010 post have saved me from having a 'way too long' conversation with Verizon Wireless about my VZAccess manager not working. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Saved me hours of misery trying to fix my kid's computer. Thank you!
It's VISTA -- thats what the REAL problem is. This post goes straight to the point. Saved me several hours of backup/OS reload etc.
I'm using windows 7 pro and had problems installing some new connectivity software for a client I support. Like others before me an internet search - on a working computer - led me to here. And it saved my bacon too!!!
Thanks for solving
Thanks, I am another soul rescued. One other word I might add for others is that the first time I tried the netsh command, I got an error message back stating that the command required elevation. When running cmd.exe, I had to right click and choose "Run as Administrator". Then netsh worked flawlessly, as others have noted.
Thanks for the post. Like Anonymous, my victim was messing with Sprint software when their laptop lost it's mind and refused to communicate. netsh winsock reset worked!
X-D Thank you!!! I was really getting desperated, thank you so much for posting this!
Hey, I work for Telstraclear in NZ, and I just want to say thanks man, saved my ass from an angry customer.
Hello, I do not agree with the previous commentator - not so simple
I tried the netsh winsock reset command prompt.
I got back:
initialization function inithelperDLL in NSHHTTP.DLL failed to start with erroe code 10107.
The requested operation requires elevation.
NOW WHAT?
Vista need chucking in the bin.
Any help gratefully recieved.
Jeff in Poole UK
Hi all should have read all the comments right through.
Sorry, alreadty an answer to my last post. Just getting grief form the missis, so need to get her back on line as quickly as possible.
Thanks for the answer to the original problem.
Fixed it now as administrator!!
Jeff
I was about to shoot my computer and go buy a new one. This worked perfectly! Thank you very much for posting the info!!! I love that M$ searches for help on the internet... but what happens when you can't connect to the internet? Thank You!
You just saved my a$$. Thank god for wireless devices and smart people who share with the rest of us poor desperate souls!
Thanks for a down to earth post " I talk to me also" :)
WOW, after 3 days of searching, somehow I came across this post, thanks to your great advise and that of those who also jogged my memory to right click on the cmd function to run as administrator, I have finally resolved the issue. Man I wish I found this on my first search, but made the mistake of scrolling through the M$ sites, grrr. THANKS HEAPS :-)
Thank you. This saved my day at work!
Thank you so much! This was vastly more helpful than Microsoft's site.
thank you so much. worked a charm! you've evidently saved hours of my life :)
thank you very much! it solved the problem for me, too!!
Unbelievable! Been hungup on this problem for quite awhile on my son's laptop. Finally sat down and dedicated myself to fixing the problem. Met all kinds of frustration until I found your post. Doing sfc/scannow befor the netsh winsock restore was the key and the charm! Thanks so much!! I don't have him bugging me anymore!!
Hey buddy ... it worked for me thanks ..... and crap Vista.
God Bless you! I tried everything in the book for hours and could not find anything and then when i was about to give up... I saw your post. Thank you so much!
Hey Man! U are awesome and save me! Thanks 1000x!!
BOOOOOOM!!!! It worked! Cheers dude! :)
Thanks for the nice blog. It was very useful for me. Keep sharing such ideas in the future as well. This was actually what I was looking for, and I am glad to came here! Thanks for sharing the such information with us.
Thanks for blog.Really helpful
Many thanks to you, you saved me hours of searching for the solution.
there's a good chance this saved the me the embarassment of a reformat (AKA technician easy mode)
Thanks.
Thank you! Been scratching my head over this problem for a client's laptop for a week. Service were stuck in "starting..." state, a cable plugged into the ethernet socket *was* detected, but its IP address always came up as a 169.x.y.z address rather than a 192.168.x.y
That one command fixed it all:
Netsh winsock reset
I had already tried diabling, re-enabling and repairing the network connections, to no effect.
Thank YOU! You've saved me plenty of time!
Thank You~!!!
Thanks much. Gave a Merry Christmas to someone when I fixed her computer just now!
Cheers!
You are a real lifesaver!!! Thanks ...
it worked perfectly for my windows 7, thanks a lot for the info and help.. you the best
Prezado, seu post foi de extrema ajuda no meu problema, parabéns!!!
Worked perfectly for me too, and even though I got the following error when doing the reset, I ignored it, rebooted, and it still worked:
Initialization Function InitHelperDll in NSHHTTP.DLL failed to start with error code 10107
I think in my case it had something to do with disabling the Cisco VPN Client - re-enabling it still didn't fix things, until I happened across this easy answer. Good work!
Thanks,
Blaine
You absolute bloody hero.
Thank you thank you very much
Another thank you from me
you are my god...thanks netsh~
THIS METHOD WORKED!
SAVED SO MUCH TIME! THANK YOU! WINDOWS VISTA DHCP WILL NOT START... WILL NOT RECOGNIZE ANY AVAIL NETWORKS...
SUMMARY: RIGHT CLICK CMD.EXE / RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR
"SRC / SCANNOW"
"NETSH winsock reset" COMMAND as previously mentioned
RESTART COMPUTER. BOOM, DONE!
Hi Thanks for your post.
It helped me to get the server working back.
Hi Thanks for your post.
It helped me to get server working back.
Worked like a charm! you rock!
Spent many hours trying to get the wireless to work. Was ready to give up and then I found your fix. HOORAY, it worked.
NETSH winsock reset fixed my problem, thanks
Had leftover NLF sockets from bad norman security suite removal, removed registry winsock entries, your command finished the job.
Many thanks, was a vista pc.
Worked for me Windows 10. Had the NSHHTTP.DLL failed to start with error 10107 issue. Thank you.
This helped me now greatly. Using Windows 8.1 Pro in case anyone is wondering if it works with that OS. Many thanks. :D
Just tried in windows and it works a treat. Thankyou.
Just tried in windows and it works a treat. Thankyou.
Worked like a charm!!! Thanks a lot
Just to say you are a real hero!!!. Works like magic!.
I got my pc working fine after I issue those commands. Thanks for the help
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