Windows 10 laptop can only open Google.com and Youtube

I since yesterday experienced a very strange problem: my Windows 10 Dell laptop can only open www.google.co.uk (also www.google.com) and Youtube, nothing else. I get a "Connection was reset" error message each time.

I tried flushdns, netsh winsock reset, change DNS to 8.8.8.8 (& 8.8.4.4)... everything I could think of, nothing worked. I tried 2 different browsers: Firefox and Edge, both have the same problem, other devices connecting to the same router wirelessly in the house are all fine.

In the end I had to system restore in safe mode, that worked.

As soon as I performed another Windows update (I think it is KB4464218, 10 version 1803) the problem came back. I had to restore the system back to 4 days ago again.

Has anyone else experienced the same problem? Would anyone know what caused this?

RT2709

Posted 2018-09-23T10:53:25.437

Reputation: 320

UPDATE: the problem has not gone away since the system restore, I just realised that the system restore seems to enable the laptop access more websites than before, such as bbc.co.uk, StackExchange. But still not all websites. – RT2709 – 2018-09-23T11:05:11.907

Does ping gives you something for sites which gives the connection error message? – C0deDaedalus – 2018-09-23T11:21:41.903

I tried ping bbc.co.uk, 4 pcks sent and received, zero lost. However, when I tried tracert bbc.co.uk, I got the router (BThomehub.home) Requested time out. I then ping the router, 4 pcks sent and received, zero lost! What should I do next? – RT2709 – 2018-09-23T12:01:42.603

Reset your router. If that doesn't work call your ISP. – DavidPostill – 2018-09-23T13:12:37.460

What about your host file? Have you manually added some records in it? For example, to prevent malicious advertisements, point the domain name to 127.0.0.1. – S.Leon – 2018-09-25T02:55:53.350

No, I didn't touch the host file at all. All I've done to the system was: installing a Virtualbox & Windows update KB4464218. – RT2709 – 2018-09-26T06:40:36.640

Answers

-1

KB4464218 doesn't sound like an essential update. In fact, I'm not really sure that it is the one that is causing the problem.

In the general case, if you know which update causes the problem, you can try to hide it.

Restore the system to a working state and follow the article
Use the Show or Hide Updates tool to block unwanted Windows 10 updates, including drivers.

It describes using the Microsoft "Show or hide updates" troubleshooter package.

As Windows 10 is changing monthly, I don't know how long that tool will keep working. Its description does say this :

Windows 10 Version 1607 (Anniversary Update) and later versions

harrymc

Posted 2018-09-23T10:53:25.437

Reputation: 306 093

Who didn't like it, and why? – harrymc – 2018-09-23T17:50:59.563

I agree, I don't think that this windows update caused the problem. The other thing I did before the problem occured was: Installing a Virtualbox, could that have caused the problem? (I doubt it). I in the end had to reset the pc, as I ran out of ideas. – RT2709 – 2018-09-26T07:05:05.003

Sometimes Windows breaks, and the usual cause is Windows Update. That's why it's better to postpone updates as much as is allowed by Windows 10. I would also advise taking an image backup of the system disk before starting the updates, as restoring it is much better than Reset. My preferred tool is AOMEI Backupper Freeware. – harrymc – 2018-09-26T07:11:12.423

Thank you. I'm using the Macrium to make an image as we speak. Thanks for your great advice. : -) – RT2709 – 2018-09-26T07:23:24.757

Change your DNS servers to primary: 1.1.1.1 and secondary: 1.0.0.1 (Cloudflare's DNS), if it doesn't work perform a Network Reset in Windows. If the problem stays I'd recommend doing a fresh install of Windows 10.

user10401630

Posted 2018-09-23T10:53:25.437

Reputation: 1

Tried everything, network reset didn't work either. Manually changed dns servers on both IPv4 and IPv6 to a few different dns servers, nothing worked. In the end reset the pc. : -/ – RT2709 – 2018-09-26T07:01:13.643