Cannot access internet: outdated certificates - maybe?

I inherited a virtually brand new Sony Vaio laptop from over 11 years ago. It is running Windows XP SP1. It remained literally dormant until I got my hands on it.

When I tried to connect to the internet, I was unable to. Back in the day, I helped the now deceased setup their laptop. I know it worked back then.

Unfortunately, now it no longer connects despite doing a full factory image restore for Windows HOme. I tried a brand new fresh install of XP Pro with SP3 and the same issue is there.

What happens is the old outdated IE 6 browser won't connect...or actually only partially connect to Yahoo's webpage telling me to upgrade to Firefox and even then the scripts are all messed up. I downloaded Maxthon and Firefox onto USB and then installed them on the laptop. Both browsers gave me warning messages that the certificate are invalid or old. I was given the option to proceed, which I did. I have to do this for every single website I go to. However, XP itself can't connect to the internet eg. Microsoft updates (no longer supported, I know) and even updating existing applications like Adobe Acrobat. It's all blocked within XP.

I did manage to update to service pack 3, but I had to do a few registry hacks before it would install it. However, this did not fix the issue of not being able to connect to the web.

Is there a workaround or fix to get XP to connect to the internet? Is there an updated certificate package I can download and install offline?

Thanks

 

https://onedrive.live.com/?id=D7389B68B3A275AD!834&cid=D7389B68B3A275AD

above is my onedrive, public files, download ie8 and install, but also you should get fully updated and have an antivirus installed before going online.

when you did your fresh install did you install all the proper drivers??

 

Thanks Elizabeth.

The issue is outdated certificates. Not a browser issue. The reinstall of XP was a "no brainer". The laptop has a Sony OEM factory image which installed all the correct drivers.

If you have in your Onedrive ported certificates from Windows 7 or 10 that I can somehow migrate into XP, please let me know which file it is so I can install it in XP. Even certificates from a few years ago are invalid and won't allow XP to access the internet.

 

It's not possible to not access the internet with XP SP3. I'm running it in a virtual machine no problem. Never had to install any sort of (updated) certificate after installing virtual XP.

Are u sure it's not a Wi-Fi card issue? My 12 y/o laptop does this all the time, unable to access the internet at times b/c of an old incompatible Wi-Fi card with current wireless router tech...

 

I am 100% certain there is no issue with wifi or wifi hardware. I tried various portable USB wifi sticks. Everything works fine but ridiculously and unacceptably slow when I installed Windows 7. It doesn't matter what other PC I use, the result is the same, including the OEM built-in image, provided Windows XP CD, or a different version of Windows XP like Windows Ultimate.

I would suggest you do a fresh clean install of Windows XP in NON virtual machine/emulation environment starting with the orignal XP CD and updating to SP3. If you have Windows XP SP3 CD or a slipstream, you can do a fresh install that way too. In any event, you should be able to replicate my same issue by doing a clean "real" install.

In summary, what I am experiencing is clearly a result of outdated certificates and not a wifi or hardware issue. There is literature to this effect on the web that outdated root certificates will cause my issue.

 

The version of XP I used to install to a VM was the last one issued by MS with SP3 embedded (not slipstreamed).