Cannot access internet: outdated certificates - maybe?

H

Hmm

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
 
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The issue is outdated certificates.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.

eatup said:
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...
Click to expand...
 
Hmm said:
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.
Click to expand...


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