Here is a possible solution. If you have recently installed XP Service Pack 2 - and it has turned on the FireWall that now comes with XP - that may very well be the problem. Try turning off the XP Firewall and see if that helps. I run a firewall other than XP's. However when service pack 2 installed it turned on the firewall and I had all sorts of problems getting "out" on my computer - couldn't even FTP to my website. Once I figured out that maybe the Microsoft Firewall might be causing a problem I turned it off and everything worked. It's just a suggestion however it may help at least it couldn't hurt to try. I'm NOT suggesting anyone run without a firewall but the XP built in firewall really creates some problems.