[stgab1]

At work I access the internet with my G4 using an ethernet connection through a Windows network. My email comes through a Microsoft Exchange Server. I am running a OS 10.2.8. This large network connects members of the organization at several different sites. I am also connected to a local server which networks the computers, printers, etc. at our site. However since a new server was installed last week I can't access it to share files either. Last week both of my internet browsers began to unexpectedly quit at launch. Entourage will sometimes quit after I've been using it for a few minutes. Mail never quits.
I have checked for viruses. I've repaired permisssions and run TechTool. None of these actions have solved the problem. I am the only Mac user. Our tech support people know nothing about Macs and advise me to switch to a PC. Can anyone tell me what might be causing this problem and offer a solution? Thanks! Mary

[surtur]

Alhtough it is possible there is something to the new servers creating or contributing to your problem it wouldn't be first on my list. Beause you are using 10.2.8 it is difficult to rule that out and just point the finger at the new server. 10.2.8 has had it's share of postings in forums for causing problems.
First of all I would caution upgrading your OS if it is working for you... that is if you upgraded from 10.2.x to 10.2.8 you didn't obey the rule of thumb "if it ain't broke..."
Just wait until an upgrade or update is out for 4-6 weeks before using it, unless it is designed to handle a specific problem you're having... and read the forums about it, and then be ready to back track if there is a problem with your system/operation.
That being said, you might try these:
1. To try to rule out the new server, run the machine without connecting to the new server. That is, make a test folder on your computer, if you don't have any web files on your computer download or get some web pages, graphics, to that folder. Then run the browsers to view them without being connected to the server. Althought it shouldn't effect the testing of the server, you might get an error message if the web pages are pulling in images or scripts from somewhere else, like ads from a central ad server like doubleclick. If you continue to have the problem even when disconnected from the server, it may not be the server, go to step 2 and/or 3. If the problem goes away and it may be the server consider step 2 and/or 3.
2. Post your question in detail at this forum at apple.
http://discussions.info.apple.com/ click on MacOS X and/or Other Network Connectivity
3. Go back to the OS version that was working and see if that makes a difference.
If all else fails, come back here... and it's more likely that your tech support will be willing and able to help if provided with a history of troubleshooting you've done.

[stgab1]

Thanks for your suggestions. I put some web pages in a folder on my desktop and both browsers opened them without a hitch. I looked at the crash logs for both browsers in the Sysyem Profiler and they both report the same error message - "Invalid Address." Also, many of my co-workers who all have PC's are reporting various network problems.
I will post my question to the forum you suggested but if you have any other ideas I would welcome them. Thanks for your help. I appreciate it very much. Mary

[surtur]

Since you said both Windows and Mac users are experiencing network problems then I would suspect the culprit to be the proxy server at your location. If they installed a "new" server then they may still be working out the bugs... (might take a while if not Mac or Linux)... oh well... some people think it's ok to use Windows even with the severe security problems.
You might want to print the below out and leave it anonymously for the IT dept.
------------------------------------------------------------
Windows comes with five of its ports open; Mac OS X comes
with all of them shut and locked. (Ports are back-door
channels to the Internet: one for instant-messaging, one for
Windows XP's remote-control feature and so on.) These ports
are precisely what permitted viruses like Blaster to
infiltrate millions of PC's. Microsoft says that it won't
have an opportunity to close these ports until the next
version of Windows, which is a couple of years away.

When a program tries to install itself in Mac OS X or
Linux, a dialog box interrupts your work and asks you
permission for that installation -- in fact, requires your
account password. Windows XP goes ahead and installs it,
potentially without your awareness.
Administrator accounts in Windows (and therefore viruses
that exploit it) have access to all areas of the operating
system. In Mac OS X, even an administrator can't touch the
files that drive the operating system itself. A Mac OS X
virus (if there were such a thing) could theoretically wipe
out all of your files, but wouldn't be able to access anyone
else's stuff -- and couldn't touch the operating system
itself.

No Macintosh e-mail program automatically runs scripts
that come attached to incoming messages, as Microsoft
Outlook for Windows does.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
more here, infoworld is a highly respected IT magazine.
http://www.infoworld...ts/SRapple.html
http://www.infoworld...nists/chad.html

[jobrien]

I am running 10.2 and it seems that the plist for internetconnect/config may have been corrupted.
it is a user profile issue and the problem probably will not replicate if you log on as another user.
But the quick and easy solution is to go into user>Library>Preferences>
and locate internetconnect.plist, internetconfig.plist. Delete those two files and launching any browser will recreate them.