>.... > > Now, after some Googling, I see that this problem (or at least similar > problems) can be caused by a firewall on the loopback interface. Do you > think this is the cause of my problem? (I posted my Iptables output in > an earlier post). > > However, as a test, I temporarily disabled the firewall and > unfortunately still got the same problem.
That may not be enough in a context where the Firewalling software was started and then stopped. Residual rules and or states may still affect the loopback interface. Can you, for instance, 'ping localhost' with success ? > That is the firewall on this > FC4 machine... I am connected to the Internet via a wireless connection > which has its own firewall - but surely that should not affect this (or > should it?) > > What should my next step be? > Set the firewalling functions off , wherever this needs to be done, and *restart* the system. Check whether you can ping the localhost (itself). M. > Dying of frustration here..... > > Many thanks for your patience... > > Mark > > > >