I have a program which needs Firefox or IE to connect to 127.0.0.1:12345

It has stopped working within the last 48 hours in Firefox and IE for no obvious reason (i.e. I haven't changed any settings or installed anything new). I can get the program to run in Processes but when I TRY to open it in either browser I get the message "Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at 127.0.0.1." (or IE equivalent).

Just typing http://127.0.0.1 in the browser address bar brings up the same error message so I don't think the problem is in the specific program.

I know that 127.0.0.1 is LOCALHOST and I can ping it successfully.

I've checked my hosts file, which only contained the line
127.0.0.1 localhost

I have rebooted several times, restarted DNS Services, checked that Firefox is a trusted server and also that 127.0.0.1 is a trusted IP address in my Zone Alarm firewall. I've checked that Windows Firewall is off, and also tested with Zone Alarm off. I've disabled all my FF extensions and still get the same problem.

I'm running Windows XP Pro with SP2, Firefox 2.0.0.14, IE6 but FF is my default browser.

I hope there's enough info there to identify the issue

Thanks
Isobelwhat program is it? Is it using ftp, iis, apache for web access or some other protocol? make sure the service for that protocol is turned on.It USES TCP/IP. I've never had to change any service before in order to run it, just allow it through the firewall because it does access websites on my behalf.

This is what's puzzling me because literally one day it worked and the next it didn't.

Should I be able to open 127.0.0.1 from my browsers by default, or is this a red herring? I don't have a web server running on this PC.

IsobelI kind of doubt it is a browser problem, but I can't know for sure unless I can explore all of the possibilities...
what program is it? what's it's purpose?The program is called Tuelz.exe, I've had it for 2 or 3 YEARS. It's a series of utility programs to help administer web sites, run various processes on text files, create RSS feeds etc. The info page for it is http://www.tuelz.com/

It was open and running perfectly on Wednesday, and when I tried to open it yesterday I got the message that Firefox couldn't connect although the tuelz process was running and its log file was being updated. I just couldn't access the interface.

I tried to do a System Restore back to Wednesday, but it failed ... I kept trying various dates back to last Friday when I last ran Spybot S & D and the Restore has failed each time, which doesn't exactly fill me with joy! Of course I have no idea why it failed, I just get the Restore Incomplete screen.

Thanks for your help
Isobelhmm. As I don't know much about the program (never heard of it before, and am not going to install it) my best guess is that it is using a web server to host the pages on localhost, but the web server service it turned off or disabled for some reason. I would recommend looking through the services in your computer manager for clues about which service (or services) it might be and make sure it is enabled and turned on. Also, check msconfig to make sure tuelz is included in startup and/or services.
Thank you for your help

I did find one "essential" service that was stopped, but starting it didn't seem to make a difference on its own.

I managed to get a fresh copy of the exe and installed that .. and it works! I still have no idea why it stopped, but I'm not going to spend too much time worrying about it

Isobelwell, I'm glad you got it to work.