Ok . fixed. Solution:
Anti virus (w/o the firewall, anti virus and anti-spyware)
Which one: Eset Nod 32 version 3 (or something)...
Why did it suddenly happened: No clue. I should have known better, "Anti virus World" has it's moods - so to say.
Once uninstalled - everything works OK with Glassfish.
So I "investigated" the options - each time shutting down java.exe processes to make the changes take effect & found THE specific option that made the problem.
It's called: Protocol Filtering - it has 3 options:
1.HTTP And POP3 ports.
2. Applications marked as internet browsers and email clients
3. Ports and applications marked as internet browsers or email clients
There is no options to entirely disable this "feature" -
The problem exists when the 3rd options is selected. Once switched to the 1st option - reloaded Netbeans and ran the server - everything worked.
So there you go.
By the way, also found a "fix" to a different problem that I had encountered a week ago --
The server starts OK, but the browser can't open the URL :
http://localhost:8080/...
only 127.0.0.1 worked. This is due to the either the Web Access Control or the HTTP Filter - both options in the Eset Nod32 Settings - once they are disabled, localhost is found and the page displays.
Questions ? Email me...
Personal note : I hate Anti viruses - they sit there at the task bar like it's Hawaii - all on vacation doing barely anything , and they cause the strangest of problems.
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