Since yesterday, I’ve been unable to connect to the web, or get e-mail, although I can access my newsgroups. After getting no help at all from the tech support folks (I hate to dis tech support, but the people I’ve been talking to are d.u.m.-dumb) I’ve determined that the problem is the name server(?)
The upshot is that I can get onto most URLs if I know the IP address.
Most URLs, but not all. Guess which one site I can’t connect to? This one!
My questions:
First: Is the IP address of the SDMB 65.201.198.9 ?
Second: If it is, why can’t I connect when I can connect to the main Straight Dope page of 65.201.198.8?
Third: Anyone have any sort of workaround they can think of?
Fourth: How does one determine the IP address of a site?
Fifth: Why does their name server(?) keep breaking? How finnicky is a name server(?)
I’m only at work for another hour or so, and obviously I’ll need to get any advice from here. If it’s later than that, please post your ideas anyway so that I’ll have 'em for next time (last time this happened it took about 4 days for them to fix it.
I think I recall someone on the boards with a similar problem. Isn’t there a file on your computer you can edit that will match a domain with an IP address that you specify?
Try this:
1)connect to your ISP/newsgroups
2)switch to the DOS prompt
3) type in ping -t http://www.straightdope.com
4) that will return the IP address
As for why it doesn’t work to connect to SDMB via the IP address, it appears that http://65.201.198.9 encounters a default or index page which redirects to http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb, thereby causing problems with your DNS again.
Try http://65.201.198.9/sdmb - fortunately most of the links in these pages seem to be relative, so you may be able to navigate the site reasonably well.
I was basically locked out from both Home Page and boards from last Thursday until last night. Even after all the discussion, I still have absolutely no clue as to what it was. I did nothing at this end to fix it, it just fixed itself.
I got irritated at tech support and they passed me up to tier 2 tech support. The tier two guy had me change my IP address from static to dynamic. poof Suddenly things started working again. “Ok” I think “That solved it. It sucks to have a dynamic IP address, but at least I can get on the net.” (I’m outta my depth here: how can the staticness/dynamicness of my IP address prevent my from accessing the Name Server, and nothing else?!)
Anyway, after a couple of hours of happy surfing, I went to dinner and watched a movie. I didn’t reboot. I wasn’t there to change any settings and neither was anyone else. I even left my browser running. However when I came back, I was back to square one. I could get newsgroups and surf to places where I knew the IP addresses, but couldn’t get e-mail or surf the regular way. I say to myself (after a quick check to make sure the settings are the same…they were) “Th’ hell with it: I’ll check tomorrow.” I come in this morning and everything’s fine. Since there’re no howls of outrage in the @home complaints newsgroup, I’m assuming this is just me. But is this a defective Ethernet card that’s overheating? Some weird timed software setting? Gremlins?
I’m stumped. Any ideas, suggestions, etc would be appreciated.
Fenris (and another annoyance: @Home’s tech support line keeps urging me to go to their website for live chat-based support (constantly repeated recording). The problem is to get to Tech Support, you need to push a button that says “Press 3 if you are experiencing an interruption in your service” :rolleyes: )
No real clue, but happy to brainstorm and console you in your misery.
Would a virus do this?
Who’s your ISP? What kind of computer do you have, software, browser, etc.?
I’m always paranoid about Microsoft; was me, I’d try reinstalling Internet Explorer.
When I first started doing computers (inherited the thing from the Better Half, who got fed up), I also had the odd experience of coming back later and finding things somehow–different. Icons moved on the Desktop, files and folders no longer where I’d left them, the Taskbar popping up and down instead of staying up, and most of all, lockups. I finally got rid of the–weirdness–by telling IE5 to stop updating itself automatically. Under Tools up at the top here, Internet Options, under Advanced, under Browsing, it’s got a box for “Automatically Check for Internet Explorer updates”. I unclicked that and a lot of the “while you were out” weirdness stopped. I think it’s supposed to go to Microsoft’s website and check for slight tweaks and install them without telling you. And these slight tweaks would upset the balance of what I actually had on my hard drive.
You might try posting this over at ZDNet. Dunno if they can help, but at least you can feel like you’re doing something.
**
It could, but I’m pretty sure I’m clean. I’ve got the lastest definitions, and have run a full system check.
**
**
My ISP’s @Home, a cable internet provider
I’ve got a home-brew computer (I built it, it’s not a name-brand). OS is Win98…rev2(? I think…I certainly have all the updates I want). Browser, I use IE5.5 primarily, have Netscape 6.0 (yuk) for a backup and play around with Opera (version…i dunno) on rare occasions. I use Forte Agent (not Free Agent) as my Newsreader and for my e-Mail.
**
Except I’m having the problem in all programs (Netscape, Opera, Agent), so it’s not just IE.
**
Believe me…I have it turned off. I’ll decide what I want updated and what I don’t.
Since the problem is very specifically DNS lookups, you might try changing your DNS server to see if you can isolate the problem to the one @home gave you. Try 209.237.160.161 for a DNS server, being sure to remember your old setting so you can change it back, of course. That one is an address published on the network-tools page which seems to have a publically accessible DNS server. If that works when your “official” DNS server doesn’t, get on @home’s case. You’re paying to use THEIR DNS server, not somebody elses.
If you have to put up with slow or unreliable DNS lookup, it might help to install a DNS cache, which at least keeps you from having to go to your DNS server as often. This one seems to be highly reccomended - I know nothing else about it:
Windows 98 and ME has a file called Hosts, in the Windows folder. It is the DNS name server database file as alluded to, but of course is much smaller than those of the big 5 (or whatever the amount of central DNS name servers are now). It can be manipulated and updated by using programs such as FastNet99 and ExtraDNS. For FastNet99, all the programmer wants you to do is hug a tree (it is Natureware).
Believe me…I have it turned off. I’ll decide what I want updated and what I don’t.