# Weird problem trying to connect to English Wikipedia **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2013, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-problem-trying-to-connect-to-english-wikipedia/667021 "2013-08-24T02:30:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-problem-trying-to-connect-to-english-wikipedia/667021/1 "2013-08-24T02:30:09Z")
I had a short internet hiccup and after I got it back, trying to connect to English wikipedia sends me back to my router’s error page and gives me this: > [@](#): > > Troubleshooting > > No IP address obtained! > Your DSL Connection is active but without internet connectivity. > This may be due to wrong PPP identifiers or transient failure and delays in connection setup. > Correct your PPP identifiers, or try again in a few minutes. Everything else works fine, including other parts of Wikipedia, like Finnish or Spanish pages. Anybody got any ideas what is causing this? It’s been 4 hours now. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-problem-trying-to-connect-to-english-wikipedia/667021/2 "2013-08-24T02:38:19Z")
Sounds like a likely DNS issue. [Go here](https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/using) and follow the directions for how to change your DNS settings under the “Microsoft Windows” heading. (assuming that’s your OS, otherwise choose Mac or Linux instructions.) Google DNS is usually faster and more dependable, anyway. ETA: It would help if I actually added the link… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-problem-trying-to-connect-to-english-wikipedia/667021/3 "2013-08-24T03:04:24Z")
I switched to Google DNS and it works fine but it didn’t resolve the problem. ---
**Author:** ![HardlySanguine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HardlySanguine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HardlySanguine)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-problem-trying-to-connect-to-english-wikipedia/667021/4 "2013-08-24T03:13:40Z")
Well, you do have a DNS cache - in windows, open up a DOS command prompt and type \*\*ipconfig /flushdns \*\*(Windows Key + R, then type “cmd” to get to the command prompt. Or if you’re in Windows 7 just type “cmd” and hit enter after opening the start menu.) ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-problem-trying-to-connect-to-english-wikipedia/667021/5 "2013-08-24T03:17:19Z")
Flushed, still getting my router’s troubleshooting page when trying to go to English Wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-problem-trying-to-connect-to-english-wikipedia/667021/6 "2013-08-24T03:40:19Z")
Haven’t managed to fix it yet, but using Google Translate and then hitting the “Show Original” button allows me to see a specific Wikipedia page. As soon as I try “Show Original Page” or try any of the links I get my router’s error message again. Maybe it is time to sacrifice some chickens to the Old and Vengeful Gods of Telecommunication. ---
**Author:** ![HardlySanguine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HardlySanguine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HardlySanguine)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-problem-trying-to-connect-to-english-wikipedia/667021/7 "2013-08-24T04:00:10Z")
What happens when you do a traceroute to Wikipedia? \*\*tracert [http://en.wikipedia.org/](http://en.wikipedia.org/) \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-problem-trying-to-connect-to-english-wikipedia/667021/8 "2013-08-24T04:05:16Z")
Well, now it resolved itself without me doing anything further to fix it. Weird thing. Thanks for trying to help, it was much appreciated! 😃