Hey All

Really annoying problem that has just materialised in the last couple of days. Certain websites won't load, like metallica.com, ebay.co.uk, ilounge.com, etc.

Others are fine, like this, thye load fine without any probs.

I've tried resetting my router [Netgear Dg834G], clearing the cache, cookies, etc.

Any other idea??

in what way wont they load? what error message do you see? have you tried an alternative browser?

the progress bar at the bottom of the screen loads like 1%, then nothing happens and after a while I get the error message [can't load etc].

By the way, I'm using Firefox Beta, but it happens with IE too.

I've upgraded the router firmware too, but that didn't help.

Cheers

tried turning on/off your proxy? tried doing a traceroute to the sites, see if you can get past your router? tried running a virus scan? (and/or check your host file).

could be a dns problem - try accessing ebay using an ip address (66.135.192.41)

cheers for the replies.

I tired getting on to ebay with the ip address that LL200 provided and it loaded a page that said I was going be be redirected, but it never did! But atleast that page loaded up, so it could be a dns problem [whatever that is].

Any suggestions?

Hi,
try getting the DNS server addresses from your ISP,and put them into your router and TCPIP properties in windows, instead of using the automatic option.
regards

i dont actually get redirected either when i use an ip address, so ignore that -- its a red herring.

what isp are you on?

have a look here, see if anything helps you sort the problem out.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/dnsname.html

You might want to upgrade to Firefox 1.5, it's the latest version, been out about a week now, im sure some issues have been fixed

well spotted, didnt even notice they were using ff beta.

Before you do anything...

Have a look at your hosts file and see if there are any references to the sites you can't access (eg. xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx ebay.com etc).

If there are, then simply delete them

cheers again for the replies.

I too thought that Firefox could be the culprit, but I have the same problems with IE.

Sccsux: how do I check the host files?

Cheers.

Originally posted by Regular_John
Sccsux: how do I check the host files?

Cheers.


On Windows 98 it is located in the Windows installation folder (C:\Windows).

On XP it should be in the System32\driver\etc folder (C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\).


Failing that, simply search your boot hard drive for hosts;).

In the system32/Drivers/etc folder, there are just 5 files:

Host
Imhost.sam
networks
Protocol
Services

Do I need to do something with these? I've tried opening a couple of them up in notepad, but couldn't see anything adverse

Originally posted by Regular_John
In the system32/Drivers/etc folder, there are just 5 files:

Host

That's the one.

As there is nothing "odd" in this file when viewed in notepad, then it looks like an external DNS issue I'm afraid:(. Which will require a call to your ISP (unless someone knows of anything else?).

it's dns ... no doubt about it

do an nslookup for ebay.co.uk that should prove it

I'd check your isp's status page and also try a different dns instead (eg
ns1.plus.net
ns1.pipex.net)

do an nslookup for ebay.co.uk that should prove it

ie, in a command window, type 'nslookup ebay.co.uk'. on my machine, it replies with:

Server: ns1-gat.blueyonder.net
Address: 62.31.144.39

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: ebay.co.uk
Address: 66.135.192.41


let us know what you get.

I got:

Server: www.routerlogin.com
Address: 192.168.0.1

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: ebay.co.uk
Address: 66.135.192.41


Is that good or bad???

sounds like your dns is working ok....

do the sites work on other machines on your network?

can you clear the arp cache and any dns caching on your router too

does that mean I have to contact my ISP to get the dns details, or can I find them on the net?

I'm with AOL, well for the next week. I'm moving and I have Pipex at my new house.

cheers for everyones input here!

you know AOL is really not a good ISP at all (not going to go into why as there's no need)

however try one of the dns servers I put on here before

Strange....

I have just installed AOL's software [Yes I know it sucks], but I don't have any trouble getting on to any sites!

As I said before I'm moving next weekend, so I'll just have to use AOL until then [when I'll cancel my subscription and I'll have a nice Pipex 1MB account waiting for me in my new house].

I just thought it was strange that I can access any site using their software.

I don't kow if this is relevent but I'm on broadband using a speedtouch modem.
If the pc has been idle for an hour or so to log on to a website I have to reboot and reconnect.Then everything is fine.
It's a bit of a pain