Don't make me go back to dial-up!

April 2, 2007 7:59 AM

Why will my new ADSL connection not connect to particular pages on the web?

Hey MeFites, I need some computer guidance –

I am a relatively savvy end-user who has just graduated from dial-up, only I live in the sticks and all that is available here is ADSL. Anyway, I have a Netgear wireless modem/router combo on the way, but in the meantime have hooked up a Zoom wireless gateway. I ran the CD that came with the router (was that a mistake?) but have since started using Network Magic to monitor and administer the network, but without getting too technical (for now) I cannot get to specific pages on the web – my.yahoo, yahoo sports, hotmail, and sometimes ebay. Almost all other pages load fine and with no problems. Being new to ADSL, I need some direction in troubleshooting a problem like this. These were pages that I “stayed logged onto” prior to installing the router, but would that have anything to do with it? Oh yeah, and the computer is free of malware. Needless to say, I need some direction.

Any takers?

posted by sneakyalien to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

Response by poster: I am not at home to try it manually right now, but I believe that Network Magic may have done this when I was troubleshooting this yesterday, I may be wrong though and will give it a shot.
posted by sneakyalien at 8:10 AM on April 2, 2007

If it isn't the DNS (and it is most likely the DNS) you might check to see if you need to reset your Maximum Transmission Unit, which should be in your new router's settings somewhere, and which dictates the size of the TCP packets you're sending out. Too large, and some (but not all) of the routers out on the Internet will refuse to route your packets, causing you to be unable to reach some (but not all) web sites.

This happened to me, and I only figured it out by calling Comcast, and having the guy on the phone instruct me as to what the proper MTU size is. You might want to call your DSL company and see what they say your MTU size should be.
posted by Inkoate at 8:28 AM on April 2, 2007

Best answer: If your Domain Name Service (DNS... what resolves a webpage name to its Internet address) from your DSL company is shady, you can try open dns at www.opendns.com. Just go there and click get started and it will tell you how to configure your computer.

Also, if these problems have come up since the install of network magic, I'd recommend an uninstall of that. You should not need any program to connect you to the internet.

All administration of your network should be done through a web browser (know the address to your modem... its probably something like 192.168.1.245).
posted by ijoyner at 8:29 AM on April 2, 2007

Response by poster: Great! Thanks everybody. I will attempt to follow thru when I get home, fwiw the problems were happening before I installed Network Magic, I actually installed it as a way to investigate and learn something.

Should I wait until I get my permanent router in the mail, or go ahead and try to resolve this issue now?
posted by sneakyalien at 9:13 AM on April 2, 2007

Best answer: No, please post follow-up information.

The flushing the dns seems to be your best bet (Start - run - type 'cmd'
From there, type ipconfig /flushdns.
Also, switch to the opendns servers if you can. I have used them since they started, and I love it, much more reliable then the ISP's DNS.
As others have stated, you don't need the 'network magic' software, but it doesn't seem to be hurting anything right now.
Have you tried plugging your modem direct into a computer? (patched and software firewalled of course) You will need to run the networking wizard so that you can make a new connection and it can connect to the modem at the other end with username / password.
posted by defcom1 at 10:29 AM on April 2, 2007

erm.. never mind, if I re-read your post, seems like your modem and gateway is the same box...
posted by defcom1 at 10:30 AM on April 2, 2007

Try pointing your workstation DNS at your router. I've found that Windows XP sometimes has trouble if the DNS address changes.
posted by Chuckles at 11:06 AM on April 2, 2007

It could be an IP routing problem, sometimes if you're assigned a dynamic ip by your isp it can have trouble getting to certain websites. You can tell this is the trouble by doing a trace route to the ip address of the site (not the url) if you get drop outs that would indicate this sort of problem as opposed to a DNS issue. To do a traceroute go into dos and type tracert url/ip then enter. To change your dynamic ip just power your modem off for a few minutes then back on, someone else should get your dodgy ip and you'll get a new one. You should be able to verify that the ip has changed in the router's web page.
posted by TheCassiniDivision at 7:07 PM on April 2, 2007