# Help! Calling all computer nerds



## abnormalsanon (Jun 6, 2006)

For the record, I use the word nerd in the most endearing way 

My internet access has been really spotty. Almost every day now, the connection stops working and I have to reset the modem and router. Afterwards, I can only access some websites, but not others. This applies to both my computer and my roommate's, and to both IE and Firefox. For instance, today I can access Gmail, Google, APC, Weather.com, Photobucket, and the front page of Livejournal.com. But I can't access Wachovia, PNC Bank, Drs. Foster & Smith, or other parts of LiveJournal. And while I can access my own website, City Kitties Rescue, and access the site files through Core FTP, Dreamweaver says it can't find the host when I try to connect.

I'm not a computer dummy by any means, but I can't think of any reason that both of the computers would be able to access some websites and not others.

I have Comcast/Roadrunner service and just tested the speed, which was over 5000 kb/s in three separate tests. The router and ethernet cables were recently replaced, and Comcast came over to replace the modem about a month ago when they couldn't solve this problem. Everything was fine again for a while, and now it's starting up again. The only explanation I (and the cable guy) could come up with is that our cable is switching from Time Warner to Comcast and maybe there have been some burps during this transition. But our neighbors across the hall who have the same service haven't had any problems.

Any ideas?? I'm going crazy over here! Any advice would be much appreciated...


----------



## werner (Jul 6, 2006)

From my husband (a computer nerd):

This -may- be the problem. No guarantees. 

It sounds like you're having trouble resolving certain domains. You mention you have the cable modem and a router, so I'm going to presume the router is a router+firewall (dlink or linksys, or netgear) which has NAT on it, and you get DNS information from your router after it gets it from the cable modem.

If that's the case, then the DNS information may not be up to date, or is not being populated, or is changing in some way.

The second possibility is that you're the victim of a much larger routing problem that your ISP is having throughout your region/neighborhood. That seems less likely, but it also would explain how you could reach some sites and not others.

The last possibility is that your machine has been infected with a/some/many viruses and/or trojans that have installed a local or remote proxy service on your machine that is redirecting all your requests, and using public DNS servers that are misconfigured, overloaded, and/or broken. Hopefully that's not the case, because it's certainly the worst case.

Short version: Update the firmware on your router, and use 'ipconfig /all' in windows to check your DNS servers setting, and ensure it's populated and consistent.


----------



## Avalon (Mar 7, 2005)

This is just a shot in the dark, but I've been behind a router for years, and I've had broadband for quite some time as well. I rarely have problems, as I keep things pretty simple. About a month ago, I had trouble accessing some sites, while others would load up just fine. Then one day, I had no internet access. The next day after returning home from work, I saw the cable guy at my apt. complex. I went over and chatted him up and he said one of my neighbors lost access. Then my other neighbor got home and he came over and mentioned that he lost access as well! Basically, my entire building (only 4 apts) lost access, but no one else in the complex did.

After all was said and done, they found excess "noise" in the line and it couldn't pass a signal. So they called out the guy that works on the power line connection things and he patched it all up. Since then, everything has been working properly! Interestingly, I'm not sure if things would have gotten fixed, but the 3 of us standing outside watching the guy test things must have made him realize he had better solve the problem!


----------



## banderbe (Nov 17, 2005)

If all of the computers you say are experiencing the same problem are all going through the router for internet access, I would start there first.

As a free test, you could buy a router from Wal Mart, bring it home and install it and see if the problem clears up. If it does you could keep the router if you like it, or if it doesn't clear up, or you don't like the router, return it to Wal Mart for your money back. 

I wouldn't be surprised at all if it were the router.

Another possibility is that your computers are all infected with the same malware, virus, spyware etc. Often computers that reside close to one another that have users who are all friends and are sharing e-mails, files, etc., will contract the same malady.

If the router solution doesn't work, bring all the computers offline except one, wipe the disk and reinstall the operating system. I know, that's really extreme but it could eliminate that possibility as well.


----------



## Blacksunshine (Aug 11, 2006)

If there have been no setting changes between times of working well and not then it would be more of an issue with either the router or the service. Cable in highly populated areas can be flakey. Especially if there is line noise or you are in an older building. 
Trying another cable modem would be the first step. Trying a different cable outlet if possible may clear things up. Or see if the cable that is going from the wall to your router might have gotten smashed or seriously kinked. 
Do you also have comcast for your cable? Have you noticed any artifacts or signal loss while watching TV? Does your cable line go thru a splitter to take it from the wall to your PC and cable box? If so that may be a point of signal loss as well.

Also run Spyware removal.


----------



## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

router first, check there. best buy also usually has no restock fee on routers, so you could try a better one. although you may not have to give up on yours yet... you could also try updating the firmware and then resetting everything to factory defaults. you can also plug one of your computers directly into the cable modem and see if that helps.

but yes, routers can get screwed up. life happens.

line quality or cable modem COULD be the problem, but that is not my gut feeling. usually poor line quality doesn't result in some websites = yes, others = no. you've also already had comcast come out... while they aren't PERFECT, it's a pretty low probability that your old and new modem are both messed up. 

another thing to look at... "internet" is not all the same. when you are having spotty coverage, what is affected? can you use other services? sometimes IM will work, but not web-browsing. or peer2peer works... or pop3 email works. not all of these forms of accessing the internet are the same. they use different ports and different protocols, so this info would be terribly useful for us.

otherwise, everything is just guess work for now (although i'll say it's been pretty solid guesswork, you're lucky to have gotten good advice so far).


----------

