# Weird — can't access certain websites!



## DrMoriarty (1 Dec 2006)

I've just recently noticed that for some strange reason my home PC (running IE7) can't/won't access certain websites, although there's no problem at work, with exactly the same browser. Absolutely inoffensive, run-of-the-mill sites that I never had a problem with before — www.mediawrite.ie, , www.crucial.com,* etc. etc.

I haven't changed the security settings, they're not in my restricted sites list (or blocked in the Host file), and I'm pretty sure it's not a pop-up blocker or phishing filter problem either.

Any ideas? [broken link removed] _(other than switch to Firefox, I know...)_

I can get around it by using a web proxy like www.unblockthis.com, but it kinda bugs me and I'm stumped as to where the problem lies..!

_(* as mentioned here)_


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## CCOVICH (1 Dec 2006)

Very basic, but have you cleared the cache and cookies?


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## DrMoriarty (1 Dec 2006)

Yup. And rebooting the modem. And 'repairing' the network connection.

When I run the network diagnostics, everything shows up OK:


> HTTP, HTTPS, FTP connectivity info
> HTTP: Successfully connected to [broken link removed]
> HTTPS: Successfully connected to [broken link removed]
> FTP (Active): Successfully connected to ftp.microsoft.com


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## ashambles (1 Dec 2006)

Maybe try pinging the affected the sites from the command prompt

eg.

C:\>ping www.crucial.com

Pinging www.crucial.com [137.201.245.23] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 137.201.245.23: bytes=32 time=175ms TTL=52
Reply from 137.201.245.23: bytes=32 time=174ms TTL=52
Reply from 137.201.245.23: bytes=32 time=175ms TTL=52
Reply from 137.201.245.23: bytes=32 time=175ms TTL=52

If you can ping them but not browse them - it's more likely to be something up with the browser, if you can't ping them it might be a routing issue - either on your side or you ISPs.


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## MugsGame (1 Dec 2006)

> can't/won't access certain websites



What does happen on the problem sites? Is there a browser error? Can you post it here?


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## ClubMan (1 Dec 2006)

As ever ... have you scanned for malware?


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## DrMoriarty (1 Dec 2006)

ashambles — no, I can't ping them. I get 'Destination host unreachable'.

ClubMan — yes, I've scanned for malware. Only a few tracking cookies there...

MugsGame — as follows:


> *Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage
> 
> Most likely causes:
> 
> ...


But I've checked those settings, too... and in any case none of the sites affected are HTTPS.


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## ClubMan (1 Dec 2006)

The raw _IP _address for www.mediawrite.com is 205.178.189.13. Can you connect to  rather than http://www.mediawrite.com? If so then there is probably a _DNS _problem. In this case open a _DOS_ command shell and type the domain names below when prompted:


```
C:\> [COLOR=Black]nslookup[/COLOR]
Default Server:  ...
Address:  ...

> [COLOR=Black]www.askaboutmoney[/COLOR]
```
You should get:

```
> [URL="http://www.askaboutmoney.com"]www.askaboutmoney.com[/URL]
Server:  ...
Address:  ...

Non-authoritative answer:
Name:    [URL="http://www.askaboutmoney.com"]www.askaboutmoney.com[/URL]
Address:  82.195.144.147
```
 Then try 

```
> [URL="http://www.mediawrite.com"]www.mediawrite.com[/URL]
```
 and if you don't get 

```
Server:  ...
Address:  ...

Non-authoritative answer:
Name:    [URL="http://www.mediawrite.com"]www.mediawrite.com[/URL]
Address:  205.178.189.131
```
 then it looks like there may be something wrong with your _ISP's DNS_. In which case you should check the router logs to see if it reports any problems.


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## DrMoriarty (1 Dec 2006)

Thanks, ClubMan. I'm actually in the office now, but I'll 'try this at home' later!


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## DrMoriarty (2 Dec 2006)

OK, I tried that, and it all works fine in the DOS command shell (for both www.mediawrite.com and www.mediawrite.ie), and while I can see www.mediawrite.com fine in IE7 (it's registered with Network Solutions and under construction, right?), I still can't see either www.mediawrite.ie or  — _or_ any of the other sites I mentioned in my first post...


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## car (4 Dec 2006)

are you running any other software that might be blocking the sites?  I know I got caught with the same problem some time ago, was stumped for days until I tried shutting every other process off, sure enough, one of them was causing the issue.   It was a side effect of this particular network related softwares main purpose.


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## DrMoriarty (4 Dec 2006)

Thanks, car — again, I'll have to wait 'til I get home to try that. But I'm not really running any network-related softwares, as it's a standalone machine (running under XP Home) — and no new programs have been installed of late. These sites just suddenly became mysteriously 'unreachable'...  

Still, it's certainly worth a try; I'll shut down all the running processes that I can and see if I can pinpoint a conflict.


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## ClubMan (4 Dec 2006)

DrMoriarty said:


> OK, I tried that, and it all works fine in the DOS command shell (for both www.mediawrite.com and www.mediawrite.ie), and while I can see www.mediawrite.com fine in IE7 (it's registered with Network Solutions and under construction, right?), I still can't see either www.mediawrite.ie or  — _or_ any of the other sites I mentioned in my first post...


What happens when you use _nslookup _to resolve www.mediawrite.ie. Does your router log give any clues as to what's going on? Could you also try tracert www.mediawrite.ie or tracert 217.64.113.15 and see what it says?


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## DrMoriarty (5 Dec 2006)

ClubMan said:


> What happens when you use _nslookup _to resolve www.mediawrite.ie?


I get:


> Non-authoritative answer:
> Server: www.mediawrite.ie
> Address: 217.64.113.16





ClubMan said:


> Does your router log give any clues as to what's going on? Could you also try tracert www.mediawrite.ie or tracert 217.64.113.15 and see what it says?


Exactly the same.

After each of these replies it says:


> DNS request timed out.
> timeout was 2 seconds
> *** request to www.mediawrite.ie timed-out
> >


Curiouser and curiouser... 

Where/how should I check the router logs?


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## ClubMan (5 Dec 2006)

DrMoriarty said:


> Where/how should I check the router logs?


Depends on your router. Normally connecting a web browser to http://192.168.1.1 or whatever its _IP _address is will give you the admin control panel and there should be some logging option available.


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## ClubMan (5 Dec 2006)

Is you _PC _configured to use your _ISP's _proxy server? If so could you bypass it and see if that helps? Can you try another _PC_/laptop connected to the internet via your router to see if the problem is specific to you _PC_? As ever there's a process of elimination required to narrow the problem down to a particular area.


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## DrMoriarty (5 Dec 2006)

Hmmm... can't see anything there about logging, but the system status shows as follows:

_[btw it's a BT broadband line with a Zyxel Prestige 600-series router, connected with the ethernet cable rather than USB. I should probably mention that — for reasons I won't go into here  — I've set up a static IP address and port-forwarding. But this has always been the case, and I never had the problem before...]_


> _System_ _Status_
> System Name: P660RU-T1
> ZyNOS F/W Version: V3.40(ST.4) | 8/26/2005
> DSL FW Version: DMT FwVer: 3.1.0.3_A_TC, HwVer: T14F7_0.0 Standard:ADSL_G.dmt
> ...


I'd have to borrow a laptop from work to do what you suggest...

Maybe I'll just stick with www.unblockthis.com!


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## ClubMan (5 Dec 2006)

DrMoriarty said:


> Hmmm... can't see anything there about logging, but the system status shows as follows:
> _[btw it's a BT broadband line with a Zyxel Prestige 600-series router, connected with the ethernet cable rather than USB...]_


Is there no "advanced" option in the router configuration? Logging is normally under that if available at all.


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## DrMoriarty (5 Dec 2006)

Under 'Advanced', I just see:
_Password _
_LAN _
_WAN _
_NAT _
_Security _
_Dynamic DNS _
_Time and Date _
_Remote Management _
_UPnP _

I've nosed around all of those, but I don't see anything about logging.

_[Edit: Finally solved the problem the long way around, see __here__...  ]_


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