Weird — can't access certain websites!

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DrMoriarty

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5,173
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)
 
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://ftp.microsoft.com (ftp.microsoft.com)
Click to expand...
 
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.
 
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:
  • You are not connected to the Internet.
  • The website is encountering problems.
  • There might be a typing error in the address.
What you can try:
Diagnose Connection Problems
More information

This problem can be caused by a variety of issues, including:
  • Internet connectivity has been lost.
  • The website is temporarily unavailable.
  • The Domain Name Server (DNS) is not reachable.
  • The Domain Name Server (DNS) does not have a listing for the website's domain.
  • If this is an HTTPS (secure) address, click Tools, click Internet Options, click Advanced, and check to be sure the SSL and TLS protocols are enabled under the security section.
Click to expand...
But I've checked those settings, too... and in any case none of the sites affected are HTTPS.
 
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:

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

> [COLOR=Black]www.askaboutmoney[/COLOR]
You should get:
Code: 
> [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
Code: 
> [URL="http://www.mediawrite.com"]www.mediawrite.com[/URL]
and if you don't get
Code: 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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... :(
Click to expand...
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?
 
ClubMan said:
What happens when you use nslookup to resolve www.mediawrite.ie?
Click to expand...
I get:
Non-authoritative answer:
Server: www.mediawrite.ie
Address: 217.64.113.16
Click to expand...
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?
Click to expand...
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
>
Click to expand...
Curiouser and curiouser... :(

Where/how should I check the router logs?
 
DrMoriarty said:
Where/how should I check the router logs?
Click to expand...
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.
 
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.
 
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

WAN Information
IP Address:194.125.71.90
IP Subnet Mask:255.255.255.255
Default Gateway:N/A
VPI/VCI:8/ 35

LAN Information
MAC Address:00:13:49:a7:f6:ac
IP Address: 192.168.1.1 IP
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
DHCP: Server
DHCP Start IP: 192.168.1.33
DHCP Pool Size: 32
Click to expand...
I'd have to borrow a laptop from work to do what you suggest...

Maybe I'll just stick with http://www.unblockthis.com (www.unblockthis.com)!
 
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...]
Click to expand...
Is there no "advanced" option in the router configuration? Logging is normally under that if available at all.
 
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... :eek: ]
 
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