# Can't search web but still connected to the Internet



## Drew_ (Apr 18, 2006)

Not sure where to put this so went for in here.

Right, every now and then when searching the web (it's getting more often so a few times a day), i won't be able to connect to any pages. Seems like the Internet's down but MSN and other things are working fine.

It lasts about a minute and happens at the same time on two laptops connected wirelessly and one PC wired. 

Two computers are using Vista/Firefox and one using Windows 7/Chrome.

With o2 broadband. 

Any ideas?

Cheers!


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

Sounds like an ISP DNS Server issue on the surface. Since other services that are already connected and don't require DNS services still work, that's my top suspect.


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## Drew_ (Apr 18, 2006)

So best to contact my ISP?


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

Let's see this when you have the issue.


Try these simple tests.

Hold the *Windows* key and press *R*, then type *CMD* (_COMMAND for W98/WME)_ to open a command prompt:

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following commands one at a time, followed by the _*Enter*_ key:

*NOTE:* For the items below in *red* surrounded with *< >*, see comments below for the actual information content, they are value substitutions from the previous IPCONFIG command output! Do NOT type <computer_IP_address> into the command, that won't work. Also, the < and > in the text is to identify the parameters, they are also NOT used in the actual commands.

Do NOT include the <> either, they're just to identify the values for substitution.

IPCONFIG /ALL

PING <computer_IP_address>

PING <default_gateway_address>

PING <dns_servers>

PING 74.125.45.100

PING yahoo.com

Right click in the command window and choose *Select All*, then hit *Enter* to copy the contents to the clipboard.
Paste the results in a message here.

*<computer_IP_address>* - The *IP Address* of your computer, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above. _(For Vista/Win7, the IPv4 Address)_

*<default_gateway_address>* - The IP address of the *Default Gateway*, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above.

*<dns_servers>* - The IP address of the first (or only) address for *DNS Servers*, obtained from the IPCONFIG command above.

If you are on a machine with no network connection, use a floppy, USB disk, or a CD-RW disk to transfer a text file with the information to allow pasting it here.


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## Drew_ (Apr 18, 2006)

> Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7100]
> Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
> 
> C:\Users\Drew>ipconfig /all
> ...


Started this when i had the issue but the web pages could of started to load again before i finished


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

Well, that appears to be working fine. If we can't catch this, let's try another experiment.


Let's try replacing your DNS server. Follow the instructions at OpenDNS for Windows and configure to use OpenDNS for your DNS server. See if that makes a difference.


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## Drew_ (Apr 18, 2006)

Looks like it's worked. Not happened for a couple of days. Cheers!


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

Sounds like the ISP is having DNS server issues.

When I used to have Comcast, I had these kinds of issues. I found that after a few days, I could go back to their DNS servers and they'd have them working again. :smile:


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