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How can i fix my computer?

Why can't my computer reach certain sites? How do I fix it?

  • Cable modem problem or my computers problem? [more inside] Two weeks ago I noticed that I couldn't get to certain websites. I didn't think much of it at the time, but after I while I noticed certain patterns. About half of the sites I frequent I can no longer get to. I can't reach them in firefox nor explorer, so its not browser specific. I can reach some community sites (mefi) but not others (television without pity), I can't reach pair.com, nor dreamhost.com. I can reach some personal sites, and not others. I can't reach blogger or typepad. It really seems random. For every one site I visit and can still reach, I can't reach another site. And it stays the same. I can always reach mefi, but never ebay. When I try to reach a site that I can't connect to it just doesn't go anywhere and then goes to the google search page. The sites I can't reach are reachable through megaproxy.com. Not sure what that says. So tonight I finally called charter.net support, and of course the guy knows next to nothing. He couldn't even comprehend my problem, and his only solution turning the modem off for a minute. When that didn't work he told me it was my computers problem and not theirs. I told him it was theirs, so I now have a work order number for a call tomorrow from a charter tech. BUT, if it turns out to be my computers problem, they will charge me. I have an old computer, but I fail to see why my computer will allow me to reach certain sites but not others. So does anyone know where the likely problem lies?

  • Answer:

    Please people, if you're asking a computer problem, say what operating system you're using. You speak of explorer, and I don't think many people on MacOS or solaris use that anymore, so let's assume some variant of windows. My first guess would be spyware or a worm, they sometimes try to block disinfection-related sites, and in doing so block other stuff too. Try hooking up a different computer to your cablemodem and see if the sites work. Chances are it's not your ISP, as this kind of problem would mean a lot of people would be affected, and even the worst ISP would have undertaken action by now.

justgary at Ask.Metafilter.Com Visit the source

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I'm assuming you've got a windows PC. The first thing to work out is if the error is a nameserver error or an IP Error. Open up a command Prompt and type "tracert pair.com" You should get something like .... Tracing route to pair.com [66.39.3.7] over a maximum of 30 hops: 1 10 ms ... 15 130 ms 130 ms 131 ms www.pair.com [66.39.3.7] If your computer doesn't identify pair.com as 66.39.3.7, then the error will be a nameserver error. Type "Ipconfig /all", and make a note of the DNS Servers. (For Win9x, type winipcfg, and do the same) Post all the information you've collected, and we'll take it from there.1>

seanyboy

i've never seen a cable modem problem like that. while it could be external dns i'd put money on worm/virus. what are the contents (lines that don't start with #) of C:\i386\HOSTS ? (or, if that doesn't exist, use search from the start menu to find the file called HOSTS and open it with wordpad).

andrew cooke

This is likely a virus/worm problem. Run your antivirus software and let us know what happens. Also try deleting all the entries in your host file.

monkeyman

Download Spybots and Ad-aware too.

monkeyman

Try http://housecall.trendmicro.com, a free, powerful online virus/malware scanner. If you can't get to housecall but can get other places, that's a sure sign that a virus has intentionally prevented your access to antivirus sites. Your hosts file holds the key to that problem.

ulotrichous

Thanks everyone. I'll try those suggestions.

justgary

And sorry, it is windows 98.

justgary

I've previously had problems like you describe, and it turned out to be a Windows TCP/IP problem. I think the packet size or MTU was set incorrectly.

reverendX

sorry, i gave the wrong locn for the hosts file (someone just put me right on another thread).

andrew cooke

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