Erratic Internet Need help please
 

My internet goes off frequently and I'm trying to see if the problem is with my system setup or my provider roadrunner.tx

Just now I could not pull up the internet on Mozilla. I pulled up internet explorer and ran the diagnostic that comes up to solve the problem. In the diagnostic log I find the following messages.

info The default gateway address was resolved via ARP in 1 try(ies)
info The default gateway was reached via ICMP Ping in 1 try(ies)

HTTP, HTTPS, FTP connectivity

warn FTP (Passive): Error 12007 connecting to ftp.microsoft.com: The server name or address could not be resolved

warn HTTP: Error 12007 connecting to Microsoft Corporation: Software, Smartphones, Online, Games, Cloud Computing, IT Business Technology, Downloads The server name or address could not be resolved

warn FTP (Active): Error 12007 connecting to ftp.microsoft.com: The server name or address could not be resolved

warn HTTPS: Error 12007 connecting to Microsoft Corporation: Software, Smartphones, Online, Games, Cloud Computing, IT Business Technology, Downloads The server name or address could not be resolved

warn HTTP: Error 12007 connecting to Sign In The server name or address could not be resolved

warn HTTPS: Error 12007 connecting to www.passport.net: The server name or address could not be resolved
error Could not make an HTTP connection.

error Could not make an HTTPS connection.

error Could not make an FTP connection.



Does this look normal or is something amiss? Possible virus or something?

The Cable modem sometimes needs to be unplugged and reset sometimes also. Would this info be consistent with a hardware failure there?

FYI this is a wired network with just the one computer active

I'll go do some research myself but any help would be appreciated.

Do you have a router and a modem, or is your modem a router.

According to those messages, you aren't able to resolve DNS. That could be because your router is choking, your link is choking, your ISP is choking, or their DNS is choking. My guess is it's either your router or your link. The information that you've posted just isn't conclusive.

possible you can't connect to DNS server. the DNS server is what takes "www.microsoft.com" and converts it into a usable IP address that the computer network routes to.

start->run->cmd
type: ipconfig /all

u'll see two listings for dns servers.

type: ping [those digits with periods]

If you're having problems, open 4 DOS windows, and start pings to your default gateway (router), your default gateway at the ISP, your dns server (first one) and 4.2.2.2.

Can you open a DOS prompt and run the command "ipconfig /all". That should give us your default gateway and your DNS servers. Also, it will let us know if you're behind a router or just on an ISP connection directly.

If your connectivity issues are intermittent, then you'll want to type "ping -t <ip address of dns server>". That will just go on forever until you stop it. By doing that, you can check the ping when you have a problem.

Ok good info here


What i have is the cable modem to a router to my system, which is the only computer on it presently.

computer IP 198.168.15.100
default gateway 198.168.15.1

DNS 209.18.47.61 and 62

my systems working today but previously when it's gone down i've pinged my gateway successfully but not the DNS

My cable modem indicator lights sometimes will indicate no connection but I can unplug it and it resets and works fine after.

I just pinged 4.2.2.2 with no problems What is that site?

Next time it goes down i'll know try pinging all those sites. If it's the DNS I should be able to plug in ip numbers directly into the browser window is that correct?

Can the DNS server be hijacked and changed in order to montor or redirect your surfing?

Yes

Basically 'public' dns, always up and secure. (hopefully)

over head cable line to a pole ??
take a stick and move/shake the line while someone watches
if the connection is lost you have a bad cable

if it is buryed you need a cable company guy with a meter

anyway my DSL keep droping out until the line was replaced

Sounds like a DNS issue. Who is your provider?

4.2.2.2 is just a random easy to remember ip that network folks use for troubleshooting. 4.2.2.3 is also a DNS server.

perform tracert to the 4.2.2.2, and also perform a ping to whatever the second hop is. That should be the gateway at the ISP. The 192.168.15.1 address will almost certainly not be the problem.

It is possible for your DNS to be hijacked but it probably wouldn't be intermittent.

My provider is Roadrunner, used to be Time Warner

I'll trythe tracert and see what I get.

ok tracert 4.2.2.2 gave me the following

1 - - - Request timed out
2 7ms 9ms 30ms 70.125.216.53
3 10ms 10ms 9ms 24.164.209.104
4 10ms 10ms 11ms 70.125.216.94
5. 14ms 15ms 15ms gig2-0-0hstntx13-rtr1.texas.rr.com (24.93.37.21)
6 14ms 15ms 15ms ae-2.cr0.hou30.tbone.rr.com (66.109.6.100)
7 14ms 15ms 15ms ae-0-0.pr0.dfw10.tbone.rr.com (66.109.6.181)
8 30ms 19ms 18ms x3-8-0-0.edge4.dallas3.leve13.net (4-59-32-25)
9 20ms 19ms 18ms ae-41-90.car1.dallas1.leve13.net (4.69.145.195)
10 19ms 18ms 19ms vnsc-bak.sys.gtei.net (4.2.2.2)

trace complete


Does that look normal?

Nota not an over head cable. underground i'm pretty sure. The Cable TV works when the net is down, wouldn't that mean the physical connection is made?

4.2.2.2 = GTE/Verizon DNS
198.6.1.3 = UUNet/MCI DNS

Your trace route looks fine. When you have a problem, in addition to pinging the other addresses, I would also ping 70.125.216.53. That should either be your default gateway inside your ISP or at least the next best thing that is still within your ISP.

My thinking/reasoning is this


Your PC-----home router-------ISP gateway------ISP dns-------Internet

So by pinging each of those ips, you check each leg of the communication. That should point you towards which of the dashed lines has the problem. I suspect that it'll be between you home router and the ISP gateway or possibly the ISP DNS.

ok Today it's been up and running fine, wouldn't you know it I'll wait till there's a problem and then troubleshoot


One last question. What is that ARP that fixed it in the microsoft diagnostic? What is that an indicator for?

Layer 2, a piece of hardware you have a direct connection too. Not relevant.

ARP is a way to get a local address, where an IP address is a way to address something globally.

It works like this.

You live on a street with a guy that hands out the mail for your street. When someone anywhere in the world wants to send you mail, they send it to your street address (123 Main Street, Anyhow town, USA). When the mail arrives, everyone on your street is in the clubhouse. The guy that hands out the mail for your street gets the mail and shouts "who lives at 123 Main St?". You shout back, "That's me, Mr Flex." The guy hands you your mail. ARP is the exchange between you and the mail handler in the clubhouse.

In your case, the mail handler is your home router, 192.168.15.1, the only place that ARP is significant is between your PC and the home router. If you can ping the router, then ARP is working.

ok that makes sense I guess..

When I did the tracert the 1st series times out no matter what ip I trace. What is that? Can't I speed up my internet response by not have those "time out's

That first hop is probably your router. No, it wouldn't speed up your Internet access to get rid of those timeouts. Traceroute is a diagnostic tool that functions differently than regular Internet traffic.

Regular Internet traffic is only worried about the source and the destination. It passes through lots of stuff in between, but it doesn't really care anything about that stuff.

Traceroute is specifically interested in the stuff in the middle, as much or more than it's interested in the destination. So traceroute askes every device in the line to respond. Some devices for whatever reason (usually security) don't like to respond, and to do their normal job, they don't need to respond so it's not a big deal.

Since normal web traffic doesn't require your router to actually respond, only to pass traffic, having it not respond to a traceroute won't affect the speed of your Internet traffic.