Firefox says "(randomwebsite).com"

[neil_ski]

Hi all!
I'm having issues with Firefox. (I think) I have a Toshiba Sattelite laptop with XP.
Sometimes when I'm online, and am trying to connect to any old site, It doesn't connect, and it says, "Could not find Google.com" (or other sites).

Sometimes it does this, sometimes it doesn't for the same websites.
I recently downloaded version 1.04, and it still does it.
This started happening after I switched to Firefox.

I've used programs like hijack this,spybot and adaware. I don't know if they had anything to do with it.
I read somewhere that the old attachments like flash etc. could interfere.

I called my email provider, (Arczip). They had me go through a bunch of settings, but it still does it.
Has anyone had this problem?
Thanks a lot!
Neil

 

[DelJo63]

TCP config issue

Hi all!
I'm having issues with Firefox. (I think) I have a Toshiba Sattelite laptop with XP.
Sometimes when I'm online, and am trying to connect to any old site, It doesn't connect, and it says, "Could not find Google.com" (or other sites).
Neil

I have the same laptop --- using it now. At home I have Cable/DSL highspeed and away I use the Wireless adaptor. NO PROPLEMS!

However, when you see 'Cant find xyz...' the issue is a lack of access to the DNS Server.

use Start menu to access RUN
enter 'cmd' w/o quotes
enter 'ipconfig /all' and you should see something like

Windows IP Configuration

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : ventca.adelphia.net
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethnet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0F-B0-3D-BC-1D
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . ... . . . : 192.168.0.4 <A>
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1 <B>
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1 <C>
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 67.21.13.6 <D>
67.21.13.7 <E>
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, July 09, 2005 2:04:46 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, January 18, 2038 8:14:07 PM

I have a router, so <A>,<B>, & <C> are my configuration for the router and yours will vary. But you will have something other than 0.0.0.0.

The BIG ISSUE is <D,E>! if you see an address like 169.xxx.xxx.xxx OR 0.0.0.0, then DHCP has failed to locate the DNS server.

DNS translates a request like
'where is google.com' into its IP address
Non-authoritative answer:
Name: google.com
Addresses: 216.239.57.99, 216.239.37.99, 216.239.39.99

and then your browser will ask for
http://216.239.57.99:80/ to fetch the home page.

Depending upon the reliability of the ISP, you may need to restart your Cable/DSL modem or REDIAL if that is the sole access you have.

I normally have to restart my modem 1-2/month for this vary reason.
It just looses the access to the gateway or the dns every now and then.