Cannot connect via URL but DNS works
 

Hi all,

I have a strange problem that really has me baffled. This happened over last weekend when all of a sudden a torrent connection got dropped. I can no longer connect to the host server using the URL (www.bitsoup.org). Neither IE nor FireFox can connect using URL address. I did some research and found the server DNS, 207.99.102.5, strange enough I'm able to connect, login, etc., using the DNS address.

My torrent clients, BitTornado, BitComet can connect to other torrent sites but not BSoup. I cleared IE/FireFox cache, temp internet files and history and still no go. I also tried releasing / renewing DHCP, resetting router to default, powering down cable modem/router overnight and problem still exists. I terminated the antivirus/firewall, even had it uninstalled while I troubleshoot, didn't work, either.

As it stands I can browse, download/upload too all the sites but one - one that I really want to have access to.

Can anyone help solve this riddle? BTW, I didn't install any new program.

Thanks a million!

sounds like your DNS may have gone down. switch primary to 4.2.2.4 and secondary to 4.2.2.1. If that works, then you've found your problem.

Then why can he translate every other site?

try opening a command prompt and running "ipconfig -flushdns"

Are you running any port blocking software like ProtoWall? They might have made it into your lists.

ports wouldn't make a difference FQDN <-> IP Address.

I agree about flushing your cache, otherwise, perhaps the IP changed and your DNS didn't get the update... it's VERY rare, but it happens. Did you get the IP from your DNS or another? Also, check your HOSTS file to make sure you didn't get an errant entry. Torrent sites sometimes have little mini-wars with each other and can try to cause havoc for users of one or another. *shrug*

?? They block everything or very little at individual addresses or ranges.

Well it's kinda hard to tell from the original post but I interpreted it as he can get to a site if he enters the IP, but not if he enters the domain name. It seems he's confusing "DNS" with "IP."

But assuming he is getting to SOME sites with the domain name then one of two things could be happening: 1) The DNS server's tables are partially corrupted, and whatever site he can't get to happens to be in the corrupted part or 2) the sites he CAN get to are already in his route tables, and therefore already had the DNS translate them to IP, so his system isn't querying the DNS server. The sites he CAN'T get to are not in his route tables, and the system gets no answer when querying the DNS server.

Happened to me. Switching to the DNS servers i posted fixed things. They're SBC, a tad slow, but they're very reliable.

It sounds like the same problem that I've had with verizon (flaky dns servers). Treewalk comes highly recommended from the dsl reports verizon forums. I am using this and I can say that it helps when you are able to connect to the internet but can't resolve the site name to the site address.

http://treewalkdns.com/

protowall is an IP blacklist utility... which means it'd block whether you typed www.tfproject.org or 209.50.251.29 because the former translates to the latter and that is what protowall blocks on. *shrug*

Xepherys, I'm reading this thinking WTF, then I re-read the original question. Doh.

It's probably your nameserver(s) as the others mentioned. Switch to others or just flop primary and secondary. The one being queried is probably caching junk. First thing I'd try is resolving the name on your system. nslookup or whatever favorite tool. Does it match 207.99.102.5 or fail outright?

Then again, it might just be time for beer.

Thank you, shakran, for answering my question. I may learn something yet :-)

hi all, i'm having a similar problem on a machine i've been asked to look at:

LAN running DHCP. computer has a built-in Intel adapter. adapter tries to acquire an IP but it just won't get one. i've tried manually entering an IP, the subnet and gateway settings. from there, i can only get the machine to connect to sites via number, and not valid named URLs. i've tried manually entering SBC's DNS servers, and that will enable everything to work (as it is supposed to, except for the DHCP part).

i've tried flushing the DNS, i've even installed a separate network card, and i get the same results.

does anyone know why this is happening? or a fix? will uninstalling/reinstalling TCP/IP fix it? is it caused by some kind of malware? thanks for any help. :-)

soopafreek,

You might want to check the DHCP settings of the DHCP master.
Could it be, that it only allows certain machines to request an IP?
IIRC, the University I attended only allowed registered machines to use DHCP.

checked it. all other machines work fine, even laptops not regularly on the network.