Can't get to certain sites

[Robert Aldwinckle]

I searched through hidden files on the entire disk, in all
directories, and found nothing called "host."

The sites I can't get to actually belong to my employer,
so our technology VP gave me the actual IP address. And
that worked! So I could get their at http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xx
but not at http://www.sitename.com.

The VP thinks there may be a site problem.

Richard,

A more likely explanation is a problem with your DNS
or as Henri mentioned there may be an override.

Since you have XP you could use nslookup to check it.
E.g. open a command window and enter:

nslookup

Verify that there are no problems seeing the DNS server address.
Then enter the site name that you are having problems with.
Verify that that lookup is done quickly and shows the same IP address
as you were given to use manually.

Before Sharon hijacked your thread Henri asked you if you could ping
the site. Oh, I guess that was you anonymously reporting that you can't?
That is not necessarily proof of a DNS problem especially if nslookup
returns a different IP address than the ping appears to be using.
If the latter happened it would be strong indication that you have an override
somewhere, either in HOSTS or in your dnscache. You could clear
the dnscache by entering this command in a command window:

ipconfig /flushdns

BTW when you search for HOSTS do not use a period
and especially do not use a period asterisk. The HOSTS file has
no extension and unfortunately that means it has no period. It is safe
however to search with HOSTS*


HTH

Robert
---

-----Original Message-----
I don't know the IP address, but I did rename 2 HOSTS
files - no help.

-----Original Message-----
Can you PING the site?

At a DOS prompt execute
www.nameofthesite.com

Do you get a positive response?

Or look at this issue.

It may be a HOSTS file problem.
Look for a file named HOSTS (no extension, could be hidden) rename it
OLDHOSTS.

Or, you can open the file with Notepad

Unless you have install or created this file, there should be only one
uncommented line in it and that is
"127.0.0.1 localhost" (no quotes)

If there's anything else, either delete it or put a

semi-
colon ( ; ) in

front of the lines you wish to eliminate.
There are viruses, spyware and Web accelerator programs that will alter your
HOSTS file to prevent you from accessing certain sites.

You can use a simple batch file to rename the HOSTS file "on-the-fly".
Download: RenHosts.bat [right-click and select: Save Target As]
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

--

Henri Leboeuf
Web page: http://www.colba.net/~hlebo49/index.htm
===
There is a small group of sites I can't get to: I get
the "The page cannot be displayed: The page you are
looking for is currently unavailable" error. All these
sites have different URLs but belong to the same
corporation. This problem occurs in IE 6.0, the latest
Navigator and Opera. It happens even when I turn off the
firewall and reduce the security to lowest setting. I am
using Windows XP. I own up-to-date virus software and did
a full scan--no viruses.

Oddly, I can get to these sites in the daytime on my
office machine with Windows 2000, but not evenings

with

my
home machine on Windows XP. Could they be shutting down
nights for maintenance?

The Web host insists it's my computer or software and no
one else is having trouble, but I think that can't be
right. I have experimented with scores of other sites,
from the simple to the complex, and these 5-6 are the only
ones I can't load. They are generally information sites,
with no apparent security and no need for passwords.

Can this be my problem? Is the company that runs these
half dozen sites having trouble it doesn't want to admit
to?


.

.

 

[Sharon]

Robert,

Excuse me, explain the "before Sharon hyjacked the
thread" remark. I thought everyone having the same
problem were suppose to respond on the same thread,
otherwise we have to search through dozens of threads for
the information. Correct me if I'm wrong.

-----Original Message-----

I searched through hidden files on the entire disk, in all
directories, and found nothing called "host."

The sites I can't get to actually belong to my employer,
so our technology VP gave me the actual IP address. And
that worked! So I could get their at http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xx
but not at http://www.sitename.com.

The VP thinks there may be a site problem.

Richard,

A more likely explanation is a problem with your DNS
or as Henri mentioned there may be an override.

Since you have XP you could use nslookup to check it.
E.g. open a command window and enter:

nslookup

Verify that there are no problems seeing the DNS server address.
Then enter the site name that you are having problems with.
Verify that that lookup is done quickly and shows the same IP address
as you were given to use manually.

Before Sharon hijacked your thread Henri asked you if you could ping
the site. Oh, I guess that was you anonymously reporting that you can't?
That is not necessarily proof of a DNS problem especially if nslookup
returns a different IP address than the ping appears to be using.
If the latter happened it would be strong indication that you have an override
somewhere, either in HOSTS or in your dnscache. You could clear
the dnscache by entering this command in a command window:

ipconfig /flushdns

BTW when you search for HOSTS do not use a period
and especially do not use a period asterisk. The HOSTS file has
no extension and unfortunately that means it has no period. It is safe
however to search with HOSTS*


HTH

Robert
---

-----Original Message-----
I don't know the IP address, but I did rename 2 HOSTS
files - no help.

-----Original Message-----
Can you PING the site?

At a DOS prompt execute
www.nameofthesite.com

Do you get a positive response?

Or look at this issue.

It may be a HOSTS file problem.
Look for a file named HOSTS (no extension, could be
hidden) rename it
OLDHOSTS.

Or, you can open the file with Notepad

Unless you have install or created this file, there
should be only one
uncommented line in it and that is
"127.0.0.1 localhost" (no quotes)

If there's anything else, either delete it or put a semi-
colon ( ; ) in
front of the lines you wish to eliminate.
There are viruses, spyware and Web accelerator programs
that will alter your
HOSTS file to prevent you from accessing certain sites.

You can use a simple batch file to rename the HOSTS
file "on-the-fly".
Download: RenHosts.bat [right-click and select: Save
Target As]
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

--

Henri Leboeuf
Web page: http://www.colba.net/~hlebo49/index.htm
===
There is a small group of sites I can't get to: I get
the "The page cannot be displayed: The page you are
looking for is currently unavailable" error. All these
sites have different URLs but belong to the same
corporation. This problem occurs in IE 6.0, the latest
Navigator and Opera. It happens even when I turn off the
firewall and reduce the security to lowest setting.

I
am

using Windows XP. I own up-to-date virus software and
did
a full scan--no viruses.

Oddly, I can get to these sites in the daytime on my
office machine with Windows 2000, but not evenings with
my
home machine on Windows XP. Could they be shutting down
nights for maintenance?

The Web host insists it's my computer or software

and
no

one else is having trouble, but I think that can't be
right. I have experimented with scores of other sites,
from the simple to the complex, and these 5-6 are the
only
ones I can't load. They are generally information sites,
with no apparent security and no need for passwords.

Can this be my problem? Is the company that runs these
half dozen sites having trouble it doesn't want to admit
to?


.

.

.

 

[Robert Aldwinckle]

Robert,

Excuse me, explain the "before Sharon hyjacked the
thread" remark. I thought everyone having the same
problem were suppose to respond on the same thread,
otherwise we have to search through dozens of threads for
the information. Correct me if I'm wrong.

The thing that is wrong with that idea is that each problem incident
has different details. Allowing more than one incident in the same
discussion can be hopelessly confusing unless the details are identical,
in which case you end up with a string of "Me too!" which are useless
and redundant (though it may be comforting to the OP if it is not being
answered.) In some cases people have enough initiative and skill to
collaborate for a solution. I usually wait to see if that will happen;
so "Me too!" may actually be counterproductive for the OP. I suspect
that depending on how other responders pick what they choose to tackle
to answer some may focus only on threads which have only one post
so even the act of an OP adding some additional information may have
the effect of making that thread less noticeable for the same reason
that a Me too! might.

So far it looks as if your problem has very little in common with Richard's
but if you look at Richard's thread most of it now contains information
which properly belongs in your original thread. Richard may be
justifiably annoyed by this.


Robert
---

 

[Richard]

Thank you for your helpful posts. (I searched for my HOSTS
file and couldn't find it. I know I was doing it right
because I found it on my office and laptop computers.)

Anyway, I went through a similar process you suggest with
my company tech supervisor and my ISP. I then discovered
that my company switched server locations right when the
problem began. However, the ISP, Optimum Online, although
agreeing this switch is the problem, said they have no
responsibility for this problem. My company says it's the
ISP and says it cannot spent more time on this issue. So
apparently this problem is permanent, unfixable, and my
tough luck. I am going to research a new broadband ISP.

-----Original Message-----

I searched through hidden files on the entire disk, in all
directories, and found nothing called "host."

The sites I can't get to actually belong to my employer,
so our technology VP gave me the actual IP address. And
that worked! So I could get their at http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xx
but not at http://www.sitename.com.

The VP thinks there may be a site problem.

Richard,

A more likely explanation is a problem with your DNS
or as Henri mentioned there may be an override.

Since you have XP you could use nslookup to check it.
E.g. open a command window and enter:

nslookup

Verify that there are no problems seeing the DNS server address.
Then enter the site name that you are having problems with.
Verify that that lookup is done quickly and shows the same IP address
as you were given to use manually.

Before Sharon hijacked your thread Henri asked you if you could ping
the site. Oh, I guess that was you anonymously reporting that you can't?
That is not necessarily proof of a DNS problem especially if nslookup
returns a different IP address than the ping appears to be using.
If the latter happened it would be strong indication that you have an override
somewhere, either in HOSTS or in your dnscache. You could clear
the dnscache by entering this command in a command window:

ipconfig /flushdns

BTW when you search for HOSTS do not use a period
and especially do not use a period asterisk. The HOSTS file has
no extension and unfortunately that means it has no period. It is safe
however to search with HOSTS*


HTH

Robert
---

-----Original Message-----
I don't know the IP address, but I did rename 2 HOSTS
files - no help.

-----Original Message-----
Can you PING the site?

At a DOS prompt execute
www.nameofthesite.com

Do you get a positive response?

Or look at this issue.

It may be a HOSTS file problem.
Look for a file named HOSTS (no extension, could be
hidden) rename it
OLDHOSTS.

Or, you can open the file with Notepad

Unless you have install or created this file, there
should be only one
uncommented line in it and that is
"127.0.0.1 localhost" (no quotes)

If there's anything else, either delete it or put a semi-
colon ( ; ) in
front of the lines you wish to eliminate.
There are viruses, spyware and Web accelerator programs
that will alter your
HOSTS file to prevent you from accessing certain sites.

You can use a simple batch file to rename the HOSTS
file "on-the-fly".
Download: RenHosts.bat [right-click and select: Save
Target As]
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

--

Henri Leboeuf
Web page: http://www.colba.net/~hlebo49/index.htm
===
There is a small group of sites I can't get to: I get
the "The page cannot be displayed: The page you are
looking for is currently unavailable" error. All these
sites have different URLs but belong to the same
corporation. This problem occurs in IE 6.0, the latest
Navigator and Opera. It happens even when I turn off the
firewall and reduce the security to lowest setting. I am
using Windows XP. I own up-to-date virus software and
did
a full scan--no viruses.

Oddly, I can get to these sites in the daytime on my
office machine with Windows 2000, but not evenings with
my
home machine on Windows XP. Could they be shutting down
nights for maintenance?

The Web host insists it's my computer or software and no
one else is having trouble, but I think that can't be
right. I have experimented with scores of other sites,
from the simple to the complex, and these 5-6 are the
only
ones I can't load. They are generally information sites,
with no apparent security and no need for passwords.

Can this be my problem? Is the company that runs these
half dozen sites having trouble it doesn't want to admit
to?


.

.

.

 

[Robert Aldwinckle]

apparently this problem is permanent, unfixable, and my

tough luck. I am going to research a new broadband ISP.

You don't have to do that just to work around this problem.

You already know the IP address you want to use.
So, create a HOSTS file with an entry which allows
that lookup to be done.

Use the HOSTS.SAM as a template. E.g. just duplicate
the entry for localhost and substitute in it your problem site's
IP address and site name.

Flush your dnscache to load your change.

ipconfig /flushdns

You should then be able to see it by:

ipconfig /displaydns

Note for lurkers: if your HOSTS file is large you might want to filter
that output somehow.


Good luck

Robert
---

Thank you for your helpful posts. (I searched for my HOSTS
file and couldn't find it. I know I was doing it right
because I found it on my office and laptop computers.)

Anyway, I went through a similar process you suggest with
my company tech supervisor and my ISP. I then discovered
that my company switched server locations right when the
problem began. However, the ISP, Optimum Online, although
agreeing this switch is the problem, said they have no
responsibility for this problem. My company says it's the
ISP and says it cannot spent more time on this issue. So
apparently this problem is permanent, unfixable, and my
tough luck. I am going to research a new broadband ISP.

-----Original Message-----

I searched through hidden files on the entire disk, in all
directories, and found nothing called "host."

The sites I can't get to actually belong to my employer,
so our technology VP gave me the actual IP address. And
that worked! So I could get their at http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xx
but not at http://www.sitename.com.

The VP thinks there may be a site problem.

Richard,

A more likely explanation is a problem with your DNS
or as Henri mentioned there may be an override.

Since you have XP you could use nslookup to check it.
E.g. open a command window and enter:

nslookup

Verify that there are no problems seeing the DNS server address.
Then enter the site name that you are having problems with.
Verify that that lookup is done quickly and shows the same IP address
as you were given to use manually.

Before Sharon hijacked your thread Henri asked you if you could ping
the site. Oh, I guess that was you anonymously reporting that you can't?
That is not necessarily proof of a DNS problem especially if nslookup
returns a different IP address than the ping appears to be using.
If the latter happened it would be strong indication that you have an override
somewhere, either in HOSTS or in your dnscache. You could clear
the dnscache by entering this command in a command window:

ipconfig /flushdns

BTW when you search for HOSTS do not use a period
and especially do not use a period asterisk. The HOSTS file has
no extension and unfortunately that means it has no period. It is safe
however to search with HOSTS*


HTH

Robert
---

-----Original Message-----
I don't know the IP address, but I did rename 2 HOSTS
files - no help.

-----Original Message-----
Can you PING the site?

At a DOS prompt execute
www.nameofthesite.com

Do you get a positive response?

Or look at this issue.

It may be a HOSTS file problem.
Look for a file named HOSTS (no extension, could be
hidden) rename it
OLDHOSTS.

Or, you can open the file with Notepad

Unless you have install or created this file, there
should be only one
uncommented line in it and that is
"127.0.0.1 localhost" (no quotes)

If there's anything else, either delete it or put a
semi-
colon ( ; ) in
front of the lines you wish to eliminate.
There are viruses, spyware and Web accelerator programs
that will alter your
HOSTS file to prevent you from accessing certain sites.

You can use a simple batch file to rename the HOSTS
file "on-the-fly".
Download: RenHosts.bat [right-click and select: Save
Target As]
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

--

Henri Leboeuf
Web page: http://www.colba.net/~hlebo49/index.htm
===
There is a small group of sites I can't get to: I get
the "The page cannot be displayed: The page you are
looking for is currently unavailable" error. All these
sites have different URLs but belong to the same
corporation. This problem occurs in IE 6.0, the latest
Navigator and Opera. It happens even when I turn off
the
firewall and reduce the security to lowest setting. I
am
using Windows XP. I own up-to-date virus software and
did
a full scan--no viruses.

Oddly, I can get to these sites in the daytime on my
office machine with Windows 2000, but not evenings
with
my
home machine on Windows XP. Could they be shutting down
nights for maintenance?

The Web host insists it's my computer or software and
no
one else is having trouble, but I think that can't be
right. I have experimented with scores of other sites,
from the simple to the complex, and these 5-6 are the
only
ones I can't load. They are generally information
sites,
with no apparent security and no need for passwords.

Can this be my problem? Is the company that runs these
half dozen sites having trouble it doesn't want to
admit
to?


.

.

.

 

[Richard]

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to share it with others
who have the same problem.

FYI: I finally got someone senior to speak with at my ISP
after threatening to leave them. After considerable
research, they found they had still not updated some of
their servers to match my company's new location, and in
fact, were not planning to do so for another month.
Apparently they use dynamically assigned DNS. However,
they gave me a fixed DNS to use until the servers are
updated, and these work. (My company has many sites, all
with the same problem, so this seemed like the best
solution.)

-----Original Message-----

apparently this problem is permanent, unfixable, and my
tough luck. I am going to research a new broadband ISP.

You don't have to do that just to work around this problem.

You already know the IP address you want to use.
So, create a HOSTS file with an entry which allows
that lookup to be done.

Use the HOSTS.SAM as a template. E.g. just duplicate
the entry for localhost and substitute in it your problem site's
IP address and site name.

Flush your dnscache to load your change.

ipconfig /flushdns

You should then be able to see it by:

ipconfig /displaydns

Note for lurkers: if your HOSTS file is large you might want to filter
that output somehow.


Good luck

Robert
---

Thank you for your helpful posts. (I searched for my HOSTS
file and couldn't find it. I know I was doing it right
because I found it on my office and laptop computers.)

Anyway, I went through a similar process you suggest with
my company tech supervisor and my ISP. I then discovered
that my company switched server locations right when the
problem began. However, the ISP, Optimum Online, although
agreeing this switch is the problem, said they have no
responsibility for this problem. My company says it's the
ISP and says it cannot spent more time on this issue. So
apparently this problem is permanent, unfixable, and my
tough luck. I am going to research a new broadband ISP.

-----Original Message-----
I searched through hidden files on the entire disk, in all
directories, and found nothing called "host."

The sites I can't get to actually belong to my employer,
so our technology VP gave me the actual IP address. And
that worked! So I could get their at http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xx
but not at http://www.sitename.com.

The VP thinks there may be a site problem.


Richard,

A more likely explanation is a problem with your DNS
or as Henri mentioned there may be an override.

Since you have XP you could use nslookup to check it.
E.g. open a command window and enter:

nslookup

Verify that there are no problems seeing the DNS

server
address.

Then enter the site name that you are having problems with.
Verify that that lookup is done quickly and shows the same IP address
as you were given to use manually.

Before Sharon hijacked your thread Henri asked you if you could ping
the site. Oh, I guess that was you anonymously reporting that you can't?
That is not necessarily proof of a DNS problem

especially
if nslookup

returns a different IP address than the ping appears to be using.
If the latter happened it would be strong indication

that
you have an override

somewhere, either in HOSTS or in your dnscache. You could clear
the dnscache by entering this command in a command window:

ipconfig /flushdns

BTW when you search for HOSTS do not use a period
and especially do not use a period asterisk. The HOSTS file has
no extension and unfortunately that means it has no period. It is safe
however to search with HOSTS*


HTH

Robert
---




-----Original Message-----
I don't know the IP address, but I did rename 2 HOSTS
files - no help.

-----Original Message-----
Can you PING the site?

At a DOS prompt execute
www.nameofthesite.com

Do you get a positive response?

Or look at this issue.

It may be a HOSTS file problem.
Look for a file named HOSTS (no extension, could be
hidden) rename it
OLDHOSTS.

Or, you can open the file with Notepad

Unless you have install or created this file, there
should be only one
uncommented line in it and that is
"127.0.0.1 localhost" (no quotes)

If there's anything else, either delete it or put a
semi-
colon ( ; ) in
front of the lines you wish to eliminate.
There are viruses, spyware and Web accelerator programs
that will alter your
HOSTS file to prevent you from accessing certain sites.

You can use a simple batch file to rename the HOSTS
file "on-the-fly".
Download: RenHosts.bat [right-click and select: Save
Target As]
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

--

Henri Leboeuf
Web page: http://www.colba.net/~hlebo49/index.htm
===
There is a small group of sites I can't get to: I get
the "The page cannot be displayed: The page you are
looking for is currently unavailable" error. All these
sites have different URLs but belong to the same
corporation. This problem occurs in IE 6.0, the latest
Navigator and Opera. It happens even when I turn off
the
firewall and reduce the security to lowest setting. I
am
using Windows XP. I own up-to-date virus software and
did
a full scan--no viruses.

Oddly, I can get to these sites in the daytime on my
office machine with Windows 2000, but not evenings
with
my
home machine on Windows XP. Could they be shutting down
nights for maintenance?

The Web host insists it's my computer or software and
no
one else is having trouble, but I think that can't be
right. I have experimented with scores of other sites,
from the simple to the complex, and these 5-6 are the
only
ones I can't load. They are generally information
sites,
with no apparent security and no need for passwords.

Can this be my problem? Is the company that runs these
half dozen sites having trouble it doesn't want to
admit
to?


.

.




.

.