Firefox can't resolve url but IE can??

  • Thread starter Thread starter Steve Klett
  • Start date Start date
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Steve Klett

www.fedex.com works GREAT in IE, fast, no problems.
Try to locate the same url in Firefox and a message pops up saying the
website can't be found.

This is beyond my very little knowledge of things.
This is happening on a winXP PRO workstation on a W2K DC.

Everything is behind a basic netgear RTf311 (I think that is it, basic
firewall router)

Any ideas? Anything to check??

Thanks,
Steve
 
Steve Klett said:
www.fedex.com works GREAT in IE, fast, no problems.
Try to locate the same url in Firefox and a message pops up saying the
website can't be found.
Click to expand...

Technically it's not really a DNS problem, but actually
an issue with the application FoxFire OR with something
on your machine that does "evil site protection"...

Were it the other way around I would STRONGLY suspect
some sort of add-on protection for IE.

As it is perhaps it is one of the built-in or other protections
for ForFire.
This is beyond my very little knowledge of things.
This is happening on a winXP PRO workstation on a W2K DC.
Click to expand...

It happed ON the XP workstation. That the workstation is
in a domain is almost certainly entirely irrelevant.
Everything is behind a basic netgear RTf311 (I think that is it, basic
firewall router)
Click to expand...

The two applications must be performing their DNS lookups
different -- almost all apps including IE use the built-in
resolver.

Perhaps Forfire uses its own customer resolver?
 
Herb said:
Technically it's not really a DNS problem, but actually
an issue with the application FoxFire OR with something
on your machine that does "evil site protection"...

Were it the other way around I would STRONGLY suspect
some sort of add-on protection for IE.

As it is perhaps it is one of the built-in or other protections
for ForFire.




It happed ON the XP workstation. That the workstation is
in a domain is almost certainly entirely irrelevant.




The two applications must be performing their DNS lookups
different -- almost all apps including IE use the built-in
resolver.

Perhaps Forfire uses its own customer resolver?
Click to expand...
Hi Herb,

I'm not totally sure what you mean by built-in resolver. Is there a way
I can tell what resolver IE is using?
 
The two applications must be performing their DNS lookups
Hi Herb,

I'm not totally sure what you mean by built-in resolver.
Click to expand...

The one that is part of the Operating System.

Is there a way I can tell what resolver IE is using?
Click to expand...

IE uses the built-in resolver. As do most applications.

So either...

FireFox is using a different resolver or...
IE & FF have different add-ons/protectors etc.
You are misdiagnosing the issue (here for completeness)

Or, I am overlooking something <grin>, how about:

One of the two is using the wrong/right Proxy setting?
Your proxy requires authentication and only IE has that capability?

Do you have a firewall or proxy?

Is it possible the latter is just intermittant?

Is it site specific? (I.e., just fedex or lots os places?)

What happens when you substitute the IP in the URL?
E.g., Fedex and probably 199.81.195.121 equivalent:

http://199.81.195.121
http://www.Fedex.com

(this may not be true for SMALL company sites in some
limited cases.)

You can test resolution directly (from the command line) with:

ping www.Fedex.com
(will fail to answer since Fedex doesn't respond to ping)
ping www.Yahoo.com
(MAY fail if you have a firewall)

Or more directly:
nslookup www.Fedex.com
nslookup www.Yahoo.com

(Both may get a spurious error RIGHT after the command but
then show the response further down, which is FINE.)

NSlookup is an appication which directly tests the DNS resolution,
and one of the few which has it's OWN RESOLVER.
 
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