Primary DNS Suffix is blank

[Bill Martin]

I've been having difficulty connecting with lots of web
sites in the past week. Either I can't connect at all or,
I get a screen saying "The page cannot be
displayed....Server or DNS error".

I'm using Windows2000 Professional with Internet Explorer
6.0.2800.1106 with SP2, Q867801 and Q823353.
I can connect to the Microsoft Windows2000 Internet
Explorer Newsgroup. But when I click on the Internet
Explorer 6 Setup, I get an error screen that says the page
is Not Available.

Using Start>Run>cmd and then, at the prompt, ipconfig/all
I see that the Windows 2000 IP Configuration shows:
Primary DNS Suffix [[but there is no suffix, the space is
blank]].

Is that correct? Or should there be an entry there?
And if there should be one, how do I access the place to
correct it?

Thanks for the advice.
-Bill Martin Denver, CO

 

[Ace Fekay [MVP]]

In Bill Martin <[email protected]> made a post then I commented below
:: I've been having difficulty connecting with lots of web
:: sites in the past week. Either I can't connect at all or,
:: I get a screen saying "The page cannot be
:: displayed....Server or DNS error".
::
:: I'm using Windows2000 Professional with Internet Explorer
:: 6.0.2800.1106 with SP2, Q867801 and Q823353.
:: I can connect to the Microsoft Windows2000 Internet
:: Explorer Newsgroup. But when I click on the Internet
:: Explorer 6 Setup, I get an error screen that says the page
:: is Not Available.
::
:: Using Start>Run>cmd and then, at the prompt, ipconfig/all
:: I see that the Windows 2000 IP Configuration shows:
:: Primary DNS Suffix [[but there is no suffix, the space is
:: blank]].
::
:: Is that correct? Or should there be an entry there?
:: And if there should be one, how do I access the place to
:: correct it?
::
:: Thanks for the advice.
:: -Bill Martin Denver, CO

If the Win2k Pro machine is part of an AD domain, it would show the Primary
DNS Suffix of the domain. If not, that is an optional setting. For client
machines, it affects what zone it will register into. The connection and DNS
search suffix will also default the the Prim Dns Suffix. If it's just a
standalone machine, it's quite common to have a blank entry. However, this
will not affect browsing traffic.

If this machine is not part of a domain, and you are getting browsing
problems with Internet Explorer, we will need addtional info and test
results, such as:

1. What is your ISP connection (DSL, Cable, dialup, etc)?
2. Is there a Proxy setting in the browser?
3. What DNS setting are you using?
4. Unedited ipconfig /all
5. Is this an AD domain?
6. Can you ping by IP?
7. Can you ping by name? Post the results
8. Will nslookup resolve the name to IP?

I'm initially guessing an MTU issue, but I need to have more info about your
network topology and configuration before that is ascertained.

--
Regards,
Ace

G O E A G L E S !!!
Please direct all replies ONLY to the Microsoft public newsgroups
so all can benefit.

This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties or guarantees
and confers no rights.

Ace Fekay, MCSE 2003 & 2000, MCSA 2003 & 2000, MCSE+I, MCT, MVP
Microsoft Windows MVP - Windows Server - Directory Services

Security Is Like An Onion, It Has Layers
HAM AND EGGS: A day's work for a chicken;
A lifetime commitment for a pig.

 

[Guest]

Ace, thank you for your suggestions. I've answered them in the order you
asked them.

You said: "If it's just a standalone machine, it's quite common to have a
blank entry. " Mine is just a standalone machine.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And then: "If this machine is not part of a domain, ....." No, I am not
part of a domain.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. What is your ISP connection (DSL, Cable, dialup, etc)?
My ISP is Comcast.net. I connect directly through a COM21 cable modem,
model DOXport 111.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Is there a Proxy setting in the browser?
No. IntExp Tools>Internet Options shows 7 tabs. Only the Connections Tab
shows anything about proxy settings. Clicking the Local Area Network button
shows a screen with a box "Automatically Detect Settings" and a check in that
box.
There is also a section titled Proxy Server and a small box that is blank
beside the option Use a Proxy Server for your LAN.
I once had a LAN where I was connected to another computer here in my home,
but that is now totally disconnected and my computer is standalone, connected
directly to my ISP cable.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. What DNS setting are you using?
Using Start>Settings>Network and Dialup Connections>Local Area Connections>
Properties>Internet Protocal [TCP/IP]>General tab, there are two sections
with these options selected:
Obtain an IP address automatically
Obtain DNS server address automatically
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Unedited ipconfig /all

C:\Documents and Settings\Bill>ipconfig/all

Windows 2000 IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : micron2
Primary DNS Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : comcast.net [[Ace, this was
originally attbi.com
but I somehow changed it to comcast.net. Now, I don't remember how I did
that.]]

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : comcast.net [[Ace, this was
originally attbi.com but I somehow changed it to comcast.net. Now, I don't
remember how I did that.]]

Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 3Com EtherLink 10/100 PCI For
Comple
te PC Management NIC (3C905C-TX)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-01-03-D5-1E-6B
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 67.166.57.253
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.128
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 67.166.57.129
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 12.242.19.34
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 216.148.227.68
204.127.202.4
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Monday, January 03, 2005 1:58:31
PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Friday, January 07, 2005 1:58:31
PM
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Is this an AD domain?
Using Start>Search>for files and folders....I found no file starting with AD
that showed anything about domain.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7.< Can you ping by name? Post the results

I pinged by name first and got:

C:\Documents and Settings\Bill>ping mail

Pinging mail.comcast.net [204.127.202.10] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 204.127.202.10: bytes=32 time=51ms TTL=50
Reply from 204.127.202.10: bytes=32 time=50ms TTL=50
Reply from 204.127.202.10: bytes=32 time=50ms TTL=50
Reply from 204.127.202.10: bytes=32 time=40ms TTL=50

Ping statistics for 204.127.202.10:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 40ms, Maximum = 51ms, Average = 47ms
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6.< Can you ping by IP?

C:\Documents and Settings\Bill>ping -a 204.127.202.10

Pinging mail.comcast.net [204.127.202.10] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 204.127.202.10: bytes=32 time=50ms TTL=50
Reply from 204.127.202.10: bytes=32 time=41ms TTL=50
Reply from 204.127.202.10: bytes=32 time=50ms TTL=50
Reply from 204.127.202.10: bytes=32 time=50ms TTL=50

Ping statistics for 204.127.202.10:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 41ms, Maximum = 50ms, Average = 47ms
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Will nslookup resolve the name to IP?
Using C:\WINNT\system32\NSLOOKUP.EXE and clicking on that .exe file yielded:
Default Server: ns2.attbi.com [[Could this attbi be part of my problem?]]
Address: 216.148.227.68 [[I put that address in my browser but got back an
error message "The page cannot be displayed....Cannot find server or DNS
Error"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ace, if I've misinterpreted your questions, please ask again. I really
appreciate your guidance on solving this.

-Bill

In Bill Martin <[email protected]> made a post then I commented below
:: I've been having difficulty connecting with lots of web
:: sites in the past week. Either I can't connect at all or,
:: I get a screen saying "The page cannot be
:: displayed....Server or DNS error".
::
:: I'm using Windows2000 Professional with Internet Explorer
:: 6.0.2800.1106 with SP2, Q867801 and Q823353.
:: I can connect to the Microsoft Windows2000 Internet
:: Explorer Newsgroup. But when I click on the Internet
:: Explorer 6 Setup, I get an error screen that says the page
:: is Not Available.
::
:: Using Start>Run>cmd and then, at the prompt, ipconfig/all
:: I see that the Windows 2000 IP Configuration shows:
:: Primary DNS Suffix [[but there is no suffix, the space is
:: blank]].
::
:: Is that correct? Or should there be an entry there?
:: And if there should be one, how do I access the place to
:: correct it?
::
:: Thanks for the advice.
:: -Bill Martin Denver, CO

If the Win2k Pro machine is part of an AD domain, it would show the Primary
DNS Suffix of the domain. If not, that is an optional setting. For client
machines, it affects what zone it will register into. The connection and DNS
search suffix will also default the the Prim Dns Suffix. If it's just a
standalone machine, it's quite common to have a blank entry. However, this
will not affect browsing traffic.

If this machine is not part of a domain, and you are getting browsing
problems with Internet Explorer, we will need addtional info and test
results, such as:

1. What is your ISP connection (DSL, Cable, dialup, etc)?
2. Is there a Proxy setting in the browser?
3. What DNS setting are you using?
4. Unedited ipconfig /all
5. Is this an AD domain?
6. Can you ping by IP?
7. Can you ping by name? Post the results
8. Will nslookup resolve the name to IP?

I'm initially guessing an MTU issue, but I need to have more info about your
network topology and configuration before that is ascertained.

--
Regards,
Ace

G O E A G L E S !!!
Please direct all replies ONLY to the Microsoft public newsgroups
so all can benefit.

This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties or guarantees
and confers no rights.

Ace Fekay, MCSE 2003 & 2000, MCSA 2003 & 2000, MCSE+I, MCT, MVP
Microsoft Windows MVP - Windows Server - Directory Services

Security Is Like An Onion, It Has Layers
HAM AND EGGS: A day's work for a chicken;
A lifetime commitment for a pig.

 

[Ace Fekay [MVP]]

In billmartin44 <[email protected]> made a post then I
commented below
:: Ace, thank you for your suggestions. I've answered them in the
:: order you asked them.

<nip>

I believe at this time, it is not a DNS problem

Apparently, your setup seems correct. It's directly connected to Comcast's
modem, you're not using a Cable/DSL router, you do not have ADSL (a common
issue with this problem based on MTU, but you don't qualify for this
diagnosis), and you do not have a proxy setting set.

The thing I was looking for is your ability to ping by name and get a
response. That apparently is working within the Comcast network, which is a
good thing. I was actually looking for more in the nslookup results, and to
ping outside the Comcast network, so I will post some steps for you to
follow in the next test. But honestly, so far it looks like your network
config looks fine.

Run these tests:

ping www.yahoo.com
(post the results please)

ping 4.2.2.2
(post the results please)

For nslookup, first type in nslookup, then hit enter. That will put you in
interactive mode, such as:

C:\>nslookup
Default Server: vnsc-bak.sys.gtei.net
Address: 4.2.2.2

www.macromedia.com <---Bill, type this in. This the query.

Server: vnsc-bak.sys.gtei.net <---using this DNS server.
Address: 4.2.2.2 <---this is the DNS server's IP. Comcast's DNS shows up
here.

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: www.macromedia.com
Address: 216.104.212.88 <--- This is the answer



Do you get an answer like that? If so, it completely rules out a DNS issue.

I am leaning to believe there is something up with your browser, such as
spyware, BHO (browser helper objects), or you have a firewall installed or
enabled, there's a nasty virus on your machine, and/or your HOSTS file has
been hijacked. If this is the case, I would run an AV scan, and if you
can't, then a virus took over your AV scanner. If so, reinstall the scanner.
I would also install and run Adaware 6.0 and SpyBot to scan for spyware,
BHOs, etc. Just google for their download locations.

Ace

 

[Guest]

Ace, I sure do appreciate all the time and effort you are spending to solve
this problem.
Here are the responses to your suggested tests:

Run these tests:

ping www.yahoo.com
(post the results please)

C:\Documents and Settings\Bill>ping www.yahoo.com
Unknown host www.yahoo.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ace, that didn't look good, so I tried putting a space between ..\Bill> and
the ping command and got:

C:\Documents and Settings\Bill> ping www.yahoo.com

Pinging www.yahoo.akadns.net [68.142.226.32] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 68.142.226.32: bytes=32 time=90ms TTL=46
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 68.142.226.32:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 1, Lost = 3 (75% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 90ms, Maximum = 90ms, Average = 22ms
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ping 4.2.2.2
(post the results please)

C:\Documents and Settings\Bill>ping 4.2.2.2

Pinging 4.2.2.2 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 4.2.2.2: bytes=32 time=40ms TTL=242
Reply from 4.2.2.2: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=242
Reply from 4.2.2.2: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=242
Reply from 4.2.2.2: bytes=32 time=30ms TTL=242

Ping statistics for 4.2.2.2:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 30ms, Maximum = 40ms, Average = 32m
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For nslookup, first type in nslookup, then hit enter. That will put you in
interactive mode, such as:

C:\>nslookup
Default Server: vnsc-bak.sys.gtei.net
Address: 4.2.2.2

I wasn't sure whether to type nslookup into my browser window or into a
command prompt. So I did both.
Typing nslookup into my browser window produced a page, at url:
http://search.msn.com/preview.aspx?&q=nslookup
......of six websites. Not what you said I should expect.

Then I typed nslookup into a command prompt, and got:
C:\Documents and Settings\Bill>nslookup
Default Server: ns2.attbi.com
Address: 216.148.227.68

Still not what you said I should expect
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Server: vnsc-bak.sys.gtei.net <---using this DNS server.
Address: 4.2.2.2 <---this is the DNS server's IP. Comcast's DNS shows up
here.

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: www.macromedia.com
Address: 216.104.212.88 <--- This is the answer

Ace, I don't understand what you want me to do.....I don't know where you
want me to type this into.
I typed www.macromedia.com into a command prompt and got a reply that it was
not recognized as a command, program or batch file.

Then I typed it into my browser window and got the macromedia home page.
But that page didn't contain any of the irems you said to look for.

What did I do wrong?

-Bill

 

[Ace Fekay [MVP]]

In billmartin44 <[email protected]> made a post then I
commented below
:: Ace, I sure do appreciate all the time and effort you are spending
:: to solve this problem.
:: Here are the responses to your suggested tests:


No problem. We're here to help!

<snip>

The problem seems to be your DNS server addresses you are automatically
getting from your ISP. The DNS servers your system is getting are:
216.148.227.68, (which is ns2.attbi.com).
204.127.202.4 (which is ns5.attbi.com).

When I tested these two, they time out. That means they are NOT working. We
need to change that. I don;t know what's up with your ISP, but these two DNS
servers don't seem to be reliable, unless they blocked outside access to
their servers for queries (which is what I am trying to do).

Try and manually set to manually set the DNS addresses in your network
card's IP properties. Then select these two servers:
216.99.233.253
4.2.2.2

The above two are reliable and work.

Post back with your results and see it this works.

Ace

 

[Guest]

Ace, I found your message this morning [I couldn't even access the Discussion
Group site yesterday] and did as you suggested:

Try and manually set to manually set the DNS addresses in your network
card's IP properties. Then select these two servers:
216.99.233.253
4.2.2.2

I hope I made those entries in the proper place. I used:
Start-->Settings-->Network and Dialup Connections-->Local Area Connection
-->Properties-->General Tab-->Internet Protocol [TCP/IP]-->Properties
-->Use the following DNS Server addresses:
Preferred DNS Server [I put in 216.99.233.253]
Alternate DNS Server [I put in 4.2.2.2]

Just for drill, after entering them as DNS Server addresses, I put each of
those addresses in my browser...but got a reply that it couldn't find either
one of them.
Is that normal? They did ping OK though. And using ipconfig/all, it showed
that the two new addresses were in place
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then I accessed 4 web sites that I regularly use. The performance

definitely< was improved from what I've been experiencing the past few days.

It's not as fast as it was three weeks ago, but >certainly< better than it's
been the past couple of weeks.

Ace, Thank You for that accomplishment !

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One thing still puzzles me. I mentioned, a couple days ago, that I had
somehow gotten access to a configuration file in my computer titled:
DNS Suffix Search List, and [out of sheer frustration before I met you]
changed that suffix from attbi.com to comcast.net. Since Comcast had quit
forwarding email that was addressed to attbi, I thought maybe the DNS suffix
wasn't supported any longer either.

Maybe I should change that back to attbi.com.
How do I get to that Configuration file?

-Bill

 

[Ace Fekay [MVP]]

In billmartin44 <[email protected]> made a post then I
commented below
:: Ace, I found your message this morning [I couldn't even access the
:: Discussion Group site yesterday] and did as you suggested:
::: Try and manually set to manually set the DNS addresses in your
::: network card's IP properties. Then select these two servers:
::: 216.99.233.253
::: 4.2.2.2
::
:: I hope I made those entries in the proper place. I used:
:: Start-->Settings-->Network and Dialup Connections-->Local Area
:: Connection
:: -->Properties-->General Tab-->Internet Protocol [TCP/IP]-->Properties
:: -->Use the following DNS Server addresses:
:: Preferred DNS Server [I put in 216.99.233.253]
:: Alternate DNS Server [I put in 4.2.2.2]
::
:::: IS THAT THE PROCESS BY WHICH I SHOULD HAVE ENTERED THOSE
:::: ADDRESSES??<< Or did I put them in the wrong place?

That is the correct place. You did good!


::
:: Just for drill, after entering them as DNS Server addresses, I put
:: each of those addresses in my browser...but got a reply that it
:: couldn't find either one of them.
:: Is that normal? They did ping OK though. And using ipconfig/all,
:: it showed that the two new addresses were in place.
:: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
:: Then I accessed 4 web sites that I regularly use. The performance
::: definitely< was improved from what I've been experiencing the past
::: few days.
:: It's not as fast as it was three weeks ago, but >certainly< better
:: than it's been the past couple of weeks.
::
:: Ace, Thank You for that accomplishment !

You are welcome. We're getting closer here...

::
:: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
:: One thing still puzzles me. I mentioned, a couple days ago, that I
:: had somehow gotten access to a configuration file in my computer
:: titled:
:: DNS Suffix Search List, and [out of sheer frustration before I met
:: you] changed that suffix from attbi.com to comcast.net. Since
:: Comcast had quit forwarding email that was addressed to attbi, I
:: thought maybe the DNS suffix wasn't supported any longer either.
::
:: Maybe I should change that back to attbi.com.
:: How do I get to that Configuration file?


No, it's ok, since you are not using or in an Active Directory domain
environment, I would just leave it as comcast.net. That name is used to
suffix a search if you were to say, ping a machine by its first name, such
as machine1, the system will suffix comcast.net against it and will ping
machine1.comcast.net. That's what the search suffix is for. So it ain't a
big deal.

I hope this helped you out Bill...

Ace