Sometimes doesn't connect

  • Thread starter Thread starter David Emerling
  • Start date Start date
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David Emerling

One of the 3 computers in my home network (WinXP), has developed a rather
strange symptom. This computer happens to be the host computer, if that
matters. Cable system.

When I open up Internet Explorer it goes directly to my home page, which
happens to be Google. Fine. I type in a search phrase and Google promptly
displays the search results. Fine. I click on one of those search results
and I get the standard page you get when your computer is not hooked up to
the internet. It's as if that URL does not exist or the computer could not
connect. This happens to all the results of the Google search.

However, once I reboot ... everything is fine. Then, after a period of
time, it all happens again. It seems that as long as that computer remains
active, everything remains normal. But, if the computer is idle for a
lengthy period of time ... this problem occurs.

By the way, we never turn any of our computers off.

Any ideas why this is happening would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 
It's as if that URL does not exist or the computer could not connect.

When this happens open a command window and enter:

ipconfig /all

Read the DNS server addresses and try to ping -n 1 them.
If you can't ping your DNS server by address (but you usually can)
that would explain the symptom.

Depending on how your initial connection is established
you might be able to get things going again without a reboot by:

ipconfig /renew


Call your ISP when you are in this state. (This should be possible
since you are on cable.) Ask if they can give you any clues about
what is going on. If you are assigned an IP address dynamically
the first command should show you what it is. Then someone there
should be able to tell what the state of that link with that address is
and perhaps even why it isn't working.


BTW unless you can connect with some other internet application
while in this state the problem is not really with IE. You may get
better help from a newsgroup which specializes in networking for
your OS.


Good luck

Robert Aldwinckle
 
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