Possible causes for DNS resolution failure?

[Displaced Flames fan]

Having an intermittent issue where my browser won't load content and the error message indicates a failure to find the DNS server. If I power cycle my router it fixes the problem temporarily, often with no picture files displayed in the browser. For example, on calgarypuck, I am missing all of the thread logo icons and have red xs instead.It's not my browser, because I downloaded Firefox and have the same issue.Are there some settings that I may be unaware of that could be causing me problems?

[Azure]

Have you tried changing the DNS servers you use to see if it fixes anything?

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by Azure

Have you tried changing the DNS servers you use to see if it fixes anything?

No. Sadly, I don't know how to do that!

[Azure]

What kind of router do you have?

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by Azure

What kind of router do you have?

Cisco Linksys WRT160N V2

[Azure]

Go to your address bar, type in 192.168.1.1

If you haven't changed password the default password will be admin. Leave the username blank. Otherwise you might have changed it and you should know what that username/password will be.

On the first page that comes up there should be two fields that say 'Static DNS 1, and Static DNS 2, and Static DNS 3'

They might be blank, but if they're not, write down what is in them, and change them to 208.67.222.222 for the first one, 208.67.220.220 for the second one, and 208.67.222.220 for the 3rd one(if there is a 3rd one).

Here is a picture showing what the static DNS boxes will look like.



They didn't change the 3rd one, but I would recommend doing it as some routers can default back to the original DNS addresses if the 3rd one is empty. Unlikely, but I've seen it happen.

Once you have clicked 'save settings' on the bottom...



You will have to flush your cache on your computer.

Go Start --> Run --> cmd --> type in 'ipconfig /flushdns' without the quotes.

From there check to see if it solved anything.

[BloodFetish]

If Azure's suggestion didn't solve it, you can use the nslookup command to help troubleshoot the problem. Click on Start -> Run -> cmd to start a command prompt, then type in...

nslookup - <your DNS IP address here>

...and press enter. You'll get a ">" prompt. Type in a domain at the prompt to test whether the DNS server you're querying returns a response. Here's an example...

C:\>nslookup - 208.67.222.222
Default Server: resolver1.opendns.com
Address: 208.67.222.222

> google.com
Server: resolver1.opendns.com
Address: 208.67.222.222

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: google.com
Addresses: 74.125.155.103, 74.125.155.104, 74.125.155.99, 74.125.155.147
74.125.155.106, 74.125.155.105

>

Type "exit" at the prompt when done. Do this when you're having the internet problem. If you don't get a successful query from your current DNS server, then try one from Azure's post. By using two DNS servers your results should tell you if you have a global problem with DNS or if it's just limited to one server.

But if power-cycling your router fixes the issue temporarily, I'm guessing it's on the way out. I had to power-cycle my old Linksys router once in a while to keep the 'net flowing. Check for firmware updates and make sure it's not overheating...

[Displaced Flames fan]

What a strange turn of events.

I tried to log into the router and my admin password would not work. I know that it was correct because I saved the information to a text file when I set up the router.

So, I uninstalled the router software, unplugged the damn thing and started over from the beginning. Problem solved.

I'll go in later and see if those static DNS IP's are funky.

Thanks for the help guys.

[Azure]

Chances if you started over from the beginning, the router won't have any DNS addresses in the fields, as it obtains them automatically from your ISP.

If it works, it works.....but I would still suggest using the OpenDNS addresses. They provide a better DNS service than any ISP.