Can't connect to certain websites...only in one location

[freewriter101]

Well I'm baffled.

I am the non-certificated guy who helps some of my coworkers out with computer issues for a little spare cash. I don't even charge for problems I can't solve. So I get a call today about a laptop. He states he can't access any websites unless he uses his bookmarks (which I assumed, and verified later, were just cached pages). He is running Win XP SP3. I have him run ipconfig (release and renew, as well as flushing the dns) and I have him run a tracert. Well, he definitely has connectivity. So I ask him to drive his laptop over to me. At my house, no problems. At all. Everything is fine. I run his Norton AV and check the settings and the logs. Looks like they may have had some adware and Norton stopped some penetration attacks--probably just a bot running scripts against random IP addresses but I have no idea for sure. Still, basically everything seems fine. So I decide to drive over to his house and see exactly what is going on for myself.

Can't connect to yahoo, hotmail, amazon, or msn. I was able to connect to google (about half the time) and godaddy. I tried several other web pages as well. Tried pinging the sites I was unable to reach, and DNS was unable to resolve the addresses. Ran through flushing the dns again, successfully traced routes to the web pages I could reach but not the ones I could not reach. Incidentally, he is able to access all of these web pages on other devices in his house, though I have not independently verified that with my own equipment. So I check his router settings--no rules or firewall settings that would block him from specific sites--even if there were it wasn't giving me the right error message anyway. I tried pinging using the router's built in ping. Sure enough, it was able to successfully ping hotmail.

I feel like I am missing something really obvious here. The computer itself doesn't seem to be having any issues, but neither does the network. It's only when they come together that there is a problem. I should mention that he reports that it was after an update that the problem first started. But with none of the router settings preventing the computer from accessing certain web pages, why would it behave this way?

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[DistraughtSysop]

For the pages that can't be reached - have you tried connecting through the ip instead of the domain name? For example, going to 74.125.227.112 instead of www.google.com.

Without knowing more, the first things that come to mind for me are DNS, the hosts file, and Norton AV (or if he's ever used Mcafee in the past). It could be something else, but I would look at those first.

 

[freewriter101]

Didn't try the IP addresses for those sites, I'll give that a shot. I tried disabling Norton, I'll check for old Mcafee installations. I didn't check the host files, but I reset all of the DNS entries. I guess there could be some weird interaction the laptop is having with the DNS server.

Well that gives me a couple of ideas, any others? I'll probably try and go back to his house tomorrow equipped with my own laptop for comparison.

 

[SirCyber]

freewriter101, have you tried *and I hate to ask this* resetting the router and modem? I have had a similar problem before and sometimes resetting everything all at once fixes it. Try the reset button *you will need a small item such as a straightened paperclip* first, if it still persists, try to unplug it for 10 seconds, all cables off both devices, then reconnect everything. I am willing to bet that, since he was able to connect on your network, it's his network that's jamming up.

 

[freewriter101]

freewriter101, have you tried *and I hate to ask this* resetting the router and modem? I have had a similar problem before and sometimes resetting everything all at once fixes it. Try the reset button *you will need a small item such as a straightened paperclip* first, if it still persists, try to unplug it for 10 seconds, all cables off both devices, then reconnect everything. I am willing to bet that, since he was able to connect on your network, it's his network that's jamming up.

... You know, with the other devices all connecting with no trouble, I really didn't even think about trying this, lol... probably won't solve the problem, but it is tech support 101 so I'll give it a shot for what it's worth. I'll kick myself if it works.

Since we're on the subject of the basics, yes, I did reboot the laptop.

Edit: I'll definitely wear my cone of shame if this is all I needed to do lol!

 

[DistraughtSysop]

I'd get rid of Norton altogether using the removal tool (after a backup/restore point, of course), but first I'd want to rule out any DNS issues. Whether or not those websites can be accessed via the ip should tell you whether or not the problem is DNS.

I'm assuming that he has a typical home setup and that he has admin access to the home router, it has stock firmware, and that there haven't been any restrictions placed on that machine.

Another thing to look at is if he's got a restore point for a date when everything worked.

 

[freewriter101]

I'm assuming that he has a typical home setup and that he has admin access to the home router, it has stock firmware, and that there haven't been any restrictions placed on that machine.

You are correct. He has no admin password on the router so I was hoping someone thought they would play a joke on him and mess with his settings, but everything is default except for the SSID, and the WPA2 password in effect. No routing rules, no application rules, no website rules, no parental controls, etc.

Another thing to look at is if he's got a restore point for a date when everything worked.

Yeah, it was rolled back a couple of times but no glory there.

If I can't find an easy solution I'm just going to do a backup and a clean install because there's no point trying to solve an esoteric problem I'll have to charge the client extra for when the quick and dirty solution will probably be more successful. Still, I'm going to verify the problem by bringing my own laptop over that in fact the problem is only in the interaction with his laptop and his network.

Edit: From an intellectual perspective I would rather solve the issue though, lol!

 

[SirCyber]

what distraughtsysop mentioned about norton is a decent idea if things my thought doesn't work. also, another thought, have you tried booting up in safe mode with networking to see if it works? if all else fails, uninstall all antimalware, all firewall software, and make sure that all your network adapters have drivers up to date. might try to disable and re-enable devices from the hardware menu. if all that fails bring your own laptop over, see if you can log onto any sights. this would verify his network settings. After all that work, something in there should fix it, but I would be willing to bet that resetting router and modem will do the trick

 

[PP Mguire]

+1 to uninstalling Norton. Norton can cause a ton of networking and website related issues even when disabled.

I would also check network status and see what IPs your DNS is assigned to and make sure they match other devices in the house. You could just be using a bogus DNS.

 

[Yevrag35]

Didn't try the IP addresses for those sites, I'll give that a shot.

Did you ever test this?