Usually(!) cannot access specific web site (IE6 fu

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Like a concurrent poster, I too cannot access a specific web site — usually. The site is http://www.nytimes.com. I haven’t been able to get it for at least a month, using either IE or Firefox, and using any of the 3 computers in my office. This morning I tried adding nytimes.com to my trusted sites. Didn’t help. Then I tried adding nytimes cookies to the “always allow” list and, suddenly, the site was available in both browsers. About an hour later, I tried the site again and again it was unavailable on both browsers, and I didn’t change any of the settings in the meantime. This is driving me nuts.

I might also mention that, on the Microsoft Update site, the “more details” links after the individual update descriptions usually don’t work either, although that is a different issue, because these are javascript links. Yes, I do have the latest Java installed and it works elsewhere. Again, I say “usually don’t work” because once or twice in the past year they have worked, even though I didn’t change settings. Then they stopped working again, with no change of settings.

I’m starting to get superstitious about these computers.

Fafner

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You need to tell us more about your machine, software and OS.
What kind of internet connection, phone, cable, work network or etc?
What firewall and pop up blockers are you running?
The more information you provide the better it is for us to understand your machine and problems.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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Here’s a bunch of information about my system. Windows XP Pro SP-2 fully patched. IE 6.0.2900.2180.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519. Also using Firefox 1.0.7. DSL internet connection with wireless router (the famous Linksys one, wrt54g). Windows firewall is turned off. Using Zonealarm pro version 6.0.667. Turning off popup blockers in !E and in zonealarm has no effect on the behaviour I am describing. The blockers are usually turned on, but I turn them off when trying to troubleshoot these problems – especially the MU site problem, which I have spent many hours on.

Let me add the following exasperating information. Just before I received your reply, I went back to the nytimes site. Still couldn’t access it. I had remembered that the last time I got on successfully, I got a prompt to accept a cookie from nytdigital.com. So I added nytdigital to the list of trusted sites in IE, and I was able to access the site in both browsers. I closed the browser and, just after typing the above paragraph, again tried to access the nytimes site and got the usual “site not available” message again. I swear I didn’t change any settings between then and now.

Cleaning out the cache doesn’t help, either.

What other information can I give you?

Fafner

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Can you think of any software or add-in that might crush your cookies between browser sessions??

Any problems with JavaScript at Microsoft.com (Microsoft does not use Java applets, on religious grounds) should be cured by putting the Microsoft web sites into your Trusted Sites list. Unless you have customized your Trusted Sites zone to block JavaScript, which would sort of defeat the purpose of having a Trusted Sites list, then IE probably is not the culprit for the Microsoft.com problem.

(As an aside, I think it’s very annoying that you can’t manually use Microsoft Update unless you set the Automatic Updates service to start automatically.)

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I am not running much software on this machine other than Office 2003, Adobe acrobat reader, the usual stuff. Nothing unusual and exotic. I do have the microsoft sites in my trusted sites list.

Here’s the latest from the front. I tried again getting the nytimes site, with no luck. I logged off and logged back on again. Immediately I tried the nytimes site again in IE and was successful. I closed the browser, opened again, and it still worked. Same with Firefox. Closed the browsers, tried again 15 minutes later (during which time the only program open was Outlook). No luck. Got the usual “site not available” message. Tried several times with both browsers, to no avail.

Fafner

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That’s really inexplicable. If I think of anything I’ll post back.

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It gets worse. I tried the same procedure again — logging off and back on again, but this time it didn’t work. So I rebooted. Now I could access the site with both browsers. I closed the browser and just let the machine sit with no programs open. Nothing at all. Twenty minutes later I tried again, and the site was inaccessible. Note that I don’t have any trouble getting on any other sites that I try. Just this one.

Fafner

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Hmmm….

I tried pinging http://www.nytimes.com and got:

Pinging www.nytimes.com [199.239.137.245] with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Ping statistics for 199.239.137.245:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

I tried browsing to http://www.nytimes.com with FF and connected immediately.
I tried browsing to http://199.239.137.245 with FF and connected immediately *and* was asked if I would accept a cookie.
So I’m none the wiser!

What happens if you add:
199.239.137.245 www.nytimes.com
to your Hosts file? You may be connecting to an iffy DNS server.

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I tried your suggestion and added 199.239.137.245 http://www.nytimes.com to the hosts file. It worked! I’ll post back if it continues to work (or if it doesn’t). Thanks very much for the suggestion.

The javascript links on the MU site are another problem, but at least there is a workaround. I can copy the KB number and do a search on the support site. Tedious but possible.

Fafner

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Thank you again for helping to partially solve my problem accessing the web site http://www.nytimes.com. After adding the site to the hosts file, I am always able to open the home page. Similarly, individual news stories whose address begins with http://www.nytimes.com always open for me. However, any address that doesn’t begin with http://www doesn’t work. For example, I am unable to use the search function because it involves the address http://query.nytimes.com. Similarly, the various blogs attached to the site (addresses are http://[blogname].blogs.nytimes.com) are inaccessible.

Any ideas?

In your last post, you said I may be connecting to an iffy dns server. Is that anything I can do anything about?

Fafner

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What do you have set up in your TCP/IP > DNS server settings?
If you have an entry there already, try setting it to ‘Obtain DNS server address automatically’
If it is set to automatic, try the settings I have (below) – although ideally your own ISP should be able to give you their preferred addresses which should give you a better service. (Ask or check their website.)

(For those wanting to know what DNS is about, see entry (1) at Webopedia.)

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Here’s the detail on my TCP/IP settings. I have a wireless router plugged into my dsl router. I have a fixed IP and dns server settings from my isp, and I have used these settings for the wireless router. The computers attached to the router are set to obtain IP address and DNS settings automatically. Before I had the wireless router, all the computers were attached directly to the dsl router and each computer had its own fixed IP address (I have a range of 8 addresses) and each computer was set to use the DNS server supplied by the ISP. Come to think of it, I don’t recall having this problem before I got the wireless router (linksys WRT54G).

Fafner

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A further reply to your suggestion:

After my first reply, I went back and changed the DNS server settings on all the computers from Obtain Automatically to the settings supplied by my ISP. Problem solved. It was the Obtain Automatically setting that was causing the problem.

That’s what I get for setting up the wireless router according to the directions from Linksys.

Thanks very much for your help and insight.

Fafner

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Good to know, and thanks for reporting back!

You may wish to remove the nytimes entry in your Host file now – if they ever change their IP address you’ll be back to square one!

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Hmmm your problem sounds an awful lot like one of my links about a month ago – just couldn’t connect. I’m not too familiar with Zone Alarm Pro but does it have a cache feature of it’s own? One that doesn’t tie in with the Windows cache? I finally ‘cured’ my problem by clearing my Outpost firewall cache – might be worth a look into..
Good luck, I hate these problems that can’t be spotted
Bob

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