Mach1,

Unfortunately, one of the commonest reasons strange problems like this occur is malware. Download, install, update and run Ad-Aware and Spybot as described in this article, and see if they can discover and clean things up for you.

Does it take a long time for the problem sites to begin displaying, but after they begin, the display appears quickly? That could be a DNS problem of some sort. Incidentally, the Dell UK web site seems to be in Texas, judging from "tracert" results.

Jim

Jim,

Thanks for your prompt reply.  I will try the malware solutions.

I have just logged on to Dell on my laptop and it has take 4 minutes to load the page, it has now stopped but not completed downloading the page.  This operation on my desktop takes seconds.  So I don't think it will be the DNS problem you suggested.  I will try the spyware and adware and let you know how it goes.

Thanks again

Mach1uk

Mach1uk,

What errors are you receiving when you try to access the EBAY UK site? It seems to be in the vicinity of Palo Alto, CA, by the way!

If you open a cmd.exe window (Start/Run cmd.exe), and in the window that opens type tracert www.ebay.co.uk, where does the "tracert" stop? It might be helpful to post the entire output from "tracert".

(edit) Does the symptom change if you disable the wireless adapter and use the wired adapter in the laptop?

Jim

Message Edited by jimw on 10-12-2004 11:55 AM

Jim,

When I try to access ebay I get the page cannot displayed.  'Cannot find server or DNS error'.

Below are the results of the tracert www.ebay.co.uk.  I have not tried the wired adapter in the laptop yet, I will do so and let you know the results.

Thanks

Machuk1

 

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Matthew Hoyland>tracert www.ebay.co.uk

Tracing route to www.ebay.co.uk [66.135.192.41]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1    <1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  matthew-pu5i8z8.mshome.net [192.168.0.1]
  2    14 ms    14 ms    17 ms  217.47.251.186
  3    14 ms    17 ms    16 ms  217.47.251.146
  4    19 ms    17 ms    14 ms  194.72.2.241
  5    17 ms    16 ms    19 ms  core1-pos5-2.bletchley.ukcore.bt.net [195.99.120
.221]
  6    20 ms    19 ms    18 ms  core1-pos13-0.ealing.ukcore.bt.net [62.6.196.245
]
  7    19 ms    18 ms    22 ms  core1-pos4-0.telehouse.ukcore.bt.net [194.74.65.
113]
  8    22 ms    19 ms    19 ms  LINX-gw12.LON.GB.NET.DTAG.DE [62.156.139.13]
  9   261 ms   172 ms   173 ms  paix-gw12.SFO.US.net.DTAG.DE [62.154.5.245]
 10     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 11     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 12     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 13     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 14     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 15     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 16     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 17     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 18     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 19     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 20     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 21     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 22     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 23     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 24     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 25     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 26     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 27     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 28     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 29     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 30     *        *        *     Request timed out.

Trace complete.

Machuk1,

Aside from the fact that the transit time across the Atlantic is a bit slow and somewhat variable, I don't see any problems. The output stops short of EBAY because the traffic generated by "tracert" isn't being allowed onto their network.

I tried a traceroute from Level3.net's "looking glass" in London, and the last successful hops look like this:

2 as-0-0.bbr1.NewYork1.Level3.net (4.68.128.106) 64 msec 64 msec 68 msec
3 ge-0-1-0.bbr2.SanJose1.Level3.net (64.159.1.130) 140 msec 144 msec 140 msec
4 ge-9-2.ipcolo2.SanJose1.Level3.net (64.159.2.164) 144 msec 144 msec 248 msec

After that, there was nothing but timeouts. From my location on the US West Coast, I was also unable to traceroute all the way to www.ebay.co.uk. I wonder if www.bbc.co.uk is actually in the UK?

However, none of that should vary between the wireless and wired interfaces. The generic error message ('Cannot find server or DNS error') clearly isn't a DNS error, or "tracert" would not have worked.

It will be interesting, and hopefully informative, to see the results from the laptop's wired adapter.

Jim

Hi Jim,

I have just conneced broadband directly to the laptop and everything is working fine.  I am writing this on my laptop.  Accessed ebay no problems and finally been able to register mcafee.  So the problem seems to occur over the wireless network.  Any ideas?

Thank you so much for your continued help!

Regards,

machuk1

machuk1,

That seems to eliminate most of the malware and WAN connection related possibilities, and leaves the various things that can effect wireless connection reliability.

I noted that even on the "nearby" tracert hops, there was minor variation in the timings associated with the three attempts. Could there be something interfering with the channel you're using on the wireless router? Try the highest numbered channel available on the router (I think that's 12 in the UK), and see if that makes a difference. The US ones default to channel 6, and that's prone to interferency by 2.4 GHz. cordless telephones.

There may be specific problems with the wireless router firmware and wireless adapter software that can be remedied by making sure both are up to date. What model router, and which wireless adapter do you have? Is the firmware and software current for them?

Another possibility is power management. Wireless adapters should be set to remain at full power when the system is turned on. Unfortunately, wireless adapters consume a fair amount of power, so if you're running off the battery, that will shorten the amount of time before the battery's discharged.

I'm assuming you're running Windows XP. If that's true, which XP Service Pack do you have installed? 802.1x authentication is a known source of connection problems with XP, so you should try disabling 802.1x authentication in the wireless adapter properties.

Jim