Can't access certain sites

Hi,

Background info: Dell Inspiron 640m, running XP service pack 3. Wireless network card = Intel PRO/Wireless, wired network card = Broadcom 440x. Connecting wirelessly and wired to Inventel Livebox router.

I can connect to most internet sites - certainly this one anyway! - wirelessly and wired. But I can't connect to certain specific websites, usually ones that have port numbers in the URL (I need these for work). Port numbers in the URL are e.g. 8100, 7778. My other computer running OSX also can't access these sites.

How do I enable access to these sites? What settings can I change in Windows to sort this out? I was able to access these sites fine until the other day when it randomyl disappeared. No idea what changed.

Help!!

 

Start by asking your ISP if they changed anything. The problem might not be on your end.

 

What browser?

Are you using sockets (IP address/port) to enter the website address?

If the port is blocked then the page wont load. Try removing the port numbers..

 

Well since you have 2 computers that both cant have it then its probably not on your computer but the router or the isp level like others said. My guess would be the firewall. Did you set it up?

 

ISP claim ignorance and say they have changed nothing.

Tried with both IE and Firefox. One of the things I need access to is the mail server at work - I've pinged the IP address from cmd, and the request times out (so I've effectively tried it without the port number).

Got into the router admin panel and tried disabling the firewall there - no change. I didn't set up the firewall (left it as default setting from when I got the router).

Any more ideas please?

 

Try using the hostname instead of the IP. Could be the DNS

Also your mail server could easily be blocking ping packets.

Try "ping mail.flipfire.net" then do "tracert mail.flipfire.net"

 

Request timeout for a ping request doesn't necessarily mean a connection failure, because servers and firewalls can be configured to ignore ping requests (however public servers are usually configured to respond).

What about software firewalls ? Do you have any 3rd party firewalls /internet security suites ?

I think what you mean is IP instead of host name, right ?

 

Hi flipfire,

It pings mail.flipfire.net fine.

tracert: not so good. 1st hop - goes to my router fine. Then it goes through 25 hops of 'request timed out'. Eventually on hop 26, reaches your secureserver. Where it goes in between those 25 hops is your guess.

maui

 

Do a tracert to your mail server or a website that you cant access. See where it dies out

 

Hi PhoenixFx,

The mail particular server I tried to ping is not a public server, but I know it does accept ping requests because I pinged it when on the phone to work tech support - while the tech support guy was pinging it simultaneously (he was also at home with his home internet connection). He's at a loss as well about all this by the way. The mail server is just one of three or four websites that I can't access - that I know of anyway.

Not using 3rd party firewalls - just Windows firewall. I've tried disabling that as well and no change there.

maui

 

Hi flipfire,

tracert on my mail server: 1st hop - reaches my router. That's followed by 29 hops of 'request timed out'. So it doesn't even get beyond my router.

What can i try next?

maui

 

The websites could have been blacklisted by your ISP for some reason. Try using a proxy server to bypass it.

 

It could be a DNS problem. Use this site to find out the IP of the server and then try to ping or access it using the IP.

 

Try using Portmapper to see if the port is open. This is my favorite tool when it comes to trouble shooting connections. You can use this to scan any set of ports to confirm if there open. Is your router doing any port forwarding used in games? Or if you have FIOS, they do a port forward in there router for the VOD. I found this one trying to do a VPN setup. Have you tried it without your router inplace? Depending upon how the account was setup this may or may not give you a connection.

And just for kicks change your MTU on your router down to 1492. But it does make a difference on some sights.

 

Hi blue,

Tried portmapper but can't quite figure it out. Tried this instead (canyouseeme dot org) to see if the port was open. It seems to suggest it's not open so that's a start.

The router offers port forwarding and I've tried that but it doesn't work either.

How do I change the MTU/RWIN? I've found a post on another forum but that suggests doing it using third party software - is there any way I can avoid this?

 

The MTU can be changed at the Router, Lan or WAN settings. Def is normally 1500, which works with most cable isp. But I have found some sites do not work with the higher level.

Portmapper you have to select IP then range or port to check. It will tell you all ports that are open.

edit: I said port mapper but I was referring to NetworkActiv Port Scanner http://www.networkactiv.com/Scanner.html

 

I don't know if the version of the Inventel Livebox you've got is the same as that purveyed by Orange; however, they do have a troubleshooting guide online that might be of some help. The webpage dealing with difficulties viewing webpages is here.

 

Flush your dns list.