Can't Access A Web Paqe

I will try my best to help correct your misinformation, so that people do not harm their machines due to your irresponsibility.

Re: thanks


Timber gave you the basics. HOSTs is like a local DNS server and any entries there would override the DNS resolution for that domain.

Can you try to ping this domain?

Start > Run > cmd

ping thedomain.com

Let us know what the results are

HOSTS
Craven, I can ping other websites fine, just not this particular one (www.catholicintl.com). Everything else (google, able2know...etc) pings beautifully.

I looked in my WinXP etc folder, and I had these files:
hosts
lmhosts
networks
protocol
services

I opened them each up in notepad, but didn't see anything that looked out of the ordinary to me. Of note, the hosts and the lmhosts files both said they were "samples" at the top. This is the specific verbage:

# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
# This is a sample LMHOSTS file used by the Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.


There was this:
127.0.0.1 localhost
at the bottom of the HOSTS file. I don't know if that means anything.

Can you give me some idea of what to look for, or should I post these files here so you can see them and get a better idea of what I've got going on?

Thanks again for your help.

HOSTS is what we are looking for. And within that we are looking for the domain in question.

Looks clear there. Please tell us exactly what happens when you ping the domain.

Hosts and Ping
Well, I downloaded the HOSTS file at the link Timber sent me:
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
and restarted the computer and I still can't access the website. I flushed the dns again just in case, but still didn't work.

Here's what I get when I ping it:

Pinging catholicintl.com [209.188.11.222] with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 209.188.11.222:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

This is what I get if I ping able2know:

Pinging able2know.com [67.19.244.238] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 67.19.244.238: bytes=32 time=81ms TTL=49
Reply from 67.19.244.238: bytes=32 time=69ms TTL=50
Reply from 67.19.244.238: bytes=32 time=82ms TTL=49
Reply from 67.19.244.238: bytes=32 time=86ms TTL=50

Ping statistics for 67.19.244.238:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 69ms, Maximum = 86ms, Average = 79ms

Any thoughts?

Seems that particular web host blocks ping returns. Not unusual, as mentioned earlier; Microsoft, for instance, does that.

If you can ping a website, that means a) its there and b) it responds to ping requests. If you can't ping a website, that means only that you can't ping it - doesn't mean its not there, necessarily, or that it doesn't return pings, just means you can't ping it from that particular machine at that particular time.


The website you're having trouble with comes up fine for me, as does the home page of its web host (although neither successfully return ping or tracert requests from my end). Sorta points to the problem being on your end.

Cant Access a website
Have I missed something. Have you moved to a new problem?

Could it be as simple as your security software is blocking the site for some reason or the site needs cookies enabled. Al this System restore/DNS/Hosts stuff seems a bit complex.

Try tools, internet options and either the security or privacy options - or look at your firewall or wireless modem settings.

Charles R

Already Tried That
I've already tried accessing the website with my Firewall (ZoneAlarm) turned completely off (and I verified that the WinXP Firewall is off), and I've ensured my web browser not only enables cookies but also cookies from non-originating site. None of that has made any difference.

Timber, I agree that the problem is on my end, I just don't know what it is. If I had to guess, I would say it has something to do with my computer being unable to display the pictures on the website, if that makes any sense. I can access something like the Google Cache version, but the pictures don't show up, only the text. I think it might be something about the pictures and my computer that don't get along so well, but that still leaves me confused because I can see all the pictures and animations on all the other websites I go to without any problems. I've also tried accessing the website with images turned off in my browser and java disabled, but that didn't help any.

So, not my Firewall, not my DNS or HOSTS, not my index.dat, and not my browser... any ideas on what's left to troubleshoot? I'm using a D-Link Router that I've never touched the configurations on after I first installed it, and it's never given me any problems over the last 3 years, do you think it might be the Router?

The site responds to pings. When you ping it it is getting the correct IP. So it's not HOSTS, it's not DNS.

It's possible that the destination server is refusing requests from your IP or your IP neighbourhood.

next step?
So, what should I do now? If the destination is not responding to my IP, how do I fix that? Would it be some configuration on the destinations end that would need to be changed?

I have no idea why my IP would be blocked. I promise I have not been doing anything to warrant it. Heck, this is my favorite website, and usually check it daily.

Is there anything else I can do from my end, or do I need to contact the administrator of the web page?

Re: next step?


Yes. If they are blocking your IP or a range of IPs in which yours falls they would need to unblock it.



If they are blocking your IP or IP range, then yes your only recourse is to contact them or use a different IP.

Could this have anything to do with it?

http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=60894

I don't know if that specific case does, but the problem certainly can be anywhere along the network and the problem could be "upstream" from either wvc or the destination server in addition to being a local issue on either his computer or the server.

Getting Ready to Throw in the Towel
Well, I contacted the webmaster for the site, and they're definitely not blocking me or any IP block with me in it. So, I'm at a loss. It might be this 'Net outage, but I doubt it, I think my problem started before all that. Could it be my ISP? I use Verizon. I'm going to put a call into their customer service, but on the assumption that it's abominable, does anyone have any other advice how I can find out if they're blocking this website? Any and all help has been appreciated (although the problem hasn't been solved, I've learned a lot of good info about my computer), and any further help or advice is welcome.

Thanks!

I'm having exactly the same problem as you do. And found no solution for it until now. The only thing I can do is using proxies to access it and that was OK (it's just that proxies are slow and die often). So if you really need to access the site, bear with those proxies for a while. Sorry that I have no way to fix this.

I'm having the same problem as you do. And found no solution for it until now. The only thing I can do is using proxies to access it and that was OK (it's just that proxies are too slow and unstable). But if you really need to access the site, bear with those proxies for a while. Sorry that I have no way to fix this.

You could try using a program called "Traffic compressor".
Its purpose is to reduce your ISP costs by compressing internet data. [I have reduced my data transfer by about 12%].
But, the point is, it also effectively gives you a proxy address, because all your comms go via the Tcompress website. I am not aware of any delays casued by using the program.

The software is still in beta version and therefore free to use. I've been running it for about 3 months and no operational problems at all.
I have no financial interest with the owner of the software, and have found him to be genuine.

Tcompressor details can found at http://www.tcompressor.com/Download.aspx