sporadic DSL connection ... it's not the ISP

[burbous]

Am I going insane? My DSL connection seems to have a life of its own. Throughout the day today, I'm unable to access websites or check email. Then suddenly I can, then again can't. Right now, I have no problem accessing macosx.com, but can't get onto google.com. (although I could briefly 5 minutes ago). My ISP reports that I am online, and the light on the modem is green - they tell me at this point, it's a Mac problem.

- I can ping in the Network Utility. Sometimes.
- When checking email or trying to access various web pages, I get the usual error messages: "The specified server could not be found" (IE5 and Entourage); "<domain name> could not be found. Please check the name and try again" (FireFox); "Failed to connect to server" (Thunderbird)
- System is 10.2.8
- No firewall
- I use a Netgear router, but the problem is there when I connect without it.
- I followed the "[HOWTO]-Check your Preferences" and everything said "OK"
- This has never happened before, and I haven't installed any software recently (most recent: Thunderbird about 2 weeks ago)

Thanks in advance!
Burb

 

[Zammy-Sam]

Hi Burb,
How does your router report your wan connection status? Did you check the log file of your router? Any disconnects? Did you change the cable between your modem and your router or even between the modem and your phone plug? Could it be that something is wrong with the modem? Any spare modems from friends that you could test? Do you have any other computers (pcs even) that you could directly connect to your dsl modem?
And welcome to the forum.

 

[burbous]

Zammy-Sam,
Thanks for all the help and the welcome. I checked everything (and learned some new things, like how to view the router log) and it all was ok. Then I unplugged the phone/DSL line and re-plugged it in and that so far has solved the problem. [feeling kind of stupid now.] I didn't think to check that, because the Connect light on the modem has always been green, and I would have thought it would have been red or at least flickering if the phone line was shaky. Anyway, thanks again!