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DNS issues with mac

Hello everyone,

I'm new to macs, I just got my first one, it's a macbook and I got it two days ago. My problem is with connecting to certain websites. I'll get "Failed to Connect" in Firefox or "Safari can't find the server" in Safari. This only happens with certain websites.

I've been browsing the web for hours looking for a fix and I haven't found one that works. I even tried re-installing the OS from the discs. I'm using AirPort to connect wirelessly. I added the following addresses to the DNS Servers:

208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220

At the suggestion of several sites I saw reporting a similar issue. (These two addresses are also listed on opendns.com).

It's not my internet connection, because I have my desktop PC sitting right here (running windows) and it has no problems connecting to any of the sites. And I mentioned Firefox above, so I've tried a different browser too.

I was really looking forward to Macs being easier/less troublesome than Windows but so far I've just been banging my head against the wall (not literally) over this. 😟 If anyone can help me I'd greatly appreciate it.

Macbook, Mac OS X (10.5.3)

Posted on Jun 21, 2008 9:49 PM

62 replies

Jun 22, 2008 12:04 PM in response to Dornkirk

Wait, what computer are you on anyways? How are you copying and pasting the Terminal output if the Mac won't work...

Dornkirk Author

Level 1

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Jun 22, 2008 12:09 PM in response to Dornkirk

I'm on the mac. I'm copying and pasting the terminal output here. The mac works fine, it's just some websites that don't come up, such as yahoo, or the sub-domains of google (images.google.com, news.google.com, maps.google.com, etc.), and a variety of other random sites). Thankfully there doesn't seem to be any problems with apple.com.

Jun 22, 2008 12:14 PM in response to Dornkirk

And this is only on the Mac?

Do you by any chance have Little Snitch installed?

In terminal, type this: +rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.alf.plist+

than empty your trash.

Dornkirk Author

Level 1

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Jun 22, 2008 12:17 PM in response to Community User

Yes, this is only happening on the Mac. Every website I can't access on the mac I can access on my desktop windows PC or on my brother's laptop windows PC (both wireless).

I don't know what Little Snitch is, so unless it came installed with the computer I wouldn't have it.

I typed what you said into terminal and it gave this output:

override rw-r--r-- root/admin for /Library/Preferences/com.apple.alf.plist?

Jun 22, 2008 12:20 PM in response to Dornkirk

Type in yes and press enter when that shows up.

Dornkirk Author

Level 1

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Jun 22, 2008 12:29 PM in response to Community User

Okay, I did that but it hasn't seemed to have done anything.

Jun 22, 2008 12:36 PM in response to Dornkirk

It removed your Firewall settings.

Hm... I'm thinking of what else to try. I doubt you did anything with ipfw in Terminal, and the firewall reset would make the settings allow connections.

You can try pressing Option-Command-E in Safari and pressing empty, than restart Safari, but you said it was also in Firefox.

You have an IP address and subnet mask, and some connections are going through, so your computer isn't being filtered from the router...

Dornkirk Author

Level 1

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Jun 22, 2008 1:15 PM in response to Dornkirk

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

Has anyone heard of this happening? Browsing around the net it seems like it's happened to ALOT of people, but none of the solutions, fixes, work-arounds, whatever has helped me.

RodneyW

Level 4

3,041 points

Jun 22, 2008 3:08 PM in response to Dornkirk

Sorry. I had to get some sleep!

It is true that some people have been affected be wireless issues on the Mac. However, nearly all of those people have a functioning Ethernet connection.

But again, my desktop PC running windows connects to the router wirelessly, as does my brother's laptop running windows, neither has a problem accessing these websites. So how would it be a problem with the router? It seems like it's my mac.

That does not mean it is not a router problem. It is possible that the router is PC compatible without being 100% Mac compatible on the current firmware. You should check for router firmware upgrades.

As a last step with your Mac, can you please verify your DNS settings on the Mac?

What entries are there? Is it just the Open DNS Servers, or are there entries ahead of them?

The fact that you are getting no route to host for a ping directly to a valid IP address (Google!). Tells me that something is seriously wrong with your connection. I am surprised that you are getting anything at all.

Is the Mac brand new? You have support from Apple. It could be a good time to use it!

Dornkirk Author

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Jun 22, 2008 4:21 PM in response to RodneyW

The DNS servers I've added are the open DNS ones: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220, other than these ones, the only other one is the first in the list: 192.168.1.254 which is the one that's there by default (with my router, search domain: gateway.2wire.net).

Dornkirk Author

Level 1

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Jun 22, 2008 4:26 PM in response to RodneyW

Also on my "System - Summary" page for the 2wire router I have, accessed by http://192.168.1.254, it says "Your system software is current. Check back for future available upgrades."

Jun 22, 2008 4:32 PM in response to Dornkirk

This is where it gets funny. It is resolving some domains, so your Mac is successfully being routing to the internet, and the DNS is resolving the domains fine.... It's why only some are working that is the odd part. There is really no reason on the host side as to why only some domains are resolved, and since the PC works fine, the DNS is up and running.

The 192.168.1.254 is provided by the DHCP as your default gateway. Your computer sends all traffic to the router. The router is where the requests are sent to the DNS server....

-MacWiz1220

Dornkirk Author

Level 1

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Jun 22, 2008 4:34 PM in response to Dornkirk

Just out of curiosity, is PPPoE different than DHCP? Because I have "Configure IPv4" set to "Using DHCP" automatically set in the TCP/IP tab under Advanced for AirPort in Network Preferences. There's no option for PPPoE, but in my router setup wizard, it was set to PPPoE for "Select Connection Type" by default.

Jun 22, 2008 4:38 PM in response to Dornkirk

PPPoE is Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet. It is not for wireless connections. On your router, what are the alternatives to PPPoE?

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,240 points

Jun 22, 2008 4:39 PM in response to Dornkirk

PPPoE is how the router connects to your ISP, not how your mac connects to the router.

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DNS issues with mac