DNS lookup won't work, can ping resolved IP addresses ok. 1

[Brandt]

I'm in 'mainframe' computing. PC's are fairly new to me. I have a second hand PC running Win 95 which has been great for 3 years. Downloaded Netscape 6, didn't like it, de-installed it. Unable to resolve any web addresses now via my old browser (Communicator 4.75), or connect with yahoo or icq. My ISP help desk says 'delete and reload TCP/IP from your source' Great...except no source disks or CD's for the ole clunker.

Could it be anything else? All the settings I can find seem compatible with those on my laptop (Win20000). The IP address and DNS address are both set to automatic on the dial up properties. I CAN access or ping any site on the net if I know the numbers.

 

[benzito]

Ask your ISP for the specific IP address of their DNS server. Then put this address into your dialup properties under "specify name server address".

 

[dilettante]

Hmm.

If you are dialing you probably don't want to try hardcoding a DNS server anyway.

Have you tried looking for a recent Dial-Up Networking update for Win95 at Microsoft's Downloads? Go to

http://www.microsoft.com

and click on "downloads" to get there.

They are taking a lot of Win95 stuff off the site gradually 'cause they dropped support recently, but DUN 1.3 or 1.4 might be available yet.

DUN 1.4 is like 1.8MB, so you may have to split the file over two floppys unless you can FTP it from somebody's server by IP address.

The idea is to reinstall the networking software that NetScrape might have hosed up. My only worry is that this process might still want the Win95 install CABs off the original disks.

Are you sure these aren't on the machine's hard drive?

Do a "search/find files" on the machine, looking for *.CAB on the C: drive. You might luck out.

 

[benzito]

Why not??? What does dialing up have to do w/ using specific name server addresses? There should be no conflict.

 

[MWM]

I really admire the stamina of those who persevere in their attempts to get old computers back up and running.

There are so many changes in computing occuring so rapidly that software or hardware failures remain inexplicable despite endless hours of effort.

The fact is, I believe, that designers never completely debug their systems before the time comes to move on. So your efforts may be perfect and the machine will still not work under some circumstance or other.

At some point in my travails, I asked an expert, a veteran, to had just repeated to me for the fifth time, "Try uninstalling, try reinstalling, try a new/different driver, ... " and so on.

I asked him, "Wait. You are an expert. It is the case that even you don't know what the problem is? Why do we keep trying -- don't we know what the problem is?"

His answer: "No, we don't know. And I don't know anyone who does."

Encouraging morning message, heh?

Yours,
Mike

 

[Brandt]

Everyone. A BIG THANK YOU for your help and advice, my ole clunker is now humming along just like it used to. I tried hard coding the DNS server addresses into the dial up properties and it didn't work. Then I found that DNS addresses could be coded into the network properties for TCP/IP..this worked great.

While the system is now working, I'm aware that it's working with a 'workaround' which is a little disconcerting but hey..as long as I remember that if I change my ISP then that's fine. It will probably end up in the skip before I need to do that.

Mike, yes, I agree with your views there. As a mainframe person going back to the late 60's..things then were pretty black and white in terms of hardware / software problems. If it didn't work, something was wrong, it HAD to be found and fixed..no maybes. Mainframe stuff kept getting better with big blue (had a system that had to be timed down for maintenance after a year of 24x7).

Along came PC, Along came Unix too. I'm getting too old to keep up. *grin*

Anyone comfortable with fly by wire?

 

[benzito]

Glad it worked out for you. Great Troubleshooting!If anyone knows why hardcoding DNS servers in the DUN connectoid didn't work but setting them in the TCP/IP settings did, please post.