damnit.

[Abrupt]

For some reason, my computer cant access domain names, but I can access my cPannel via IP. Ive tried many things to fix this, as well as look at my modem/router connections. Everything seems good. Does anyone have some advice?

[Eppie]

Maybe its a setting in your browser?
Can you do things like IM with a separate application, or DL/UL a torrent?

[De]

You mean like go to secure websites? If you can't do that you need to reformat because your windows doesn't have a 128-bit encryption. (Basically method for allowing secure connections.)

[Abrupt]

Originally Posted by Eppie

Maybe its a setting in your browser?
Can you do things like IM with a separate application, or DL/UL a torrent?

not if it uses a domain name for a server, so no for most IM services.

Originally Posted by De

You mean like go to secure websites? If you can't do that you need to reformat because your windows doesn't have a 128-bit encryption. (Basically method for allowing secure connections.)

I mean like domains, such as microsoft.com, but i can go to IP address sites.

[Eppie]

What do you use, IE or FF?
Do you mean that if you type in Google, it gives you "Page cannot be found", but if you type in 209.85.165.99 it will bring you to google's site?

[Abrupt]

Originally Posted by Eppie

What do you use, IE or FF?
Do you mean that if you type in Google, it gives you "Page cannot be found", but if you type in 209.85.165.99 it will bring you to google's site?

FireFox. But i tried it in Internet Explorer too. Also, I can't seem to ping domain names ether.
And yes, that's exactly what I mean.

[Eppie]

So then your DNS is messed up somehow.
If you don't know, that's the thing that resolves the domain name you type in into an IP address.

[Abrupt]

i see.
so how could i go around fixing this?

[Aiur]

Have you tried repairing your connection?
Start > Network Connections > Right-click on Internet connection > Repair

[Eppie]

Try typing "ipconfig /flushdns" in the command prompt

(w/o the quotes)

[Abrupt]

Originally Posted by Aiur

Have you tried repairing your connection?
Start > Network Connections > Right-click on Internet connection > Repair

I tried that many times, actually. No effect :(

Originally Posted by Eppie

Try typing "ipconfig /flushdns" in the command prompt

(w/o the quotes)

I tried this before, no effect as well. I tried it again, still no effect.

[Eppie]

Did all of this?

Check your HOSTS file

If your HOSTS file contains an incorrect or outdated listing, you won't be able to connect. Even if you don't recall adding listings to a HOSTS file, it still might contain listings, because some Internet accelerator utilities edit them without telling you. Open your HOSTS file with Notepad and see if the site you can't connect to is listed there. If it is, delete the entry, and you should be able to connect.

For details about editing a HOSTS file, see "Hack DNS for lightning-fast Web browsing."

Check your DNS settings

Make sure your DNS settings are correct for your ISP or network. If you've changed your DNS settings to use a service such as OpenDNS, for example, you might have entered them incorrectly.

Find out from your ISP or network administrator what your DNS settings are supposed to be, or check the OpenDNS site (or another DNS service) for their server settings. Once you've done that, you'll need to make sure that you've entered the DNS settings properly.

Check the article "Hack DNS for lightning-fast Web browsing" for details about how to change your DNS settings. Then change the DNS servers to the proper ones, or choose "Obtain DNS server address automatically" if your ISP or network administrator tells you to use that setting.

Flush your DNS cache

The problem might be related to your DNS cache, so flush it out. To flush the cache, type ipconfig /flushdns at a command prompt.

Find out if your ISP is having DNS problems

Your ISP could be the source of the problem. One possibility is that one of its DNS servers is down and you're trying to access the downed server. If you know the addresses of the DNS servers, ping each of your ISP's DNS servers, and if any of them don't respond, remove them from your DNS list.

If you don't know the address of the DNS servers and you're supposed to use the choose "Obtain DNS server address automatically" setting, you'll have to call your ISP to see whether its DNS servers are having problems. Alternately, you can use the OpenDNS servers instead of your ISP's DNS servers. For details, see "Hack DNS for lightning-fast Web browsing."

[Abrupt]

Where can I access this "HOSTS file"?

[Eppie]

# Windows NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista: %SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\ is the default location, which may be changed. The actual directory is determined by the Registry key \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servi ces\Tcpip\Parameters\DataBasePath.
# Windows 95/98/Me: %WinDir%\
# Linux and other Unix-like operating systems (including iPhone OS): /etc
# Mac OS 9 and earlier: System Folder: Preferences or System folder (format of the file may vary from Windows and Linux counterparts)
# Mac OS X: /private/etc (uses BSD-style Hosts file)

[Abrupt]

The only hosts file I have at that location is "Hosts.bak", which im guessing is a backup for the hosts file. Whenever I tried to access that file, I get an "Access denied" error.

[Eppie]

What OS are you on?