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Web Pages Timing Out Again

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KatBro
Sophomore

Web Pages Timing Out Again

Hi folks,

 

Here I am again with the same problem, but the fix from last time....is not working this time.

 

I cannot load Outlook email on Edge or Chrome, and I cannot load select .gov sites.  I do not even get an error message on Outlook, just a blank screen.  Many websites will load okay, but not all.  Here is the IRS.gov error message.

 

This site can’t be reached

www.irs.gov took too long to respond.

Try:

ERR_TIMED_OUT

 

Outlook works fine on my IPhone using cell signal, and WindowsMail works on the PC.

 

I have Gen 4.  I still have data left.  The modem is an Hughes HT1100.   Right now I am using Ethernet cable, not Wifi. So router/wifi is out of the picture.  Computer is Dell PC. 

 

I have cleared all caches on browsers. I shut down modem and router for 10 minutes via pulling the plug at outlet.  I shut down and restarted computer whilst modem was shut down.  Then restarted modem.  No change.   I tried this whole sequence twice with no success.

 

Please advise on what I can do. If  this was just a persistent Microsoft problem I would switch emails despite the pain of doing so, but it's other secure websites too.  Gotta pay the IRS.....

 

Thank you,

Kathy

 

 

8 REPLIES 8
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

 

@KatBro

 

I don't know for sure that this will help, but it may.  It's helped me in the past when I've had connection issues.  If you've already tried this, please disregard.  The instructions are for when the router is included, but while connected with a LAN cable and not using WiFi.  If there is no router, skip the router steps.  

 

1.  Unplug the HughesNet modem and the router.

2.  Flush the DNS cache in your computer.  To do so, bring up your Command Prompt, then type "ipconfig /flushdns" without the quotes, and there is a space in between the g and /.  Press enter.  It should give you a notice that the cache flushed successfully. 

3.  Shut down your computer. 

4.  Plug in the HughesNet modem, and let it sit for about five minutes to allow it to be fully back up.

5.  Plug in the router and wait a few minutes so that it is fully back up and fully synced with the modem.  

5.  Start your computer and try the sites again.   

 

Again, I don't know for sure that this will help, but it will at least clear all of the DNS values.  It's possible that there is a conflict going on with those DNS values, and if that's what's happening, performing the above steps should end it.  I'm hoping that this is what's going on.  

Thank you Gabe.   Strangely enough the problem resolved itself without any further action on my part.  I had already done the steps you suggested to no avail, but later on that day  I could load all the sites that were not loading before.  Very strange.

 

Perhaps I will do a few speed tests while things are running well to have as a baseline, then get speed tests when things are not connecting.

 

I noticed a few posts in another thread about using a public DNS server.  Would there be any benefit to this - in terms of reducing the chances of this happening again? Seems to be occurring regularly in the past month or so.

 

Cheers,
Kathy

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@KatBro

 

It's possible.  I've used both HughesNet's own and Google's DNS service, and I did seem to have more issues while using HughesNet's.  One of the sites most often affected was Amazon, but since I've been using Google's DNS service I've had far fewer problems, and I've had no failure to load issues, or at least that I can remember. 

 

Coincidentally, I just changed to Cloudflare's DNS service a few hours ago.  I'm just giving it a try.  It's supposed to be faster and more secure.  Thus far, it does seem to open web pages a little bit faster, and I've not had any issues, but again, it's only been a few hours, so time will tell.    

 

It won't hurt anything for you to try a public DNS service.  You can either change the DNS settings in your WiFi router, which will cause everything that utilizes the router to use the DNS service you set, or you can change the DNS settings in your computer's network adapter in order to try it only with your computer.  Again, it won't hurt anything to try it.  If you don't like it, or it doesn't seem to work well, for whatever reason, it's very easy to change back to the automatic settings so it would use HughesNet's own DNS service again.  

Thanks.  I may try that out this week. 

 

One thing about satellite internet -   you get to learn a whole lot more about the internet, and develop new computer skills!   Not a bad thing since so many things must be done online; access is now essential to conduct your daily life.

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

" you get to learn a whole lot more about the internet, and develop new computer skills! "

 

You can say that again-- I've learned scads, though I'll never be at the levels of some of the very knowledgeable people on this site. 

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV


@maratsade wrote:

I've learned scads, though I'll never be at the levels of some of the very knowledgeable people on this site. 


Same here.  The knowledge possessed by a few of the Community "regulars" is quite impressive.  

 

When I was young and we got a Commodore Vic 20, then a couple of years later a Commodore 64, I was very limited in what I was able to do with them.  There was a neighborhood kid who came over one day and I was astounded by what he could do.  I mean, this kid was maybe 13 or 14, and what he could do with the C64 was shocking.  He also brought his tape recorder, which he could use to backup things, which was fascinating to me.    

 

I sometimes wish I would have taken more interest in computers back then, as I would have been around the perfect age to get into the tech industry at the time it was really starting to boom.  Granted, it crashed for a bit, but still.  And I had the computer that many of the tech people my age started with.  Sometimes I wish still had it.  🙂  

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

That brings back memories. I had the old Commodore, and also an Atari, then I changed to a Mac and later an IBM (for the IBM I had to insert the OS in a slot before starting the computer. The OS was on a big floppy disk).  Good times. 

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

"The knowledge possessed by a few of the Community "regulars" is quite impressive. "

 

I count you in that group, mate.