Suddenly can't find favorite web site

Suddenly, I can't access my favorite web site that I have visited nearly every day for several years. www.pgmusic.com

This exact problem occurred last week but resolved itself without any changes on my part. I know the site is active because I'm getting email from fellow users asking where I've gone. The search icon just continues to spin perpetually without loading the site, then eventually times out.

Windows 7/64
HP Elite
8 Gig RAM
Firefox (I also tried Chrome, no change)
1 TB HD

Help please?

 

I just tried it buddy in 4 browsers without any problems. What is it exactly telling you when you try to go to the site ??

Try this, just to humor me. http://www.pgmusic.com/

 

Nick, I get the perpetual spinner as if its searching/loading in the address field and "Waiting for www.pgmusic.com" in the lower left of my screen. After about 3 minutes it times out.

The link you posted gives my identical results.

 

Nick, it doesn't seem to be browser specific, I've tried several. Strangely, it corrected itself when this problem occurred last week. Tech support at PG Music couldn't help either after running some diagnostic routines. Its a mystery to me why it only happens on the one site.

 

Greetings, DON GAYNOR.

The site loads fine here also.

You might try emptying your temporary internet files caches in case it's a cookie-clash kind of thing. Go to Start > Control Panel > Internet Options, clear any browsing history, temp files, cookies etc.. You might also consider downloading and running CCleaner, especially if it's been a while since your system's been cleaned. Run just the files cleaner - stay away from the registry stuff for now. Reboot when the cleanup job is finshed and see if your symptoms have changed.

 

Not sure if this is what plodr meant, but maybe since it's not browser specific this is pointing to your anti-virus or firewall? Been seeing some unusual occurrences of this around lately for some reason. Someone even mentioned Major Geeks site as giving them a problem in a thread here a couple of times.

Whatever your a-v and firewall are, maybe adding the site url to the exclusions list would resolve the issue...

 

I ran CCleaner then tried to implement plodr's suggestions but I didn't know how. My menu options were seemed different or I got lost somewhere along the way. I'll try AtlBo's suggestions then report back tomorrow.

Thanks for your collective help.

 

Or even router - you can always reboot the router to see if there's a change in symptoms, especially if AtlBo/plodr's suggestions don't pan out.

 

Still no joy. I'm at wit's end.

I have reset my modem/router. No help.

I tried my laptop through WIFI and have a strong signal (5 bars) but I can't connect with my laptop either. Same spinning icon.

I didn't understand some of the kind suggestions offered and some of the menu options were not found.

I'm so disheartened.

 

Windows 7

1.Click the Start button.

2.Enter cmd in the Start menu search field.

3.Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.

4.Type the following command and press Enter: ipconfig /flushdns

5.If the command was successful, you will see the following message:

Windows IP configuration successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.

Now while you are still in command prompt.

In step 4 repeat ipconfig /release.Then Type this ipconfig /renew.

Release will release your Port then Renew will renew it again.

See if this helps.

I all so looked at the site and worked fine for me.

 

If I did this correctly, here is the screen dump. :cry

 

You did not do it correctly

ipconfig /flushdns

There is only one space in the middle like the above command copy and past it.

 

Golden Skull, I applied your suggestion - still no joy, in fact, after doing that, I had to restore to an earlier date because it couldn't find the internet at all. I will just have to live with it because I'm disabled and can't afford to hire a computer service professional.

Thanks for trying.

 

I would like to try a reset of the router before giving up. Its a Motorola. Any suggestions? The router seems to be the bottleneck. My laptop gets the same perpetual spinner.

 

Good afternoon.

Yes - by all means attempt a router reset.

1. Unplug the router's power for several seconds (@30 or so should be sufficient) - once the router has rebooted try to access the internet.

2. If that doesn't work try pressing the router's reset button (usually located on the rear panel - you might have to use a pencil or pen tip) while the power is on, again for several seconds.

 

For all it's worth, I'm seeing a similar problem with mspaintadventures.com - like the OP here, the site just times out on me. Worked fine up until about a week ago, and I plead a variant on the innocence mantra: I didn't knowingly change anything, and eveyr other website I normally go to works perfectly.

I can ping the website by URL, but plugging the IP into Firefox (v24) still times out. Flushed cache, cookies, temp files, all that with CCleaner, too, and as far as I can tell my plugins are up to date. Computer's hooked directly to the modem, so there's no router issues.

 

Good morning.

Strange problem - interested to see if the router reset produced any results. AFAIK modems can be reset also.

Regarding plugins - try any browser with no add ons, extensions etc.

Might be moot but have you tried Internet Explorer? You might also try IE while booted into Safe Mode w/networking just to see if you get any change of symptoms.

In post #10 of this thread plodr gave a link to the host file tutorial: if your host file is pristine it should look exactly like the image at SevenForums.

 

Is it possible to reset the modem/router from within the Control Panel? I'm afraid of loosing what I've got left. If I botch it I'll be dead in the proverbial water.

 

Some further notes. I have, thus far:
- flushed, released, and renewed DNS.
- /verified/ my plugins are up to date.
- powercycled my modem.
- made sure there's nothing in the hostfile for it
- tried Firefox safe mode.
- briefly turned off Avast's Webshield.
- tinkered with Firefox's IPV6 setting.
- also changed Firefox's DNS prefetch setting.
- Checked in IE; I also get a 'cannot find server' error there, though this is the first time I've used it in literally years, so it may well be that I have IE6 still floating around.

It still fails, and I am baffled. This silly webcomic is the -only- website I have trouble with.

 

I did a modem router hard reset, still no joy. I'm at a total loss!:cry:cry:cry

 

@CyrDraconis: good troubleshooting sequence there - can't think of anything to add at the moment, but be patient. In the interest of trying to keep answers etc. from butting heads you might consider starting a new thread with your symptoms and what you've tried so we won't confuse any answers for/from the original poster.

@DON GAYNOR: do look at CyrDraconis' list of checks, see if you can spot anything relevant to your problem.

 

I just learned today that on about the date that this all began, my ISP upgraded my service. That could well be the crux of the problem. I will rattle their cage in the morning then post back here when its been solved.

My thanks to all who tried to answer the call. You folks are wonderful.

 

Wow - good shot - we had just about exhausted every other possibility. Keep us posted.

 

Now I've lost email. I ran a boot scan and it was clean. What app should I run to ensure I'm clean? It's going on two weeks now and it acts like a Trojan slowly getting worse.

Re: My ISP, they are impossible to reach by email. It's AT&T U-Verse. Many complaints mentioning how hard it is to get help.

 

I have called them many times - never a problem.
You can also Chat:


http://www.att.com/econtactus/index.jsp#

 

PSCO2007,

Based upon your positive experience with U-Verse, I asked the front office gal, Tiffany, to call U-Verse Tech Support (I am mute and paralyzed). They promptly put her on perpetual hold. After 50 minutes she had to hang up to perform other work-related duties. That is more typical of customer complaints
found elsewhere on the web.

Thanks for trying.

Don

 

I'm sorry for your trouble.
Has she tried the Chat function?

 

Just for kicks I'll try chat right now!

 

I think it might be too late in your time zone, but I hope it works!!:wave

 

Don,

Let me know how it works out.

I still think your assistant should try the phone on Monday ( if Chat doesn't help) - I know I've never had a problem with it and she may just have called at a bad time.

Good luck,

Paul

 

Paul, my limited dexterity forced me to give up. I'll have Tiffany (or someone) try again tomorrow.

Thanks again.

Don

BTW, visiting friends tried their cell phones and got to the site immediately while I can't access it on my desktop computer nor my laptop. Crazy or what?

 

Don,

Do you have an Ad Blocker on the browser you are using?

See if you have the problem using another browser and also see if your firewall is blocking the Website.

Paul

 

Don,

I just tried your link in 4 different browsers - IE10,Firefox,Chrome and Pale moon and all brought me to the site.

Check your add-ons for an ad-blocker that is causing your problem.

Paul:wave

 

You can also try a Clean Boot or Safe Mode with Networking.

 

Good evening.

Agreed - I mentioned Safe Mode in post #19. Interested to see the results of this test.

Also, something else you might try is contacting the PG Music support page to see if they might have some tips, support tickets, etc. - might try their forums, too.

For that matter, try that link with the problem computer - worth a shot to see if this might be a name resolution issue with the PG Music.index page.

 

Caliban,

That link got me to the same initial problem; a perpetually spinning loading icon.

It has taught me a very valuable lesson. Namely: There is life after PG Music.:cry:cry:cry

 

Don,

You are saying you tried Safe Node and Clean Boot and got the same result?

There is something on your computer causing this problem.

Have you reached At& T yet (although I doubt the ISP is the problem) - I use them as well.

Don't give up the ship - this is solvable.

Paul

 

Not crazy, necessarily. Did they hook up to and use your modem or were they just going through their phone's ISP(s)? If they didn't go through your modem, there's no reason to expect them to have trouble.

So to make this really clear, you have a desktop AND a laptop going through the same modem and neither of them can reach that website?

Correct me if I'm wrong, someone, but it won't make any difference whether Don tries to connect the laptop to the modem wired or wireless? If the problem is on the computer, wired or wireless makes no difference and if the problem is on the modem, it still won't matter?

Don, just to emphasise even more strongly, disable ANY ad blocking software or other suspect software and try getting through. If you're using the same software on both computers, then it IS still possible the problem is with the computers and not the modem.

I use Adblock Plus (ABP) in Firefox and I remember a few years ago one version was hiding links at Major Geeks, due to a slip-up on the part of the makers of ABP. I was hunting through the cleaning guide for a particular link I wanted to give someone and every link was simply missing. Even the links in the forums weren't showing up. Until a corrected version of ABP was released, the only way to navigate properly around Major Geeks was to disable ABP completely for Major Geeks or track down the two or three problem filters and disable them.

It was rather an odd problem and to be honest, it was in a last-ditch attempt to find the links that I disabled Adblock Plus and discovered it was the culprit. It didn't matter which computer I used because both had Adblock Plus installed. Maybe you have a similar situation causing your problem.

 

Chookers,

They went through their phone's ISP, not through mine. Yes, I have a desktop and a laptop. Neither can find that particular address. PG Music Technician had me ping the address but it still wouldn't connect.

Being paralyzed makes following these instructions very challenging and the front office gal, Tiffany, has gotten very frustrated with this problem. I don't think she will continue helping.:cry:cry:cry:cry

 

That would explain why they didn't run into the same problem. Definitely sounds like a program you run on both of your computers or something to do with your modem or ISP.

Sorry, Don. I forgot to mention something in my last post that could be helpful to you.

Are you aware of software such as TeamViewer and Logmein? (That last one is pronounced "log me in.") You probably know that Windows computers can be remotely controlled by someone else using a Windows feature but to be honest, I prefer these third party applications and find them easier for people to use than the native Windows application.

The beauty of these programs is that you can have someone you trust connect to your computer and run it for you. Local friends have had me run their computers from my home, which is handy for us because sometimes I'm not up to going out but I am capable of fixing their problem plus in the case of another friend, I'd have to jump on a plane to go and help them - bit time consuming!

Doesn't matter if they can only do it at a time they won't be around the computer because you simply leave the computer turned on and the remote control program running. It's even possible to set up these programs to activate as soon as the computer boots up and use them to remotely reboot the computer, if necessary. The friend who I'd have to fly to, her daughter lost control of her computer one day while we were working on it but I still could control it from my end and was able to do a Ctrl-Alt-Del, shut down the offending program, finish the configuration we were doing, and then after that do a proper shutdown and restart.

If you decide to use TeamViewer, don't use the portable version because the ability to set some of those features and have the settings persist after a shutdown doesn't seem to exist. At any rate, I've never managed to get them to persist. On the other hand, the normal version will do the job without any difficulty. The settings you need are under "Extra - Options" in the TeamViewer 'control' window (the one you see when you start TeamViewer up) and I think most of them are under Advanced. If you install TeamViewer and then give control to someone else, they can set up all those features for you. Shutting down the computer, etc. is done from the session window that shows the remote computer, in this case, yours. There's a drop down bar across the top of the session window which has access to various actions and settings.

Can't give you any pointers on Logmein because it's been ages since I've used it and I can't remember much about it, any more.

Logmein and TeamViewer both have versions that are free for private use.
http://www.teamviewer.com/en/index.aspx
https://secure.logmein.com/

Anyway, hope that helps.

 

The plot thickens...

My nursing home installed WIFI today so it's a totally different ISP, it's now GLC yielding 4 bars of signal strength. Getting exactly the same problem. :cry:cry:cry
It acts like the favorite site has been blocked but I don't know how to confirm or fix that.

Several patients are on WIFI without a problem.

Tomorrow, I have a songwriters' conference online that is being dedicated to me by musicians worldwide. I simply must get this ironed out today.

@Chookers, I trust you to take control of my desktop computer and get this issue solved, PLEASE!?

TIA

Don

 

Hi Don.

Just in case you can't get things ironed out in time, see if a proxy will help. It isn't a solution, just a temporary work around until the problem is solved.

Performance under a proxy is a little slower but might work in a pinch.

Try https://ztunnel.com/, scroll to the bottom of the page, enter the url, in this case http://www.pgmusic.com/

Make sure "Remove cookies" and "Remove Scripts" are not check marked, click on the "Begin Browsing" button. It will take a few seconds, but hopefully it will get you there.

Thumbnail shows what it should look like before clicking "Begin Browsing".

 

I fear that I am too dull-minded to execute these commands.

 

Don,

I'm very sorry for your trouble.
You said visitor's can connect with their phones.

Possible to borrow one until your problem is fixed?:wave

Paul

 

Did pgmusic's firewall accidentally block you? I would go to http://whatismyip.com/ and find out your ip address and tell pgmusic.com your ip address to see if it's in there firewall so that they can unblock you.

 

I just went to http://whatismyip.com/ and ran a traceroute which also hung. It showed the search spinner perpetually.

 

Do you have any hardware attached like a printer? Try unplugging it.

 

None connected.