That sounds very much like a DNS problem, if the address translation is not working properly.
One way to check on your DNS settings is ito open a command prompt (WIN-key+R), type "cmd" and hit "Enter". In the opening window type "ping www.google.com". The Result will look similar to this:
Pinging www.l.google.com [74.125.19.105] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 74.125.19.105: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=52
Reply from 74.125.19.105: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=52
Reply from 74.125.19.105: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=52
Reply from 74.125.19.105: bytes=32 time=32ms TTL=52
Ping statistics for 74.125.19.105:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 32ms, Maximum = 33ms, Average = 32msNow type google's IP address (in bold) into the address bar of your browser.Hit "Enter" and you should see google's search page. This means that your computer (or router) can't translate "human" addresses (like www.google.com) into IP addresses (like 74.125.19.105)
First check your computer:
Go back to your command prompt and type "ipconfig /all". The output will show the settings from all adapters and will like this:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.100
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Thursday, July 16, 2009 09:41:52
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Friday, July 17, 2009 09:41:52Note here that the bold entries all point to my router. That meeans that
1. My default way to the outside world (internet) is through my router.
2. My computer gets it's IP address from the router (DHCP).
3. DNS requests are handled by my router.
Your router has the default IP address of 192.168.2.1 - this should be the number you see.
If that is not the case, here is how to change it:
- Open Windows Start menu.
- Open Control Panel.
- Classic view: Open Network Connections / Category view: Select Network and Internet Connections, and then Network Connections. (This opens the Local Area Connections Properties window)
- Double-click on your active LAN or Internet connection.
- Click Properties. (This opens the Local Area Connections Properties window.)
- In the General tab, highlight the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) item, and click Properties. (This opens the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties window.)
- In the General tab, click "Obtain an IP address automatically", and "Obtain DNS server address automatically":
- Click OK.
- Click OK to close each window. (The last one might take a second or two, because it is applying the new settings
Now to your router...
How to set up DNS on your router:
Look at page 34 of your router manual. If you don't have one, you can download it from
here.
There are several options which DNS server you want to use. One very popular service is OpenDNS (see link
here). Their DNS server have the addresses
- 208.67.222.222
- 208.67.220.220
Enter these numbers in the WAN>DNS settings of your router.
Don't forget to save your new settings and you should be good to go.
Sorry for being so lengthy, but I wanted to walk you through all steps. If you have any more questions or something is not clear to you, just come back here and leave a comment - I'm happy to help.