ok im using a hosting panel (DTC) and i have contacted their support and they say this is a DNS problem and i have been trying to figure this out for a while now:

I get the error: "ERROR! Cannot resolv 3gxlive.com"

yet, everything seems to continue working just fine as long as i have my ISP DNS servers in /etc/resolv.conf

/etc/resolv.conf

if i put 'nameserver 127.0.0.1' then my server cannot reach the outside world. i have attempted so many different combinations between resolv.conf and named.conf.options (using forwarders) nothing works

what does anyone think the problem could be?

are you trying to setup your own dns server,relay?
then i assume you are using bind?

oh yes, i am using bind, but it is odd how i get this error but everything seems to be running fine (until i take my ISP DNS servers out of resolv.conf) i think i would need my DNS server setup as a relay? im not quite sure but when i remove my ISP DNS servers i cannot send data to the outside, but the world can see my system (means i can receive mail, but cant send) lol

Leave 127.0.0.1 out. Put it in /etc/hosts. In my /etc/resolv.conf there is no 127.0.0.1, 'cause that is equal to localhost (in other words: it'll search for anything on your own machine, and fail...) Btw, why would you want to leave the ISP's DNS servers out? That DNS entry is just what the machine expects there! To be honest, I don't think you really understand the basics of networking. Try to grasp that first, find yourself a suitable HowTo on the net.

same thing lol....still the same error

Your /etc/resolv.conf should only contain
To be sure your ISP DNS servers are not at fault, try the DNS servers from my ISP (known to work!)

no luck with your ISP servers; it makes my server not be able to connect to anything again

you seem to be missing the fact that the user is trying to run his/her own dns server on which the queried domain name seems to be listed...
the user is adding localhost to check if the dns name is being resolved - is my assumption on this case - appologies if this is wrong - but the member did state he/she was running bind which is a dns service
basics are present enough to be trying to run a dns server otherwise the member would not have tried adding localhost to the resolv.conf file
adding localhost to the /etc/hosts file does not allow dig for example to query your local dns server - i suggest you try to grasp the difference between an entry in /etc/hosts and /etc/resolv.conf when running bind and wanting to check if the dns server is up and running!

edit:
-sorry if this seems a little harsh - but it seems appropriate to me following the posted lines by Dutch Master

Dear ballistic509

i suggest you use 'dig' to test bind or a dns service - for now leave /etc/resolv.conf the way it is supposed to be to work correctly. bind should be running and you can check a dns service using dig without having an entry in your resolv.conf file for your local dns service.

if dig is not installed run 'apt-get install dnsutils'
now:
dig <domainname> @<servername>

it is also very important that you query the address bind is listening on, that iptables is not blocking port 53 udp and of course bind should be running.
if bind is lisstening to 123.456.789.123 (on purpose i chose an invalid ip)
then you need to run dig as follows
this way dig will query 123.456.789.123 for the domain name 3gxlive.com

ISP's dont usually have their dns servers open to all but restricted to their subnets!
that would also explain why it is not working for somebody on another isp's subnet

most commonly isp's will offer dns relays (rather than servers) to their dsl/dial-up/etc clients

ok, this is how its supposed to be:

so thats how i have it while using 'dig'...now this is what dig shows back (ip changed)

and

so ? bind is working - but it is listening to 127.0.0.1
and not your public ip address - which is what others would access your dns server on
so you need to configure bind to listen to your public address

i also hope that bind does not really output 68.186.00.00 but that this is an edit

a little hind if you edit an ip: use x y and i-dont-know-what to make it obviouse: e.g. 68.186.x.y

lol it was an edit..should i post any bind config files so u could see what to change or what? lol...im pretty new to dns

that is fine - just making sure - as a lot of people would no tell you that bind is configured incorrectly and responding with network addresses rather than ip addresses and that you should try to grasp networking first
:-D
but in all honesty what you are doing is good for the beginning and you are heading in the right way.
it is also quite a tough one trying to get your head around bind as it is very complex - i have always avoided bind and reverted to djbdns which is - when handling small numbers of dns names - very simple and easy to understand and setup. i have 2 dns servers running djbdns (tinydns and axfrdns)

just remember to replace ip octals with letters rather than other numbers as it may be confusing to others
esp. for this following job i have for you:

could you post your bind config? (dont forget to edit ip's :-)

if your talkin bout named.conf then here it is: