I can ping but not surf

allelopath · 01-07-2007, 07:15 PM

I am installing a new linux system (debian etch). I can, for example, ping www.altavista.com, but I cannot surf to it in firefox (it times out). What do I need to do?

chrisortiz · 01-07-2007, 07:47 PM

edit your /etc/resolv.conf file and add in a dns server. Sounds like you are using a static IP address, or your dhcp server is not configured to give out dns information.
here is a sample resolv.conf

Code:

nameserver 192.168.1.1
search myrouter.local

allelopath · 01-07-2007, 08:07 PM

I should have mentioned that I have a home network with a NAT. Outside the modem, the world sees a static ip. Inside each machine is 192.168.0.x. I changed the domain name in resolv.conf to the correct one. This allowed apt-get to work over the network, but did not fix the surfing.

IBall · 01-08-2007, 12:21 AM

Did you add an entry in resolv.conf for your router like chrisortiz said?

Can you visit this site - 66.102.7.147 (One of Google's IP addresses)?

This sounds like a DNS issue to me.

--Ian

amitsharma_26 · 01-08-2007, 03:19 AM

If you can ping & cannot browse(i donot find it a dns issue), the issue lies either in the configuration of your browser or with any firewall which stand in the middle or your router's firewall or your own box NATing or any non-default firewall at your own box.

allelopath · 01-08-2007, 09:25 AM

Since I can ping www.altavista.com (or www.google.com), I thought it was not a DNS issue.
I can surf to 66.102.7.147
Maybe the firewall between the browser and my router's firewall is on (as amit suggests)
How do I access the firewall in gnome?
It doesn't appear that I have gnome-lokkit or shorewall installed.

chrisortiz · 01-08-2007, 05:42 PM

you are absolutely right, if you can ping domain names, then dns is functioning. This only leaves 2 possibilities, port 80 is blocked, or firefox is set up wrong. I would go with firefox being set up wrong, since it is the most common. go to Edit > preferences > General > connection settings and select automatic proxy configuration. save then reload firefox.

To check and see if port 80 is blocked open up a console and type

Code:

links http://www.google.com

links is a console based web browser

Wim Sturkenboom · 01-09-2007, 01:49 AM

OP can surf by ip-address, so port 80 is not blocked.

allelopath · 01-09-2007, 10:47 AM

The links command shows a primitive version of the google page

More info:
I had firefox set to "Direct connection to the internet". Changing it to automatic had no effect.
I can surf to www.google.com (or anywhere) using Konqueror

chrisortiz · 01-09-2007, 02:55 PM

have you tried manually installing a newer version of firefox?

allelopath · 01-09-2007, 04:01 PM

No. Currently, it is firefox v 1.5.0.7
How do you suppose a newer version will fix the problem?

chrisortiz · 01-09-2007, 07:28 PM

well, since you can use another browser and get to websites, it isolates the problem to firefox. Have you tried using firefox with a different user?

allelopath · 01-09-2007, 10:44 PM

The problem occurs with firefox, opera, and epiphany. Only Konqueror has worked thus far. I thought I had mentioned this, but I see now that I hadn't. My bad. The problem occurs for boot the root user and a 'regular' user I have created.

chrisortiz · 01-11-2007, 12:00 AM

hmm, so how do opera, firefox and epiphany treat dns resolution requests differently compared to konqueror?
i wonder if they require a domain name...
try

Code:

domainname local

it should put you in the domain .local. Since .local is reserved for private use it won't affect anything, unless you happen to have purchased a domain. In which case you've probably already set a name and should ignore this.

Code:

cat /etc/HOSTNAME

will verify your hostname and domain name

allelopath · 01-11-2007, 10:04 AM

The problem was that the resolv.conf was being written over at reboot.
I have changed to a static ip and used the package resolvconf and now all works.
Thanks for you help.