Connection Issues

When I got my MacBook Pro some months ago I brought it home and everything worked perfectly. I could connect to the internet with no issue. Around Christmas when trying to online shop I had a really hard time getting pages to load. Now a couple months later it has gotten even worse. Besides my MacBook Pro I also have a desktop Sony and a Gateway laptop. My DSL modem is connected through my desktop (through an ethernet?). I took my MacBook into the Apple store and they ran all diagnostics and ping tests and all came back normal. It also worked great with the store's wifi. At home it is a different story. I try to load a webpage and most times I get "Safari can't open the page....""..because ther server unexpectedly dropped the connection. This sometimes occurs when the server is busy. Wait a few minutes and then try again". I also sometimes get a "Server timeout" page.

My desktop computer and other laptop (both non Macs) connect just fine. After perusing the net for possible solutions I did a few things to which none worked. I changed DNS servers numbers on both my router and my Macbook and didn't help. I disabled IPv6 on both my Mac and router. I cleared all caches, cookies, histories on my Macbook. I changed the channel on my router in case there was some outside interference. Nothing has helped! I even typed in a scary sudo code in my terminal since I was at my wits end. The code being: sudo sysctl -w net.inet.tcp.rfc1323=0. When I did the code it did seem to load google really quickly but that only lasted a minute or so and then I was back to pages not loading.

Most of the time when I do ping check I get 100% packet loss. I have Firefox and it will also not load pages.

I have a NetGear router (54 mbps) WGR614v6 and I have to highest possible DSL connection my ISP (SBC Yahoo) provides.

Where do I go from here?

In case this was caused by a software update I went into my "Installed Updates" and here is what I found:
12/6/09:
iPhoto Update
iTunes
Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 5
Security Update 2009-006
iWork '09 Update 3
Safari
iMovie Update
Performance Update

If it was caused by one of these updates (like Java or Safari) how do I go about getting them to their version prior to that update?

It appears to be a DNS problem. What DNS servers did you change to, and how did you change the DNS settings?

Also... if you're getting a 100% packet loss during a PING test, that could be an ISP problem. Have you contacted them for assistance?

Regards.

to which none worked. I changed DNS servers numbers on both my router and my Macbook and didn't help

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As chscag suggests, that could be part of your problem. Did u use the DNS numbers for your ISP in Sys prefs/Network/Airport like this.
If u are on DSL then u may be better changing this back to this;


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If u download the combo updater here you may find that the Network DNS numbers are added automatically.
Then i would set up a location, like this, for home and one for another place if u use it often and then you can leave Automatic for roaming.

Tony, I had a very similar problem to you. For the longest time I thought it was my MB with Snow Leopard, since other computers worked fine when my computer was closed, and all MS products could connect regardless.

The problem ended up being both with my ISP and my router. I had the exact same Netgear router as you. It hadn't give me much trouble for over three years. But I was told by my ISP that they were upgrading all the lines and advising everyone to get wireless N routers. So, I picked up a Linksys WRT160n on the recommendation of someone here. Once it's all set up, everything works perfectly. Your router is just probably showing its age. Get a new one.

Thanks. I am gonna purchase that router. I haven't been able to use my MacBook in two weeks. I pray the new router works. Fingers crossed.

Janus 006 said:

Tony, I had a very similar problem to you. For the longest time I thought it was my MB with Snow Leopard, since other computers worked fine when my computer was closed, and all MS products could connect regardless.

The problem ended up being both with my ISP and my router. I had the exact same Netgear router as you. It hadn't give me much trouble for over three years. But I was told by my ISP that they were upgrading all the lines and advising everyone to get wireless N routers. So, I picked up a Linksys WRT160n on the recommendation of someone here. Once it's all set up, everything works perfectly. Your router is just probably showing its age. Get a new one.

Click to expand...

Same thing happened to me. I actually had the exact router as the OP and ended up buying a Linksys WRT160n and everything works like a charm now.