Problems Loading Webpages on AirPort with New Macbook

jmick15 · May 12, 2007

Let me preface this post (my first) by saying that I am completely unfamiliar with Macs. I have been using PCs my entire life, and while I consider myself to be pretty computer savvy, I have felt a bit lost for the past 72 hours since I've bought my new black Macbook (upgraded to 2 GB RAM, all other specs standard).

So to the problem. I am currently connecting to my home wireless network via AirPort. I did not have any trouble detecting the network or accessing it once I've entered the WPA encryption key.

The problem occurs while I'm surfing the net. I will surf for around 5 minutes without any problems whatsoever (pages load quickly), when all of a sudden I will navigate to a new page and it will not load. Typically one section of blue will appear in the address bar, and then it will just stop completely. It doesn't even continuing loading at an extremely slow rate, it just stops.

So far this has been happening consistently every 5-10 minutes as I'm surfing, and needless to say is very frustrating. It seems like I can fix the problem by turning the AirPort off and then back on immediately, at which point the page will load, almost as if it is just picking up where it left off.

I don't think it has anything to do with the wireless network, as the wireless indicator always shows an excellent signal being detected, even as the pages stop loading. Also, my HP laptop connected to the same wireless will continue loading without issue as my Macbook stops.

I've seen a ton of posts on various forums re: wireless issues with the new MB and MBP, but none seem to be exactly what I'm experiencing (i.e. I can connect no problem, I can stay connected no problem [at least according to the wireless indicator], and my pages load quickly....they just happen to stop loading every 5 minutes or so).

As I'm new to Macs to begin with, I'm not even really sure where I'd begin to look to troubleshoot this problem. Any feedback, advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks vey much.

dtravis7 · May 12, 2007

Just as a test, can you hard wire the Macbook to the router and see if it still pauses like that? Just trying to see if it's the WiFi or a networking issue on the Macbook.

jmick15 · May 12, 2007

Unfortunately I actually don't have any cords with me where I'm staying this weekend so I can't do this to narrow down the potential issue.

Would the fact that my other PC computers are running on the WiFi and working fine not be a sufficient indicator that it isn't a problem with the WiFi (i.e. is it possible that PCs working with the WiFi does not necessarily mean that the Mac is working with the WiFi)?

Sorry to be stuck without any ethernet cords to try this, but any other sensible starting points at which to begin troubleshooting?

dtravis7 · May 12, 2007

This really has me stumped at the moment since it does work and just freezes every few minutes. I have not had that issue ever with any of my laptops both Mac and PC. I will do some searching around and get back to you if I can find anything.

jmick15 · May 12, 2007

That'd be great. Sorry I can't pinpoint the problem further, but this issue seems very strange to me to me also as I've never seen it before. I've had to copy and paste the past two posts because when I go to publish them it freezes, haha!

Thanks again though, I appreciate the help.

Darker Times · May 16, 2007

Hi

I have just posted a similar problem on this forum. I have an iMac which is on a wireless Netgear router. I have exactly the same problem as you. I can be surfing away happily, then suddenly the thing stops. If I click on a link, the address appears in the address bar, then the blue progress bar fills up about an inch of the space then just stops. This is really annoying. If I click on the Airport symbol and turn Airport off, then back on again, the router jumps back into life and all is well for the next few minutes.
A kindly reply to my post advised me to go into "DHCP network settings & configure an IP and DNS address manually". As I have not quite figured out how to do this (or even what it means) I can not say whether this works or not, but if I find the answer to this problem, I will let you know.

dtravis7 · May 16, 2007

Darker Times said:
Hi

I have just posted a similar problem on this forum. I have an iMac which is on a wireless Netgear router. I have exactly the same problem as you. I can be surfing away happily, then suddenly the thing stops. If I click on a link, the address appears in the address bar, then the blue progress bar fills up about an inch of the space then just stops. This is really annoying. If I click on the Airport symbol and turn Airport off, then back on again, the router jumps back into life and all is well for the next few minutes.
A kindly reply to my post advised me to go into "DHCP network settings & configure an IP and DNS address manually". As I have not quite figured out how to do this (or even what it means) I can not say whether this works or not, but if I find the answer to this problem, I will let you know.

The OP did not have cables so he could not try this, but if you can, plug in your iMac to the router with Cat-5 Cable. See if a wired connection does that same pausing or not going to pages after 5 minutes or so. Report back.

Darker Times · May 16, 2007

Hi dtravis7

I have connected my iMac using the ethernet cable that came with the router (I have had a mad searching session, and have found the cable at last). I have used the iMac for about 10 minutes, constantly clicking around, and all the pages have loaded OK - no sign of the previous problem.
On the other thread I posted, I did mention trying this, but I could not lay hands on the Cat5...until now. Do I now assume that it is the Airport Card that is faulty, or is it a case of not having correct settings?

Apologies to jmick15....I did not mean to highjack your thread, but hopefully this will help us both.

maxxam · Nov 27, 2008

pause loading safari

Im also experiencing the same problem on my macbook when loading pages on safari, there is a pause on the blue bar at the beginning and sometimes just at the end, pause ranges from 2 to 8 sec and sometimes stays frozen, as soon as l press refresh page loads instantly. My router is a Netgear DG834G V3 (latest firmware), l have 2 other laptop pcs with windows xp installed and both run perfect on wireless with fast web browsing. The pause happens intermittently..... some of the posts say it is because of a dns setting, macbook always searching for this setting??? l think this problem began to occur when l did all the updates...... somebody help!!!!!! or this thing is going on ebay and sticking to the blue screen of windows lol......

wxman2003 · Nov 27, 2008

I had the same problem. My pc is hooked up to cable broadbrand through my wireless router via an ethernet cable. When my pc is on, I have occasional problems with my MB loading pages wirelessly. When I turn my pc off, my MB works fine with no delays whatsover. Trying turning off all the pc's and see if you still have the problem.