Firepox cannot find server

[arclight]

Running 2 pc's with Firefox 13.0.1.
W7 on one PC and XP on the other.
Both PC's use AVG anti-malware etc. and Windows firewall. Both connect to the internet via the same router.

Getting an occasional identical problem on both PC's:-

Click on some websites (BBC is a common one) and get the message "Firefox cannot find the server at www. etc etc".
When I then click on the Try Again button I unfaillingly connect.

Any ideas, folks.

Thanks,
Dougie

 

[joxby]

Used to do that a lot, never did track it down but I did suspect my modem/router & AVG, it appears to block traffic when updating...:shrug:

Anyway, I have moved house, and from Virgin to some ****** BT wet string....it might be slow but the same pc's running the same software on a BT modem/router, does not suffer with that "can't find server" problem that it did on the Virgin gear.

 

[arclight]

Used to do that a lot, never did track it down but I did suspect my modem/router & AVG, it appears to block traffic when updating...:shrug:

Anyway, I have moved house, and from Virgin to some ****** BT wet string....it might be slow but the same pc's running the same software on a BT modem/router, does not suffer with that "can't find server" problem that it did on the Virgin gear.

Thanks John, your explanation seems plausible and would explain why it does not happen all the time (I use Virgin).
Google search shows it was common back in the days of Firefox 3 and a few subsequent versions.
New versions of Firefox appear about as often as rain now and I tend not to update until there has been time for the bugs to get sorted out.

 

[Yellowbelly]

Try using Open DNS instead of Virgin's servers. If there is an error in the name resolving process then you will get intermittent faults such as this. I had a similar problem with AOL. Moving to Open DNS sorted it.

 

[neil_g]

Virgins routing can be a POS.

Also as above try opendns or google (8.8.8.8 ) dns servers and see if it improves. Otherwise welcome to virgins roll a 6 to start Internet service.. Lol

 

[arclight]

Cheers.

 

[joxby]

Google search shows it was common back in the days of Firefox 3 and a few subsequent versions.
New versions of Firefox appear about as often as rain now and I tend not to update until there has been time for the bugs to get sorted out.

Ruled out browsers very early on, its not FF.

If its any use I was using a NetGear wireless router and Virgins modem, I forget what that was but it was only a little thing, bout the size of a pack of fags, resetting the router didn't cure it, I had to reset both, and then it was ok for a while.
This does not put the router in the clear though, unfortunately.

 

[arclight]

Ruled out browsers very early on, its not FF.

If its any use I was using a NetGear wireless router and Virgins modem, I forget what that was but it was only a little thing, bout the size of a pack of fags, resetting the router didn't cure it, I had to reset both, and then it was ok for a while.
This does not put the router in the clear though, unfortunately.

Thomson Speedtouch modem, perhaps? I had one of those prior to getting a router.

I have a Netgear router supplied by Virgin which was all set up and ready to plug in and go - which it did without any trouble. Everything has been fine until a couple of weeks ago when this occasional problem appeared on both PC's. I am tempted to suspect that an AVG update may have brought it about.