we got a macbook a few weeks ago and ever since a lot of sites will refuse to load, instead going to the roadrunner "suggested sites" page, where those links won't load either. i've got a compaq POS that i got a few years ago that works perfectly

we took it to the apple store where it works perfectly, which leads me to believe it's either the router or modem. the router is a belkin that we got less than a year ago, while the modem is an older model from 2004ish. time warner was of course no help, so i guess i'm wondering if there are any known issues with macs and older modems, and if i can just take this one to twc and get a newer model

3/24/2010 9:12:03 PM

dscacheutil -flushcache

run that command in the command line and see if it helps

sounds like the MB has wrong/bad DNS servers. Are you using a VPN of any sort?

3/24/2010 9:25:27 PM

Use limewire? Install any software recently that asked for your admin password (aside from OS updates?) I've seen a few folks with a problem like this and in the advanced section of their network preferences, under the DNS tab, they had some funky russian DNS site in there, that got installed when they tried to install some software they downloaded from limewire.

[Edited on March 24, 2010 at 9:26 PM. Reason : asdf]

3/24/2010 9:26:03 PM

^^ no i don't think so. this thing is pretty much straight out of the box. the apple guy thought that installing quicktime would fix everything, but it didn't. some sites work fine, but random ones don't, and facebook pictures won't load at all

^ yeah there's limewire, but the problems occurred before that was installed. i just checked the dns and it looks normal

[Edited on March 24, 2010 at 9:31 PM. Reason : .]

3/24/2010 9:29:02 PM

Quote :

"the apple guy thought that installing quicktime would fix everything"

Wow, such a genius fix.

3/24/2010 9:45:20 PM

I would seriously like to know what his reasoning was for that.

That sounds about as useful as suggesting you keep your refrigerator door open while browsing.

3/25/2010 8:06:16 AM

apple support is pretty horrible

3/25/2010 9:30:26 AM

Or maybe it's just so GENIUS that you guys don't even get it. Ever think of that? Huh? HUH?

Install QT... WTF?

3/25/2010 9:38:50 AM

Have you tried just plugging it directly into your cable modem? Would be the first thing I would check just to rule that out as a source of the problem.

Just a heads up though when you do this -- after you remove the router from the equation and plug directly into the modem, you will need to unplug your cable modem from the power, then plug it back in. The internet will probably not work for you until you do this.

3/25/2010 10:08:59 AM

Quote :

"apple support is pretty horrible"

In all fairness it's not like MS and PC vendor support is any better.

For that matter, any consumer level support is going to be worthless unless you're paying for some premium level of said support.

3/25/2010 10:39:22 AM

Wait, wait ...

StingrayRush: Are you absolutely sure that you are connecting to your own Wi-Fi and not a neighbor's?

Also, what is the name of your Wi-Fi router when you try to connect to it? What level of security are you using (WEP/WPA)?

[Edited on March 25, 2010 at 10:50 AM. Reason : .]

3/25/2010 10:49:29 AM

Quote :

"In all fairness it's not like MS and PC vendor support is any better. For that matter, any consumer level support is going to be worthless unless you're paying for some premium level of said support. "

true enough i guess, but all my apple support experience has been with their "enterprise" support and its just as bad. Things like a hour on the phone to get a mouse that came with an imac replaced. They just refused to believe that it didn't work with any device but other mice worked fine on the mac it came with. Then they demanded a credit card to put an $80 hold on until they got it back.

For HP or Dell business support thats like a 2 minute email and they respond with the tracking number for your new part.

Dell consumer support is fucking terrible though. They used to be good a long time ago, but they've gone to total shit.

3/25/2010 11:05:23 AM

I just read the title, but have you tried installing Quicktime?

3/25/2010 11:07:21 AM

Quote :

"I would seriously like to know what his reasoning was for that."

3/25/2010 11:33:24 AM

Quote :

"true enough i guess, but all my apple support experience has been with their "enterprise" support and its just as bad. Things like a hour on the phone to get a mouse that came with an imac replaced. They just refused to believe that it didn't work with any device but other mice worked fine on the mac it came with. Then they demanded a credit card to put an $80 hold on until they got it back. For HP or Dell business support thats like a 2 minute email and they respond with the tracking number for your new part. Dell consumer support is fucking terrible though. They used to be good a long time ago, but they've gone to total shit."

Judging by your posts in tech talk and your general negative attitude towards everything, I am not the least bit surprised that you spent an hour on the phone with Apple support. I can completely see the support 'tech' thinking this guy is a dick so I couldn't be bothered to help.

3/25/2010 11:36:46 AM

apple support is shit and if you think otherwise you should probably lay off the koolaid

[Edited on March 25, 2010 at 11:42 AM. Reason : g]

3/25/2010 11:42:00 AM

I've never had a reason to call Apple support, regardless of how shitty they are I believe your exceptional bad experience is due in part to your attitude.

3/25/2010 12:07:03 PM

i never have good luck with any tech support, but apple's has wanted to make me throw my computer through the window several times.

i bought a powerbook back in 2004 along with the applecare. i dropped close to 3k on the computer, so i expected it to be good. out of the box the LCD had a huge cluster of dead pixels, so i took it back within 2 hours of purchasing and the manager of the store said there wasn't enough dead pixels to warrant a replacement. i argued for over 30 minutes and eventually said i was going to deny the charge through american express and leave the laptop there before he finally caved in and gave me a new one.

8 months later the LCD died, and i had to argue with the tech support on the phone. they were convinced that i didn't have the computer plugged in and that i was generally being an idiot. this was with tier 2 support... embarrassing.

after i got the screen replaced, they forgot to reattach the switch (or whatever it is) that senses when the lid is closed to put the unit to sleep. I called apple again and they told me that it wasn't a supported feature with osx tiger, and got to listen to those pretentious assholes tell me how im an idiot for over 2 hours. i still never got it fixed.

the hard drive died twice over the years, and then the whole logic board died. the computer was a total lemon and apple hands down refused to replace it after having me send it in 5 or 6 times.

i dont know what convinced me to buy a new macbookpro last year. i got the best buy warranty instead of apple care because i know at least the geeks at BB won't be pretentious and snobby towards me.

i'd say apple's support is tied with XM radio for the worst service ever. hell i'd rather call comcast than either of those.

3/25/2010 8:27:10 PM

Quote :

"StingrayRush: Are you absolutely sure that you are connecting to your own Wi-Fi and not a neighbor's? Also, what is the name of your Wi-Fi router when you try to connect to it? What level of security are you using (WEP/WPA)?"

yes i'm positive, our network is password protected and automatically logs in, but i've checked that anyway. it's a belkin with WPA security i believe

3/25/2010 8:34:12 PM

Quote :

"i bought a powerbook back in 2004 along with the applecare. i dropped close to 3k on the computer, so i expected it to be good. out of the box the LCD had a huge cluster of dead pixels, so i took it back within 2 hours of purchasing and the manager of the store said there wasn't enough dead pixels to warrant a replacement. i argued for over 30 minutes and eventually said i was going to deny the charge through american express and leave the laptop there before he finally caved in and gave me a new one."

I swear I remember you making a thread about that back in 2004 because that sounds really familiar. lol

Quote :

" 8 months later the LCD died, and i had to argue with the tech support on the phone. they were convinced that i didn't have the computer plugged in and that i was generally being an idiot. this was with tier 2 support... embarrassing. after i got the screen replaced, they forgot to reattach the switch (or whatever it is) that senses when the lid is closed to put the unit to sleep. I called apple again and they told me that it wasn't a supported feature with osx tiger, and got to listen to those pretentious assholes tell me how im an idiot for over 2 hours. i still never got it fixed. the hard drive died twice over the years, and then the whole logic board died. the computer was a total lemon and apple hands down refused to replace it after having me send it in 5 or 6 times. i dont know what convinced me to buy a new macbookpro last year. i got the best buy warranty instead of apple care because i know at least the geeks at BB won't be pretentious and snobby towards me."

I don't quite remember when the first apple store opened locally but I've never had to deal with their phone support so I don't doubt that they are terrible. Phone support anywhere is awful. Although I can say that my many experiences at the genius bar have been very pleasant. So hopefully this time around you'll have a better experience with the genius bar instead of having to phone support.

At the same time, as a tech support person you really don't know what kind of idiot you are dealing with on the phone. My brief time at geeksquad many years ago has shown me that more often than not, the person calling or bringing in their computer is indeed a complete fucktard when it comes to computers.

[Edited on March 25, 2010 at 8:41 PM. Reason : .]

3/25/2010 8:38:00 PM

haha i probably did. its been 6 years and it still really pisses me off i dont forgive and forget easily

my mbp works great though, so im happy again

3/25/2010 8:41:22 PM

^haha its sad that I still remember shit in tech talk from 2004

I've got an issue with my MBP now that Apple is more than willing to fix but I am not more than willing to part with my computer for 5-7 days. So they told me I can bring it in anytime that works for me so they can send it off and have the logic board replaced. The battery status in Mac OS X occasionally says i need to 'service the battery'. A battery test shows that the battery is fine so they think its the logic board. Everything on the computer is normal in terms of battery life, charging, etc so I'm not in too big a hurry to send it off.

[Edited on March 25, 2010 at 8:44 PM. Reason : .]

3/25/2010 8:42:27 PM

Quote :

"Have you tried just plugging it directly into your cable modem? Would be the first thing I would check just to rule that out as a source of the problem. Just a heads up though when you do this -- after you remove the router from the equation and plug directly into the modem, you will need to unplug your cable modem from the power, then plug it back in. The internet will probably not work for you until you do this."

actually just tried that and i couldn't get it to work

the modem is an rca digital broadband dcm425 and looks like this:



[Edited on March 25, 2010 at 8:47 PM. Reason : .]

3/25/2010 8:43:22 PM

ok i think i may've gotten it worked out. i did some searching and apparently there's two open dns addresses that i tried inputting, which seemed to do the trick. i'd never really heard of that before so didn't know i should be looking for them

3/26/2010 6:51:23 AM