NE1 Here Speak "Log-ese"?

[GITANAJAVA]

I was having difficulty yesterday surfing the wwwave, despite the fact all systems appeared to be AOK: three-four bars of signal strength, trusted Wi-Fi locations I've used frequently before, etc.

At my first location, used just the night previous without any issues, I had full signal, Safari booted up w/o problems, but neither Google or Yahoo or anything would load. On Safari page, URL stayed highlighted in orange for up to ten minutes (!) before I'd receive the customary dropdown flag about "cannot contact [website]". I tried all my quick-fix tricks -- cleared the cache/reset Safari/restart/turn Airport off & on from Internet Connect/close lid, wait 30 seconds, and wake from Sleep mode, etc. -- all the procedures that have usually solved this issue in the past.

I moved across town to another trusted Wi-Fi location. Initially, no problems: four bars of signal, Safari opened immediately, and Google, etc. loaded without hesitation. When I moved from the patio to indoors at the same location, the above issue recurred but with a new wrinkle -- when I clicked on the Safari icon in my dock, it bounced 46 times (yes, I counted!) before opening, then from that point on the situation was identical to above paragraph.

In desperation, I relocated to a THIRD, less well-known Wi-Fi site and the problems vanished as though I'd imagined it all. Grrrrr!

I've tiffed these entries from the system log, searched by day and time as well as by phrases that seemed to me, the untutored newbie, to be significant or interesting.

If anyone here can translate what these log entries mean, please do, but use small, easy words. Any pertinent insights or help is appreciated. Mad Jew, if you're out there, speak, O Wise One

 

[GITANAJAVA]

Hello, Ev1

With all the wise, well-written minds I've encountered here at MR, surely someone can translate these logs? Perhaps you're all at dinner? Too timid to answer? The data can't be interpreted in simple language (because, yes, I am blonde AND a newbie)?

Until I check back in, my best to all, and 'Ta for your assistance

 

[jeremy.king]

I assume these are third party Wifi networks? So trying to debug those would be near impossible. Seems what you experienced is a DNS lookup problem (way of mapping a domain name to an IP address), and that would be the ISP controlling those wireless access points and nothing to do with your machine.

Next time you experience this, try accessing sites by IP instead of by domain name.

Apple - http://17.254.3.183
Google - http://64.233.167.99
Yahoo - http://68.142.226.34
CNN - http://64.236.29.120

 

[G99]

How did you get those IP addresses?

 

[jeremy.king]

How did you get those IP addresses?

in terminal...pick your poison

nslookup <domainname>
dig <domainname>
host <domainname>

examples

nslookup www.yahoo.com
dig www.google.com
host www.cnn.com

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Here's a couple you could try:
http://17.254.0.91/
http://64.233.167.99/

Edit: Way too slow... I need to open less tabs...

 

[G99]

I like that
I'm going off to ping some people now...Lol

 

[mad jew]

My two biggest worries are the fact you URL bar went orange, not blue, and the fact Safari wouldn't initially start up. The network issues, as others have said, are almost impossible to troubleshoot because of all the unknown quantities: the ISP and the router configuration.

Now, do you have a theme changer installed that might have made your URL bar orange? This doesn't worry me greatly, but it's a bit disconcerting.

As for Safari bouncing 46 times, if it happens again, turn AirPort off and try to open it. I wonder whether it's a network issue or a Safari issue. The fact you reset Safari makes me think that it's probably a network issue which sucks because it quite possibly can't be fixed from our end.

Now, you may need to contact the WiFi admin about a possible proxy PAC file. This is probably the first thing I'd do.

 

[monkeydo_jb]

I'm going off to ping some people now...Lol

You know that's illegal, right?

 

[GITANAJAVA]

My two biggest worries are the fact you URL bar went orange, not blue, and the fact Safari wouldn't initially start up. The network issues, as others have said, are almost impossible to troubleshoot because of all the unknown quantities: the ISP and the router configuration.

Now, do you have a theme changer installed that might have made your URL bar orange? This doesn't worry me greatly, but it's a bit disconcerting.

As for Safari bouncing 46 times, if it happens again, turn AirPort off and try to open it. I wonder whether it's a network issue or a Safari issue. The fact you reset Safari makes me think that it's probably a network issue which sucks because it quite possibly can't be fixed from our end.

Now, you may need to contact the WiFi admin about a possible proxy PAC file. This is probably the first thing I'd do.

Hello, MadJ!

Thanks for mentioning turning Airport on/off; in the process I described earlier for problem-solving this, that is definitely one of the steps I include. BTW, I do it from Internet Connect; it may be an illusion, but when I use that screen/menu/whatever-its-called (the left-to-right thingy with vertical blue bars), I feel like I'm getting a more accurate and informative read on signal strength.

Don't know what a theme changer is, so I don't know if I have one or not!?! From Day 1, my URL's in Safari either start out with a white background (when clicked) and then go blue or if the connect is super slow, orange background for a bit, then white, then blue and happy connection-time. If the orange background stays, no connection, just that irritating and disappointing "can't get there from here" dropdown.

What is "possible proxy PAC file"?

More confusion The mention someone made about using a different IP (they included references to possible alternatives and pinging and......) -- what do you mean, how do I do it from the Wi-Fi locations I'm at (which as I mentioned, have normally been problem free)?

Today, all systems are go, as if I'd imagined it all.

Thanks, everyone for your input so far, it has helped. If nothing else, you've helped me understand a little better what I can or can't do to solve this from my side of the equation. Maybe we can continue the dialogue until I have a better grasp on your ideas and suggestions?

 

[StarbucksSam]

I am sorry - I speak some French, a tiny bit of Spanish, pig latin and fluent jibberish, but this looks far, far more complicated.

 

[mad jew]

...my URL's in Safari either start out with a white background (when clicked) and then go blue or if the connect is super slow, orange background for a bit, then white, then blue and happy connection-time. If the orange background stays, no connection, just that irritating and disappointing "can't get there from here" dropdown.

That's strange. I've never noticed this.

What is "possible proxy PAC file"?

Effectively it's a file that stores some settings for your connection. I find most WiFi spots don't have such a file but it might be worthwhile asking the admin just in case. Generally speaking, places that need a specific PAC file will direct you to it when you open your preferred browser for the first time on their network.

More confusion The mention someone made about using a different IP (they included references to possible alternatives and pinging and......) -- what do you mean, how do I do it from the Wi-Fi locations I'm at (which as I mentioned, have normally been problem free)?

Basically all you have to worry about is clicking on one of the numbers mentioned earlier. It's an alternative method for reaching a web site and sometimes if there's a set up error, it will work but the regular URL will not.

Today, all systems are go, as if I'd imagined it all.

That's great news. For the moment, I wouldn't change anything because we don't want it to stop working. However, if this all happens again you can start by asking the network administrator if there are any special settings you need to know and failing that, you can try one of the IP addresses mentioned earlier.

 

[GITANAJAVA]

....Effectively it's a file that stores some settings for your connection. I find most WiFi spots don't have such a file but it might be worthwhile asking the admin just in case. Generally speaking, places that need a specific PAC file will direct you to it when you open your preferred browser for the first time on their network....For the moment, I wouldn't change anything because we don't want it to stop working. However, if this all happens again you can start by asking the network administrator if there are any special settings you need to know and failing that, you can try one of the IP addresses mentioned earlier.

Are you referring here (see boldface) to admins at the Wi-Fi spots? If so, I'd be lucky to find anyone at most free Wi-Fi hotspots who even know where the off/on switch is for their system, much less how it works! Scarier still, of the places I travel here and globally for my work, I'm often the resident expert at the hotspots when it comes to using Wi-Fi, Airport, Apple/Mac.

Maybe you mean admins at the IP?

As always, you're spot on with your other advice and explanations-- I don't plan on changing anything, unless/until the problem recurs. Thanks, too, for the stick-figure diagram explaining the IP idea that had been suggested.

 

[mad jew]

Yeah, I was hoping the free WiFi spots might have administrators, but apparently not.

 

[GITANAJAVA]

While we're on the topic of free Wi-Fi Hotspots....

I appreciate JiWire and their "find a Wi-Fi hotspot anywhere" service (http://www.jiwire.com/); it could only be better if they included, along with the other details, some information about who users can contact or ask for at a hotspot as the "responsible party in charge", i.e., the network admin. No such luck!