Internet Troubleshooting

The Internet is actually a huge inter-connected network of computers and routers of varying speeds and accessibility. Consequently, if you are unable to access a site or the site is slow to load, it could be due to one or more of the following items listed below. We give you step by step instructions for determining what the problem is and who to contact about the problem.

  1. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) that you use to connect to the Internet (e.g. AOL, MSN, EarthLink, @Home, AT&T Worldnet, RoadRunner) could be having problems. A successful connection to the Internet does not mean that there aren't problems with the ISP's hardware further down the line.
  2. The site you are trying to reach could be having problems with its connections to the Internet backbone.
  3. The site you are trying to reach could be doing periodic maintenance.
  4. The web server hosting the site you are trying to reach could be having problems.
  5. Interim hardware (computers and routers) between your PC and the site you're trying to reach could be having problems.

Our dedicated server boasts a 99.8% uptime with multiple redundant pathways to the Internet backbone, with continuous monitoring to insure that if one pathway approaches capacity, switching to another pathway occurs. Consequently, if you have problems reaching a site, it may be due to your Internet Service Provider, or one of the other problems listed above. We will help you determine where the problem is and, if applicable, give you the information you need to approach your Internet Service Provider about increasing their capacity or bandwidth.

If you have problems viewing a web site, you can use the following troubleshooting techniques to determine where the problem is:
Trace the route from your computer to the computer you're trying to reach
  1. On your PC, click Start, then click Run from the pop up menu
  2. In the input box, type:
    command and then press the Enter key
  3. This brings up a DOS Window
  4. At the prompt inside the DOS Window, type the following, inserting the name of the site you're trying to reach for domainname.com:
    tracert domainname.com > c:\domainname.txt and then press the Enter key
  5. For example, to run a trace route to DogPack.com, you would type the following and press Enter at the end of your typing:
    tracert DogPack.com > c:\tracer.txt
    Examples for other sites would be:
    tracert greenoaksnorthvets.com > c:\tracer.txt
    tracert paw-licious.com > c:\tracer.txt
    tracert dfwpetportraits.com > c:\tracer.txt
  6. While it's working the command, you won't have a prompt where you can type in the DOS Window. The little underline cursor symbol (_ as shown above) will be blinking. Please be patient... When it comes back to a c:\Windows\Desktop> prompt, it is done with the command. The command creates a file called tracer.txt with the route information.
  7. At this point you can either type exit to close the DOS window (and send the file to us for troubleshooting) or if you're a "do-it-yourselfer", you can continue on with the troubleshooting techniques described below.
  8. Send this file (c:\windows\desktop\tracert.txt) as an email attachment to us or use the instructions below to determine where the bottleneck is.
For "do-it-yourselfers", to determine where the bottleneck is:
  1. Double click on the tracer.txt file created above on your desktop or if you haven't typed exit yet, you can type the following: type tracer.txt
  2. There are a series of numbered lines in this file
  3. Each line is a "hop" from one point to another in the route between your computer and the one you're trying to reach
  4. If all of the millisecond values on these lines are below 300 msec, that's pretty good
  5. If any are either * or above 300 msec, those are causing problems
  6. To find out who owns the router/computer that is causing the problem, make a note of the IP address (e.g. the ###.###.###.###) at the end of the line where the first 300+ msec time or * shows up. In the example above, the problem line is number 3 with an IP address of 24.7.74.69
  7. Then bring up the following site in your browser window:
    http://www.arin.net/whois/index.html
  8. Enter the IP address having the problem
  9. It will return with the owner of that block of IP addresses (e.g. AOL, UUNET, Digital Nation) that first started having problems.
  10. Often, times after the one with problems will be poor, so it is best to concentrate on the first in the series, since that is where the problem started.
  11. Once you determine who "owns" the problem, they need to be e-mailed the tracert file so they can address the problem. In the example above, the problem hardware happened to belong to AT&T's @home network. Therefore, to address the problem the person would have to contact AT&T and give them this file showing the problem.
  12. If your ISP refuses to address the problem, you may want to consider switching ISPs. To see how the various ISPs rate on terms of reliability, uptime, and packet loss, visit http://www.InnateDesigns.com/support/ISPRatings.html
To Monitor A Web Site for 8 Hours (free):
  1. Type the following web site address in your browser or click below:
    http://www.netmechanic.com/monitor.htm
  2. Enter the web site to check (e.g. http://www.DogPack.com, http://www.DFWPetPortraits.com)
  3. Enter your email address so they can send you a free report
How does your Internet Service Provider Rate?
Visit http://www.InnateDesigns.com/support/ISPRatings.html to find out.
Additional Troubleshooting Links
  1. Internet Weather: Is a Storm Brewing? Visit http://www.InternetWeather.com/
  2. Visit the Internet Traffic Report at http://www.InternetTrafficReport.com/index.html