Windows 2000 Quick Fixes

Can’t connect to certain sites on the Internet

The ability to connect to some sites but not to others generally indicates a problem on the Internet backbone, heavily trafficked sites, or simply a site that is down for some reason. However, local factors could prevent you from reaching certain sites. The first step is to try to determine where the problem is occurring.

Trace the route to determine the point of failure

You can use the tracert command to test connectivity to a remote site. tracert sends out test packets with steadily incrementing time-to-live (ttl) values. Each gateway decrements the ttl value by 1. When the packet’s ttl reaches zero, the remote router returns an ICMP Time Exceeded packet back to your computer. Subsequent packets make it one hop further before being timed out. The result is a table showing each hop. When the packets stop returning, you’ve identified the router where the problem exists.

You use tracert in much the same way you use ping, either with an IP address or host name, such as:

               tracert www.cnn.com

Check for proxy or firewall blocks

If you are able to connect to and use certain sites but not others, and a tracert to the sites fails at your local network, the problem could be the way your firewall or proxy server is configured—certain traffic might not be allowed. Check with your system administrator to help resolve the problem.