Topic
google problem; any geniuses got a clue?
i'm trying to work out a charming problem my laptop has developed in the last three days.
it won't let me onto any site that begins with google.anything. it lets me go to any site that begins anything.google.
so- maps and mail are ok, but reader and search are not. it took me a day to figure out THAT much.
the problem is uniform across browsers, but unique to that machine. i've cleared my caches and have a list of things i might try tomorrow, but if any of you have any ideas i'd appreciate it.
the poorly behaved machine in question is an oldish dell inpspiron running whatever version of windows came out just before vista. i do not recall having reconfigured anything or updating anything.
since a lot of you guys are smart 'n' everything, i thought i'd ask.
Replies
- I've had the same problem in chrome, but not firefox.
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Sounds like a hosts file problem.
Look for the hosts file in c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\ and open it in Notepad.
In the file, look for a line that says something like
X.X.X.X google.com
where X are numbers. Remove that line, and save the changed file.
You may need to restart the laptop for things to take effect.
If that fixes the problem for you, you should be concerned how the hosts file got changed in the first place. Make sure that you keep Windows updated properly and a thorough virus scan is probably due. -
ok, that seems reasonable enough but when i go to open it in notepad, i get the comments but no actual list of hosts.
what am i missing? -
An empty hosts file (with just comments) is the default so that is fine.
What error do you get when trying Google.com? - I assume you've done the obvious uninstall/reinstall of Google Chrome (MystrCoffee)? Oh and check which version you are using. There is a thread that is pinned in the Bug Forum regarding the most usable version.
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on any site with goole at the beginning of it, i get server is taking to long to respond.
i get this on either chrome or firefox.
and i can't download a new copy of chrome, because you have to go to a page that begins with "google".
i can't use firefox on this machine to visit any site that begins with google.anything. any site NOT beginning with the word google runs just fine.
it is a mystery. -
flask-can you copy the download of google chrome from another computer onto a flash drive and then upload it to your "broke" computer?
Try this link: Google Chrome (should be newest version) -
that might could work, but why would firefox behave the same way? the problem doesn't seem to be in my browser but elsewhere, since the behavior is duplicated in another browser.
maybe i should try yet another browser...
i've also done two virus scans on the machine (different scanners) and it appears to be clean.
update: i can;t access google from safari on this machine either. this machine has decided that it will not google anymore.
now what? - flask-try something for me just for kicks---can you go somewhere and disable your java and then try to get into google? doesn't matter what browser. I'm thinking it may be your comp automatically updated and something isn't playing well with google. Other than that though I am out of ideas.
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where would i disable java?
would i need to uninstall something? - Have you tried www.google.com?
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yes, i have tried www.google.com.
i sort of thought it was understood that i'd actually type the whole thing out, starting with "http" and moving on from there.
the only problematic bit is that any address that has "google" immediately following the "www" is one my laptop won't talk to. addresses in which something like "mail" or "maps" precede the "google" go fine.
but yes, by golly, that "www" is in there.
i keep thinking "i'll just google that and there will be an answer" and of course there isn't because everything on that machine works except for any address that starts "www.google". i am about to throw the damn thing out the window because what i REALLY want to do is lie on the sofa and read my rss feeds in peace. -
Flask-go to your settings page if you can get into this page in Chrome
Then go to the Privacy field and click on the "content settings".
Scroll down to plug-ins.
You should have an option to a highlighted link labeled "Disable Individual Plugins".
Things that are grayed out are already disabled, white are enabled. There is also a plus sign on the right for more info.
Play with the buttons and see if anything works for you. But Java just had a recent update so I wondered if it wasn't playing well in your computer. I have 10.5.1.255
My Google version is 1.3.21.123
Good luck till tomorrow! -
i uninstalled chrome from my machine entirely.
i updated firefox to the latest version, and i have checked my machine for other updates.
i cannot access any google site whose address starts with "google", so there's no doing anything with chrome.
oddly, other search engines not related to google do not have an abundance of information about how to solve google problems.
since the problem is the same across chrome (now uninstalled), safari, firefox (now updated), and explorer, i think it is not a browser problem, but something on my machine.
i cannot for the life of me find what it is on my machine. -
update: i can;t get into the google forums, either.
this is starting to feel vaguely kafka-esque. - Try a different DNS server.
- ok, how do i do that?
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wait, wait, hold on!
you;re a genius!
i think i;m in...
update:i am in . all is well and everything is fixed.
i cannot ever find where these things are taken care of on a windows machine. - Glad it worked.
- YAY Flask! WB!
- you computer nerds... (shakes head)