Can ping router and websites, but cannot load all webpages on Mac OS X 10.6.8

Question

So this peculiar problem has started on my Mac running OS X 10.6.8.

Every time I open Opera/Safari/Google Chrome to surf the web, certain web pages do not open.

Google.com opens after a 20-25 second wait (which is not normal).

If I search for another website like macrumors.com, the page will take a long time to open and then say "Network problem: Check that the address is spelled correctly, or try searching for the site." This problem occurs on both my Mac as well as my iPad. If I go back and refresh the page, the same message will be displayed on screen instantly (it won't attempt to reload the page).

I tried pinging www.google.com and 192.168.1.1 for which my results were:

PING www.l.google.com (209.85.148.147): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 209.85.148.147: icmp_seq=0 ttl=46 time=403.227 ms
64 bytes from 209.85.148.147: icmp_seq=1 ttl=46 time=400.221 ms
64 bytes from 209.85.148.147: icmp_seq=2 ttl=46 time=402.390 ms

and

PING 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.945 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.864 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.834 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.874 ms

Also, I use a DLink wireless modem router (DSL 2750U)

Any ideas what the problem may be?

PS: I do not know how to use terminal properly, so please dumb down the suggestions for me as much as possible :)

Solution

It might be DNS issues..

First, I would try resetting your router and see if that helps.

Second, I would try flushing your local DNS cache-- I only know how to do this from the terminal though:

1. Open Terminal.app (Finder->Applications->Utilities->Terminal)
2. Type the following and press enter (enter your password if prompted): sudo dscacheutil -flushcache

You can also try using Google DNS instead of your ISP's DNS server:

1. Open System Preferences and Then Click the Network icon.
2. Select your active network connection on the left, and then click Advanced
3. Click on the DNS tab
4. In the DNS Servers section, click the [+] button on the lower left
5. Type 8.8.8.8 and press enter
6. Click the [+] again, and type 4.4.4.4 and press enter
7. Click OK and then Apply

Your computer will now use Google's free DNS servers instead of your router/ISP's servers. Test it out, if you still have problems, simply follow the steps above but delete the 8.8.8.8 and 4.4.4.4 entries (highlight each entry and click the [-] button on the lower left). Your computer will return to using the default DNS server.

Comments

[Prat1292]

Thanks for the quick response! I used Google DNS instead of my ISP's DNS server. Worked like a charm! Thanks so much! Appreciate it!

[InChargeOfIT]

@Prat1292 Also, these may or may not be the fastest DNS servers for you. Check out code.google.com/p/namebench. It takes a while to run, but it will give you a nice list of fast DNS servers for your location.

[bwDraco]

Can you explain how you renewed the DHCP lease? As it stands, this answer is not fully usable.

[Burgi]

Can you explain further how you disabled IPv6 on your iMac? Please see How to Answer or take our tour for more information.