I need to press Ctrl before I can reach a new site

When I am on the internet, I find that (almost - but not quite) every site I want to reach is unobtainable , and I am offered "connection diagnostics ".
But if I press Ctrl and refresh , I ( usually) get there.
Although even when I do, it's slow.
It's OK that Google tell me that the search took 0.1435 seconds - it takes two minutes before it tells me that !

Something wrong somehwre , I guess - but what ?

 

Hi Geoff,

It could be an ISP issue or malware on your system. Since you have a cable connection and in the UK can I assume you are with Virgin Media?

Try pings and tracerts to www.google.co.uk and bbc.co.uk and post the results, instructions below are for XP but I'd imagine Windows 7 is similar (another member will direct you if not)

To ping Start->Run->CMD

PING www.google.co.uk

To tracert (Trace route) Start->Run->CMD

tracert www.google.co.uk

 

Hi Geof,

Opps, I was typing at the same time as Wildfire. Follow Wildfire advice and keep my post, below, in mind, in case it rings a bell.

Pressing the ctrl key and link combo usually means you are overiding something hooked into browser. I am familiar with this key combo as a popup blocker over ride but depending on browser and it's, addons, download managers, or some application that you may have running, this over ride keyboard combo will apply to that.

Ctrl + F5 also indicates you may have a cache problem. Check this browser setting. Try to empty or delete cache. This tool I find handy: (please read carefully):
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/TFC-Temp-File-Cleaner-OldTimer-file187.html

Or a kinder gentler temp clean:
ATF cleaner
http://www.atribune.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=25

CrapCleaner
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner
----------------------

I'd start with the browser popup blocker setting.

What is your chosen browser?

What happens when you just click on a link with out using ctrl key?

 

This is a reply to the message from Wildfire; I will look again at your message GOddez, later...

First, my apologies- my profile was wrongly completed- I don't have cable; I thought I was indicating that I used a LAN cable rather than wireless to connect to the router.

I did the Ping for google , and got :-
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Geoffrey>PING www.google.co.uk

Pinging www-tmmdi.l.google.com [66.102.9.103] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 66.102.9.103: bytes=32 time=84ms TTL=51
Reply from 66.102.9.103: bytes=32 time=78ms TTL=51
Reply from 66.102.9.103: bytes=32 time=79ms TTL=51
Reply from 66.102.9.103: bytes=32 time=81ms TTL=51

Ping statistics for 66.102.9.103:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 78ms, Maximum = 84ms, Average = 80ms.

Then I did the tracert and got :-
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Geoffrey>PING www.google.co.uk

Pinging www-tmmdi.l.google.com [66.102.9.103] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 66.102.9.103: bytes=32 time=84ms TTL=51
Reply from 66.102.9.103: bytes=32 time=78ms TTL=51
Reply from 66.102.9.103: bytes=32 time=79ms TTL=51
Reply from 66.102.9.103: bytes=32 time=81ms TTL=51

Ping statistics for 66.102.9.103:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 78ms, Maximum = 84ms, Average = 80ms

C:\Users\Geoffrey>

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Geoffrey>tracert www.google.co.uk

Tracing route to www-tmmdi.l.google.com [66.102.9.103]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 43 ms 38 ms 42 ms 192.168.0.1
2 59 ms 37 ms 40 ms 92.27.64.1
3 55 ms 87 ms 39 ms gig-14-1-4005-rtr001.thn.opaltelecom.net [62.24.
254.234]
4 41 ms 41 ms 40 ms 62.24.254.211
5 57 ms 70 ms 40 ms xe-8-0-0-rt002.bre.as13285.net [78.151.225.45]
6 42 ms 41 ms 43 ms xe-11-2-0-rt001.the.as13285.net [62.24.240.13]
7 38 ms 42 ms 42 ms host-78-144-0-194.as13285.net [78.144.0.194]
8 39 ms 39 ms 41 ms xe-11-3-0-scr010.thn.as13285.net [78.144.0.119]

9 46 ms 52 ms 46 ms google-pp-thn.as13285.net [78.144.3.2]
10 36 ms 44 ms 41 ms 64.233.175.27
11 76 ms 79 ms 82 ms 209.85.250.216
12 52 ms 82 ms 80 ms 72.14.232.235
13 61 ms 81 ms 82 ms 64.233.174.14
14 84 ms 81 ms 80 ms lm-in-f103.1e100.net [66.102.9.103]

Trace complete.

I look forward to hearing what this reveals.

 

Post script.
Using my laptop, I found the same thing this morning; suggesting that it is not PC or laptop hardware or software problem, but maybe router ?
I recently- last week- as per a thread somewhere here ( marked resolved) had problems which I thought I had solved when I did a firmware upgrade on the router - but perhaps this is a residual problem with the same thing and it is a new router needed ?

 

Can you remove the router out of the equation (temporarily) or is it a combined ADSL Modem Router?

If you are able to take the router out and try using the internet again. BTW what model router is it (there may be some security features interfering)?

 

No, I can't take the router out ( I think ? ) .
It's a Netgear DG834pn - which has been in use for maybe 18 months (?) and the problems here are quite recent.

 

I have both IE8 and Firefox 3.6.3.
When I used the link in your message Steve, it opened up Firefox, but I couldn't get the BBS site whatever I did.
I opened up IE8 , went to BBS - this time without difficulty , and am using it for this reply.

 

I am sorry if I confused you ; I meant the link in your e-mail message, which should take me direct to the right place in this site.

I had not, previously, made the changes you suggest - simply replied to the question.... which browser...

Now I have made the change, and tried half a dozen links in e-mails - all worked well. It just could be that this is resolved - but I'll defer until I have done some work, now piled up on my desk, and see if it works each time I need it.

Thanks in the meantime !

 

No, its back again this morning.

I am going to follow up on Goddez1's suggestions now- of cleaning out what I hope is only junk...

 

Still stuck.

I have used TFC - no difference.

It took me half a dozen trys to get to WindowsBBS. In fact I gave up, and tried my laptop ( where I had not used TFC or anything else). That too gave me "page unobtainable" when I tried WindowsBBS, so I came back to my PC, tried again. got <unobtainable> , held down CTRL and refresh, and this time made the connection.

I think I've run out of suggestions ?

 

As I said in No 11, I have done that - set to "every time I visit "...
currently ( can't understand this) I cannot get to WindowsBBS site at all,on my PC.

However, I can -after two or three tries, get to another page I look at often ( local weather - which is quite a useful one to test out since it is updated every few hours, so I know whether or not I am looking at cache) . I can get there on the PC, but not to this site ( I am using the laptop now).