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shifuimam · Jul 23, 2009, 06:52 PM

I'm running Leopard on a network controlled by a DD-WRT-flashed WRT54G.

For some bizarro reason, DNS craps out on my Mac - just my Mac, and just this particular Mac. It just stops going to whatever sites it feels like it doesn't want to load anymore - such as yahoo, gmail, blogger.com, etc. I tried flushing the DNS, and that didn't do anything. Thus far, the only semi-reliable solution I've found is to put it on the DMZ, go to the site I'm trying to visit, and take it out of the DMZ.

This doesn't appear to be a problem with the router, given that every other machine on the network can get to the sites I'm trying to visit, and the router isn't configured to do anything janky with the Mac's IP/MAC address. Plus, I'm in the DMZ right now, and I still can't get to certain sites (or ping them via the terminal).

It's driving me crazy - any ideas?

Also...

I finally got my hands on an Asante AsanteTalk Ethernet/LocalTalk bridge for my Macintosh Classic (currently running 7.5.4). AppleTalk is enabled on my LAN connection on my PowerMac (running Leopard), and I have everything set up (I think!) on the Macintosh for file sharing. However, I can't see either machine on the other. I really know nothing about AppleTalk, so I don't even know where to begin troubleshooting this. I'm going to post on a 68k Mac users forum, but I figured I'd ask here, too.

I also have an HP LaserJet 2100tn (which means it has a JetDirect card) and have enabled EtherTalk, yet I still can't see it on either of my Macs as an AppleTalk printer (it does show up on my PowerMac as a normal networked printer).

BLAZE_MkIV · Jul 23, 2009, 09:10 PM

I thought I read there was a backwards compatibility issue with OS X's AppleTalk with older OSs. If only I remembered where I read it.

http://lowendmac.com/newsrev/05/0506.html#2

ghporter · Jul 23, 2009, 09:48 PM

I'd like to know how the network options on this problem Mac are set up. I'd go with manually entered DNS server addresses and see if that fixes it. Use OpenDNS addresses-it's a great way to speed things up too.

CharlesS · Jul 23, 2009, 11:49 PM

Is this going through the wireless router? If that's the case, that could be the problem. AppleTalk isn't IP-based, so any router that only routes IP packets isn't going to route AppleTalk. I think that later versions of the classic Mac OS did support AppleTalk over IP, but I don't think 7.5.5 had that.

The funny thing is that I used to have a WRT54G that actually did route AppleTalk, although it wasn't supposed to according to Linksys or according to information on the Internet. However, it worked fine, and it was weird. However, if you're running some custom firmware, all bets are off.

I'd try connecting the two Macs directly together and see if it works then. If it does, it's probably the router.

shifuimam · Jul 24, 2009, 09:39 AM

According to the DD-WRT forums and wiki, the firmware does route AppleTalk packets. I found a tutorial on System 7 Today that uses a piece of software to translate between AppleTalk and TCP/IP. I'm going to try and see if that works.

The PowerMac and Macintosh are both connected to the router - the PowerMac is on a gigabit switch (which is connected to a LAN port on the router), and the Macintosh is connected directly to one of the LAN ports on the WRT54G.

I'll try connecting directly between the two with a crossover cable and see what happens. I know that I can somehow load the netatalk Linux AppleTalk package onto the DD-WRT, but I haven't tried that yet.

OS X is supposed to be able to function as an AppleTalk router and create AppleTalk zones - has anyone tried this? My attempts so far have failed.

shifuimam · Aug 7, 2009, 08:52 PM

FWIW, I'm still having DNS issues in Leopard. As of now, gmail.com, google.com, and yahoo.com don't work. Pinging them comes back with "no route to host". I've tried using alternate DNS servers that I know work, and that doesn't fix it. This problem doesn't appear on any other machine; just my PowerMac G4 running 10.5. I tried disabling IPv6 after reading a few blog posts, but that didn't fix the problem.

I kinda need to be able to get to Google...

Cold Warrior · Aug 7, 2009, 09:07 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

I'd go with manually entered DNS server addresses and see if that fixes it. Use OpenDNS addresses

did you try this?

shifuimam · Aug 8, 2009, 03:55 PM

Yep. I have tried several DNS servers other than Comcast's or my router's. None of the work. I can't even ping them, and rebooting didn't fix it.

I can't even ping the IPs for Google, which according to iptools.com are 74.125.45.100, 74.125.67.100, and 74.125.127.100.

You know what's most ironic about this problem? I'm being forced to use Microsoft's very own bing.com for all my searching on this computer, since both Google and Yahoo refuse to work.

ghporter · Aug 8, 2009, 10:06 PM

I know this sounds odd, but have you shut down your router and modem for a few minutes and then powered them back on? Not just pulled the plug and put it right back in, but let them sit for several minutes. Sometimes these boxes get notional and don't behave in some bizarre ways-including borking their routing tables. Having ONE machine not work with everything you've tried sounds like it's time to look at oddball problems, including a borked routing table...

shifuimam · Aug 9, 2009, 02:37 AM

The problem is, boyfriend runs several gaming servers in-house. Shutting down the router entirely for more than thirty seconds isn't the small deal it would be with your run-of-the-mill home computer user.

I mean, I can give it a shot, but isn't there a way to flush this stuff from within OS X?

ghporter · Aug 9, 2009, 10:21 AM

Not if the problem is in the router(s), which is one thing you haven't addressed as of yet.

Posting on whatever board he uses that he's going to take down the servers' connection for 5 minutes shouldn't be a problem-he'd have to give users plenty of notice, and hopefully there's a way he can prevent games from being started shortly before the very short down time. But if ONE computer is being affected by this issue now, maybe more will later. Or maybe a server will no longer work...wouldn't that be a lovely problem for a game host?

Cold Warrior · Aug 9, 2009, 11:02 PM

input the opendns servers directly in the mac's settings. OS X will use those before the router's DNS. Also flush your dns cache if you want.

os x 10.5 flush dns is different from 10.4. Leopard's is
dscacheutil -flushcache

shifuimam · Aug 26, 2009, 09:16 PM

FWIW, I'm still having this problem. It's incredibly annoying, as it makes using the Internet on this machine almost entirely worthless.

So far I've tried:

using other DNS servers
flushing the DNS cache
flushing the routing tables
removing the ethernet interface and re-adding it
creating a new location in the networking preferences pane
installing an Airport card and using that instead of ethernet to connect to the network
setting up a static DHCP IP on my router (using MAC registration), releasing the old IP, and picking up a new one
putting the machine in the router's DMZ

NOTHING HAS WORKED. This is driving me completely insane. There has got to be SOME reason why OS X has decided to quit routing to these specific IP addresses (and their associated domains).

It's not a DNS problem. I can run a "hosts www.google.com", and it comes back with three IPs that are valid for any other machine on the entire planet except this one. It's not a hardware problem; both wired and wireless are behaving the same way. It's not a DHCP problem or a problem with my router, as I've changed the IP address, put the machine in the DMZ, and every other machine on my network (iPhones included) can access these sites without issue. The only thing I can think of is some seriously bizarre routing issue, but the routing tables don't show anything out of the ordinary.

I'd REALLY rather not reinstall OS X just to make Google work again...

besson3c · Aug 27, 2009, 01:01 AM

Originally Posted by shifuimam

FWIW, I'm still having DNS issues in Leopard. As of now, gmail.com, google.com, and yahoo.com don't work. Pinging them comes back with "no route to host". I've tried using alternate DNS servers that I know work, and that doesn't fix it. This problem doesn't appear on any other machine; just my PowerMac G4 running 10.5. I tried disabling IPv6 after reading a few blog posts, but that didn't fix the problem.

I kinda need to be able to get to Google...

Pinging and traceroutes are not reliable network connectivity tests because some firewalls block SYN packets that are used for pings. What is a reliable test is "host" and "dig". What do you get when you run those?

Edit: never mind, I see you've already run the hosts command.

What happens when you try another OS X account on that machine?

shifuimam · Aug 27, 2009, 09:33 AM

I forgot to add that to the list of "things I've tried". I created a new account, logged out of my normal account, and tried that new one. No love.

shifuimam · Aug 30, 2009, 01:14 PM

Well, I fixed it by installing the 10.5.8 combo updater from Apple's download site.

Some file must have gotten corrupted or something, and regular updates weren't taking care of it.

Sure wish I knew what caused it...

ghporter · Aug 30, 2009, 01:54 PM

Knowing that the combo updater fixed it is a step...but since that's pretty easy to do, it may be all the answer that anyone really "needs." I'm glad you got it worked out.

turtle777 · Aug 30, 2009, 02:00 PM

Wow that was quite a screwed up install.

I guess one should add "installing Combo Update" to "Repair Permissions" as mandatory voodoo fix.

-t