[rtdunham]

My attempts to go to a url often result in either 1) a "hang" whereby the activity bar at the bottom of safari window indicates "contacting xxx.xxx" but no subsequent activity occurs, or 2) activity starts but shows 1 of 2, or 5 of 7, or 31 of 32, but still no page appears.

This can last 30 seconds to several minutes, or sometimes results in the message, "Safari can’t open the page xxx"

background:
--happens on both my AlPB and new macmini, so doesn't appear to be computer or airport card related;
--my ISP says it's pinged my modem and i'm getting more than adequate speed
--i'm using belkin pre-n router. i've spent much time with belkin tech support and am in fact now on second router, which increased signal strength but didn't affect the chokes
--my next door neighbor works for IBM, uses a linksys wireless network, and doesn't report this choking problem with the same ISP.

NOTE: if i click anywhere in the url bar in safari while a "choke" is in progress, the page usually loads immediately.

so question for those who better understand how communication with network/internet occurs: where's the likely place where choking as described would occur? My sense is it's something with the ISP but i don't know enough to ask the right questions or to be insistent enough.

thanks
terry

[ghporter]

DSL or Cable? It makes a big difference. You should be able to adjust a setting in the router called "MTU," which stands for "maximum transmission unit." It controls the number of bytes in each packet that your computer sends through the router. If you're running with a DSL connection, you're probably connecting via PPPoE through the router, and that connection protocol eats up 8 bytes per packet. That means that you'll need to adjust your router's MTU setting to 8 less than the maximum (1500) of 1492. Your Macs will manage the adjustment on their own.

Here's why this is an issue. If your router is trying to stuff 1500 bytes through a connection that will only hold 1492, then each packet is going to be messed up and you'll have the distant end calling for repeated retransmissions of packets. That eats up bandwidth and takes time-and that's what's probably causing your "can't open the page" timeout issues.

So my thought is that your problem is related to your ISP, but not a problem with your ISP-and you can fix it right away.

By the way, it's always a good idea to reboot your modem (whatever kind it is, whatever kind of connection you have) whenever you encounter a problem connecting to the Internet. These little boxes are embeded computers that are notorious for having software that isn't particularly well tested for memory leaks and other bad things, so they get screwy now and then. A reboot cleans this up and gives you a better connection.

[rtdunham]

Hi. Thanks. Cable. DHCP. Any specifics you can tell me to try in that instance? (I'd assume i should ask ISP its speed and then check belkin to make appropriate adjustement.)

Rebooting the modem is good advice, i'm doing it before or after each troubleshooting effort.

terry

[ghporter]

It still sounds like you're having problems with the modem or router. Have you tried connecting your computer straight to the modem? That will probably require a reboot of the modem as well so the modem will see the computer, but that will say a lot about your connection and where the problem is.