New Mac owner with frustration

[tightasadrum]

I'm new with Apple computers. I've learned the operational basics, but one thing is new and very annoying that I never experienced with my old Dell laptop.
When opening a new web address in Safari I sometimes get a full screen error screen saying this site cannot be opened and asking me whether I want to diagnose the problem. Usually after waiting a little while I try it again and it works. Other times I try another web address and it works fine, but the first site still doesn't work. If I select diagnose, it says the Internet connect isn't.
I suspect that Windows on the Dell might have seen the same problems but simply delayed everything. So the same problem may have been expressed as a really slow computer.
I am on a wireless router from AT&T with DSL. My hunch is that the problem may be the router or the DSL line. (I'm out in the country, probably on the end of a line. )
Has anyone else seen this, and is there a solution? And do you think it's a router/DSL problem or an iMac problem? Should I just go after AT&T? (Lots of luck with that.)

 

[BigMoneyJim]

Taking a stab in the dark, check your DNS server settings.

A more traditional troubleshooting first step would be to plug the [-]laptop[/-]iMac into the router with a cable and see if the symptoms are the same; this will isolate whether or not it's a wireless-related issue.

Edit: Oh, and of course, reboot the Mac and power-reset the router and any switches/access points.

 

[braumeister]

It's a fairly common problem for those of us with less-than-stellar DSL service.
As you've discovered, waiting a few minutes usually provides a workaround.

 

[ERD50]

DW was having something that sounded like this with her MacBookPro (10.5). In playing around, it seemed that if I went in and turned the firewall off and back on again, it would connect OK. Never did really find the root cause, it hasn't happened in over a year, and it seemed to happen totally randomly.

But that might have also been around the time I changed DNS settings to the open source or google ones.

-ERD50

 

[tightasadrum]

Thanks for the input. I thought about hardwiring to router, but I haven't gotten a long enough wire yet.

As to DSN, I'm afraid I don't have a clue what I should change it to. Maybe AT&T would recommend something.

If it's the DSL line, I'm probably screwed.

Thanks all... Tight

 

[Gumby]

I just hit the reload icon (3/4 clockwise circle arrow) when that happens and the page generally loads the second time around.

 

[tightasadrum]

Gumpy, I tried that, but it didn't work.

 

[Gumby]

Another trick that I have tried is to pull the power plug on my cable modem, wait for about 20 seconds and then power it up again. Supposedly that resets the modem. Often, once the modem is back up, the page will load. I couldn't tell you why it works. The cable company told me it try that once years ago, so I did.

 

[FreeAtLast]

Apple's tech support is great. I had to call them about 9 months ago as I had a problem with my Iphone syncing to my computer with "mobile me" after doing an upgrade. They took me thru all the settings on the phone and the computer until it worked properly. There was no charge for the call.

If I remember correctly I just initiated the trouble report on their website and they called me within a 1/2 hour on a Sunday.

 

[tightasadrum]

Apple's tech support is great. I had to call them about 9 months ago as I had a problem with my Iphone syncing to my computer with "mobile me" after doing an upgrade. They took me thru all the settings on the phone and the computer until it worked properly. There was no charge for the call.

If I remember correctly I just initiated the trouble report on their website and they called me within a 1/2 hour on a Sunday.

Freeatlast, I talked to that group at Apple already as part of an upgrade to Lion. We discussed my other problem, and she concluded it was not the iMac. I wasn't surprised at her conclusion though. She works for Apple. She was very helpful with the iOS issue however.

 

[PaddyMac]

If does sound like a DSL issue. But have you tried using Firefox instead? I like Safari, but found less issues with Firefox. As a web designer, I've noticed that many sites are not tested well on Safari (some are not tested at all on Mac). They test well on Firefox on Windows and because it's cross platform, it tends to behave the same in Firefox on both platforms. I also like the way it remembers your passwords to less important sites like newspapers and shopping sites.

 

[bruce1]

If does sound like a DSL issue. But have you tried using Firefox instead? I like Safari, but found less issues with Firefox. As a web designer, I've noticed that many sites are not tested well on Safari (some are not tested at all on Mac). They test well on Firefox on Windows and because it's cross platform, it tends to behave the same in Firefox on both platforms. I also like the way it remembers your passwords to less important sites like newspapers and shopping sites.

I second firefox. I use firefox cross platform and it preforms the same in both. I am not a MAC user though so I have no first hand knowledge of that. I use Ubuntu Linux and win 7.

 

[homestead]

Longtime mac user. My mac works fine at home with my wireless router when I go to my son's place it behaves like you describe on the internet.
So I suspect the router is the cause. His laptop does not have a problem however. Networking strangeness.

 

[tightasadrum]

Thanks all. I downloaded Firefox per recommendations above, so now I at least have that option. But I realize I've gotten used to using Safari. It's fascinating how quickly our brains want to lock in on a routine to avoid change.

 

[mountaintosea]

I bought my first Apple last summer. I did not "get" Safari. So I downloaded Firefox. But now I can go to Safari and all the issues seem to be resolved. Use Firefox and go back to Safari and it will begin to make sense if that makes sense!

 

[FreeAtLast]

I had been using Google Chrome on my Mac for quite a while now.