Strange hostname resolution failure

[dnsfail]

When I attempt to access a URL from my browser, it fails to load, however when I look up the IP for the domain name using my router's whois tool and type it into the address bar, I can access the website. Some software that accesses the internet sometimes works as well, such as Steam and nslookup, but not ping.

I have found a temporary fix: uninstalling my NIC drivers, rebooting, and allowing my drivers to reinstall seems to help, at least until I reboot again. The problem and the fix are reproducible.

Salient facts: Win7 pro SP1, Comodo firewall, Avira free antivirus linksys router that's a few years old, connecting via ethernet.

-------------Fix attempts:

Router Powercycle

Modem Powercycle

connect directly to modem

turn off firewall

try different browsers

try Google's free DNS

Checked in with ISP to make sure their DNS wasn't having problems

make sure proxies aren't running - tor isn't running, proxy settings are clear in browser

update NIC drivers

clear hosts file in /system32/drivers/etc

make sure UAC is activated

scan for virii/malware using avira, malwarebytes, superantispyware, hijackthis, ckscanner

at command prompt, run: netsh int ip reset **then** netsh winsock reset **then** ipconfig /flushdns

I also ran the networking .bat file from sevenforums, although its contents are similar to what I've already done

Fix registry errors via glary utilities

updated Java and cleared out older versions

updated Flash

-------------Other diagnostic symptoms when unable to resolve host names:

nslookup seems to work (this is strange; why would nslookup work, but hostname resolution fail elsewhere?)

pinging a hostname from console does not work

Comodo doesn't show unusual activity, as best as I can tell

networkminer doesn't show unusual activity, as best as I can tell

router can ping host names

Can't see other network computers on windows network

Steam connects, sometimes after asking for a retry

Avira fails to update when prompted

-------------Other diagnostics:

Web browsing works proplerly from an Ubuntu 10.10 live CD

One other computer (also Win7) on the same network had a similar problem a little while ago - I wasn't using it, but it apparently gave an error a couple of times along the lines of saying that network drivers weren't installed or weren't installed properly, but rebooting fixed the problem and there were no notifiers of drivers for new hardware beign reinstalled. This error hasn't happened recently, and I'm not sure how reproducible the problem is.

Other devices, such as laptops and smartphones, don't seem to have trouble connecting.

-------------IPconfig log:

Note: I scrubbed some names and numbers off of this; let me know if I got overzealous and nixed something important.

Windows IP Configuration

   Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : [n/a]
   Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . :
   Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
   IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : [n/a]

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : [n/a]
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : [n/a]
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::8d5:af0:1b2e:d294%21(Preferred)
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.102(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, March 15, 2011 6:35:29 PM
   Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, March 16, 2011 6:35:29 PM
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
   DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : [n/a]
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : [n/a]

   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : [n/a]
                                       [n/a]
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter isatap.[n/a].net:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : [n/a]
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 9:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : [n/a](Pref
erred)
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::3cf8:2030:b3f1:a977%10(Preferred)
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : ::
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

 

[wilywombat]

Have you checked the "subnet mask" of the router and the other machines are the same as yours?

 

[Petersgc]

Have you tried Uninstalling the firewall?
Sometimes even when the Firewall is enabled the filtering driver is still active, and if that is faulty it can still cause issues.

 

[dnsfail]

Have you tried Uninstalling the firewall?
Sometimes even when the Firewall is enabled the filtering driver is still active, and if that is faulty it can still cause issues.

So far this seems to have fixed the problem! I've tried rebooting twice, and no issue thus far, but I'm not going to mark it as solved quite yet, at least not until I am sure I can get a fully functioning firewall back up.

I was using Comodo, and I'm going try try reinstalling it with a new installer, but is there any other free firewall you would recommend as being especially superior?

EDIT: After reinstalling Comodo, so far so good. I'd say this issue is solved, but I'd still appreciate hearing about other firewall options.

Thanks to Petersgc

 

[Petersgc]

TBH, if you're behind a NAT router you don't really need a firewall on your PC.
Unless for the Application Control.

But if you have to use one the "PC Tools" Free one is pretty good.
Also the F-Secure Internet Security is a very good program, and F-Secure Won Best AV for 2010 beating Norton etc...

I tend to find all these software firewalls seem to complicate all network issues, and don't run any at home.

 

[RayFinkle]

Have you checked the "subnet mask" of the router and the other machines are the same as yours?

No offense, just an FYI: If the subnet mask is wrong, that puts the device on a different network, and so there would not be any communication above layer 2....the network wouldn't work...hostnames or IP addresses.

 

[Petersgc]

Have you checked the "subnet mask" of the router and the other machines are the same as yours?

No offense, just an FYI: If the subnet mask is wrong, that puts the device on a different network, and so there would not be any communication above layer 2....the network wouldn't work...hostnames or IP addresses.

Indeed, I decided to just ignore that comment
Nearly as bad as a "Read the manual" comment I saw someone post....

 

[wilywombat]

The wisdom of the 20 posts in 2 years... I was just trying to put forward possibilities