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dick - Feb 22, 2006 - 1:36 am

Hi folks

I am running 10.4.5 (upgraded to Tiger a year ago and downloaded the upgrades) on my eMac. Last week I found I was not getting any Mail and sometimes a google/bookmarks search did not go beyond the http bit. Or it went to the whole address but not the entire bar. Sometimes I got in.

I rang my ISP and found my DNS numbers had dropped off (this has happened before). I re-entered them but still had the same prob. Then the ISP suggested I disable the firewall, which I did and things are working fine now. He also suggested I reinstall the OS.

Today I enabled the firewall and the same prob occurred, so I disabled it which explains why I can type to you now.

Now I am a Dick-with-very-little-brain, but it seems to me that having the firewall on is a Very Good Idea.

Should I keep it off and/or reinstall the OS? (A reinstall will be a nuisance as I have different upgrades on different CDs - but not too hard. Will it fix my problem?)

You people have been extremely helpful in my few questions in the past and I would appreciate an answer to the above.

Regards from hot and sunny Australia

Dick (who is a user not a techo!)

Jabberwocky - Feb 22, 2006 - 4:06 am

G'day from a cold and wet England.

I am a little confused by this as the Tiger firewall is designed to prevent traffic coming IN, not you getting OUT.

The DNS is an obvious target, as without a DNS server to talk to, your Mac will be unable to find web addresses, whether it be for mail or web browsing.

Looking in NETWORK preferences, are you putting in your IP details manually or using DHCP to get them form a server?

Justin

dick - Feb 22, 2006 - 4:20 am

Thank you Justin - as I said the DNS numbers have occasionally wiped themselves but when I reinstated them I still could not receive mail or get thru to some sites. Disabling the firewall has enabling in/out communication, but a firewall is there for a reason I presume. If I leave the firewall off, am I in danger of Big Threats? (I write this in view of the new/first virus/worm or whatever.) I don't use iChat so I understand I don't have a prob.Should I reinstall the OS or be happy with leaving the firewall off?

Regards

Dick (iamnotatechie!) Garner

PS Love this support service and appreciate your contribution.

Jabberwocky - Feb 22, 2006 - 5:18 am

OK, so even with the DNS numbers reinstated it still does not work?

That would suggest that either:
• the dns servers you specified are not responding or the IP addresses you entered are slightly incorrect
• you have a connection problem above your Mac.

The last one is an odd one in that you are able to reply to these messages, or are you using another machine for that?

dick - Mar 2, 2006 - 12:55 am

Finally fixed the prob - changing preferences but I can't remember which. Thanks!!

Dick