Firefox: "Looking up..." Takes Too Long [RESOLVED {for sure this time}]

[Prime2515102]

I wasn't sure where to put this so mods, feel free to move it of course

I'm getting a delay with Firfox (v1.06) where it sits at "looking up..." sometimes until I get an error saying the page can't be found, sometimes it'll just take 2-10 seconds or so before the page will load. If I click on the link I'm going to again (or click a bookmark again) it'll usually load immediately.

This doesn't happen with IE.

I tried to google this but couldn't find anything helpful.

Does/has anyone have/had this problem and do you know how to fix it? Maybe something in the "about:config" settings I should try changing? I tried a couple Firefox optimisers but they did no good.

Oh by the way, this is a fresh instal of Windows XP w/SP2 (and a fresh install of Firefox) but my profile folder is old (so I could keep my settings). The problem was here before the fresh install after I changed some registry settings related to DNS cache priority and that's when the problem started, but the default registry settings are being used now after the clean XP install so I don't think it's related.

Thanks,

Prime

[grumblemarc]

Same timeout problems here and seems to be happening more frequently lately.

[Prime2515102]

Well I hope I'm not jumping the gun here but I think I fixed it. If I didn't, I'll be sure to post back. Here's what I did:

about "about:config"

Entered "dns" in the Filter.

Two strings came up, one called "network.dns.ipv4OnlyDomains"

The value entered for this (I forgot to copy it) had doubleclick.net in it. It said it was the default value.

I deleted the value and all seems well again so far. I hope it stays that way.

Prime

[grumblemarc]

It does. I have been trying this fix out over the weekend and have NOT gotten any of the delays when waiting for a page to load.

[Prime2515102]

Well, that didn't last long. I did get some improvment revmoving settings from Firetune but that ended up not lasting either.

Oh well...

Prime

[Prime2515102]

Well my pessimistic side says Microsoft did this on purpose, but then again this started with Firefox 1.05 so it could be their fault too. Anyway, disabling the DNS service cured the problem. Go figure.

Prime

[[nRs]Wiseman]

wow, I tried it with noticable improvements!!! THX!

[Prime2515102]

The problem returned for me after a day or two (forgot about this thread so that's why I didn't say anything earlier).

However, I did find something else that fixes it.

I used following registry settings which, as it was explained to me, will get the DNS entry from the net the first time, but then use your computer's DNS cache ONLY after that. So, you'll get the "Finding site..." the first time, but never after that.

The only problem with this is that if a site's DNS entry changes (or something to that effect) you won't be able to access the page so if you start going to pages you've already visited and you can't connect, you need to flush your DNS cache (Start, Run, "ipconfig /flushdns"). Then it'll start over (the "Finding site..." promlem) and, again, it'll look up the entries on the net first.

Here are the registry entries I used (use at your own risk!):

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters]
"CacheHashTableBucketSize"=dword:00000001
"CacheHashTableSize"=dword:00000180
"MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit"dword:=0000ff00
"MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit"=dword:0000012d
"NegativeCacheTime"=dword:00000000
"NetFailureCacheTime"=dword:00000000
"NegativeSOACacheTime"=dword:00000000

Prime

EDIT: Apparently this only works until your computer is restarted. I rarely restart my computer so it's not a problem for me for the most part.

[Prime2515102]

Well I give up. The problem keeps returning. Apparently one of Microsoft's updates caused this because I went all the way back to Firefox 1.0 and it still does it, and on a freshly installed and updated XP Pro SP1. Dag nabbit.

Prime

[gibbonsl]

what about the new 1.7 firefox?

[Prime2515102]

I've used them all... 1.0 through 1.5 Beta2 (this is the newest that I know of). Same with all of them. Another thing I noticed is that I'm getting a lot of server timeouts in online games. I keep hitting reconnect untill it finally goes though (usually takes 4 or 5 reconnects) then I stay connected no problem.

Why this is effecting (it appears) everything except IE is beyond me.

Prime

[Prime2515102]

I deleted all my index.dat files and the problem is gone for sure this time.

Prime

[Tigsman]

Originally Posted by Prime2515102

I deleted all my index.dat files and the problem is gone for sure this time.

Prime

where are these index.dat files located?


T

[Prime2515102]

Well, I had them scattered all over the place (I think that was the problem).

You can't delete them manually either (maybe in safe mode but I don't think so). I used a program called "index.dat suite" that searched for all of them, then makes a batch file (it puts it in the RunOnce registry key) that deletes them on reboot.

I'm sure there's a better program for doing this (there's no options to delete just index.dat files - it clears temp files, internet temp files and cookies as well unless you manually edit the batch file) so I'd encourage looking for something with a bit more ease of use and versatility.

Prime

[Prime2515102]

Ok, screw everything I just said - this is Charter's fault (for me anyway).

I found the DNS server addresses for Charter Business and entered them manually and the longest I've seen "looking up" since then is about 1 second (usually the connection appears to be instant or about a quarter of a second).

Anybody know if Charter might bitch about this or even know?

Prime