Fixing Intermittent DNS Problems on Ubuntu 12.04

I’ve been having some intermittent DNS resolution failures on my recent installation of Ubuntu 12.04. Googling showed that I’m not the only one, and the solution found here seems to be working for me:

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1.sudo vi /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf

Then comment out (by prepending a #) the line dns=dnsmasq. Finally:

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1.sudo restart network-manager

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What’s the difference between a slow computer and a slow internet connection?

I am sorry I have to mention this topic but it is my pet hate. I often get calls for computer help, mostly from my friends and family as I do not have a computer repair business any longer. When they ring me I get straight to question time and steer the conversation the way I want it to go. Unfortunately when you ask someone about their computer problem, they all like to ramble on and tell the life story of the computer. The reason I have to “cut to the chase” is because people think that having a slow internet connection means that they have a slow computer. Well it does not!

You can have a bad internet connection that can make it look like you actually have a computer problem and it is deceiving. It is best to sort out where the problem is so you can fix it. For example if it was an internet connection problem you would ring your Internet Service provider. If you had a computer problem you would need a computer techie to help you. These are completely different areas.

Here are some obvious signs that your internet connection is slow and not your computer:

• You are opening programs and your computer opens them asap, but when you open your email program and something is wrong.
• You are browsing the internet and and you cannot get a page to load. You cannot get from one page to the other without a serious delay or error.
• You open your Internet browser and you get a message saying “this page could not be displayed”.

Signs of having a problem with your computer:

• You try to run a program and it does not work like it usually does.
• When you open my computer the icons take along time to load or do not load at all.
• Error messages keep popping up and you are not on the internet.

How to confirm that it is a slow internet connection and not a slow computer?

1. Close down your internet browser and all other programs. Go to the start menu and open my computer. If it opens normally that is a good sign.
2. Try opening some other programs like Word or Excel, something that does not rely on the internet. If they open up fast enough that’s a good sign.
3. After doing all this and not finding a problem, open your internet browser and try to browse the internet.

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