Re: Can't find the DNS Servers
On 9/23/17, Gary Roach <gary719_list1@verizon.net> wrote:
> Hi all.
> I have been trying for several day to get firefox to work on a newly
> installed Debian Stretch system. It Seems that Firefox can't find a DNS
> server. I am having the same problem with apt-get update. None of my
> mirrors can be reached. Ping works just fine. I can't even reach the
> other computers on my home network if I use their names. IP addresses
> work OK. I have installed resolvconf and followed several installation
> instructions to no avail. The name servers for my router
> (192.168.1.1)and both google servers at 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. are listed
> in the correct file (can't remember which one). This system worked fine
> when first installed. I installed qemu-kvm on the system and I think in
> broke things.I've run out of ideas.
>
> Please help
Hi, Gary, I absolutely feel your pain. I've been locked out most of
the entire past week. Could mostly only access ~400 to 900 BITES per
second download once in a little while.
After some nosing around, I've initially stumbled upon a quick fix
that will help you at least upgrade right now. This came about k/t an
Ubuntu issue [0].
Yes, I know you're saying you can't access something like that right
now so this is posted in hopes someone can further translate that into
appropriate IP addresses (unless you're accessing from another
computer and can do that yourself, that is).
In the process of learning from that issue over there, this came up:
https://wiki.debian.org/SourcesList#Name_Resolution
VERY cool. It says you can temporarily change your
/etc/apt/sources.list by personalizing the following
*example*/*template*:
echo "deb http://128.30.2.26/debian testing main contrib" >
/etc/apt/sources.list
You simply tweak that to match one's own favored release (e.g. jessie,
stretch, buster, etc) such as it already exists within
/etc/apt/sources.list.
That is SO cool because the tip I learned from Ubuntu was about
tweaking your /etc/hosts. I like tweaking sources.list much better. I
think I like it mostly because it's something more familiar than other
files.
Afterthought is that, because you're only swapping out a domain name
for an IP address (and not touching ANYTHING ELSE), hopefully that
should just keep right on moving from where you left off last time. If
it was me doing this, I would make sure I had a safe backup copy of
sources.list to put back in place when things were solved. :)
So now we hopefully have you upgrading..
Oh, and yes, I know.. there are all kinds of the fancy commands the
rest of everyone uses to debug this type of topic. That right there
above is *so* easy to test drive and is surely a new toy for someone
besides me (too). I even tested http://128.30.2.26/debian/ = IT WORKS
as expected!!!
If it then still doesn't work after upgrading, you can do the tip from
the Ubuntu page where you pick and add appropriate /etc/hosts lines as
you need them. But you need the IP addresses. I've almost figured that
out but not quite.
As it turns out, we might have the power to get those right from our
terminals. I'm not sure if it would work for you, Gary, due to your
issues, but it's a quick install to test and see.
Via Google, I learned about "nslookup". "apt-cache search nslookup"
landed the "dnsutils" package (285kb for me).
Once installed, you type in "nslookup" (as a normal user) and hit
Enter. Then you type in the domain name that needs an IP equivalent.
You'll receive back something like this:
> deb.debian.org
Server: 192.168.0.1
Address: 192.168.0.1#53
Non-authoritative answer:
deb.debian.org canonical name = static.debian.org.
Name: static.debian.org
Address: 130.89.148.14
Name: static.debian.org
Address: 149.20.4.15
Name: static.debian.org
Address: 5.153.231.4
Name: static.debian.org
Address: 128.31.0.62
That didn't match what Debian Wiki provided so I next tested "dig"
which is also included in dnsutils. I'm not sure how to implement that
one so I'm going to send this off now. Maybe someone else is versed in
"dig" and can help decode its flags, etc. It looks far more powerful
than nslookup.. :)
Or maybe they know an even more productive tool with possibly easier
to remember flags. :)
Originally it had come to mind that there's always the option of
sharing files like these to check for formation and typos:
/etc/network/interfaces
/etc/hosts (before potential tweaking)
/etc/resolv.conf
Those interfaces and hosts files are places I have to touch on and
sometimes fill in some things for during each new debootstrap. That
tells me they're places where things can get messed up.
That /etc/resolv.conf always resolves itself for me, yayhoo, but maybe
something's not quite ok in yours. I'm saying that because my notes
are showing one thing, and now my own /etc/resolv.conf has apparently
populated itself with an additional line these days.
Beyond that, I'm pretty much... speechless. :)
Cindy :)
[0] https://askubuntu.com/questions/928144/no-internet-access-lubuntu-17-04-eeepc-1001pxd/936972#936972
--
Cindy-Sue Causey
Talking Rock, Pickens County, Georgia, USA
* runs with Geraldine Laverne's goldfish food *
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