Internet, Tutorials

Having trouble with the internet? Website down? Can’t send email? Can’t receive email? These are frustrating problems, and our tendency is to “call someone” to help us. We start with the cable or DSL company. They tell us it’s not their problem. We call the webhost, they say everything is fine on their end. How can a regular guy track down a problem in a sea of misinformation? If you do some basic troubleshooting yourself, you’ll find it’s much easier to communicate with the technical support folks, wherever you end up calling.

Don’t Call Anyone….Yet

Much of the answer (and therefore the first troubleshooting steps) lies in the set up you have at your home or office. All of the following can be part of, or the root of, the problem:

• Network router (wireless or wired)
• Network card installed in your computer (wireless or wired)
• Your modem (dial-up, cable and DSL all have modems)
• Your ISP (Internet Service Provider: DSL, Cable or Dial-up company)
• Your web hosting provider (what’s that? if you don’t know, you don’t have one, so don’t worry about it :))
• Your domain registrar (same question, same answer)
• Your outgoing and/or incoming mail server (could be managed at your office, could be the same as your web host, or your ISP….or may be outsourced to a 3rd party email provider!)

My aim today is to help you navigate this complicated mess of potential causes, and find the right person to help you with your problem.
Pinpoint the Problem

Often, you can get a handle on “who to call” just by pinpointing the specific problem.

1. Can you access the internet? Can you visit webpages? If not, then you either have a problem with your home network (your modem, your network card, or your router), or your ISP is having trouble.
2. If you can’t send or receive email, and you can’t access web pages, then you probably have a network issue or ISP issue. Your home network is the first place to start. If power cycling your modem, disconnecting and reconnecting, rebooting your computer(s) or power cycling your router don’t help, then your ISP might be having problems. Telling the support tech at your ISP that you’ve tried all these other possibilities will gain you some respect when you call, and avoid wasting your time.
3. Do you have a web hosting company? If you can access the internet and bring up sites like Google and MSN, but you can’t access your own website, then your web hosting provider is your contact point.
4. Trouble with email? If your email address is from your ISP (you@comcast.net, or you@bellsouth.net, etc.) then that’s who you’ll want to call.
5. Email issues can be a little more complicated if you are using your own domain for email (you@yourdomain.com). Your domain’s email is probably managed by your hosting company, at the very least your incoming mail (that’s your POP account). But it’s possible that your outgoing mail (a.k.a. SMTP) is through your ISP! You’ll need to find out if your outgoing and incoming mail servers are the same, or different (look in your email program, on your own computer, where you set up your email account). If they are different, be sure to call the one you’re having trouble with. The other one will tell you it’s not their problem — and they will be correct.

Email Problems: When you have your own domain
Here are a couple of common scenarios for email issues, when you have your own website and your web hosting provider is managing your domain’s email:

Both your outgoing and incoming mail servers are based on your own domain name, for example:

Incoming (POP): mail.yourdomain.com

Outgoing (SMTP): smtp.yourdomain.com

If this is how your email is set up, then your web hosting company is responsible for both incoming and outgoing.

Your incoming and outgoing mail servers are different, typically your incoming is on your own domain, and your outgoing is on your ISP, for example:

Incoming (POP): mail.yourdomain.com

Outgoing (SMTP): smpt.yourISP.com

In this situation, you’d most likely be experiencing trouble with getting email, but not sending email…or vice versa….but not both. (If your problem is with both, then either you have the set up in the previous example, OR the problem is not only with email, but with your website or your internet access as well….or you have two problems at once, which isn’t entirely out of the question…. :))

By now, you should have a better idea of where the root of your internet problem lies. If you’re still not sure after reading this, at least you’ll be able to ask more intelligent questions of whomever you do call, and they will be able to give you better guidance toward a solution.

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