DNS Server isn't responding.....

Originally Posted by Trouble

Yes that would probably be a good next step.
Use the Programs and Features Applet in the control panel to uninstall it and then follow up by using this vendor specific proprietary removal tool from here How to uninstall or reinstall supported McAfee products using the Consumer Products Removal tool (MCPR) to remove any remnants.
Replace for now at least with MSE from here Spyware Protection | Free Spyware Protection | Microsoft Security Essentials and see how it goes.

Ok I am currently at work so I won't be able to attempt this till I return home 5PM PST. I'll try this when I get home and report back.
Thank you again.

OK, keep us posted.
If that doesn't help alleviate the problem, the only other thing I would suspect is that perhaps a recent round of Updates via the Windows Update Utility, might have included a driver update for your network adapter so you can try to roll that back and see if that helps.
Open Device Manager, expand Network adapters, select then right click the problem adapter and choose properties.
Select the Driver tab from the top tab menu and see if the button labeled "Roll Back Driver" is available, if so go ahead and roll it back and see what happens.

Originally Posted by Adamsappleone

Hello MnMFTW,

Go back in to "Change adapter settings" (Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center)
In the "Properties" dialog box, select IPv4 then Properties, at the bottom, select, "Use the following DNS server addresses"
In the Preferred box, place, 208.67.222.222
In the Alternate box, place, 208.67.220.220

These are from Open DNS

I would also suggest leaving IPv6 enabled.

Hope this helps
Don

Hi Don,

I just wanted to know that why should we leave IPV6 enabled?
Also what does it mean by Open DNS?

Thanks

Originally Posted by Fahad Ahmed

Hi Don,

I just wanted to know that why should we leave IPV6 enabled?
Also what does it mean by Open DNS?

Thanks

There are some basic fundamental reasons to leave IPv6 enabled as some of the components within Windows 7 rely on IPv6 to function properly or at all.
Home Groups
Parts of Remote Assistance
and for some corporate users Direct Access

As I don't use any of these features and as there are still some rare instances where IPv6 can still cause problems with some routers, I generally recommend disabling it within the properties of the problem network adapter at least during the troubleshooting stages, when trying to diagnose a problem adapter. It is easy enough to turn back on by just re-checking the box once the problem has been resolved.

As far as OpenDNS, it's a service and you can read about it here OpenDNS - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia but generally speaking they provide public DNS servers that anyone can use to resolve FQDNs (Fully Qualified Domain Names) to IP addresses, as does Google.

Generally speaking it is best to just let your router act as a DNS forwarder and pass along requests for name resolution to your ISP's DNS servers. But, again in some rare instances, some routers seem to have issues with DNS forwarding for some reason (could be firmware related) and in those cases it's often just easier to configure the properties of IPv4 with known good DNS server addresses (either your own ISPs or Public DNS servers) and get on with life.

Originally Posted by Trouble

OK, keep us posted.
If that doesn't help alleviate the problem, the only other thing I would suspect is that perhaps a recent round of Updates via the Windows Update Utility, might have included a driver update for your network adapter so you can try to roll that back and see if that helps.
Open Device Manager, expand Network adapters, select then right click the problem adapter and choose properties.
Select the Driver tab from the top tab menu and see if the button labeled "Roll Back Driver" is available, if so go ahead and roll it back and see what happens.

It appears McAfee was the culprit. I uninstalled and my internet is back after a restart.

I can't thank you enough for all the assistance. Just a few follow up questions:

Should I leave McAfee uninstalled? Is MSE safe to have alone or should I use another AV service?

Lastly, It appears my internet is a little sluggish at the moment, or slower than I remember. Is this normal? Do I need to change anything else?

Thank you again. SOOOOO MUCH.

Personally I would leave McAfee off the machine. MSE is fine for the most part combined with the Native Windows 7 firewall.
I augment it by running Malwarebytes Pro just for the extra peace of mind.
As far as the sluggish network. Make sure you go back and set your IPv4 properties in the properties of your network adapter to obtain automatically in both instances.
I'm personally wondering how many of these instances of networking issues that we've been seeing lately that seemed to be related to DNS resolution might be caused by either McAfee or another over zealous security suite, perhaps coupled with some recent security update from Microsoft.
Thank you for sticking with the problem and finding the resolution and for posting back and updating your thread with that information.
Hope to continue to see you around the forum.
Regards
Randy

Originally Posted by Trouble

Personally I would leave McAfee off the machine. MSE is fine for the most part combined with the Native Windows 7 firewall.
I augment it by running Malwarebytes Pro just for the extra peace of mind.
As far as the sluggish network. Make sure you go back and set your IPv4 properties in the properties of your network adapter to obtain automatically in both instances.
I'm personally wondering how many of these instances of networking issues that we've been seeing lately that seemed to be related to DNS resolution might be caused by either McAfee or another over zealous security suite, perhaps coupled with some recent security update from Microsoft.
Thank you for sticking with the problem and finding the resolution and for posting back and updating your thread with that information.
Hope to continue to see you around the forum.
Regards
Randy

I'll take your recommendation and see how that tides me over for now. Once again I appreciate all the assistance and I hope other people can use this thread for help. I wouldn't have my internet back without all the trouble shooting you guided me through.

I'm not sure what changed over a night that caused McAfee to suddenly cause my network to be unavailable. I had it for multiple years without much of a hiccup till now, hopefully someone finds out why.

Lastly, Thank you again, and again. Can't express enough gratitude.

Thanks Randy, for jumping in on the explanation, post #14, didn't get a chance to get back on yesterday, was getting my other PC's together to sell, then later, took the wife to a MS dinner/seminar, then work.

@MnMFTW, glad to hear you found the culprit and all's well again. I have been using OpenDNS for years instead of my ISP's DNS servers. It's free, fast and secure. More info @ http://www.opendns.com/home-solutions/
IPv6, I ran in to a few instances with Windows 7 and Windows 8 where I had to re-enable it for certain programs to function as Randy had mentioned, I just made the suggestion to save you the trouble.

Regards
Don