cannot connect to itunes

mountain

Have been getting "itunes could not connect to to the itunes store" message the past week or so, using 10.1 cant check either if there is an update,
as "the update server could not be contacted, check your connection or try later"

anyone any suggestions on how to fix this?

Sad Professor

Is there a problem with your internet connection or how your Mac is connecting to it? Is your web browser working? What about everything else?

mountain

connecting to the web no problem, posting this from the same machine....

Sad Professor

Are you sure? What web browser are you using? Firefox? Are other applications connecting to the Internet okay? Mail, etc?

mountain

using firefox,
and no problem with that.

Sad Professor

Yeah, I know. But is any internet app other than Firefox working? Is Safari working? Chrome? Mail? etc.

The reason I keep asking is because Firefox has its own proxy settings. So it's possible for your system proxy settings to be messed up but Firefox will still work. If only Firefox is working then do the following:

Go into System Preferences > Network > Airport > Advanced > Proxies

Untick any checked boxes and click okay. Then give iTunes/Software Update a try.

EDIT: Sorry, I just realised you are using 10.1, so the above directions may be slightly different.

mountain

tried safari, and that didnt work either,
went to proxies as suggested, but all boxes were unticked,
did notice however that : AirPort has the self-assigned IP address 169.254.2.55 and will not be able to connect to the Internet.

not sure how to change that, or even if i should,
itunes was working about 2 weeks ago.

Sad Professor

How are you connected to the internet? I assumed you were using wireless.

mountain

yep,
using wireless

Sad Professor

Check in the sidebar in Network settings and see if there are any other Airport connections. Firefox is working so obviously you are connected to the internet. And if Firefox is working and nothing else is then that suggests a proxy issue.

Were you connected to another wireless network recently? Did you or someone else modify your network settings to use it?

What ISP are you with btw?

mountain

only connection on sidebar is the airport one, there is also an ethernet icon, which is on.
checked proxies all they are all unticked, under those is a box called "bypass proxy settings for these hosts and domains"

into that box was *.local, 169.254/16
which i removed, but didnt make any difference,

Sad Professor

Does the Ethernet setting say "connected"?

Also, check your Firefox settings and see what the story is with the proxy settings there is. I don't know what version of Firefox you are using, but in the latest version they are in Advanced > Network in Firefox's preferences.

mountain

ethernet says connected, but that is connected to a time machine,
ust turned it off, but didnt make any difference,
checked firefox, "no proxy" is selected.

isp is rapidbroadband, local operator, who i think is using smart


thanks for your help so far.

Sad Professor

You mean a Time Capsule?

mountain

time capsule for backing, time machine to control it.

Sad Professor

Okay, try something for me. Turn off Airport in the Airport icon on the menubar. Then try using Firefox. Does it still work?

mountain

tried that, firefox wont connect when airport is off,

Sad Professor

Right now I'm just trying to resolve the apparent paradox of Airport saying that it isn't connected with the fact that it clearly is connected.

Can you see the Locations menu at the top of the Network preferences window? Are there any options in it other than automatic?

mountain

there was a location from an earlier date, about 12 months or so ago,
tried that,
and then spent the next 15 mins trying to get the setting back the way i had them,
so i could connect to the web again!!!

Sad Professor

I'm afraid I'm out of ideas. As I said, if only Firefox is working than that suggests there's a problem with your system proxy settings which Firefox is bypassing. I'm not aware of anything else that could be causing this problem. My best advice is to create a new network location and re-enter your network settings from scratch, then restart. If it works you should then delete the old locations.

Firefox's insistence on ignoring OS X's network settings causes a great deal of confusion when it comes to issues like this.

mountain

thanks for all your advice so far,
friend is calling over this week to give me a new wireless router,
i will ask him to set up everything from scratch.

I have done a few searches on Google, and while the problem is not that unusual, there appears to be no definite fix.