Can google search, but can't load any pages?

Sometimes (not presently, obviously), I'll be connected to the internet, but unable to load any pages. I can get to google, type stuff in the search bar, and look at the results, but I can't actually load any of the results I just searched for or load any website that I try to type in directly--I get the "oops! Google Chrome can't find this page" and the equivalent if I try it in Internet Explorer. It doesn't matter what browser I use (though I don't have Mozilla). This problem has occurred twice, and then has randomly "fixed" itself for no reason I can determine. But I'm curious: what's going on with that? Is there anything I can do to fix it if and when it happens again?