Ready to surf, you click on
your favorite link and instead of what you expect you get a page that says:
"404
Not Found". "What? I was just there
?"
There many be more than one
"gremlin" at work here, so there is more than one solution.
First, check that you typed in the web
address correctly. Many problems are simply typos.
"But I didn't type it. I used a link
from another page or a search engine."
It's possible that the webmaster entered the
web site incorrectly, or that the site has moved to another server and they hasn't
notified visitors of the change.
You can try two things at this point: use the
RELOAD or REFRESH button in your browser. That may take you to the correct page or a
forwarding or redirect page. You can also try to locate what you want by going to the
"root" page. For example, if the browser cannot locate
http://www.myfavoritesite.com/history/abc.htm, you can try
http://www.myfavoritesite.com/history/ or http://www.myfavoritesite.com.
Many Web sites receive so many visitors that
it puts a strain on the hosting servers, especially during peak usage times. It may be
that so many other users are trying to contact the Web site that the servers can't manage
the load. Generally, users enter and leave Web sites all the time, so if you can't connect
at first, it's a good idea to try again a little later.
Try back several times before giving up. To
do this, click the Reload button. (On AOL the Reload button is the three-quarter circle
arrow at the top of your Web window. On other browsers like Internet Explorer or Netscape
there is a button on the tool bar at the top of the browser window.) This tells your
browser to try to connect with the Web site again. Wait a few seconds between each try,
and with good luck, you'll get through. If your patience doesn't pay off, try back again
later in the evening or early in the morning when the traffic is likely to have died down,
or try another day.
Sometimes your "cache" is filled to
the extent that it takes long periods to load the pages or your get a 404 Not Found at
multiple sites. Learn how to "purge the cache" in your browser. Each browser
type and version is a little different but they all have information in their HELP files
how to do a purge.
You can also experience problems if a
previously visited site has an error or conflicting code on their page. In this case it is
recommended that you purge your cache AND close the browser and reload it. Most times this
gets you back in the water and you can merrily surf along.
I've even seen strange problems when it is
your ISP that is having the overload problem. Your modem connection may be over a phone
line that has "noise" and the browser just can't communicate with the server. In
this case, you need to completely disconnect from the Internet and then reconnect. Usually
in one attempt you get a "clean" line and can blast your way into cyberspace.
If you have tried all of the above over the
period of about 24 hours and still can't connect to the site, you might want to drop the
webmaster an email, if you know how to contact them. They may not be aware of the problem
or there may be a genuine problem with their server.
One more situation to note is if you visit a
particular Web site frequently and the site's content changes regularly. Get in the habit
of reloading the page each time you go there to force the refreshing of the content. If
you don't click the Reload button, your browser may serve up old content that it has
stored (cached) previously.