Errors and URLs

If you receive an error when attempting to connect to a URL, the first thing you should do is check to see if you entered the correct URL -- in other words, check the typing. Many sites operate in the UNIX environment which is case sensitive. Check to see that you have used uppercase where appropriately. Finally, check to make sure you have used forward slashes ( / ) and not backward slashes ( \ ). Once you have checked your typing, try to log on again. For example, this site has an URL address of:

     http:/www.oocities.org/Tokyo/Towers/4385

Notice that the Tokyo and Towers, both, have a capital T, if you type a lowercase t, you will receive an error. In this case, the error will be caught by the Geocities server and an appropriate message is given. Since the Geocities server caught the error, you can assume that the problem is in the spelling of the site directory or page name.

If you are sure the address is correct, and the error still occurs the DNS server may busy and reports that there was no DNS entry. The fact is that your DNS server was probably not able to check for the entry due to traffic, try again.

NOTE : DNS servers

When you ask to be taken to a site, your provider looks up the site name in a special server known as a Domain Name System (DNS) server. This server converts the name you gave the system into a numeric reference that is the actual name of the site you want to go to. Once it finds the correct site, you are then taken to that site.

The most common error is the dreaded :

404: Not Found

URL not found on this server ...

If you get this error, check your spelling of the URL, and fix if wrong. If you still get the error after re-trying, the URL may no longer be viable. Often, web pages are moved or changed for what ever purpose. You may want to try going up a level to see if a menu or valid URL exists. Perhaps the higher level will have information for you.

Finally, if you connect and it tells you that you must specify a port number and/or a user name and password, you will need to obtain the appropriate information and add it to you URL before accessing the URL source.

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