VOYGRQuestTM

Web ERROR MESSAGES

They are frustrating and maddening. And, sometimes you want to pull your hair out. Although error messages are unavoidable and a part of the experience of using the Internet, possessing an understanding of what they mean can be of valuable assistance in getting the most from your endeavors.

Most often when you get an error message, first try hitting the REFRESH/RELOAD button, at least twice. Next, make certain that you entered the correct Web address (URL). Web addresses are case sensitive. Be sure to watch for commas instead of periods. If you cut and pasted the Web address into the Location/Address field, make certain that you got the entire URL. While you don't need to enter the http:// to get to Web sites, mistakenly typing ttp:// will give you an error message.

Other Error Messages:

• 400 Bad Request: Something is wrong with the URL you entered. It could be that the page you are looking for does not exist; or, the server you are contacting does not recognize the URL. Check your typing, expecially special characters like slashes and colons as well as uppercase letters.
• 401 Unauthorized: The page you are attempting to load is password-protected or does not accept visitors from your domain. If you entered a password, you may have typed it incorrectly. Passwords are, also, case sensitive.
• 403 Forbidden: Same as 401 Unauthorized. You should try your password, again.
• 404 Not Found: This one is a common error. The page doesn't exist, or exists at a different URL. Try deleting everything after the last slash in the URL to see if you get a page with a link to the page you want. Also, check your spelling. And, if the URL ends in .htm, type .html instead (and vice versa). Sometimes, however, the pages are just missing.
• 503 Service Unavailable: Like a busy signal. Wait a minute and try the page again. Chances are strong that the page is there.
• Host Unknown: The site may have moved. Try looking for it with a search engine. Also, if the URL you entered is long and complicated, guess how it may be simplified. Check to see if you lost your Internet connection. This happens most often if you've gone away from the computer for a period of time. If you aren't connected, log back on and retry the site.
• Host Unavailable: Most likely, the host machine is down and temporarily for maintenance. Wait a bit and try again.
• Unable to Locate Host or Unable to Locate Server: Similar to Host Unknown; check to see if you have disconnected from the Internet. If you have, log back on and try again.
• File Contains No Data: The page is there but for some reason it is empty. Try again, later, data may have arrived by then.
• Bad File Request: This is a forms error. Chances are that either your browser does not support the type of form you are trying to use, or there is an error in the form.
• Too Many Connections: Like a busy signal. Try clicking the REFRESH/RELOAD button, or wait a while and try again.
• Connection Refused by Host: Similar to 401 and 403; the page is restricted to certain domains or password-protected. If you think you should have a working password, try entering it again.
• Failed DNS Lookup: This common error means that the Domain Name System (the way in which domain names, like massagequest.com, are translated into official Internet addresses, or IP numbers) could not find an IP address for the URL you entered. Hitting REFRESH/RELOAD sometimes resolves this problem; if not, check to see if you entered the correct URL.
• Helper Application Not Found: You are requesting to view a kind of file that your browser does not recognize (a graphic format, multimedia, or compressed file). You probably need to install a helper application or plug-in that extends the capabilities of your browser.