Ever encounter an error on your way to a Web site? Of course you have. Don’t worry; you’ll be glad to know most of them have nothing to do with your PC. It’s usually the other guy’s fault — the Web server, that is. Here are some of the more common errors you’ll see while surfing the Internet.
Errors on the Internet, and those annoying error messages, occur quite frequently and can be quite frustrating especially if you do not know the difference between a 404 error and a 502 error. Many times they have more to do with the Web servers you’re trying to access rather than something being wrong with your computer.
List of HTTP Response Codes:
Here is a list of error messages (also called HTTP status codes) that you might encounter while surfing the Web and their respective meanings to help you figure out just what the problem is.
400 Bad File Request
Usually means the syntax used in the URL is incorrect (e.g., uppercase letter should be lowercase letter; wrong punctuation marks).
401 Unauthorized
Server is looking for some encryption key from the client and is not getting it. Also, wrong password may have been entered. Try it again, paying close attention to case sensitivity.
403 Forbidden/Access Denied
Similar to 401; special permission needed to access the site — a password and/or username if it is a registration issue. Other times you may not have the proper permissions set up on the server or the site’s administrator just doesn’t want you to be able to access the site.
404 File Not Found
Server cannot find the file you requested. File has either been moved or deleted, or you entered the wrong URL or document name. Look at the URL. If a word looks misspelled, then correct it and try it again. If that doesn’t work backtrack by deleting information between each backslash, until you come to a page on that site that isn’t a 404. From there you may be able to find the page you’re looking for.
408 Request Timeout
Client stopped the request before the server finished retrieving it. A user will either hit the stop button, close the browser, or click on a link before the page loads. Usually occurs when servers are slow or file sizes are large.
500 Internal Error
Couldn’t retrieve the HTML document because of server-configuration problems. Contact site administrator.
501 Not Implemented
Web server doesn’t support a requested feature.
502 Service Temporarily Overloaded
Server congestion; too many connections; high traffic. Keep trying until the page loads.
503 Service Unavailable
Server busy, site may have moved ,or you lost your dial-up Internet connection.
Connection Refused by Host
Either you do not have permission to access the site or your password is incorrect.
File Contains No Data
Page is there but is not showing anything. Error occurs in the document. Attributed to bad table formatting, or stripped header information.
Bad File Request
Browser may not support the form or other coding you’re trying to access.
Failed DNS Lookup
The Domain Name Server can’t translate your domain request into a valid Internet address. Server may be busy or down, or incorrect URL was entered.
Host Unavailable
Host server down. Hit reload or go to the site later.
Unable to Locate Host
Host server is down, Internet connection is lost, or URL typed incorrectly.
Network Connection Refused by the Server
The Web server is busy.
This article was originally published on September 18, 2009
