UG Network
_/_ UG Library _/_ Fermoyle_/_ About Ken Fermoyle
Error Messages:
As hard to decipher as the Dead Sea Scrolls
by Ken Fermoyle
Error messages plague users today just as much as they did at the dawn of the
microcomputer age two decades ago. The messages themselves change as new technologies
evolve, but the enigmatic numbered horrors persist. They remain as hard for most
of us to read as the Dead Sea Scrolls!
Internet error messages especially are often ambiguous or misleading. Many mean essentially
the same thing: you can't get through to the site you've requested because it is
too crowded right now somewhere along the way.
One of the most common of these is: "The Server does not have a DNS entry."
This is infuriating as a telephone busy signal, and often means the same thing! It
can also mean that you aren't connected to the Internet, that you had a typo in the
URL (Universal Resource Locator, fancy name for a Website's address), or the Website
doesn't exist. Usually, however, it's a Net busy signal; try again in a few minutes.
I thought it would be helpful to give you the following "plain English"
definitions for common browser error messages.
400 Bad request - The URL (Universal Resource Locator, official name for an
Internet address) you entered has something wrong with it. Perhaps the page you are
looking for does not exist, or the server you are contacting does not recognize the
URL. Check your typing, especially special characters, like slashes or colons, and
uppercase letters.
401 Unauthorized - The page is password-protected or does not accept visitors
from your domain. If you entered a password, you may have typed it incorrectly.
403 Forbidden - Same as 401 Unauthorized. You should try your password again.
404 Not Found - This common message means 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. Check your spelling. And if the
URL ends in .htm, type .html instead (and vice versa). Sometimes, however, pages
are just missing.
503 Service Unavailable - Similar to a busy signal. Wait briefly and try the
page again. It's probably there.
Host Unknown - Site may have moved. Try looking for it with a search engine
(or, if the URL you had was long and complicated, guess how it may have been simplified).
Also, check to see if you lost your Internet connection (this happens most often
if you'reaway from the computer for a while); if you aren't connected, use your dialer
to reconnect and retry the site.
Host unavailable - Generally, this means the host machine is down temporarily
for maintenance. Wait awhile and try again.
Unable to locate host or Unable to locate server - Similar to Host Unknown;
check to see if you may have been disconnected from the Internet. If you have, log
back on and retry.
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. That usually means 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 briefly 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 - Similar to "The Server does not have a DNS entry."
Helper application not found - You asked to view a kind of file that your
browser does not recognize (a graphic format, multimedia, or compressed file). You
may need to install a plug-in (helper application) that extends the capabilities
of your browser.
I also discovered several Web sites that include definitions of other kinds of error
messages.
One, at www.sysopt.com/biosbmc.html,
covers definitions and solutions for AMI and Award BIOS error beeps and messages/codes.
It also includes links to other sites that offer BIOS message information.
Another is www.codemicro.com/windows.htm,
which contains basic troubleshooting steps to help resolve the following Windows
95 generated error messages: Illegal Operation, Fatal Exception Error, Windows Protection
Error, and General Protection Faults.
Then there are some sites that might restore your good humor after a computer session
that produced far too many real error messages.
Try www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/5551/comperro.html
for one. Another, with messages in the form of three-line Haiku poems, is: members.nova.org/~dsaum/j-chaiku.htm.
If you know of other sources for definitions or or information on different categories
of error messages, please send them to me (kferoyle@earthlink.net)
and I will inlcude them in a future column.
Ken
(Author's Note: I want to give credit to Earthlink Network, www.earthlink.net,
source of much of the information contained above. Its site deserves regular visits
because it contains a lot of useful Web-oriented information that is updated frequently.)
UG Network _/_ UG Library _/_ Fermoyle_/_ About Ken Fermoyle
Ken Fermoyle has written some 2,500 articles for publications ranging from Playboy, PC World and Popular Science to MacWeek & Microtimes. He was cohost/producer of a radio show on computers and a partner in a DTP service bureau during the '80s. Ken's Korner articles are available free to User Group newsletters and Websites. For permission to reprint this article, contact kfermoyle@earthlink.net.
EDITORS NOTE: Only UGNN Affiliate User Groups are granted a one-time reproduction license of this article so long as the unaltered credit/ID paragraph (above) is published with the article, and a copy of the printed article is mailed to
Fermoyle Publication
22250 Capulin Court,
Woodland Hills, CA 91364-3005.
Contact: kfermoyle@earthlink.net for further information
Articles posted here by UGNetwork News staff, or the UGN News Service may be reproduced ONLY after your group has become a registered Network affiliate. Register at: http://www.user-groups.com/UGCommunity/UGRegister.html. Contact the UGNet-News for authorization and the UGNet News Affiliate publicity package. Thank you. Copyright 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 The User Group Network, and on behalf of the respective authors. All of this content, and the associated services are donated through the generous efforts of members from the User Group community. This content area is provided by The User Group Network News Service, and is sponsored by The Design & Publishing Center as a public service.