You step in the stream, but the water has moved on.
That's "404: File not found" for the technically inclined. For the not-so-technically inclined, that means that the link you clicked, or the URL you typed into your browser, didn't work for some reason. Here are some possible reasons why:
- We have a "bad" link floating out there and you were unlucky enough to click it.
- You may have typed the page address incorrectly.
- This web server is going nutty.
So now what?
How about trying again:
- Reload or refresh the page. Sometimes a 404 is just a fluke.
- Look for obvious spelling errors in the URL. Fix them. Try switching the file extension (i.e. change .htm to .html or vice versa).
- Back up one level in the URL, and continue backing up until you find something.
- Go to the site's main page and try to search from there.
- Try to find an archived version of the page. Google offers an excellent 'cached' facility. If you're searching for a page and it comes up a 404, try clicking the 'cached' link instead. Not only will Google often have a saved copy of the page, they will also highlight your search terms.
The Wayback Machine offers a similar service, in that you can enter a URL and view a page or site 'as it once was'. - Write to the webmaster.
- Write to the webmaster of the referring page, or use their form for reporting broken links. Again, this might not help you find the page you're looking for, but at least you may be saving other people the trouble. Most search engines and directories have an easy way to report broken links.