Getting a 404 Error: file not found can be really frustrating. This is especially annoying if you found the site in a search and it seemed to have all of the information you needed. The HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) 404 Error is letting you know that the page you are trying to go to isn’t there. When you see this, it means that the server can connect to the site but it cannot find the requested page on that server. This means the page does not currently exist. Unfortunately you can’t do anything to force the web site to come back up.
You can try to find out a way to contact the webmaster, or owner of the site, and they may be able to give you an alternative link to the site you are trying to find. The link may have recently been moved or changed. Until the administrator of the web site you are trying to access fixes the problem you won’t be able to get to the page. If the page is an extension of a website, try going directly to that site (for example instead of google.com/gmail, go to google.com) and you may be able to find a contact link.
Sometimes the webmaster may not realize that the link is essentially ‘dead’ and users are unable to connect to it. There is also a possibility that the owner of the site has temporarily taken the link down to update or redesign the page. In this case, trying back in a day or two will fix it. If you found the link through another site, letting them know they have a dead link may also help. They may be able to update the link. Because we are unfortunately unable to get past these 404 errors, we can help by trying to contact the webmaster so that they can correct the HTTP problem. If you are trying to create a web site yourself and you get this error while trying to view your page, double check your links. Even the small things like spaces and capital letters can cause this error. If you are getting a 404 error on every web page you try to connect to, try resetting your internet connection. Re-installing your browser may also be useful if you cannot access any website at all.
There may be a sliver of hope. You can visit http://www.archive.org and copy and paste the web address into the “Wayback Machine” and it may be able to pull it up for you if it is in the archives. If the site is found you will be able to view it but the links may not work. Good Luck!
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