DOCUMENT:Q248033 31-JUL-2001 [iis] TITLE :Typical Causes and Resolution of the "HTTP 404 - File Not Found" PRODUCT :Internet Information Server PROD/VER:winnt:1.0,2.0,3.0,4.0,5.0 OPER/SYS: KEYWORDS:kbOSWin2000 kbiis500prod2web kbhttp404 kbProd2Web ====================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information in this article applies to: - Microsoft Internet Information Services version 5.0 - Microsoft Internet Information Server versions 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: This article is written for Internet Information Services (IIS) administrators. If you are not an IIS administrator, but you want to understand what this error message means when you see it in your Web browser, please see the following Knowledge Base article instead: Q264284 What to Do When You Receive 'The Page Cannot be Found' Error Message in Your Browser SYMPTOMS ======== When a Web page is requested, the following error message is displayed at the top of the Web browser: The page cannot be found The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. The following error message is also displayed further down on the Web page: HTTP 404 - File not found Internet Information Services CAUSE ===== The Web server returns the "HTTP 404 - File not found" error message when it cannot retrieve the page that was requested. The following are some common causes of this error message: - The requested file has been renamed. - The requested file has been moved to another location and/or deleted. - The requested file is temporarily unavailable due to maintenance, upgrades, or other unknown causes. - The requested file does not exist. RESOLUTION ========== To resolve this problem, verify that the file requested in the browser's URL exists on the IIS computer and that it is in the correct location. Use the IIS Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in to determine where the file requested should exist in the IIS computer's file system. This is particularly important if the Web site uses a virtual directory (VDIR), which is a directory that is not contained in the home directory of the Web site, but appears to client browser as though it does. For example, assume that the URL that caused the 404 error is http://Microsoft.Com/Test/File1.htm, and the IIS snap-in shows that for Microsoft.Com Web site, the /Test/ directory is actually a virtual directory that maps to the location of c:\Information on the IIS computer. This means that you need to verify that the File1.htm file is located in the c:\Information directory (and that the file name is spelled correctly). For additional information about other, less common causes of this error message, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q247714 Using PUT Command for a Long File Name Causes 'HTTP 404 - File Not Found' Error Q221553 Setting File Attributes on Web Content Causes 404 - File Not Found Error Q216803 IIS Hidden Static Files Return HTTP 404 or Access Denied Errors MORE INFORMATION ================ For more information about VDIRs, see the "About Web Site Management" topic in the IIS 5.0 documentation at the following location: Administration\Web Site Management\About Web Site Management NOTE: If you have the IIS 5.0 documentation installed on your local computer, you can use the following URL to locate this topic: http://localhost/iishelp/iis/htm/core/iihtmat.htm#virtualdirectories (c) Microsoft Corporation 2000, All Rights Reserved. Contributions by Kevin Zollman, Microsoft Corporation. Additional query words: IIS 5 broken link ie Internet Explorer Netscape Navigator Opera Mosaic page not found wkz ====================================================================== Keywords : kbOSWin2000 kbiis500prod2web kbhttp404 kbProd2Web Technology : kbiisSearch kbiis500 kbiis400 kbiis300 kbiis200 kbiis100 Version : winnt:1.0,2.0,3.0,4.0,5.0 Issue type : kbprb ============================================================================= THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY. Copyright Microsoft Corporation 2001.