21st March 2001
Coming from the "Symbiotic Savior" Department, a Lockergnomie comes up with another way to beat the bad browser blues. "It may not be the ISP that has cached an out-of-date URL. Many surfers have downloaded various 'Web enhancers' that seem to rely upon caching URLs in the HOSTS file in Windows. If these are not refreshed periodically (and some of us forget that we've even installed these programs), you'll run into the very problem Paul Reeder had if a Web site ever changes its name or address -- which happens all the time. If you're unable to connect to a site that you KNOW is there, take a look at your HOSTS file in the Windows folder. If you're not on a LAN, you probably don't need the HOSTS file at all; to be safe, you could rename it before deleting it (to make sure that everything runs okay without it). If you are on a LAN, your system administrator will have to identify the files that are supposed to be there." So, again, if you run into problems getting certain sites to load, you should check your HOSTS file for outdated data. PING a domain (like LOCKERGNOME.COM). If the IP number does not match that which may be laid out in the HOSTS file, the line will need to be updated or removed entirely.