If you are trying to make your custom domain published blog work, see my guide Troubleshooting Your Custom Domain Problems.
If you want to know how to setup a custom domain properly, from the beginning - and avoid the need for Troubleshooting - read Setting Up DNS Addresses For Custom Domains. Avoid the most basic mistakes made - read The Simplicity Of A Custom Domain Setup.
If you just setup your custom domain - and want to minimise the effects of the URL change upon your search engine relationships - read Managing The Migration.
If you're just browsing, then read on - but get a good cup of coffee first. And welcome, to Nitecruzr Dot Net.
Showing posts with label 404 Not Found. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 404 Not Found. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Troubleshooting Your Custom Domain Problems
Of the many accessories and features in Blogger, Custom Domain Publishing is possibly the most problematic.
Looking at the Labels index in this blog, I see the Custom Domains label on 363 posts (as of 2015/06/15) - which makes it one of the most heavily labeled single topics here. There are several challenges with diagnosing and resolving a custom domain problem.
As you read this article, click on some of the many links in the text, and read the linked articles.
Please think of this article as the first chapter in a very large book - right now, a book with 363 chapters.
How To Use This Guide
These are the known custom domain publishing diagnoses. Here's a brief, one line summary of the problems, which are discussed, in some detail, farther below. Click on any one, if it looks promising, to jump to the detail discussion.
Domain Purchase Unsuccessful
Only Name Registration Purchased, No DNS Hosting
Domain Addresses Not Defined
Domain Ownership Not Verified
Non Google DNS server Part Of Configuration
Domain Addresses Not Properly Chosen
Domain Previously Registered, And Used In Blogger
Domain Registration Expired
Blog Published To Domain, Using Mixed Case URL
Blog Published To Domain Root, But Asymmetrical DNS Used
Domain Redirected To Google Ad Services, Sites, or Start Page URL
Blog Published Partially, To The Custom Domain URL
Internal Blogger Database Corruption
The Blog And Domain Are In Transition
All Issues May Not Be Yet Discussed Here
You could, occasionally, have a problem which is not diagnosed in this Guide - and in that case, please ask for help, politely, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.
Before asking for help, you can help the helpers if you have tried some affinity diagnostics or maybe some differential diagnostics - and if you are aware that not all problems may be exclusively caused by Blogger. And have some idea how many possibilities exist, for problems.
And if it's not too late, read Blogger Magic - How To Setup A Custom Domain, and Setting Up DNS Addresses For Custom Domains, before you start.
Looking at the Labels index in this blog, I see the Custom Domains label on 363 posts (as of 2015/06/15) - which makes it one of the most heavily labeled single topics here. There are several challenges with diagnosing and resolving a custom domain problem.
- It has various different causes.
- It leads to many different symptoms, which can easily be confused for other problems.
- Its symptoms can be chronic or intermittent- and may be immediate, or may take months to exhibit themselves.
- It may require resolution by any blog guest, by the blog owner, by Blogger Support, and / or by a third party such as the domain registrar.
As you read this article, click on some of the many links in the text, and read the linked articles.
Please think of this article as the first chapter in a very large book - right now, a book with 363 chapters.
How To Use This Guide
- Always start properly, with properly setup DNS addresses.
- Verify DNS addresses, using Dig. If any doubt about Dig results, compare logs from multiple Dig utilities, including a Dig against the authoritative domain server. Possibly 90% of all custom domain problems are caused, directly or indirectly, by spurious DNS addresses.
- If examination of multiple Dig logs shows properly setup DNS addresses, look at HTTP traces against the BlogSpot and domain URLs.
- If neither Dig nor HTTP traces provide a definitive diagnosis, consider that you have internal database corruption.
- As you diagnose your DNS setup, only look at "A" and "CNAME" records.
- As you diagnose and / or fix the problem, do not delete the Google Apps administrative desktop account.
These are the known custom domain publishing diagnoses. Here's a brief, one line summary of the problems, which are discussed, in some detail, farther below. Click on any one, if it looks promising, to jump to the detail discussion.
- Domain Purchase Unsuccessful
- Only Name Registration Purchased, No DNS Hosting
- Domain Addresses Not Defined
- Domain Ownership Not Verified
- Non Google DNS server Part Of Configuration
- Domain Addresses Not Properly Chosen
- Domain Previously Registered, And Used In Blogger
- Domain Registration Expired
- Blog Published To Domain, Using Mixed Case URL
- Blog Published To Domain Root, With Asymmetrical DNS
- Domain Redirected To Google Ad Services, Sites, or Start Page URL
- Domain Published, Partially
- Internal Blogger Database Corruption
- The Blog And Domain Are In Transition
- All Issues May Not Be Discussed Here
Domain Purchase Unsuccessful
- The domain will not be setup. The blog may, or may not, be published to the domain.
- This will follow use of "Buy a domain".
- The primary symptoms will vary. We see both "404 Not Found", and "Another blog is already hosted at this address", fairly common for this problem.
- This will be an issue for newly purchased domains.
- It will be diagnosed by use of the WhoIs log showing "xxxxxxx.xxx appears to be available", and verified by examination of the Google Checkout logs, and bank account ledger entries.
- The blog owner generally has to correct a problem with his bank account, then repeat the purchase of the domain.
Only Name Registration Purchased, No DNS Hosting
- The domain will not be setup, nor the blog published to the domain.
- This will follow domain registration, purchased from a third party registrar.
- The primary symptom will be the query "What are the DNS servers for Google?", "I need 2 IP addresses for my domain!", or "I can only change NameServer1, NameServer2 in my domain setup!".
- This will be an issue for newly purchased domains.
- It will be diagnosed by the stated symptom, with the blogger confirming the diagnosis by checking the registrar's invoice to see what services were paid for.
- The blogger will have to arrange for DNS hosting - free or paid - but choose the right DNS hosting service. A free third party DNS hosting service may be useful, in this case.
Domain Addresses Not Defined
- The blog will not be successfully published to the domain.
- This will follow domain registration using "Buy a domain".
- The primary symptom will be "Another blog is already hosted at this address", in the Settings - Basic - Publishing display.
- This will occur for new custom domains.
- It will be diagnosed using an excerpted Dig log, for both domain URLs.
- Here, the blogger will be advised to contact Google Apps Support, for any domain purchase issues.
Domain Ownership Not Verified
- The blog will not be successfully published to the domain.
- The primary symptom will be an "Error 12" or variant (we have observed "Error 12", "Error 13", "Error 14", and "Error 32", in reported various forum topics), when using the the Settings - Basic - Publishing wizard.
- This may follow domain registration, purchased from a third party registrar, or using "Buy a domain".
- This will occur for new custom domains - as well as for mature domain being re published.
- This will be diagnosed using an excerpted Dig log, for both domain URLs. Base DNS addresses should also be verified, to ensure addresses are properly setup.
- The blog owner will be advised to add or verify presence of the proper domain ownership verification "CNAME". This may involve adding an updated "CNAME", and / or carefully examining the format of the "CNAME", as entered in the "Zone Edit" registrar display. Some blog owners may need to use a free third party DNS hosting service, to allow for registrars who cannot support the necessary "CNAME".
Non Google DNS server Part Of Configuration
- The blog may, or may not, be successfully published to the domain.
- This will follow domain registration, purchased from a third party registrar.
- The primary symptom may be "Another blog is already hosted at this address" (for new custom domains, in the Settings - Basic - Publishing display), or conversely "404 Not Found" (for long existing custom domains, when viewing the blog). The symptoms will be observed intermittently, when the non Google server is referenced.
- Possible secondary symptoms:
- It will be diagnosed using an excerpted Dig log, for the domain root.
- It is typically resolved by a 4 step process. For best results, follow this procedure religiously.
- Publish the blog back to BlogSpot.
- Correct the DNS addresses.
- Wait for the DNS latency period to expire. This is important. Failure to consider DNS latency may later lead to Internal Database Corruption. This period will vary, as a result of the TTL setting in the "A" / "CNAME" referral.
- Republish to the domain URL.
Domain Addresses Not Properly Chosen
- The blog may, or may not, be successfully published to the domain.
- This will follow domain registration, purchased from a third party registrar.
- The primary symptom may be "Another blog is already hosted at this address" (for new custom domains, in the Settings - Basic - Publishing display), or conversely "404 Not Found" (for long existing custom domains, when viewing the blog).
- Possible secondary symptoms:
- It will be diagnosed using an excerpted Dig log, for both domain URLs.
- It is typically resolved by a 4 step process. For best results, follow this procedure religiously.
- Publish the blog back to BlogSpot.
- Correct the DNS addresses.
- Wait for the DNS latency period to expire. This is important. Failure to consider DNS latency may later lead to Internal Database Corruption. This period will vary, as a result of the TTL setting in the "A" / "CNAME" referral.
- Republish to the domain URL.
Domain Previously Registered, And Used In Blogger
- A Blogger blog was successfully published to the domain, at one time - by a different person. It is now not successfully published.
- This may follow domain registration, purchased from a third party registrar, or using "Buy a domain".
- The primary symptom will be "Another blog ...", when attempting to publish / re publish the blog to the domain.
- It will be diagnosed using an excerpted Dig log, for the BlogSpot, and both domain, URLs.
- It will be resolved using the Custom Domain Reset form - and much patience by the current domain owner.
Domain Registration Expired
- The blog was successfully published to the domain, at one time.
- This may follow domain registration, long ago purchased from a third party registrar, or using "Buy a domain".
- The primary symptom may be unexpected content, displayed by the blog. The nature of the unexpected content will vary.
- In most cases, and when the blog owner is lucky, the domain will be dead, or maybe display a page of ads or an "Offsite Warning" interstitial display.
- In rare cases, and when the blog owner is not lucky, the blog will display contents of another blog, another website, or an "Offsite Warning" interstitial display.
- It will be diagnosed using a WhoIs log, which shows expiry and last update dates, for the domain.
- There are two possible resolutions (see two primary symptoms, above, for possible variants).
- With the blog owner being lucky, it is in the control of the registrar. After domain registration is renewed, the problem is resolved by the 4 step process. For best results, follow this procedure religiously.
- Publish the blog back to BlogSpot.
- If necessary (and possible), contact the registrar, and renew the registration. Then, correct the DNS addresses.
- Wait for the DNS latency period to expire. This is important. Failure to consider DNS latency may later lead to Internal Database Corruption. This period will vary, as a result of the TTL setting in the "A" / "CNAME" referral.
- Republish to the domain URL.
- If the blog owner was not lucky, the domain may now be in the hand of an unknown party. This will be a subject for another article.
- With the blog owner being lucky, it is in the control of the registrar. After domain registration is renewed, the problem is resolved by the 4 step process. For best results, follow this procedure religiously.
Blog Published To Domain, Using Mixed Case URL
- The blog will be successfully published to the domain, but will not be visible from either BlogSpot or domain URLs.
- This may follow domain registration, purchased from a third party registrar, or using "Buy a domain".
- The primary symptom will be a "404 Not Found", when attempting to view the blog using either the BlogSpot or domain URLs.
- This will, typically, occur for new custom domains, immediately after the end of the 3 Day Transition Period.
- It will be diagnosed using a RexSwain HTTP Trace set, starting from the BlogSpot URL.
- It is typically resolved by publishing the blog back to BlogSpot, then re publishing to the correct URL, using all lower case letters.
Blog Published To Domain Root, But Asymmetrical DNS Used
- The blog will not be successfully published to the domain.
- This may follow domain registration, purchased from a third party registrar, or using "Buy a domain" - though "Buy a domain" will be far more commonly seen.
- The primary symptom will be a "404 Not Found", when attempting to view the blog using either the BlogSpot or domain URLs - or the warning "Blogs may not be hosted at naked domains." or "Another blog or Google Site is already using this address.", when trying to publish or re publish the blog to the domain.
- This will, typically, occur for new custom domains.
- It will be diagnosed using a RexSwain HTTP Trace set, starting from the BlogSpot URL, and confirmed with a screen print of the Publishing wizard display, taken as the blog owner sees the error message in question.
- It is typically resolved by publishing to the "www" alias.
Domain Redirected To Google Ad Services, Sites, or Start Page URL
- The blog will not be successfully published to the domain.
- This may follow domain registration, purchased from a third party registrar, or using "Buy a domain".
- The primary symptom will be "Another blog is already hosted at this address", in the Settings - Basic - Publishing display.
- This will typically occur for new custom domains.
- It will be diagnosed using a RexSwain HTTP Trace, starting from either domain URL.
- It is typically resolved by deactivating or resetting the Ad Services, Sites, or Start Page service, using Google Apps.
Blog Published Partially, To The Custom Domain URL
- The blog will appear successfully published to the domain.
- This may follow domain registration, purchased from a third party registrar, or using "Buy a domain".
- The primary symptom will be "404 Not Found", when viewing the blog using one of the domain URLs - and the blog will still be published to the BlogSpot URL.
- It will be diagnosed using an excerpted Dig log, for the BlogSpot, and both domain, URLs. If each of the above diagnoses are eliminated, one by one, and "404 Not Found" is still observed, internal database corruption is the only remaining possibility.
- It is typically resolved by re publishing the blog to the domain. This symptom may mask a Service Redirect, or Internal Database Corruption.
- As you diagnose the problem, re publish the blog to the domain, and / or recycle the domain settings, please do not delete the Apps desktop account.
Internal Blogger Database Corruption
- The blog will not be successfully published to the domain.
- This may follow domain registration, purchased from a third party registrar, or using "Buy a domain".
- The primary symptom will be "Another blog or Google Site ..." / "Key already exists ..." / "code CONFLICT" (or a similar phrasing), in the Settings - Basic - Publishing display, when attempting to publish or re publish a blog to the domain.
- It will be diagnosed using an excerpted Dig log, for both domain URLs. If the above diagnoses are all eliminated, one by one, and "Another blog ..." is still observed, database corruption is the only remaining possibility.
- It is typically resolved by recycling the domain settings in Google Apps, and / or use of the Custom Domain Reset form. The latter symptom, "code CONFLICT", is unique to domains purchased using Google Domains - and can be resolved by use of their domain dashboard.
- As you diagnose the problem and / or recycle the domain settings, please do not delete the Apps desktop account.
The Blog And Domain Are In Transition
- The domain will be setup - but will not redirect. The blog will be published to the domain URL.
- This will follow use of "Buy a domain".
- The primary symptom will be seen only by the owner (when properly logged in to Blogger). When clicking on the "View Blog" dashboard button / link, the owner will see an "In Transition" display.
- This will be a temporary issue, for newly purchased domains, successful purchased.
- It will be diagnosed using an excerpted Dig log, for the BlogSpot, and both domain, URLs.
- It will go away, when Transition expires, 72 to 96 hours after successful domain purchase and registration. The blog, and the domain, will then redirect properly.
- While you wait for Transition to expire, spend time reading what you will want to do, when Transition is complete.
All Issues May Not Be Yet Discussed Here
You could, occasionally, have a problem which is not diagnosed in this Guide - and in that case, please ask for help, politely, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.
Before asking for help, you can help the helpers if you have tried some affinity diagnostics or maybe some differential diagnostics - and if you are aware that not all problems may be exclusively caused by Blogger. And have some idea how many possibilities exist, for problems.
And if it's not too late, read Blogger Magic - How To Setup A Custom Domain, and Setting Up DNS Addresses For Custom Domains, before you start.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Custom Domains Redirecting To Google Sites
Similar to a redirection to the Google Apps Start Page service, some custom domains will be found to be directed to Google Sites. Again, we'll see an apparently normal (asymmetrical) DNS address configuration.
Unlike the generically known "Server Not Found Error 404" symptom, this one won't be solved by merely publishing back to Blog*Spot, then re publishing to the custom domain.
What we see here is that Sites, similar to Start Page, is apparently enabled, and published to "www.mydomain.net". In this case, you're going to first have to disable Sites. If you don't, you're going to see another old friend
A second variation on this redirect may not start with an explicit "Server Not Found Error 404", and the HTTP trace will be slightly different. You will probably see "Another blog is already hosted at this address." in the usual places.
you have to look carefully for these clues)
As shown immediately above, we have Google Sites involved, though less obviously. Resolution of this scenario, too, seems to involve disabling Sites. After doing that, you will likewise need to publish back to Blog*Spot, then re publish to the custom domain.
>> Top
mydomain.net. 3600 IN A 216.239.32.21The diagnosis, again, will be made using an (abbreviated) HTTP trace.
mydomain.net. 3600 IN A 216.239.34.21
mydomain.net. 3600 IN A 216.239.36.21
mydomain.net. 3600 IN A 216.239.38.21
www.mydomain.net. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.
---
ghs.google.com. 282206 IN CNAME ghs.l.google.com.
ghs.l.google.com. 300 IN A 74.125.43.121
Sending request:
GET / HTTP/1.1
Host: mydomain.net
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:
1.9.0.5) Gecko/2008120122 Firefox/3.0.5
Connection: close
• Finding host IP address...
• Host IP address = 209.85.171.121
• Finding TCP protocol...
• Binding to local socket...
• Connecting to host...
• Sending request...
• Waiting for response...
Receiving Header:
HTTP/1.1·302·Moved·Temporarily(CR)(LF)
Location:·http://www.mydomain.net(CR)(LF)
Sending request:
GET / HTTP/1.1
Host: www.mydomain.net
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:
1.9.0.5) Gecko/2008120122 Firefox/3.0.5
Connection: close
• Finding host IP address...
• Host IP address = 209.85.171.121
• Finding TCP protocol...
• Binding to local socket...
• Connecting to host...
• Sending request...
• Waiting for response...
Receiving Header:
HTTP/1.1·302·Moved·Temporarily(CR)(LF)
Location:·http://sites.google.com/a/mydomain.com/sites/system/app/pages/meta/domainWelcome(CR)(LF)
Unlike the generically known "Server Not Found Error 404" symptom, this one won't be solved by merely publishing back to Blog*Spot, then re publishing to the custom domain.
What we see here is that Sites, similar to Start Page, is apparently enabled, and published to "www.mydomain.net". In this case, you're going to first have to disable Sites. If you don't, you're going to see another old friend
Another blog is already hosted at this address.After doing that, then you can publish back to Blog*Spot, then re publish to the custom domain.
A second variation on this redirect may not start with an explicit "Server Not Found Error 404", and the HTTP trace will be slightly different. You will probably see "Another blog is already hosted at this address." in the usual places.
Sending request:(Here is a short excerpt of the rest of the trace -
GET / HTTP/1.1
Host: mydomain.net
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:
1.9.0.6) Gecko/2009011913 Firefox/3.0.6
Connection: close
• Finding host IP address...
• Host IP address = 216.239.34.21
• Finding TCP protocol...
• Binding to local socket...
• Connecting to host...
• Sending request...
• Waiting for response...
Receiving Header:
HTTP/1.1·302·Moved·Temporarily(CR)(LF)
Location:·http://www.mydomain.net(CR)(LF)
Sending request:
GET / HTTP/1.1
Host: www.mydomain.net
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:
1.9.0.6) Gecko/2009011913 Firefox/3.0.6
Connection: close
• Finding host IP address...
• Host IP address = 209.85.171.121
• Finding TCP protocol...
• Binding to local socket...
• Connecting to host...
• Sending request...
• Waiting for response...
Receiving Header:
HTTP/1.1·200·OK(CR)(LF)
you have to look carefully for these clues)
<body·xmlns="http://www.google.com/ns/jotspot"·id="body"·class="·en">(LF)
<div·id="sites-page-toolbar">(LF)
<div·id="sites-status"·class="sites-status"·style="display:none;">(LF)
<div·id="sites-notice"·class="sites-notice">·</div>(LF)
</div>(LF)
</div>(LF)
<div·id="sites-chrome-everything"·style="direction:·ltr">(LF)
<div·id="sites-chrome-page-wrapper">(LF)
<div·id="sites-chrome-page-wrapper-inside">(LF)
<div·xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"·id="sites-chrome-header-wrapper">(LF)
As shown immediately above, we have Google Sites involved, though less obviously. Resolution of this scenario, too, seems to involve disabling Sites. After doing that, you will likewise need to publish back to Blog*Spot, then re publish to the custom domain.
>> Top
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Custom Domain Publishing, And A New 404 Error
Some time ago, I wrote about blogs, newly setup for custom domain publishing, undergoing a transition period, where both the Blog*Spot and Custom Domain URLs are active, but seemingly 2 separate web sites. This appears to be a (almost exactly) 72 hours while Google allows time for DNS propogation of the new URL to take effect, worldwide.
Now, it appears that some blogs, having gone through the transition period, are still not active.
Here's one case, "keith-in-training.com".
Appears to be a normal, asymmetrical DNS setup made using either "Buy A Domain" or maybe Google Apps.
The Blog*Spot URL redirected, by "301 Moved Permanently", to the custom domain "www" alias.
So far, so good.
But wait - there's more!!
No!! The whole URL is down, now.
One step forward, another back. But remember, this is a known symptom. If you are seeing the above display (but only the above display):
>> Top
Now, it appears that some blogs, having gone through the transition period, are still not active.
Here's one case, "keith-in-training.com".
keith-in-training.com. 3600 IN A 64.233.179.121
keith-in-training.com. 3600 IN A 66.249.81.121
keith-in-training.com. 3600 IN A 72.14.207.121
www.keith-in-training.com. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.
Appears to be a normal, asymmetrical DNS setup made using either "Buy A Domain" or maybe Google Apps.
5/31/2008 19:52:36 Trying http://keith-in-training.blogspot.com
Redirect!
Header:
HTTP/1.0 301 Moved Permanently
Location: http://www.keith-in-training.com/
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
The Blog*Spot URL redirected, by "301 Moved Permanently", to the custom domain "www" alias.
So far, so good.
But wait - there's more!!
No!! The whole URL is down, now.
One step forward, another back. But remember, this is a known symptom. If you are seeing the above display (but only the above display):
- Publish the blog back to it's previous Blog*Spot URL, then republish to the custom domain URL.
- If you get the old "Another blog ..." error, recycle your Google Apps settings.
- Please, leave a comment here with your Blog*Spot and custom domain URLs, and whether or not the above procedure was successful.
>> Top
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Custom Domain Publishing, And The 404 Error - Chronic Edition #2
A couple of weeks ago, I published Custom Domain Publishing, And The 404 Error - Chronic Edition. Since that time, I was able to contact Blogger Support more directly than through this blog, and I was able to pass on to them a few egregious cases which included the symptoms described in that post. Several of those cases, they were able to ultimately fix.
Many people were happy. Kudos, Blogger.
Until today that is; when 2 people, who were earlier using their blogs quite happily, reported to me, within the span of 1 hour, that their blogs were, now, displaying
Not Again!!
What does this mean? Only Blogger Support can say for sure.
If your custom domain published blog is now showing this new symptom, please let us know. Comments will be posted below.
Problem Log
>> Top
Many people were happy. Kudos, Blogger.
Until today that is; when 2 people, who were earlier using their blogs quite happily, reported to me, within the span of 1 hour, that their blogs were, now, displaying
Server Not FoundNote, please, that the error, previously reported, was not identical.
Error 404
Not Found
Error 404
Not Again!!
What does this mean? Only Blogger Support can say for sure.
If your custom domain published blog is now showing this new symptom, please let us know. Comments will be posted below.
Problem Log
| Date | Domain | Remarks |
| 5/14 | deliverancegothic.com | - |
| mycup2yours.com | ||
| 5/15 | fragrancediva.net | |
| greateststorytold.com | ||
| 5/19 | robjessica.com | |
| 5/23 | lloydclaycomb.com | |
| yangor.com | ||
| 5/29 | shriramamgroup.info | |
| jetaaqld.org | ||
| gabrielcusac.com |
>> Top
Monday, May 26, 2008
BlogSpot, And The 404 Error
For some time now, blogs published to a custom domain, and previously working, have been (apparently) randomly yielding a new monolithic error when being read.
Recently, owners of blogs supposedly not associated with custom domains have complained of this oddity also.
Why not at least
If your BlogSpot blog, not now and never previously part of a custom domain, is showing this symptom, please comment here with the blog name. If you're suffering from this idiosyncrasy, silence won't get the problem fixed.
>> (Update 5/28): Blogger Support has suggested a possible (distant) connection between template corruption and observation of this symptom.
>> Forum thread links: bX-*00080
>> Copy this tag: bX-*00080
>> Top
Not Found
Error 404
Recently, owners of blogs supposedly not associated with custom domains have complained of this oddity also.
Why not at least
The blog you were looking for was not found.or maybe even
Blog not found
Sorry, the blog you were looking for does not exist. However, the name xxxxxxx is available to register!
If your BlogSpot blog, not now and never previously part of a custom domain, is showing this symptom, please comment here with the blog name. If you're suffering from this idiosyncrasy, silence won't get the problem fixed.
>> (Update 5/28): Blogger Support has suggested a possible (distant) connection between template corruption and observation of this symptom.
>> Forum thread links: bX-*00080
>> Copy this tag: bX-*00080
>> Top
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Custom Domain Publishing, And The 404 Error - Chronic Edition
On the surface, the old "404 Not Found" would be one problem - simply your computer saying "Hey! I can't access the other computer!". Those of us who work in computer and network troubleshooting know that there are dozens of possible causes for that one symptom.
We know, for a certainty, that if we persist in believing that there is one problem causing all of the "404 Not Found" errors, that one problem will never be solved. This symptom will be solved only with detail and determination, and lots of diagnostic work.
>> (Update: 5/18): Blogger Support is now suspecting a link between use of Google Apps, and the 404. If you are having this problem, please help us diagnose the problem. Describe your use of the following Blogger / Google applications / wizards, with any possible details (relevant dates would be useful), in setting up or maintaining your domain:
>> Forum thread links: bX-*00077
>> Copy this tag: bX-*00077
>> Top
We know, for a certainty, that if we persist in believing that there is one problem causing all of the "404 Not Found" errors, that one problem will never be solved. This symptom will be solved only with detail and determination, and lots of diagnostic work.
>> (Update: 5/18): Blogger Support is now suspecting a link between use of Google Apps, and the 404. If you are having this problem, please help us diagnose the problem. Describe your use of the following Blogger / Google applications / wizards, with any possible details (relevant dates would be useful), in setting up or maintaining your domain:
- Blogger "Advanced Settings" wizard.
- Blogger "Buy A Domain For Your Blog" wizard.
- Google Apps.
>> Forum thread links: bX-*00077
>> Copy this tag: bX-*00077
>> Top
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Custom Domain Publishing, And The 404 Error - May 2008 Edition
The problem of blogs, published to a custom domain, suddenly returning a "404 Not Found" when access is attempted, has been chronic since November 2007. Almost daily, we'd see reports of 2 or 3 such problems.
This evening, we saw 4 reports in a space of 1/2 hour. And we continue to see more.
The good news is, so far the reported cases all respond favourably to having the blog published back to BlogSpot, then republished to the "www" alias, using "Advanced Settings". In some cases, the victims have reported success after repeating the republishing cycle.
>> (Update: 5/18): Blogger Support is now suspecting a link between use of Google Apps, and the 404. If you are having this problem, please help us diagnose the problem. Describe your use of the following Blogger / Google applications / wizards, with any possible details (relevant dates would be useful), in setting up or maintaining your domain:
>> Forum thread links: bX-*00076
>> Copy this tag: bX-*00076
>> Top
This evening, we saw 4 reports in a space of 1/2 hour. And we continue to see more.
The good news is, so far the reported cases all respond favourably to having the blog published back to BlogSpot, then republished to the "www" alias, using "Advanced Settings". In some cases, the victims have reported success after repeating the republishing cycle.
>> (Update: 5/18): Blogger Support is now suspecting a link between use of Google Apps, and the 404. If you are having this problem, please help us diagnose the problem. Describe your use of the following Blogger / Google applications / wizards, with any possible details (relevant dates would be useful), in setting up or maintaining your domain:
- Blogger "Advanced Settings" wizard.
- Blogger "Buy A Domain For Your Blog" wizard.
- Google Apps.
>> Forum thread links: bX-*00076
>> Copy this tag: bX-*00076
>> Top
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
I Promise You, This Blog Exists
I almost hesitate to start this post, because of the date. However, I promise you, this is no joke. Recently (and before today, so I don't see this as a joke), Blogger made a change to their servers, and to how they display "404 Address Not Found". And, I've seen some confusion resulting from the change.
Here, for instance, is a link to this blog. And here is a link to this post.
Simple enough? How about a link to a non existent web site. See the display?
Duh. What's a server?
OK, "Chuck's Non Existent Blog" doesn't exist. Or, it exists in my mind, purely to make this point. Don't think about this too hard though.
How about a just deleted blog?
This blog did exist - for a few minutes. It doesn't exist now, and the name isn't available to anybody else either. And no, you can't have it.
Or maybe a (previously) non existent blog?
This blog didn't exist, until I registered it. Now, it does exist.
Clear so far?
OK, now get this - a link to a non existent post, in this blog. Bloggers will, from time to time, delete posts that they have linked elsewhere. Or maybe they will mistype a post name when setting up a link, as I did (intentionally). And pity their readers, who don't know all of this technical mumbo jumbo.
And, what's a blog?
But, "The Real Blogger Status" does exist. The post "This Post Does Not Exist", however, again exists only in my mind. Too many bloggers confuse the concepts of "blog" and "post", and this display is only going to enhance that confusion.
Looking at the last two examples shows that Blogger does recognise the difference between a "404 Blog Not Found" (the example second above) and a "404 Post Not Found" (the example immediately above). And if we know what each error display looks like, we can tell the difference too. But how about our readers, or the newbie blogger?
Can you see the confusion there? I've seen confusion here and there with some bloggers, referring to this post, as a blog - so I wrote this post. If I didn't understand web servers just a little, I'd be wondering if my blog was now gone. But, this blog exists. Really.
>> Top
Here, for instance, is a link to this blog. And here is a link to this post.
Simple enough? How about a link to a non existent web site. See the display?
Server not found
Firefox can't find the server at nitecruzr-non-existent-blog.
Duh. What's a server?
OK, "Chuck's Non Existent Blog" doesn't exist. Or, it exists in my mind, purely to make this point. Don't think about this too hard though.
How about a just deleted blog?
Blog has been removed
Sorry, the blog at nitecruzr-non-existent-blog.blogspot.com has been removed. This address is not available for new blogs.
This blog did exist - for a few minutes. It doesn't exist now, and the name isn't available to anybody else either. And no, you can't have it.
Or maybe a (previously) non existent blog?
Blog not found
Sorry, the blog you were looking for does not exist. However, the name nitecruzr-second-non-existent-blog is available to register!
This blog didn't exist, until I registered it. Now, it does exist.
Clear so far?
OK, now get this - a link to a non existent post, in this blog. Bloggers will, from time to time, delete posts that they have linked elsewhere. Or maybe they will mistype a post name when setting up a link, as I did (intentionally). And pity their readers, who don't know all of this technical mumbo jumbo.
The blog you were looking for was not found.
And, what's a blog?
But, "The Real Blogger Status" does exist. The post "This Post Does Not Exist", however, again exists only in my mind. Too many bloggers confuse the concepts of "blog" and "post", and this display is only going to enhance that confusion.
Looking at the last two examples shows that Blogger does recognise the difference between a "404 Blog Not Found" (the example second above) and a "404 Post Not Found" (the example immediately above). And if we know what each error display looks like, we can tell the difference too. But how about our readers, or the newbie blogger?
Can you see the confusion there? I've seen confusion here and there with some bloggers, referring to this post, as a blog - so I wrote this post. If I didn't understand web servers just a little, I'd be wondering if my blog was now gone. But, this blog exists. Really.
>> Top
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
