Error 404 is a very common problem while browsing on net.
404 Not Found error messages are frequently customized by individual websites. You can see this error in many forms. Some of those are as follows-
404 Error
404 Not Found
Error 404
The requested URL [URL Name] was not found on this server.
HTTP 404
Error 404 Not Found
404 File or Directory Not Found
HTTP 404 Not Found
404 Page Not Found
Causes of HTTP 404 Errors
A 404 error is an HTTP status code that means that the page you are trying to reach on a website could not be found on its server.
Technically, an Error 404 is a client-side error, implying that the error is your mistake, either because you have typed the wrong URL or the page has been moved or removed from the website and you should have known the new address of that website.
Another possibility is if a website has moved a page or resource but the website did so without redirecting the old URL to the new one, you will receive a 404 error instead of being automatically linked or routed to the new page.
Microsoft IIS web servers sometimes give more specific information about the cause of 404 Not Found errors by suffixing a number after the 404.
Example- HTTP Error 404.3 Not Found means MIME type restriction.
How to manage error 404
Retry searching the web page by pressing F5 or clicking the refresh button or typing the URL from the address bar again.
The 404 Not Found error might appear for several reasons even though no real issue exists, so sometimes a simple refresh will often load the page you were searching for.
Check the errors in URL. Often, the 404 Not Found error appears because the URL was typed wrong or the link that was clicked on points to the wrong URL.
Move up one directory level at a time in the URL until you find something.
For example, if www.website.com/aa/bb/cc.html gives you the error 404, move up to www.website.com/aa/bb/. If you get nothing here or you get an error, move up to www.website.com/aa/. This should lead you toward what you're looking for or at least confirm that it's no longer available.
If you have moved all the way up to the website's homepage, try to run a search for the information you're looking for. If the site doesn't have a search function, try navigating to the page you want using category links to reach more deep into the site.
Another way is to search for the page at a popular search engine. There is possibility that you simply have typed the entirely wrong URL in which case a quick Google or Bing search should redirect you where you want to go.
If you find the page you were looking, update your bookmark or favourite to avoid the HTTP 404 error in the near future.
Clear your browser's cache if you have any indication that the 404 Not Found error might just be on your device. For example, if you can reach the URL from your mobile phone but not from your tablet, clearing the cache on your tablet's browser might help you to load that webpage.
Change the DNS servers used by your computer but usually only if an entire website is giving you a 404 error, especially if the website is available to those on other networks (e.g. on your mobile phone’s network or on a friend’s network in another city).
404 on an entire website is not particularly common unless your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or government censors a website. Whatever is the reason, if it happens, trying another set of DNS servers is a good step which you should take.
At last, if all these methods fail, contact the website administrator directly. If they have removed the page you are looking for, then the 404 error is completely legitimate and they should be able to tell you the reason. If they have moved the page, and are generating 404 instead of redirecting visitors to the new page, they will be happy to hear from you so they can fix this problem.
If you suspect that everyone is getting a 404 error for a particular site, but you are not sure, a quick check on Twitter might help in clearing this issue . All you have to do is search Twitter for #websitedown, e.g. #facebookdown or #youtubedown. Twitter users are usually the first to start talking about a website breakdown.
