Help Resurrecting Deadlinks


Resurrecting Dead Links 1. Server Resurrection Return to Resurrecting Dead links Main page
The Internet is not a stable environment; web site servers can drop off-line at any time. Often it is due to maintenance work or traffic overloads but when you click on a link and get the dreaded "404" screen there is no way to be certain what the problem is. Server problems affect all web sites from time to time from micro businesses to major corporations and government departments. No one is immune. Happily server interruptions are generally not fatal to content and most servers are resurrected in a matter of minutes or at most a few hours. You can check to see if the server is down by examining the link as it appears in your browser's address line. You can identify the server by the root of the web address. Do not be afraid to dissect an Internet address. You cannot hurt it! The standard root is "http://www.website name.com". Generally the third "/" in a web address tells you where the root ends. For example in the address for our GDSourcing QueryDesk (http://www.gdsourcing.ca/QueryDeskHome.htm) you can tell that our root address is http://www.gdsourcing.com. The "QueryDeskHome.htm" following the third "/" identifies a particular web page. To test to see if a server is active, click your mouse cursor at the end of the Internet address in your browser's address line. Backspace over the address until your have deleted everything but the address root. Now hit enter. If you still get a "404" you know there is a problem with the server. Try back again in a couple hours. If after a few hours the root address works but your link is still dead then see Web Site redesign. If the root address still does not work or if it links you to a different source than you expected (e.g. an Internet service provider) there are two possibilities. The first is that the source has changed their Internet address. To find out if this is the case, use a few search engines to see if you can find another Internet address for the company, organization or government department that you are looking for. You will want to search on both the report/survey title and the organization's name. The second possibility is that the organization is no longer on-line. A recent Statistics Canada survey has found that in some industry sectors there has been a drop in the number of companies with web sites. For example between 2003 and 2004 there was a 4.5% drop in the percentage of companies with a web site in the Construction sector. The solution to this scenario is addressed in Go to the Source Other sections of this help file: Server resurrection Web Site redesign Go to the Source If none of the above options help you solve a dead link issue (or even if they do), please let us know and we will try to assist you in locating the file in question. Click here to report dead links. (NB: You will need to take down the reference ID Number of the dead link).