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Looking for something that's no longer there? |
Read on for a couple of fixes that will allow you to regain access to online
content that may have "disappeared", whether overnight or long ago.
A couple of months back, I was suddenly unable to load Spoonflower's
blog. It was bizarre because I could still access the other parts of the
domain and website. I performed the usual "fixes" (logging out of my account
and then going into Chrome's — my browser of choice and
therefore the upcoming solution will pertain to it — settings to delete
recent cached items) to no avail.
Not in the right mindset to dig deeper, for several weeks, I instead
resorted to using Microsoft Edge to check Spoonflower's blog.
Then about two weeks ago (after updating Chrome), I experienced the same page error — the extraordinarily nebulous "this site can't be reached" error — on another website and figured it was time to chase down an actual solution.
Then about two weeks ago (after updating Chrome), I experienced the same page error — the extraordinarily nebulous "this site can't be reached" error — on another website and figured it was time to chase down an actual solution.
The laundry list of things to do to try to fix this error is long and drawn
out and quite honestly, I didn't want to do some of them. (Like reset my
modem, disable the firewall and change DNS servers.) It made sense to me
that for something to work one day and not the next and for it to work on
another browser, such drastic measures weren't required. In fact, process of
elimination led me to the conclusion that it absolutely had to do with
browser settings.
Here's what worked, and perhaps you can save the solution for the inevitable
time in future when this happens to you. (Keep in mind that updates to
Chrome will invariably change the Settings menu over time and
this sequence of commands may not be exactly the same by the time you need
it.)
The fix involves deleting site specific cookies.
Suddenly Unable to Access a Site?
Open up Chrome's "Customize and Control Google Chrome" drop down menu
by clicking on the "traffic light" set of three dots in the top right corner
of the browser. Select "Settings" from the menu to open up a
Settings tab.
Select "Privacy and security" from the left hand side navigation and then
click on "Site Settings".
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| Select Site Settings from the Privacy and security option... |
Scroll down past Recent activity and Permissions to get to
Content.
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| Select Cookies and site data... |
Click on Cookies and site data and then scroll down until you get to
See all cookies and site data.
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| Select See all cookies and site data... |
When you click on See all cookies and site data, it may take time to
generate the results. Be patient and let the browser work through the
process.
Eventually, you will see a long list of data pertaining to websites that you
have visited. To filter out the one that is giving you trouble, enter its
name in the search box.
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| Filter out the site that is having the issue... |
Once the related website data is filtered out, you can click the button to
remove all or click on the individual "garbage cans" to delete specific ones
individually. (I think I removed all of them.)
This particular fix ended up resolving my problems with both
Spoonflower and the other site.
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Okay, so that was for a situation where you know the site you are trying to access is still alive and well. What if what you're searching for is something that's dead and gone?
Okay, so that was for a situation where you know the site you are trying to access is still alive and well. What if what you're searching for is something that's dead and gone?
Looking for a Dead Link?
For that, you'll need to use the Wayback Machine, the internet's archive of things from long and not so long ago. I keep
forgetting about this archive so will use a couple of examples from my blog
to highlight its usefulness and limitations.
I recently communicated with a reader about Denise Clason's sunglasses visor. Seems Denise's website has been taken down and therefore the link to her
tutorial is no longer "there". While this is a simple project and I was able
to provide some extra photos of the construction process to this reader, I
totally forgot about checking the Wayback Machine.
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| image courtesy of the Wayback Machine... |
Here's how you use it. From the home page — the actual URL is
web.archive.org — enter the link that you're searching for in the text box provided.
Results (if any) will be returned to you in the form of a bar graph of
applicable years with calendar months shown further down the screen.
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| image courtesy of the WayBack Machine... |
The highlighted day in this case (June 6, 2017) indicates the last time the
webpage was captured. Click on it and you'll see even more specific
information regarding the time of day in which the data was collected.
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| image courtesy of the WayBack Machine... |
Click on the desired time (there could be more than one listed) and the
actual web page should finally appear.
Here is the tutorial from Denise's website as captured in June 2017:
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| image courtesy of the Wayback Machine... |
The template for the project also appears as part of this page, so if you
scroll down a bit, you'll get that too.
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image courtesy of the Wayback Machine... |
This is therefore an example where everything that's necessary to replicate
this particular sewing project is actually still accessible.
That's not always the case.
In my last post of 2020, I wrote about how Sew Mama Sew no longer exists and referenced using the Wayback Machine to look
up the tutorial for Thread Riding Hood's
Scalloped Edge Fat Quarter Baskets.
While I was able to find the tutorial itself...
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| image courtesy of the Wayback Machine... |
... locating the PDF for the template was another matter altogether:
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| image courtesy of the WayBack Machine... |
Generally speaking, if a file was stored as a download, it'll likely be
impossible to find via the Wayback Machine. This PDF was obviously
not offered up on/as a web page. (Note to anyone interested in this
pattern, however: I can send you the template if you want. Just contact me
via the widget on the sidebar at left.)
Both of these resources/fixes have helped me out a great deal, so they're
well worth keeping track of for future reference.
Of course, don't forget that the best way to keep web content accessible is
to save it to your device. As soon as you see something that you like,
download any actual files and
PDF the rest. And then don't forget to
back it up!
Those of you who know the full story are aware that my PDF patterns sell
for much less
here on my blog
than on Makerist, so even with a 20% discount, most prices will
still be better directly from me. But a few may be a
tiny bit cheaper, so I'm doing my due diligence by telling you
about it.
Not only that, Makerist is hosting a subsequent 50% off event from
November 26th to December 1st, if you're interested in checking out
patterns by other folks. (I'm not taking part in that second sale.)
So informative, thanks to you!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome from me!
DeleteThank you - very informative! I'm always hesitant about digging around in Settings, and I've never heard of the Wayback Machine.
ReplyDeleteKathleen - kakingsbury at verizon dot net