8 Ways to Fix if You Can't Access a Particular Website - wikiHow

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How to Fix if You Can't Access a Particular Website

You read that webpage two days ago, but suddenly you can't access that website. You try to open that website from your friend's computer and it just opens. You may wonder what happened to your computer, but don't worry, just follow below steps to fix this issue. There are many possible reasons you can't access a website. Follow below methods and see which one works for you.

Method 1 of 8

Check whether there may be any error with that website. You can do this by checking from another computer. The server of that website may be down for

maintenance or due to high traffic, so wait for some hours to a day.

Method 2 of 8
Check if you have accidentally blocked that website using any software like parental control software or maybe through your system firewall or any third party software.

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You may have put that website in restricted sites on your browser, so try different browsers. Read this article to know how to remove restricted sites in

Internet Explorer.

Clear your browser cookies and check the website. Read this article to know how to clear browser's cookies.

Method 3 of 8

Shut down your PC.

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Remove power supply from your modem, router or any other device you may have connected.

Connect everything and start your PC, then check for that website.

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Method 4 of 8

Go to C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc folder.

Right click on the hosts file.

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Click on "Open with" in the context menu. From the displayed software choose "Notepad" to open the "hosts" file with Notepad. If there is any line starting without

# contains the website address, which you are unable to access, then go to the next step or skip to the next method.

Copy everything from that hosts file except those lines started without # and close the file. It's recommended to paste the copied content in the temporary text

document. This content will be needed later.

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Delete the hosts file.

Right click inside "etc" folder and go to New Text Document. Type "hosts" as the file name.

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Open the newly created hosts text file and paste the content you have copied from previous "hosts" file. Click on File Save or Ctrl+S .

Click on Tools Folder Option in Windows XP, Vista and Organize Folder Option for Windows 7 users in "etc" folder window.

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9
OK.

Go to "View" tab in the Folder Options window. Select the option "Show hidden files" and unselect the option "Hide extensions for known file types", then click on

10

Click on "hosts.txt" and press F2 button on your keyboard to rename. Change its name from "hosts.txt" to "hosts" and press Enter. It'll show you a warning

asking, "Do you want to change the file extension?" click on Yes.

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11

Right click on "hosts" file. Go to Properties from context menu. Select Read-only and Hidden option under General tab and click on OK.

12

Try to open that website in your web browser.

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Method 5 of 8

Contact the webmaster of that website. Usually every website has a "Contact us" page, where you'll find the person to contact.

You may be blocked by that website, so change your IP address and try. Read this article to know how to change IP address.

Method 6 of 8
That website may be blocked by your government due to any illegal activity or due to any other reason.

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You can access that website by using anonymous browsing like TOR or any other similar software or service. Read this article to know how to use TOR to

access that website.

You may try some proxy services or browser proxy add-on/extension to access that website.

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Please beware that you may be accessing that website illegally.

Method 7 of 8

Try command "ipconfig /flushdns" in command prompt. If that's not working, go to the next step.

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Try to change your DNS server. You can use any public DNS like Google DNS, OpenDNS etc.

Method 8 of 8

Ask your ISP or professionals. They may help you.

Know another method for How to Fix if You Can't Access a Particular Website ? Add it here...

Name your method

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Add your steps using an ordered list. For example: 1. Step one 2. Step two 3. Step three

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Tips
Sometimes "hosts" file is changed by any software you may have recently installed or due to malware. Checking your PC with antivirus is recommended.

Warnings
Be sure you are dealing with the correct file. There are many system files so deleting or changing their name may affect your system.

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Article Info

Categories: Internet | System Maintenance and Repair Recent edits by: Coffee Addict, Steve, Jeff In other languages: Espaol: Cmo buscar una solucin si no puedes acceder a un sitio web desde tu computadora, Portugus: Como Voltar a Conseguir Acessar um Site Especfico, Italiano: Come Risolvere il Problema di non Riuscire ad Accedere a un Determinato Sito Web

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 223,074 times.

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