"Firefox can't find the server at ..." error message
I frequently get the "Firefox can't find the server at ..." message but in most cases clicking "refresh" gets to the relevant website. Based on limited usage of IE, IE doesn't give the same problems. In attempting to resolve the issue I've deleted and reallowed Firefox through the firewall, tried starting in safe mode, cleared the cache, made suggested additional entries though About:config, etc. all to no avail. Judging from discussion threads this problem appears to be very common but none of the solutions I've tried work. Any suggestions for possible solutions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
All Replies (10)
For me the "can't find the server at..." messages started after the last update.
Relevant Info?: Firefox: 3.6.10 Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.2.10) Gecko/20100914 Firefox/3.6.10 ( .NET CLR 3.5.30729)
A possible cause is security software (firewall) that blocks or restricts Firefox without informing you about that, possibly after detecting changes (update) to the Firefox program.
Remove all rules for Firefox from the permissions list in the firewall and let your firewall ask again for permission to get full unrestricted access to internet for Firefox.
See Server Not Found - Troubleshoot connection problems and Configure firewalls so that Firefox can access the Internet and http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firewalls
Try using a public DNS name server in network settings of operating system - For details search Google for: google dns
In Fedora Linux 14 (23&64 bit) (Flash 10.1 10.2 - 32 & 64 bit): I Clicked: System--Preference--Network Connections--Wired(tab)--IPv4 Settings-("method Automatic addresses only" it was auto.) also box DNS Servers ( 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4 ) <-- telling it two public IP addresses to go look up a web addresses like www.facebook.com and support.mozilla.com that quit working after OS upgrade saying "Firefox Cant find Server at.... (you might make note of what you have before you change it)
This fixed both YouTube videos hitting error and Half of web pages not being found. - best of luck
Modified by rca4
Many thanks for the suggestions. The problem hasn't recurred for a while now, and although I can't be certain I suspect that it was resolved with subsequent Firefox upgrades. All the best.
This worked for me....
DNS prefetching In Firefox 3.5 and above, DNS prefetching is performed to resolve domain names to IP addresses while loading web pages. If a page includes links, images, or other content from different domains, multiple DNS requests will be made at once. This may break the DNS forwarder in several different routers and you may see "Server not found" errors for many websites. [8] [9] [10] [11] To disable DNS prefetching, create a new boolean preference named network.dns.disablePrefetch in about:config and set it to true, as follows:
Type about:config in the address bar, press Enter. Context click (right-click) in the preferences list and select "New -> Boolean". Type or paste in the preference name network.dns.disablePrefetch and click OK. Select true as the value and click OK.
If this doesn't help you can re-enable DNS prefetching by resetting the preference to "false" (double-click to toggle).
I got it from: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Error_loading_any_website
When I get the message "FF can't find the server" refreshing the page never worked. Using IE Tab 2 loads the page. Toggling the IE Tab 2 button evenully gets the page to load in FF. I've had this problem since FF 3.6. When I updated to FF 4 and then to 5 the problem still persists. Maybe it's a problem with IE Tab interferring with FF?
This problem has occurred frequently since upgrading to 3.6 and upwards, all the way to 6.0. It is so persistent a problem that I am seriously considering bidding farewell to Firefox for a while.
I have IE, Chrome, Opera, Netscape and ArmorSurf as alternatives. Even the old Netscape Navigator (version 9+) gives me less problems than Firefox.
Another major annoyance with Firefox: Upgrades too often cause the loss of previously functioning add-ons (some of which had cost money for the premium versions).
Firefox has lost its razzle-dazzle for me. Too bad.
This problem didn't hit us until FF6. And we all have the problem even though we have different versions of Windows and different firewalls. Like the poster above said "in most cases clicking Refresh gets to the relevant website". But Firefox is slowing productivity to a crawl and IE and Opera are turning out to be faster. And Safe Mode doesn't help either.
I have had the same problems and am fed up with Firefox!!
Download WATERFOX!! Its a version of Firefox made for 64bit. It works fantastic!!! No freezes, no page not found, no troubles at all! This is Firefox done right! http://waterfoxproj.sourceforge.net/
TO HELP ALL OF YOU WHO ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE "CAN'T FIND SERVER"!!!!! I'VE BEEN HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM FOR ABOUT A MONTH. I CALLED MY CABLE COMPANY, (CHARTER), AND THEY REPLACED THE LINE FROM MY COMPUTER TO THE POWER POLE. AND PRESTO!!!! NO MORE "CAN'T FIND SERVER", AND ALL WORKS PERFECT. "PRAISE GOD"! SEEMS THE LINE HAD A FEW KINKS IN IT AND OVER TIME THE LINE DETERIORATES. HOPE THIS HELPS ALL OF YOU THAT HAVE BEEN BANGING YOUR HEAD AGAINST THE WALL ABOUT THIS TOO! GOD BLESS
Modified by DOWN+DIRTY