Browser troubleshooting tips

This page provides quick solutions to some of the most common Internet browser problems experienced by Tiscali members. Click on any of the questions below to go directly to the appropriate answer.

Q. Why do I get the message "Can't find site: 'www.tiscali.co.uk'"?
Q. Why do I get the wrong home page?
Q. What is the 'cache' and how do I delete it?
Q. Why do I get error messages on the web?
Q. What are 'cookies' ?
Q. What is the 'content advisor' and how do I turn it on/off?


Q. Why do I get the message "Can't find site 'www.tiscali.co.uk'"?

If your browser displays this message when you try to connect to Tiscali check the following:

• Check to see whether you are already connected to Tiscali:

Windows: Hold down the ALT key and press TAB a few times. This will show a list of open applications, one of which should be Connected to Tiscali.

MacOS: The apple icon in the top left-hand corner of the screen should be flashing if you are connected.
 
• If you are connected try typing www.tiscali.co.uk into the browser address bar and pressing the return key on the keyboard. If this takes you to Tiscali you need to reset your browser's home page (see below).
   
• If you have an external modem check that it is switched on and check all the connections between your modem, computer and telephone line. Try turning your modem on and off a few times.
   
• Open the connection window:

Windows: Double-click on My Computer then the Dial-Up Networking folder. You should see at least two icons: Make New Connection and Tiscali. Double-click on the Tiscali icon to open the Connect To window.

If you do not have a Dial-up Networking folder you will need to install the Windows communication software. See your Windows documentation for help on this process. If you do not have a Tiscali icon, double-click on the Make New Connection icon and follow the on-screen instructions (see the Connection Troubleshooting help page).

MacOS: Open the PPP or Remote Access control panel from the Apple menu.

Then check the following settings:

- The User name or Name box should contain your full email address, in lower case, including @tiscali.co.uk (e.g. john.smith@tiscali.co.uk).

- Your password must be entered correctly in the Password box. Make sure it is entered in the correct case and that the caps lock key on your keyboard is off.

- The phone number in the Number box should be 0844 052 9009, for Tiscali Pay As You Go members (see the Tiscali Connection Speeds help page for alternative dialup numbers).

Now try clicking the Connect button. If you still can't connect to Tiscali see the Connection Troubleshooting Tips page.

Q. Why do I get the wrong home page?

To set your Internet browser Home button to take you to the Tiscali Home page:

Internet Explorer 4 for Windows: 1. Open Internet Explorer and from the View menu select Internet Options. 2. Click on the General tab. 3. Enter http://www.tiscali.co.uk as your Home page.

Internet Explorer 5.0 and onwards for Windows: 1. Open Internet Explorer and from the Tools menu select Internet Options. 2. Enter http://www.tiscali.co.uk as your homepage and click OK.

Internet Explorer 4 for MacOS: 1. Open Internet Explorer and from the Edit menu select Preferences. 2. Click on the Home/Search option, under Web Browser, in the list on the left-hand side of the window. 3. Enter http://www.tiscali.co.uk as your Home page.

Internet Explorer 5 for MacOS: 1. Open Internet Explorer and from the Edit menu select Preferences. 2. Click on the Browser Display option, under Web Browser, in the list on the left-hand side of the window. 3. Enter http://www.tiscali.co.uk as your Home page.

Q. What is the 'cache' and how do I delete it?

Internet browsers are designed to store - or 'cache' - frequently accessed graphics and text - 'temporary Internet files' - on your computer's hard disk. Although the cache will speed up the loading of a page if you return to it within the same session, a large number of temporary Internet files may also slow down your computer.

To edit the browser cache:

Internet Explorer for Windows: 1. Open Internet Explorer and from the Tools menu, select Internet Options. 2. Click on Delete Files in the General box.

Internet Explorer for MacOS: 1. Open Internet Explorer and from the Edit menu, select Preferences. 2. Click on the Advanced option in the left-hand list (under Web Browser).

Try the following to speed up your connection to Tiscali and the Internet:

• Increase the size of the browser cache (if you have sufficient hard disk space).
  
  
• Clear out the cache periodically using the Empty, Delete Files or Clear option.
  
  
• Set the Check for newer versions of stored pages option to Every time you start Internet Explorer (Windows) or the Update pages option to Once per session (MacOS).

Q. Why do I get error messages on the web?

There are three main reasons for getting error messages when you request a web page: either the address or URL of the website requested is incorrect, you've lost your Internet connection or the web page is unavailable.

If you get an error message after requesting a web page try the following:

• Check the URL syntax. Some URLs are case sensitive so pay attention to upper and lower case letters and check that any special characters (colons, slashes, underscores etc.) are in the correct place.
  
  
• If you still get an error message, you can discover the part of the address causing the problem by backtracking to the top of the website and adding to the URL one folder at a time. Folders are separated by forward-slashes (e.g. www.website.net; www.website.net/one/; www.website.com/one/two; etc.).
  
  
• Check your connection settings (see the Connection Troubleshooting help page).
  
  
• Try again later. The website may be busy or may be down for maintenance.
  
  
• Notify the website's administrator or webmaster if the link was displayed on their website.

Some common error message include:

400: Bad Request. The address or URL of the website requested is incorrect. Check the URL syntax if you typed it yourself.

401: Unauthorised. The website requested requires special access permission. You may need to register with the site before being allowed access. Try retyping your password if you have one.

404: Not Found. The website requested could not be found. It may have been removed or moved to a new location. Check that the URL is correct.

502: Service Overloaded. Too many users are trying to access the website at the same time. Try again later.

503: Service Unavailable. The server is down or too busy. Try again later.

Cannot Add Form... You may get this error if you try to save search engine results as a bookmark. Instead, print the search results, or try to save them as an HTML document.

Too Many Users. The website requested is busy. Try again later.

Q. What are 'cookies'?

Cookies are small files sent to your browser from a website or server which record your preferences for the website. You should choose to accept cookies when using Tiscali. If your system is not accepting cookies, try the following.

Check that your browser is setup to accept cookies:
 

Internet Explorer 5 for Windows: 1. Open Internet Explorer and from the Tools menu select Internet Options. 2. Click the Security tab and you will be able to alter the level of security to allow cookies (medium level).

Internet Explorer 6 for Windows: 1. Open Internet Explorer and from the Tools menu select Internet Option. 2. Click the Privacy tab and you will be able to alter the level of security to allow cookies (medium level). If you want to set a higher privacy level (medium-high or high) you will need to click on the Edit button, type in tiscali.co.uk and then click Allow.

Internet Explorer for MacOS: 1. Open Internet Explorer and from the Edit menu select Preferences. 2. Click on the Cookies option in the left-hand list (under Receiving Files) and check that the When receiving cookies option is set to Never ask.

Check that there are no other programs running on the computer which may block cookies from being stored on your computer:

Windows: 1. Hold down the ALT key and press TAB a few times to show a list of open applications. Close down any programs you are not using. 2. Check the Startup folder in Start then Programs.

MacOS: 1. Click on the icon in the top left-right corner of the screen to show a list of open applications. Close down any programs you are not using. 2. Check the Startup Items folder in the System folder.

Check that the cookies folder is not write protected:

Windows: 1. Open Windows Explorer and go to the \Windows drive. 2. Right-click on the Cookies folder and select Properties from the list. 3. Check that the Read Only, System, and Hidden options are NOT selected.

MacOS: 1. From the System folder, open Preferences, then Explorer then Explorer Cache. 2. Click on the file cookies.txt to highlight it and select the Get Info option from the File menu. 3. Check that the Locked option is NOT selected.
 

Q. What is the "content advisor" and how do I turn it on/off?

The content of all Tiscali pages, and many sites on the Internet, is rated according to the industry standard system of PICS. You can setup your browser's content advisor to monitor these ratings and prevent your children from seeing unsuitable content.

If your browser's content advisor has been setup it will display an error message when you attempt to access 'unsuitable' web pages.

To setup your browser's content advisor:

Internet Explorer 5 for Windows: 1. Open Internet Explorer and from the Tools menu, select Internet Options. 2. Click on the Content tab and then select the Enable button in the Content Advisor panel. 3. Set the browser security levels as required.

Internet Explorer for MacOS: 1. Open Internet Explorer and from the Edit menu, select Preferences. 2. Click on the Ratings option in the left-hand list (under Web Browser). 3. Select the Enabled option under Ratings Settings at the top of the window. 4. Click the Change Password button to choose a password and set the browser security levels as required.

• How can I protect myself from online fraud?
• How to deal with and avoid spam.

"When connecting to Tiscali as your ISP, you need to use Tiscali's SMTP server to send email: smtp.tiscali.co.uk"

See more...