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Troubleshooting Web Problems

If the materials in the Help Center and the following troubleshooting tips don't help you solve your problem, please email Tech Support at for assistance. Be sure to include your login name and full name, what platform & program you are using, and any relevant error messages.

Can't log in or can't connect

• Doublecheck your username/password by logging into the account's Webmail. Usernames and passwords are case-sensitive. Call Member Services at (217) 244-1962 to request a password reset.

• On older Web Hosting (aka Information Provider) accounts, make sure you are using your login (xx--) and not your mail alias to log in. Email for assistance.

• Has account expired? An expired account is still on the system, but you will be unable to log in. To check on account status, contact Member Services at (217) 244-1962 or email .

• Are you using a secure FTP program? Regular FTP will not connect anymore. See Help Center for more information.

• Doublecheck your SFTP settings.

  Hostname: ftp.prairienet.org
  Username: [your login]
  Password: [your password]

• In rare cases, we have had instances of people not being able to connect due to problems organizational firewalls or with their ISP.

Can log in but can't upload and/or file disappeared

• Account is over quota. If you are close to being over quota, a file can get zeroed out in the upload process. Delete old files to make space. [Advanced users: log in via SSH, go to the Linux shell and type: quota -v' to check your quota.) Email for additional assistance.

Can't see my Web files at all

• Have files been uploaded to your public_html folder? Files uploaded into your home directory are not publically accessible.

• Did you delete and recreate a folder called public_html? If so, it will be part of your private space and will not work. [Advanced users: the symbolic link public_html may have been overwritten and replaced with a subdirectory of your home directory.] Email Tech Support for assistance.

• CAUTION: some HTML publishing programs, notably Frontpage, will erase public_html and replace it with a local folder that will not work. Try to avoid using options that erase all old files on the server.

File is not updating or image not displaying

• Is file being uploaded to correct location in your public_html folder?
  

• Make sure you have the correct filename. File and folder names are case-sensitive. Some browsers will not display filenames with spaces in them.

• Doublecheck that you are uploading the correct updated files from your own computer.

• Does your homepage file have correct name? Sometimes people have both index.* and homepage.* files. Filenames are case-sensitive. homepage.html takes precedence over other variants as the default homepage.

  [Advanced users: precedence on the Web server is as follows - homepage.html homepage.htm homepage.shtml homepage.shtm homepage.phtml homepage.php index.html index.htm index.shtml index.shtm index.php index.cgi index.phtml index.php3]

• Is your browser displaying an old cached version of the page off your hard disk? See your browser's help on how to clear the browser cache.