Looking for URL to get started with adwords

[starlygirl]

Where can I find some information about getting set up as a new user for adwords from Google? I've been trying this URL for the last few weeks, which is the URL I get by searching for "adwords" on google, but I keep getting "page not found". Is there some other URL I should be using here? Very confused.

https://adwords.google.com/select/

[esiegel]

try:
http://adwords.google.com

[starlygirl]

This is so weird - that URL won't work for me either - it just gives me that same "page not found". Is there some divine force trying to keep me out of adwords?

When I'm on Google and there's the link underneath all the adwords that says "see your message here", I click that link and get the same error - page not found. Seriously, this is the strangest thing.

~Stacy

[Brittany]

Stacy,

Retailer had a similar problem in this thread.

Both URLs are working fine for me! Perhaps the site was down for a few days? Or maybe they went on a Thanksgiving holiday? ;)

Does anyone know for sure?

Brittany

[minstrel]

This is so weird - that URL won't work for me either - it just gives me that same "page not found". Is there some divine force trying to keep me out of adwords?

When I'm on Google and there's the link underneath all the adwords that says "see your message here", I click that link and get the same error - page not found. Seriously, this is the strangest thing.

~Stacy

I can think of a couple of scenarios where this would happen:

(1) most common culprit: you are using a "hosts" file which stores numeric IP addresses for alphabetical URLs, and that IP address has changed - many so-called "Internet Speedup" programs do this and it's never been a good idea except for intranets - the idea is that this makes locating sites faster because your browser doesn't have to check the internet database to convert the URL to the IP if it's stored on your computer. The problem with that is that sites change servers and not infrequently so the IP address can change.

If you're using Windows XP, I can't remember if that's enabled by default or not but it can and, unless you're on an intranet, should be disabled - I can look it up for you if you are running XP. Do a file search for hosts* and if anything comes up delete it. Or, if you think you need that file for some reason, edit it in NotePad, find any references to Google, and delete them. The entries will be recreated with the correct IP when you next visit the site.

(2) you are using a firewall and somehow this page has been added to the "bad" list - check your firewall settings

(3) you've somehow managed to add this site to your browsers "restricted zone" settings and it doesn't like something on the page? (not sure if this would give you a page not found error though)

[starlygirl]

Aah, sounds like it's probably culprit #1 as I am running Windows XP. I searched for files with "hosts*" and got back several files, but I opened them each up in notepad and didn't find any mention of google so I haven't decided if I should delete the files. Minstrel, let me know if you have the steps I should take to disable this function of XP - or is deleting the hosts files the only thing that needs to be done? Thanks!

~Stacy

[minstrel]

I am assuming here that you do not have a LAN or home networking system, and that you are using a standard dialup or high-speed internet connection. Some of what follows may not apply to cable connections and some other networked connections like satellite. If this isn't true, then be careful with what follows.

Also, I'm not sure why you would have so many hosts files, and this worries/puzzles me a bit - have you run Ad-Aware or Spybot Search & Destroy recently to check for spyware? Can you list the names of your hosts files?

By default, I believe you'll have one called hosts.sam which doesn't do anything (the "sam" means sample"). If you have one called just "hosts" with no extensions, that's probably the culprit. I think programs like mIrc and Irc use hosts files, some file sharing P2P programs use them I believe, and many so-called "internet speedup" programs use them. Also, if you have NETBIOS installed, you may have a file called "LMHOSTS" (see below).

(1) The Problem Defined

From the archives of Fred Langa's "Langalist":

The Hosts file is mainly meant to be used on a LAN; it tells your PC the fixed numeric address of the internal server you need to connect to. But some less-than-stellar internet speedup software tries to shave a few fractions of a second off your Internet connections by placing the numeric IP of external web sites in the Hosts file so your browser won't have to look up the name and address externally. This works---as long as the site's numeric IP address never changes.

But IP addresses *do* change--- and they're supposed to be able to. The Web operates via "dynamic" naming; treating web addresses as static defeats an important part of the Web's ability to reconfigure itself.

For example, the WinMag site's numeric address changed a few months ago; Langa.Com's address changed a few weeks ago; BrowserTune.Com and HotSpots changed even more recently. People with out-of-date addresses hardwired into their Hosts file can no longer connect to any site whose address has changed--- the Hosts entry is permanently pointing them to a dead location! The only way they can connect is by using a nonstandard form of the address that forces their browser to perform a normal name lookup; done that way, they connect just fine.

If you have trouble connecting to a site you know should be there, use NotePad to examine the contents of your Hosts file in the Windows directory. If you're on a LAN, your system administrator can tell you if you really need entries in the Hosts file, and what they should be; delete any others.

And if you're not on a LAN, chances are you don't need the Hosts file at all. Rename it HOSTSBAK or something similar, reboot, and see what happens. Chances are, the only thing that will change is that you may be able to connect to sites that were giving you trouble. But, if it turns out you do need the Hosts file, just rename it back to Hosts.

(By the way, HOSTS.SAM is a fake sample HOSTS file placed in the Windows directory by default. It's not involved in any of the foregoing; you can ignore it.)

Some software that may have enabled/installed/editied your Hosts file: Modem Booster, Download Accelerator, Fastcar, Fastnet, etc.

Your mileage may vary--- but I think it's dumb for any software to try to treat the dynamic addressing of the Internet as if it's static. It ain't static, and as we've seen, static Host addresses often cause nothing but trouble.

(2) The Fix

First, this assumes you are not using a networked computer, i.e., you are not on a Local Area Network (LAN) and you haven't set up your computer for home networking.

Second, this also assumes you have not installed any so-called "Internet Speedup" software - if you have, uninstall it - it probably isn't making any difference at all in internet access except by caching DNS addresses and this is precisely what you don't want to be doing (see above). If you previously installed one of these at any time, it may well have left behind a Hosts file which is causing the problem.

If you have passed these two conditions, proceed as follows:

Step 1: Locate and delete all hosts* files - if this worries you, just move them into another folder (I have one for this purpose called "Delete" where I move files I don't think I need and leave them there for a while to make sure they can be junked).

Step 2: Disable DNS caching:
- click on Administrative Tools in Control Panel (or you may find it in Start | Administrative Tools)
- select Services and Applications | Services
- click on DNS Client | "Dependencies" tab and look in the bottom panel under "The following system components depend on this service" - it will probably be blank
- click on the "General" tab and under Startup type, set to "Manual"

Check the following:
- Open Network Connections
- Right-click the network connection you want to configure, and then click Properties.
- On the General tab (for a local area connection) or the Networking tab (all other connections), click the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) component, and then click Properties.
- I think it should say "Obtain IP address automatically" and "Obtain DNS server address automatically".
- Click on Advanced | Wins and check "disable NETBIOS over TCP/IP" and make sure "Enable LMHOSTS lookup" is UNchecked

[starlygirl]

Minstrel, thank you so much for typing all that out :) I am going to get my husband to look at your post and try to fix this thing as he is a bit more computer literate than myself. I really appreciate your help!

~Stacy

[citypublife]

Hey mate!!

You deserve 10 stars for helping out starlygirl in such depth. I haven't a clue what you're talking about, but your time, knowledge and patience is appreciated, I'm sure, by all.

[minstrel]

You're welcome, Stacy... I hope it works for you.

I haven't a clue what you're talking about, but your time, knowledge and patience is appreciated, I'm sure, by all.

LOL... sometimes I don't have a clue what I'm talking about, either!