The Detective's Office

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You've Hit a 404 Error

The page you're looking for doesn't exist. But if you'd like, you can play an interactive detective game and try to find out what happened to the missing page. Click on evidence items, solve puzzles, and investigate the case of the missing web page.

The rain beats against your office window. A single desk lamp casts long shadows across the room. The phone rings—it's the Chief. Another case, another missing page. You light a cigarette and open the case file.

Case #404: Missing Web Page

The victim: A web page that should exist but doesn't. The crime scene: Your server. The time: Unknown. Your job: Find out what happened.

Examine the case file:

Case File

Crime Scene Photo

The Server Room

Investigation Location #1

Rows of servers hum in the dim light. You can hear the cooling fans whirring. This is where the page should have been served from. You pull out your flashlight and start examining.

Search for clues:

Server Error Log

File System Check

Request Header

Network Logs

Following the Digital Trail

Reams of network traffic scroll past. You're looking for the specific request that triggered this case. The logs are encrypted, but you know how to read between the lines.

Decode the network trace:

GET /missing-page.html HTTP/1.1

Host: example.com

User-Agent: Browser/1.0

Accept: text/html

Referer: /home.html

Status: 404 Not Found

Question: What HTTP method was used to request the missing page?

DNS Records

The Domain Trail

The DNS server sits in a corner, its lights blinking rhythmically. You query it about the domain. Sometimes the answer isn't in the files—it's in the routing.

Examine DNS configuration:

DNS Configuration

Domain History

DNS Server: "I know where the domain points, detective. But I can't tell you where the file went. That's beyond my jurisdiction."

Multi-Step Investigation

You need to piece together the evidence systematically. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Filter Server Logs by Timestamp

Enter the timestamp from the server error log to filter and find the requesting IP address.

Format: HH:MM:SS (e.g., 12:53:37)

Step 2: Query Error Details by IP Address

Now that you have the IP address, use it to retrieve detailed error information from the logs.

Step 3: Server Status Verification

Combine all the information: timestamp, IP address, and error details. Create a verification code.

Verification code format: [IP]-[TIMESTAMP]-[ERROR_CODE]

Example: 192.168.1.100-12:53:37-404

The Truth

Case Closed

Case #404: SOLVED

You've pieced it all together. The evidence is clear:

The page was requested by a legitimate user
The server looked for it but couldn't find it
The file was never created, or it was deleted
The DNS was pointing correctly
The path was valid, but the file didn't exist

THE VERDICT:

The page was never there to begin with. Someone requested a URL that doesn't exist. Maybe it was moved. Maybe it was never created. Maybe it's a broken link from another page.

The case of the missing web page ends here. But in the digital world, every 404 is a mystery waiting to be solved.