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Thursday, May 17, 2012

facebook - Invalid URL The requested URL "/", is invalid. Reference #

I can access to facebook using samsung galaxy SII without problem but when try to access to facebook this morning using my laptop, i hit error

Invalid URL

The requested URL "/", is invalid.Reference #9.3e556acb.1337250952.21c9cc69



















some suggest that delete browser cache will helps but i hit the above error in google chrome, mozilla firefox and IE8.

You can try 2 ways.


  1. Try to flushdns in your computer first.
  2. Click on Start
  3. Click on Run
  4. Type cmd and click on OK button
  5. In the command prompt windows, type ipconfig /flushdns and hit enter button.
  6. Try to browse the website again.





Not problem not solved, try This

  1. Go to folder "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc"
  2. Open hosts file with notepad .
  3. Copy below and paste in hosts file
    69.171.228.74 www.facebook.com
    69.171.228.74 https://www.facebook.com
  4. Click on save to save the hosts file
  5. Close the browser 
  6. Open and access to facebook again.
  7. Problem solved.







76 comments:

FH said...

This totally helped! I can finally open my fb :D

Thanks :D

| CamLeong | said...

Do you have any ideas of the solution for Mac OS too.> I got the same issue as you that I can't access to Facebook...

caihon said...

When i going to save it on step 4, it show me "You don't have permission to save in this location. Contact the administrator to obtain permission."
What should i do to face this problem?
please, i need help!
Thanks.

Ei-Leen said...

I am also having same issue since yesterday. "You don't have permission to save in this location. Contact the administrator to obtain permission"
How? :(

In blues said...

You need to make sure that you have admin right to do that. Means, your login to windows must be administrator role. Else you cannot save the file.

In blues said...

CamLeong, you can try to check on wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_(file) on which file should amend. I'm not mac user but i believe wiki's information might helps.

caihon said...

sorry but how do i know whether im in administrator role or not?
sorry, im quite idiot regarding this, i don't know how to check it

In blues said...

caihon, check this to find out whether you are system admin http://oit.ncsu.edu/antivirus/administrator-account

caihon said...

thanks reply, there written user administrator, but y i can't save that? so bad =(
what can i do to that?

In blues said...

You can try to google. Check whether this helps http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923947

caihon said...

Ei-Leen, can u solve your problem?

Unknown said...

WORKED!!! I could kiss you!! I am very good with comps but this problems had me beat till I read this.. thanks again!

Unknown said...

IT WORKED!! I COULD KISS YOU!!!

Reg_Z said...

For those having problems on saving hosts files, You need to take ownership of the file before you can save any changes. This is required for Windows 7 & Vista users but isn't for Windows XP. You need to download the take ownership file and install the downloaded registry file to take ownership of your host file. Goodluck and I hope this helps.

Sage said...

Thank you so much !

Reg_Z said...

This fix worked for my Windows... But not for my Mac... Hmmm... Anyone got an idea?

Alamir Aquino CorrĂȘa said...

For mac users:

http://decoding.wordpress.com/2009/04/06/how-to-edit-the-hosts-file-in-mac-os-x-leopard/

SOO [¥] said...

Worked like charm. THANKS!!!

Angelina said...

Wow i am glade that this site is really amazing and inspirational to me, i am glade that this site is really cool and amazing to me.

Unknown said...

i had to do everything listed on this thread, but it appears to have worked. thanks.

tkoss said...

This does not work! It keeps saying invalid path

peter said...

This worked for me, also.

However, can someone tell me WHY? I note that simply entering the one of the ip addresses listed into the browser, does not work, so it must be the interaction of the http and https addresses. What is the bug that is happening?

Unknown said...

after checking, im the admin but still cant save. it say contact the admin...how that happen?

Unknown said...

WOW!!!
It's worked...
o_O

Unknown said...

You can also try this

On a Windows XP machine go to Start --> Run.
Type in cmd. Press enter ( a new command prompt window should open)
On the command prompt window, type in ipconfig /flushdns
Close your browser window and reopen it.
Access facebook.com and you should be fine.

Amazon said...

Ok, so I am the administrator of the computer, and it gives me the message that I am not allowed to save on that location. What can I do? I am sure I am the administrator, it is the only account there is on the computer and it says so on control panel...

Marc said...

I would like to try the suggested fix, but like others, I am told I can not save the hosts file because I do not have administrative privileges, yet I am listed as the administrator. Don't see why every step yields another problem. So frustrating.

Heather said...

Ok - If you can't save the HOSTS file try this - it worked like a charm for me! Go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
Right Click on HOSTS and click PROPERTIES
Click on SECURITY tab
Select your profile
Click EDIT
then set the security permissions for the file.
Click SAVE
DONE!!

Heather said...

WIN 7
Ok - If you can't save the HOSTS file try this - it worked like a charm for me! Go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
Right Click on HOSTS and click PROPERTIES
Click on SECURITY tab
Select your profile
Click EDIT
then set the security permissions for the file.
Click SAVE
DONE!!

Maxime said...

Thanks for the tutorial,
Under windows 7, I've searched for notepad.exe in the start menu, right clicked it, and opened it as an administrator. I didn't have any problem using this method.

Hope that helps

Steve Radoja said...

have we figured out how to fix this problem for macbooks yet? I have the exact same problem right now : (

zobo said...

Macbooks: I have never used a macbook, but I believe the OS is essentially BSD Unix. In that case, I believe you can find the hosts file someplace like /etc/hosts
Editing it will have the same effect as mentioned in earlier posts. You will probably need root privilege to edit the file.

Note that the above OS assumption will probably be false if your macbook is very old.

As for flushing dns, I'm not sure how you do that in Unix, and therefore Mac OS.

SophCG said...

Thank you Heather!!!! it worked like charm!!!!! thank you!!!!
I did this before saving the host file:

WIN 7
Ok - If you can't save the HOSTS file try this - it worked like a charm for me! Go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
Right Click on HOSTS and click PROPERTIES
Click on SECURITY tab
Select your profile
Click EDIT
then set the security permissions for the file.
Click SAVE
DONE!!

Annie said...

I Follow the instruction but can't work ? what happen ?

The requested URL "/", is invalid.

Reference #9.3e556acb.1342431726.843e4f2

Unknown said...

thank you!!!
i solved the problem at this way

Jennifer said...

Seems to have worked - we'll see if it's a long-term fix!

Unknown said...

I have been trying to fin this problem for months now, usually power cycing the router works but the problem comes back half an hour or so later, I hope this will be a permanent solution!

Francis K. Lalumiere said...

Where's the hosts file under Windows XT?

JuneBlue said...

WOW Thank you!! This was driving me crazy. Thank you for your solution, and for the clear directions. Greatly appreciated.

Bruno A. T. Conte said...

Just paste the IP adress of Facebook on your browser. In this case it would be: 69.171.228.74

Unknown said...

I followed the instructions word for word. Facebook popped up the first click afterwards. Finally!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unknown said...

I followed the instructions exactly and it seems to have worked. I run Windows XP and use Google Chrome, in case that helps people narrow down if it will work for them.

Will said...

4 comps in the house, 3 running Windows 7 and 1 on XP and for no reason at all while on Facebook the "Invalid URL" pops up. Thanks a million for the fix! You're a genius!

Will said...

After you do this fix you might need to go into your antivirus settings and allow it. I run Microsoft Essentials and it would automatically clean out (erase) the www.facebook.com line I had just saved into the Hosts file.

Will said...

Also add:

69.171.228.74 apps.facebook.com

To the Hosts file if you have that "Invalid URL" message pop up when you are trying to access the games.

Unknown said...

any easy solutions?? Have no idea what a c/ file is or where to find it??HELP

Will said...

Chuck, click on "Start", then "Computer", then "Local Disk C". Follow from there.

Big John said...

TYVM, it worked for me. I feel much better now.

p.s. what a wierd error!

Judi said...

Will this work with 64bit systems?

nate808 said...

So you have a fix, I also tried www.www.facebook.com and that works as well. So my question is why does this website behave so poorly? I don't seem to get this error with any other URLs.
Thanks,
Nate

rf120 said...

this www.www.facebook.com works. If anyone has a Mac solution that would be great. I am SO SICK OF THIS ISSUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Roller said...

So how do I overcome the security restriction that refuses to let me save the "hosts" file, even though I am the Administrator (and only user) of this computer?

Roller said...

I Have the same "invalid url" issue on three different computers (one using Vista, 2 using 7), on 3 different browsers (IE, Firefox, and Chrome).

In blues said...

Hi, is your "hosts" file set to read-only? If yes, you are not able to change it. Check this http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-files/cannot-change-read-only-file-attributes-using/b02b2254-cd4d-4e50-a68a-cae8c748d086

Roller said...

Thanks, In blues...
I was successful in changing the read only attribute, but I still get "Access Denied."

Unknown said...

any easy way to do this fix??? I go to start,then computer, then local disc...once im at this spot I do not have anything that says C files,host files, or note pad files....am I missing a step somewhere?? Thank you for any assistance you can give.

Roller said...

@Chuck Wagon--
Try going to start, then documents. Then in the left-hand column, near the bottom, you can probably see "Local Disc (C:)" Click that, then in the right column, go to Windows and dbl-click it, then scroll to System32 and dbl-click again. Repeat at drivers, then at etc. The host file is in that folder.
However, some, or all of the folders from Windows on down may be hidden files--that's because those are the system files that are the heart of Windows, and it wouldn't do to let novices do something to a file that might irretrievably muck up the entire computer.

Unknown said...

Started running into these problems after switching to a Linksys Wireless Router, happens to other websites also. If your computer is set to pull dns automatically, change it to manual and get the dns servers from your ISP instead of using 192.168.1.1 or the ip of your linksys router which is pulled through dhcp by default from the router.

Unknown said...

thank, I got it.

navi said...

I am using windows xp and facing problem of this to open facebook a/c in google chrome
""Invalid URL
The requested URL "/", is invalid.
Reference #9.54e0fc7d.1349357869.2efa158""
so kindly any one help me out pls
Thanks

Unknown said...

To save the hosts file in Windows 7 all you really have to to is open an elevated notepad (right click on notepad in start menu and choose "Run as Admin...") then go to file -> open, browse for the hosts file (be sure to change the dropdown at the bottom from "text documents" to "all files") and then after making the changes, save normally. This is much safer than messing with permissions.

Unknown said...

this blog is very helpful...thanks

Unknown said...

Just watched the video...is that for windows 7 ? when I click on program/start I dont see anywhere where it says "RUN"

Unknown said...

Prueba cambiando la fecha de tu PC a mí me funciono!, parece una solución simple, pero funciono, adelante un día en el calendario, no sé en que influirå dicho cambio. Bueno, espero que aporte mi comentario. Saludos!

Try changing the date of your PC worked for me!, Seems a simple solution, but it worked out a day in the calendar, I do not know that this change will affect. Well, I hope to provide my comments. Greetings!

氏äșș物 said...

it was working for this problem but recently it's no longer working for me? can help me pls?

Cheryl Yvan Chong said...

same problem as 氏äșș物 ! help!!!

In blues said...

If not longer working, please

1. Go to folder "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc"
2. Open hosts file with notepad .
3. Clear
69.171.228.74 www.facebook.com
69.171.228.74 https://www.facebook.com
4. Click on save to save the hosts file

Please let me know the outcome.

Cheryl Yvan Chong said...

In blues, I have been doing that and it worked but recently when i do that facebook gets timed out with error 118.

mysterious said...

same problem as 氏äșș物! after i clear 69.171.228.74 www.facebook.com
69.171.228.74 https://www.facebook.com

i was not allow to save..pls help!!

Unknown said...

I have this problem with tumblr, what do I paste into the host file in this case?

Unknown said...

I used to only experience this with facebook but have since found other websites where this occurs. It is generally on https connections that it happens. Editing the hosts file should not be necessary to resolve this issue. Sometimes "ipconfig /flushdns" works other times it does nothing. clearing the browser cache does not solve it either. I have MS security essentials running and has not detected any spyware, this is not a typical action for spy/malware so I do not believe this is the problem. This is an issue with the DNS not resolving hostnames to IP addresses, I run a linux server connected to a router which then connects to the broadband router, unplugging both seems to trigger the issue. Check your network adapters IP v4 settings and ensure no wins server is specified. I had a wins server configured and once removed I was then able to load the pages which had this error occur. I will update later if the error occurs again with other resolution attempts, I am hoping it is not due to using netbios over tcp/ip as this is required for me to connect to my NAS and subsequently the desktop and my documents folders.

Jengryna said...

hi, i did saved the host file. try to reopen facebook.com, but still appear,
Invalid URL

The requested URL "/", is invalid.
Reference #9.3e556acb.1364205759.700eca

Please help.....

Anonymous said...

it work for me after flushing the dns on window8.. Thanks

slater624 said...

Invalid URL occurs with other websites.

This solution is great, except that Facebook's IP address does not apply to other websites.

This solution may apply to other website's IP address.

How can the IP for other websites be found?

Who here has used this solution to solve the 'Invalid URL' occurrence for websites other than Facebook?

Anonymous said...

ehh still cant get the damn thing on xP i tried both of those methods but nothing happens.

Unknown said...

The first solution is work. Thank