[Computer Fix] How To Access Google or Gmail.com When Web Browser Refuses To Load Them

6-28-10: Initial release.

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The other day I had to fix my cousin’s computer, and can you guess what the error was? Basically, she had told me that for the last 6 months or so, her desktop PC would not let her load Google or Gmail.com!

Can you imagine going 6 months without access to Gmail in your own house? I think I would suffer pretty badly!

Anyway, do you have this issue? Your computer is acting weird and you can’t access Google or any of the Google websites like Gmail.com? Well, guess what, the solution is simple if you know how to fix it.

This is the fix. You will need to verify your Windows HOST file, as it is possible that malware or other external programs have tampered your HOST file preventing your PC to access Google.com or similar sites.

This is how to perform the fix:
1) Open notepad.
2) Navigate to C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc
3) Open “hosts” file. You want to have the contents show up as below:

# Copyright (c) 1993-1999 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a ‘#’ symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host

127.0.0.1 localhost

4) Make sure your host file looks like the default one above. Click on save, and now you should be able to access Google and Gmail now!