# On a Mac, running Firefox, why do I get a Microsoft error page?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-mac-running-firefox-why-do-i-get-a-microsoft-error-page/373088>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 17, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-mac-running-firefox-why-do-i-get-a-microsoft-error-page/373088 "2006-09-17T17:46:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-mac-running-firefox-why-do-i-get-a-microsoft-error-page/373088/1 "2006-09-17T17:46:58Z")

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I was on [this site](http://www.ampetrographic.com/employment/http://www.ampetrographic.com/employment/) and clicked on the “Petrography Technician” link and got a Microsoft “can’t find that page” page. I’m using Firefox on a Mac and haven’t seen a page like that on my Mac before.

What is going on?

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-mac-running-firefox-why-do-i-get-a-microsoft-error-page/373088/2 "2006-09-17T17:50:48Z")

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That page is generated by the site itself. Looks like that is what they use as their default 404 page, possibly because they are running an MS OS on their servers.

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**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-mac-running-firefox-why-do-i-get-a-microsoft-error-page/373088/3 "2006-09-17T17:52:22Z")

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Thanks for the speedy answer.

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**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-mac-running-firefox-why-do-i-get-a-microsoft-error-page/373088/4 "2006-09-17T17:53:24Z")

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That is the normal default error page for Microsoft IIS servers. It’s entirely unrelated to what browser you’re using.

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**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2006, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-a-mac-running-firefox-why-do-i-get-a-microsoft-error-page/373088/5 "2006-09-18T04:13:14Z")

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[QUOTE=Boscibo]  
I was on [this site](http://www.ampetrographic.com/employment/http://www.ampetrographic.com/employment/) and clicked on the “Petrography Technician” link and got a Microsoft “can’t find that page” page. I’m using Firefox on a Mac and haven’t seen a page like that on my Mac before.

What is going on?  
[/QUOTE]

The webpage url is duplicated, which causes the error. The actual page is

> **[American Petrographic Services, Inc.](https://ampetrographic.com/)**
>
> American Petrographic Services provides Forensic analysis on concrete, concrete constituents and other building materials.

But for some reason it is listed like that twice in a row in your link. The error page you’re seeing originates on the server, which is running Microsoft software.
