Location of "Page cannot be found" file

[SoundSailor]

Where does IE get the page it displays when a DNS lookup fails?

 

[Jon Kennedy]

The client-sided DNS error messages are in the shdoclc.dll file. For
example, you can see it if you put this in your IE address box:

res://C:\WINDOWS\system32\shdoclc.dll/dnserror.htm

If you are looking to change those error messages, you'll have to hack that
..dll - see the Editing ".html in .dll" section about half way down the page
here:
http://www.virtualplastic.net/html/art_hack.html
and this thread:
http://wint.virtualplastic.net/showtweak.php?tweak_id=58

Here's another way:
http://windows.about.com/od/tipsarchive/l/bltip568.htm - click "next tip"
for more.

 

[SoundSailor]

Thanks Jon, yes I'd like to change the error message.

 

[Guest]

I'm surprised this isn't customizable via group policy, or some other
administrative tool - whenever a web site goes down (particularly if it
happens to be our uers' home page) our help desk is inevitably barraged with
"my computer is down" requests.

At any rate, I tried using ResHacker to modify this DLL. Then I replaced
the one in \windows\system32\dllcache, and in \windows\system32 - however IE
seems to still have managed the out-of-the-box message, even though the URL
of the error still references and looking at \windows\system32\shdoclc.dll
with ResHacker shows my modifications in 23\DNSERROR.HTM\1033.

 

[Jon Kennedy]

Try this - in IE go to Tools...Internet Options...Advanced tab, Browsing
section, toggle "Show friendly HTTP error messages".

 

[Guest]

No good. The URL displayed is
res://C:\WINDOWS\system32\shdoclc.dll/dnserror.htm#http://doesnt.exist.com/,
and opening C:\WINDOWS\system32\shdoclc.dll with ResHacker shows the resource
23\DNSERROR.HTM\1033 as my customized version.