Just few hours back, mwolk was giving 500 error as the .htaccess file got screwed which brought the whole site down. So here is an article about 501 error (not 500). I will cover more such topics in coming days.

What is 501 Error

When trying to connect to web page in your browser, you may get an error that says something like: “Error 501/505: Not implemented or not supported“. Although this error is quite rare, you may find yourself subject to it at some point in time. To understand this error, let’s better define it. First off, there are multiple categories of HTTP status codes. Each code’s beginning number (3xx, 4xx) defines it’s particular category. Codes preceding with the number “5″ tell you that the server knows it has made an error or is unable to fulfill the request made. Error 501, in particular, is a status code telling you that the server you are trying to connect to either does not fully understand the request made, or is incapable of completing the request. There are 8 different protocols that HTTP supports, and are as follows:

• CONNECT
• DELETE
• GET
• HEAD
• OPTIONS
• POST
• PUT
• TRACE

Those are all the basic requests that your web browser uses. The server will give you the 501 error if something other than one of those requests were used, as the 501 error is telling you that it’s not understanding what request you’re giving it, or it doesn’t know what to do with it.
This should help you understand exactly why you are getting the message.

How to fix it?

If multiple people are experiencing this error, then odds are the web server justs needs updated. However, if you find yourself the only one struck by this oddity, then there other possibilities. One of the possibilities is that the web server does not support the HTTP 1.1 protocol, and it still currently using HTTP 1.0. In order to help solve possible problems for Internet Explorer, you can try to disable HTTP 1.1 by doing this:

While in Internet Explorer, click on the Tools -> Internet Options.
While in the Internet Options, click the “Advanced” tab.
Under the HTTP 1.1 settings section, uncheck “Use HTTP 1.1″
Under the Browsing section, uncheck “Show friendly HTTP error messages”.
Now click “OK” to save changes.

Another method that may help that any browser, including Internet Explorer, is to simply clear the cache and delete the cookies. Here’s how to do that for a few different browsers:

Internet Explorer 7
Tools -> Delete Browsing History, and then choose “delete files” and “delete cookies”.

Firefox 3
Tools -> Clear Private Data, and then make sure Cookies and Cache are selected before clicking the “Clear Private Data Now” button.

Google Chrome
Wrench Icon -> Clear Browsing Data, and then check Delete cookies and empty the cache before clicking the “Clear Browsing Data” button.

This should help clear up any confusion you may be having with this error, and if you still have any questions, be sure to drop a comment.

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