You may desire to use FTP to transfer files from one computer to another. The most common use of FTP is to transfer your personal Web pages from your computer to the Insight Broadband PWP host area. This is the area where your personal Website is hosted and can be viewed by any Internet user.

When using your desired FTP program, you may encounter error messages that can be hard to understand. Below is a list of the most common FTP error messages, and what they mean.

NOTE: Insight Broadband does not provide FTP support for any program other than Internet Explorer. Due to the near-endless number of possible configuration problems when using FTP to transfer files, Insight Broadband can only provide FTP support for Internet Explorer, and only when transferring files between your computer and the Insight Broadband Web server. If you are having problems using FTP between your computer and another Web server, you will need to contact the developer of your FTP software, and/or the person who owns the computer/Web server you are trying to access.

Common FTP Error Message Codes

Some FTP error messages start with a three digit number (such as 550), followed by a brief description of the problem. Other FTP error messages may not have the three-digit FTP error code. The following are some of the most common FTP error message codes, along with the explanation of the error, which may assist you with troubleshooting the specific problem:

Blocking call cancelled: This error message tends to be generated by older versions of some FTP programs, such as WS_FTP. If you get this error message, you should try downloading a newer version of your FTP program.

Cannot connect: You have entered an incorrect FTP server name. You will need to check the spelling, and try again. If the error message persists, the address you are entering may not exist.

Cannot resolve host name: You have entered an incorrect FTP server name. You will need to check the spelling, and try again. If the error message persists, the address you are entering may not exist.

FTP server shut down - please try again later: This error message means that the FTP server has been shut down, or is in the process of being shut down.

Local resource failure: malloc: The "malloc" error indicates that there was a memory allocation error on the host FTP server. Different "local resource failure" messages may appear during an FTP transaction. If you encounter a "local resource failure" message of any kind, it is recommended that you terminate your FTP connection and attempt to reconnect.

Login with USER first: This error message indicates that you have already successfully logged into the FTP server and issued the password command to the FTP server. This can happen if the user or the FTP server is behind a router, which is not configured properly. You will need to consult your router's documentation for assistance in resolving these types of FTP error messages.

The transfer of "_____" exceeded your home page size limit: This error message is generated when you have attempted to transfer a file that exceeds the storage limitation of your personal Web page area. The file being uploaded will not save on the Web server, but the FTP session (or connection) will still be active. You can delete other files off of your personal Web page area to make room, and then attempt to transfer the initial file again. Or, you can end your FTP session, and retain all the files that were originally in your personal Web space.

User "______" cannot change directory to "_______": This means that you cannot change to another directory in the FTP area. This can indicate that the directory has not been created beforehand. Please create the directory and then attempt to access it again.

User "______" logged in, access restrictions apply: This is not an FTP error message. This is a standard message that appears on many FTP servers after successfully logging in.

Again, Insight Broadband cannot assist you with any FTP issues unless they involve accessing your PWP (personal Web page) area on the Insight Broadband network while using Internet Explorer.