Why I can't visit http://localhost via IE?

Question

But it's fine when I'm using firefox,

and in IE I can also open the page via 127.0.0.1

Anyone knows how to fix it for IE?

Jeff Atwood · Answer 1 · 2010-01-17 07:36:35Z

up vote 2 down vote

Some things to try:

try adding the port to localhost: localhost:80 or localhost:8080
try checking proxy bypass settings for Internet Explorer (Tools -> Options), make sure it's set to proxy bypass for localhost
Check C:\windows\system32\config\etc\hosts and make sure the localhost entry is there

community wiki

2

Under Windows 7, hosts no longer contains an entry for localhost (this is mentioned in the comments). – Richard Jan 17 '10 at 9:37

I tried all the above,but still not working. – user11671 Jan 24 '10 at 15:20

localhost still works in Win7 for me, using the latest IE. – ekaj Jan 31 at 17:40

feedback

Simon Sheehan · Answer 2 · 2012-01-31 18:45:53Z

up vote 2 down vote

You should add http:// before localhost:port for IE. Unlike other browsers, IE needs to know what protocol is being used.

answered Jan 31 at 17:35

	Are you sure? I just tried typing only `localhost` and IE turned it to `http://localhost/` .. – Bibhas Jan 31 at 19:06
	Good habit is to include the protocol first; however if it is just `localhost` and no actual port number, you can usually just do what you stated and type `localhost` without issue. If you need port numbers though, you should used the proper protocol format. – zackrspv Feb 1 at 0:58

feedback

2 Answers