"HTTP 404" error when you access a website with URL redirection in Windows

Applies To
Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials Windows Server 2012 R2 Foundation Windows 8.1 Enterprise Windows 8.1 Pro Windows 8.1 Windows RT 8.1

This article describes an issue that occurs when you use an application that contains certain WinHTTP APIs to access a website in Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, or Windows Server 2012 R2. A hotfix is available to resolve this issue. The hotfix has a prerequisite.

Symptoms

Assume that the home page of a website has a URL redirection, and the URL redirection involves a "#" character. When an application tries to access this URL, it always returns an HTTP 404 error.

Hotfix information

Important Do not install a language pack after you install this hotfix. If you do, the language-specific changes in the hotfix will not be applied, and you will have to reinstall the hotfix. For more information, see Add language packs to Windows.

 A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix Download Available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft website:

http:⁠//support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support Note The "Hotfix Download Available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

To apply this hotfix, you must have April 2014 update rollup for Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 (2919355) installed in Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2.

Registry information

To use the hotfix in this package, you do not have to make any changes to the registry.

Restart requirement

You may have to restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace a previously released hotfix.

File information

The global version of this hotfix installs files that have the attributes that are listed in the following tables. The dates and the times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The dates and the times for these files on your local computer are displayed in your local time together with your current daylight saving time (DST) bias. Additionally, the dates and the times may change when you perform certain operations on the files.

Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 file information and notes

Important Windows 8.1 hotfixes and Windows Server 2012 R2 hotfixes are included in the same packages. However, hotfixes on the Hotfix Request page are listed under both operating systems. To request the hotfix package that applies to one or both operating systems, select the hotfix that is listed under "Windows 8.1/Windows Server 2012 R2" on the page. Always refer to the "Applies To" section in articles to determine the actual operating system that each hotfix applies to.

  • The files that apply to a specific product, milestone (RTM, SPn), and service branch (LDR, GDR) can be identified by examining the file version numbers as shown in the following table:

    Version Product Milestone Service branch
    6.3.960 0.17xxx Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 RTM GDR
  • The MANIFEST files (.manifest) and the MUM files (.mum) that are installed for each environment are listed separately in the "Additional file information" section. MUM, MANIFEST, and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are very important to maintain the state of the updated components. The security catalog files, for which the attributes are not listed, are signed with a Microsoft digital signature.

For all supported x86-based versions of Windows 8.1

File name File version File size Date Time Platform
Winhttp.dll 6.3.9600.17725 631,808 11-Mar-2015 00:13 x86

For all supported x64-based versions of Windows 8.1 and of Windows Server 2012 R2

File name File version File size Date Time Platform
Winhttp.dll 6.3.9600.17725 802,816 11-Mar-2015 00:29 x64
Winhttp.dll 6.3.9600.17725 631,808 11-Mar-2015 00:13 x86

For all supported Windows RT 8.1

File name File version File size Date Time Platform
Winhttp.dll 6.3.9600.17725 570,368 10-Mar-2015 23:56 Not applicable

Additional file information

Additional file information for Windows 8.1 and for Windows Server 2012 R2

Additional files for all supported x86-based versions of Windows 8.1

File property Value
File name X86_946184d95d2dd4664673da484c58113a_31bf3856ad364e35_5.1.9600.17725_none_af0f56348385019f.manifest
File version Not applicable
File size 695
Date (UTC) 11-Mar-2015
Time (UTC) 09:13
Platform Not applicable
File name X86_microsoft.windows.winhttp_31bf3856ad364e35_5.1.9600.17725_none_612326ca01296dc3.manifest
File version Not applicable
File size 51,747
Date (UTC) 11-Mar-2015
Time (UTC) 02:18
Platform Not applicable

Additional files for all supported x64-based versions of Windows 8.1 and of Windows Server 2012 R2

File property Value
File name Amd64_07b3c7f1a6c369febf3c0f47e6b752f7_31bf3856ad364e35_5.1.9600.17725_none_c24447d59dc8247d.manifest
File version Not applicable
File size 699
Date (UTC) 11-Mar-2015
Time (UTC) 09:13
Platform Not applicable
File name Amd64_d4f8cd1b9e4b76f5962e5a94a1a018e0_31bf3856ad364e35_5.1.9600.17725_none_75c2e3085cce46d2.manifest
File version Not applicable
File size 699
Date (UTC) 11-Mar-2015
Time (UTC) 09:13
Platform Not applicable
File name Amd64_microsoft.windows.winhttp_31bf3856ad364e35_5.1.9600.17725_none_bd41c24db986def9.manifest
File version Not applicable
File size 51,759
Date (UTC) 11-Mar-2015
Time (UTC) 03:03
Platform Not applicable
File name Wow64_microsoft.windows.winhttp_31bf3856ad364e35_5.1.9600.17725_none_c7966c9fede7a0f4.manifest
File version Not applicable
File size 49,547
Date (UTC) 11-Mar-2015
Time (UTC) 02:18
Platform Not applicable

Additional files for all supported Windows RT 8.1

File property Value
File name Arm_fdeaaa457512c27566beed5f892afdcf_31bf3856ad364e35_5.1.9600.17725_none_16e23d8af45f2897.manifest
File version Not applicable
File size 695
Date (UTC) 11-Mar-2015
Time (UTC) 09:13
Platform Not applicable
File name Arm_microsoft.windows.winhttp_31bf3856ad364e35_5.1.9600.17725_none_6125992201268c89.manifest
File version Not applicable
File size 51,745
Date (UTC) 11-Mar-2015
Time (UTC) 01:24
Platform Not applicable

Status

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

References

See the terminology that Microsoft uses to describe software updates.