Computer issue - what does this mean?

[Monty]

Tried to go to ebay to leave some feedback on a recent purchase and I couldn't get in. All I got as this message:

Gateway Timeout

The proxy server did not receive a timely response from the upstream server.

I've never had any issues accessing sites like this.  What's going on and how can I fix it?

[Snake45]

Might just mean eBay was down for a short time (it's up now), or some ISP server between you and them was down temporarily. 

[Monty]

2 hours ago, Snake45 said:

Might just mean eBay was down for a short time (it's up now), or some ISP server between you and them was down temporarily. 

It's been five hours since it first started.  Sounds like you had no problem getting in.  I still can't via Chrome, which I prefer, but can through Bing, which I'm not crazy about.  

Edited February 23, 2021 by Monty

[Snake45]

I just tried on Chrome, came right up. 

[Modelbuilder Mark]

A 

Gateway Timeout Error means your web server didn't receive a timely response from another server upstream when it attempted to load one of your web pages. Put simply, your web servers aren't communicating with each other fast enough.

[Monty]

15 minutes ago, Modelbuilder Mark said:

A 

Gateway Timeout Error means your web server didn't receive a timely response from another server upstream when it attempted to load one of your web pages. Put simply, your web servers aren't communicating with each other fast enough.

Never happened before, including a purchase I made on ebay yesterday.  Is there a way to fix it?

[Tom Geiger]

Maybe clear your internet cache and reboot the computer. 

[Modelbuilder Mark]

If rebooting your PC does not help, sometimes problems with your network devices, like modem or router, could lead to a Gateway Timeout error. Rebooting these devices could help you with fixing the problem.

While you can switch off all these networking devices in any order, the order in which you switch them back on is important. Typically, turn these devices on from the “outside-in,” following the connection order from the internet service provider to your main client device.

It can also be caused by DNS issues on the server-side or the client-side (or both). You can use free tools like whatsmydns.net to check.

[ChrisBcritter]

I figured it was one more of the many sites that don't work on this old XP machine anymore, even after reboots and running CCleaner. My late dad's computer is on Windows 7 and eBay still works - and it's on the same modem/router.