Google Forms is one of the easiest ways to publish large-scale forms for just about anything you want. The forms have many different input and customisation options that allow users to make rather detailed and aesthetically pleasing forms that can be shared with a link.
However, like everything tech, Google Forms isn’t perfect and sometimes runs into random bugs and glitches. In this article, we’re looking at the Google Forms internal error that can stop you from sharing your forms.
One of the first things you should do is simply refresh the page. A number of times, a simple loading glitch when fetching the page from the server can trigger internal server errors (error code 500) that can stop the pages from loading or cause them to stop working.
Although it’s a bit of a far shot in this case, restarting your PC will purge the system’s memory of any temporary files that may be causing problems with your browser’s functionality or Google Forms in general.
Another thing you should do is check whether or not the form URL is correct. The only way to share a Google Form is by its URL so getting it right is important. Even if a single character is out of place, you can be redirected to a completely different form or no form.
Sometimes different browsers treat URLs differently, which can cause problems with web apps like Forms. The best browser for anything of Google’s online services is, of course, Chrome, but any other Chromium-based browser (Edge, for example) will work just fine.
Corrupt files in your cache or otherwise can cause this error as well. Clear them out to see if you can get Chrome to work.
Step 1: Type in chrome://settings/clearBrowserData in your browser’s address bar and hit Enter.
Step 2: Select the cache and cookies options and make sure the Time range is set to All time. Click on the Clear now button to clear out all the data.
Restart the browser and try visiting the link again. The form should open up without any problems.
Corrupt or malfunctioning extensions often cause many problems, including this one.
Head over to chrome://extensions and try disabling all your extensions to check if the browser starts functioning as normal again; if it does, enable them one by one until you have all the essential extensions working again.
There are multiple free DNS providers using whom you can fix this issue. In this example, we’re going to use Google’s DNS.
Step 1: Press the Windows key + I to open the Windows settings and click on Network & Internet.
Step 2: Click on Change adaptor options.
Step 3: Right-click on your active network (WiFi or LAN) and click Properties.
Step 4: Find Internet Protocol Version 4 in the list, click on it, and click Properties.
Step 5: Check the Use the following DNS server addresses radio button and type in 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 in the preferred and alternative DNS addresses, respectively.
Restart your browser and try visiting the form again. It should work without any problems.
Last but not least, there’s a chance that malware might be trying to access some links from your machine, in which case Google can throw internal server errors. Try running an antivirus scan on your PC to ensure that’s not the case.
Here’s how you can run a full scan on your PC using Windows Security.
Step 1: Press the Windows key and search for Windows Security. Click the corresponding search result.
Step 2: Click Virus & threat protection.
Step 3: Click Scan options.
Step 4: Select Full scan and click Scan now to start scanning your PC for malware.
Yadullah is a Computer Science graduate who writes/edits/shoots/codes all things cybersecurity, gaming, and tech hardware. When he's not, he streams himself racing virtual cars. He's been writing and reporting on tech and cybersecurity with websites like Candid.Technology and MakeUseOf since 2018. You can contact him here: yadullahabidi@pm.me.
