Q: The localhost machine is not found when trying to connect to GeoServer

This could happen if you're behind a proxy and haven't configured localhost for access. If that's the case, make sure the proxy configuration for your browser knows that you shouldn't be going through the proxy to access the "localhost" machine. In Netscape, this is under Edit/preferences -> Advanced/proxies, and in Internet Explorer, Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections -> LAN Settings.