computer help

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Wed May 18, 2005 1:08 pm

Sometimes when I am online the web page will just suddenly not "go through," and say I need to refresh. I refresh over and over and nothing happens. This is in Internet Explorer.

If I try another browser like AOL, it does the same thing. The only thing I've found that helps is if I completely restart the computer but I suspect that there may be an easier way to fix it...and I suspect somebody here can tell me what it is.

Chang He · Post by **Chang He** » Wed May 18, 2005 1:28 pm

Easiest solution: buy a Mac.

Seriously, IE is so full of bugs I never use it unless I am doing tech support for one of my friends who is having a similar problem. If you don't want a new computer, go to www.mozilla.org and download Firefox. You won't regret it, it is free, and you'll be making the world a better place.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Wed May 18, 2005 1:32 pm

What does Firefox do?

I do want a new computer, but I can't afford one. This one is almost new as it is.

Chang He · Post by **Chang He** » Wed May 18, 2005 1:35 pm

Firefox is a web browser which is so much better than IE I can't begin to tell you. Very user friendly, very few bugs, and it is a collaborative labor of love by the programming community. Excellent work.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Wed May 18, 2005 1:41 pm

Oh, ok. Thanks. I was thinking it was some kind of program that would fix the issue.

djm · Post by **djm** » Wed May 18, 2005 1:49 pm

It might be something as simple as clearing the cache on your browser. Browsers make the net "appear" to be faster than it is by storing a lot of stuff like images, so that the next time you load that page, your browser can tell the server to only send new/changed stuff. You have the option of choosing how big this cache of stored stuff is on your hard drive, but eventually it gets full, and your browser starts acting funny (an exlax moment, if you will). Clear the cache and you're back in business.

djm

bradhurley · Post by **bradhurley** » Wed May 18, 2005 1:57 pm

Cranberry, I've been having the same problem with Internet Explorer and Windows XP with the latest service packs. I think it has to do with the security settings; some sites won't load right away and you have to hit refresh about 10-15 times before they finally load.

It is frustrating! Firefox is a good alternative, although some sites are not accessible with Firefox and it doesn't display some pages as well as IE does (oddly enough, since Firefox is supposedly more compliant with Web standards). I would use Firefox most of the time on my machine except that it doesn't work with my online banking, nor does it work with my employer's online timesheet.

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Wed May 18, 2005 2:45 pm

How do I clear the cache?

djm · Post by **djm** » Wed May 18, 2005 2:59 pm

MS IE: Tools => Internet Options => General

- Delete Files - clears your cache
- Settings - allows you to increase your cache size

Interestingly enough, Netscape 8 (currently in beta) will include Firefox.

IE is not standards compliant. MS uses their own settings and ignores many net standards. You will especially see this in web sites created in MS Front Page, where many features are only viewable in IE. This is one of MS's nasty little tricks to discourage people from using other browsers.

Nonetheless, it is estimated (from what I've read) that IE has lost 7% of the browser market in the last year alone to Firefox.

djm

phcook · Post by **phcook** » Wed May 18, 2005 3:01 pm

If you eventually use firefox, go to 'tools' tab, select 'options', and click 'private life' (I suppose those are the right word for you, because mine is using French).

You'll find a window with 'clear cache'

Best

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Wed May 18, 2005 3:01 pm

Thanks so much!

ChrisA · Post by **ChrisA** » Wed May 18, 2005 4:01 pm

bradhurley wrote:Firefox is a good alternative, although some sites are not accessible with Firefox and it doesn't display some pages as well as IE does (oddly enough, since Firefox is supposedly more compliant with Web standards).

Some pages are written with the assumption that browsers will display the way
IE does, even if IE is wrong, with respect to the standard, in how it displays things.

Some pages will actually display better in Firefox, especially those designed with
non-Microsoft web design tools, and of course, those designed with standards
compliance in mind.

Mostly, though, web pages render pretty much the same in either browser.

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned yet, that Firefox is entirely free, and can be installed
alongside Internet Explorer. In other words, it costs you nothing to try it. And, actually,
it costs you nothing to keep it, being, well, free software.

The Weekenders · Post by **The Weekenders** » Wed May 18, 2005 4:04 pm

Because I am an OSX user, I noticed that Safari, the native browser, does not always work with things that involve filling out forms, like registrations, purchases, even downloading images to my yahoo photo and briefcase files.

How does Firefox do for those things? It's pretty important because its the interactive aspect of the browser.

ChrisA · Post by **ChrisA** » Wed May 18, 2005 4:06 pm

phcook wrote:If you eventually use firefox, go to 'tools' tab, select 'options', and click 'private life' (I suppose those are the right word for you, because mine is using French).

You'll find a window with 'clear cache'

Best

Probably, 'privacy', not 'private life'.
(I use Mozilla - a cousin of Firefox - but the menus are somewhat different...)

ChrisA · Post by **ChrisA** » Wed May 18, 2005 4:20 pm

The Weekenders wrote:Because I am an OSX user, I noticed that Safari, the native browser, does not always work with things that involve filling out forms, like registrations, purchases, even downloading images to my yahoo photo and briefcase files.

How does Firefox do for those things? It's pretty important because its the interactive aspect of the browser.

I've had no problems with these things in a very long time, using Mozilla under Linux.
Firefox is a Mozilla derivative, and OSX is a BSD Unix derivative, so the cases are
related, but not quite identical.

I've bought and sold things on ebay and half.com, I've purchused and administered domains
online, I have an emusic.com subscription, and obviously, I post here (which actually has
a whole lotta interaction). The bbcode buttons at the top of the post entry
box work flawlessly.

Complex javascript sometimes fails. VBscript will -always- fail on any non-windows platform,
as will any code using ActiveX/DirectX extensions in any manner. Shockwave plugin doesn't
exist for Linux, I don't know about MacOS X, but the flash plugin does, and flash programs
are entirely well-behaved.

(Sometimes, though, one would really rather -not- have flash
support... my work machine doesn't have the flash plugin, and it's amazing how many
places the 'forced advertisment' is simply skipped. At home, occassionally, a badly-behaved
banner-ad will suddenly start playing music or speaking at me. Sometimes, I wonder why
I have a flash plugin at all. Oh yeah, something to do with some 'virtual session' or something.
Ehh. Right.)