Software Problems

Two BIG problems with this software. One, threads are either not bolded when they should be or in IE, I see 5 days of bolded threads and I have been on this site repeatedly all day but not on IE. I've been here on Firefox until tonite when I had the second big problem and decided to try Mozilla and IE. Mozilla also was showing bolded threads that I have read. It showed bolded threads for the past two days...not quite as bad as IE. I also notice that if I click on a forum here and see several bolded threads, then I don't look at the threads but I move to another forum instead (intending to come back and read the threads later). When I come back, in a couple of minutes, all the threads are unbolded! I haven't read any of them! This behavior is all my browsers. I am finding far worse bugs in this software than what you had before and bugs are the worst in IE which this software was probably written for!

The second big problem is that I have been trying to post a new thread i the NOD32 forum, asking for help, with a very small attachment (usually I can't post attachments here because they are too big and Irfanview will not capture the top screen unless I use my W98 box and this error I need to post is an XP error so I have to use the XP box to post it. MSPaint will capture the top screen on the XP box, but it makes gif attachments larger than jpeg and does them poorly. Usually Jpeg images from Irfanview are too large for your site (they are smaller in MSPaint but I was told to use Irfanview here). This is a major sore point for me and probably will cause me to get rid NOD32 when my license is up, even though I am very happy with it, because I want support in a forum where I can post attachments).

Anyhow, tonite I have a very small attachment and I tried to post it using Firefox and when I click on the button nothing happens. So, I tried Mozilla. Same problem. Nothing happens. I figured IE would work so I opened it and came here and wasn't logged in ....couldn't log in and you only give 5 tries which is terrible...this isn't a banking site! So, I had to ask for a new password and had a terrible time even getting it to work using IE. Finally I get logged in on IE and I tried to post this attachment. With IE, I get a popup box for one second and then it disappears. So, I am really frustrated. Thing is I really, really like Wilders, but this software is worse than what you had before which wasn't very good either. At least, with your old software, I had problems here only on Firefox, but I was ok on Mozilla or IE. Now, I have problems on all three browsers.

Another question, why am I not perpetually logged in on IE like I am on Firefox and Mozilla? Anytime I try to use IE here, I find I am logged out although at that very moment I am on this site on both of my other browsers logged in! So what is going on with that?

 

Mele20,

Whether or not a thread is shown in bold will depend on the cookie set for this site on your PC (it contains the time of your last visit and emboldened threads are new ones added since then). Since browsers store cookies differently, this will be why you get different results between IE and Mozilla. When you move to a different page/forum, the cookie will be updated. If you stick with one browser only, you should see consistent results.

Your cookie also stores your login ID. If you are getting logged out in IE, this will be because either IE is not storing the cookie (check your security settings for this site) or you have third party software blocking it (a firewall or webfilter). In any case, the problem is with your system's configuration, not this site. This may also affect your ability to post attachments (guests may be more restricted but I cannot be sure on that).

For screenprints, the GIF format is usually more suitable with dialog boxes (which have only a few colours) while JPG is better for photographs (with lots of colours). Cropping the picture first to show only the important part(s) will reduce filesize. Bear in mind that JPG offers adjustable compression (high compression gives smaller filesizes but with smaller quality). If your JPGs are too large then increase the compression used (you can get away with a lot before the picture really degrades). In either case, IrfanView should do a better job than MSPaint.

 

Hi Mele!

I seem to get logged out here all the time too. I thought it was something I was doing, using IE too. Also, twice leaving this forum is when all kinds of IE blank pages started opening up and I couldn't do anything but pull the plug on my 'puter? At least I have an answer to the logging out problem. I don't know enough to answer your questions, but, I am sure someone does!! Don't give up!!

 

Marja,

Having blank pages popping up sounds very suspicious. Have you checked for any unwelcome visitors on your system recently?

Mele,

Some of the "read thread" behaviour may be a vBulletin issue. See this thread for a discussion. I would still advise you check your browser cookie settings though.

 

Hi Paranoid 2000

If you mean have I ran any spyware, it seems that is all I do! I have a problem somewhere, but, nothing shows up. I posted a note in virus and worms, but, no one answered,until today. I had posted in HJ and there wasn't any big thing there, at the thime. About a month ago, before the popup pages. They were pretty strange, I stay here or NetI mostly! I need to be safe to do research for people and I don't feel so safe! I am constantly lurking security sites to figure it out? I was going to post another HJ today, but, you all are really busy!! Do you think that is the best way? I can post and wait a day or so, if that helps you all? Thanks!!!

 

Do the popup windows contain an address? (this would suggest the likely cause). If not, try checking your firewall log - I don't use McAfee myself but it should keep details of what connections your browser is trying to make and this may show what your browser is getting up to.

I don't really have enough familiarity with all of Windows' (or IE's) internals to comment on HijackThis logs authoritatively but your HJT log did have an entry for wanmpsvc.exe which is used by AOL. If you no longer use AOL for Internet access, then I would suggest removing this.

If this problem has arisen since posting that log, then posting another one would be advisable - along with details of your problem. I doubt that forum is going to quieten down anytime soon...

 

Dear Paranoid 2000, It's like this, WHY does AOL insisit on being in on EVERYTHING a person does?? It came installed on the dell, Dude. I have tried to totally uninstall it, but, it gives sooo many reasons why I shouldn't? I really need to know exactly my 'puter needs to run right and I use McAfee AND check the event log, I use to be able to trace the "pings"? Now, IE just shuts down if I try to open more than one page. The POP up IE's didn't have any adds. on and the first time, empty wilder pages open too. I froze up, this was new to me, the next day I used an old computer and came to wilder's and no one was upset or bothered, so I figured I must have messed up. No Address on them either. I checked Spyware Blaster and SpyBot, but, I haven't checked the boxes P.A. talked about in a post. I guess I will post, asking for a review when time permits. I'm up with a sick puppy anyway , but, is it OK to post and not stay on-line? That's another reason I am hesitating. A BIG THANKS TO YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO ANSWER!!!
PS. I wrote this a couple of times, cuz I got logged out again, will check those points you made!

 

Unfortunately most new PC's tend to come with a shedload of unnecessary programs that only slow the system down. Dell and HP seem to be the main culprits at this and I would advise any new PC owner to reformat their disk and install Windows from scratch, That way, you can choose to install only what you need. However, this option is much more difficult when you have used the PC for a while since you then need to back up all your data (letters, photos, music) and download/reinstall all the programs you acquired - which can take days if not weeks.

For a simpler solution - assuming you are running Windows XP (are you?) or 9x/ME - use the Start Menu/Run option to run msconfig. Click on the Startup tab and review the entries listed (these are programs that will run on Windows startup on your system). Uncheck any that you cannot identify as belong to software you need to run (if in doubt, do a Google search on the filename). Don't worry too much about making mistakes here since you can always run msconfig again and check them back if problems are reported. Then restart your system.

With regard to IE, I would suggest at this stage trying an alternative browser like Firefox (free) or Opera (free with advertising, or pay to register and banish the ads). These are more secure and offer many extra features over IE. You will (of course) need to log in again on all forums like this one since they have their own way of storing cookies but this should be a once off.

As for going "off-line", you can configure your user profile to ask for email notification when someone updates a thread you have posted in (a handy feature in my view). Click the User CP link in the top-left to access your profile.

 

Dear Paranoid 2000,

Thanks so much for all the advice and info!! I will be putting it all to use and let you know how it turns out. I posted a HJ log, for review, also. Yes, there are alot of stuff, (stuffing ) on these new 'puters. Sounds like a nyuk, is a nyuk, meaning the joke is on the buyer! All these things are really just styrofoam for their ads! But, most people don't know what from who, so msconfig a hunting I will go. Thanks again for all your time and help!!! Enjoy the Day!!!

 

Hey P2000,

As a Post Script, Yes I think another browser will be the ultimate answer!! There are WAAY too many problems with IE, NO FUN is sooo boring!! XP is what I am runnning, my old cannibalized 98 Micro just keeps chuggin' along, it is sooo old, there are no slots to expand or I WOULD . 1G kept me going for quite awhile.
Wish these (whatever) would take up a new hobby!! AND THEY WILL, as long as there are GOOD people like yourself and ALL. You are pioneers of a new sort, so STAY STRONG!!! THANKS!!!!

 

Yes, I use Proxo and I'm currently testing JD5000's alpha basic config (so I expect errors and problems) but the attachment problem was happening with his Oct 2003 extra config also so I didn't think it was Proxo. I have caught several Proxo scripting errors testing his alpha config but no errors were being shown for this site.

Anyhow, today I bypassed Proxo, cleared the cache, restarted Firefox and because I had bypassed Proxo I was able to see what the problem was for Firefox and it is probably the same for Mozilla although I haven't actually tried Mozilla yet. Firefox's popup window control was the culprit! I had to specifically allow Wilder's to put popups on this browser. I didn't realize Firefox popup controls were in use since Proxo filters everything. But when I reenabled Proxo, both JD's extra config from Oct 2003 and his new alpha basic config allow me to post an attachment here now. So, Firefox's popup controls have been overruling Proxo here as far as I can see.

I haven't had this problem elsewhere and I thought Proxo was overriding Firefox settings anyhow so it didn't occur to me to think about Firefox settings as the culprit. I didn't even know, and I have used Firefox and Mozilla for over two years now, that you could "allow" a site to set popups. I didn't know that because I have never needed before now to look into Firefox's and Mozilla's popup settings as I haven't had problems because of that.

So I've learned several things here and now need to find out why Proxo is not in control as far as pop up windows go on Firefox and Mozilla. As for IE, I have no idea what the problem is there. On IE, bypassing Proxo, clearing cache, (now I didn't clear the Wilders cookie but I don't see how that could be part of the problem) has no effect. I still get the popup window for the attachment for a second and then it disappears and I have no error showing for IE. Wilders is in my trusted zone so I don't see how my security settings for IE could be a problem.
They are custom but nothng is set to "disable" and only a couple of items are set to "prompt". Everything else is "enable" so I have no idea where to look for what is causing the IE problem since it is there even when Proxo is bypassed and IE doesn't have popup window control (yet...will soon though for XP).

 

LWM, you gave a clear explanation of IE and how it works with this new software as far as bolding of threads goes. I only use IE here if absolutely necessary partly because I don't like IE but also because no text here can be enlarged on IE. I choose view/text size/larger or largest and it doesn't change at all. I can choose medium/ or small or smallest and it doesn't change at all. IE gives me only ONE size text with this software and I can read it but just barely and it strains my eyes and gives me a headache quickly. On other sites where the text size will change on IE, the text here is considered "small". I can read "small" ok (although I prefer medium) on my old CRT 17" monitor at 1024x768 but not on a 19" LCD monitor at 1280x1024. So this software is NOT designed for newer LCD monitors and should be because the majority of monitors sold today are 19" LCD's and they will continue to take over the market. So, I have to use Firefox or Mozilla here as the text zoom built into those browsers overides the fixed size text that this software uses. It doesn't override icon size though and I can barely tell what the icons here are as they are tiny on the LCD monitor. They, like the text on IE, are also ok on the 17" monitor but 17" monitors are a thing of the past and this software should be more forward looking IMO.

As for timing out changing activity here...nah...doesn't happen. It takes a lot longer than 15 minutes of inactivity to change display here on Firefox and Mozilla. I have both those browsers always open and switch between them constantly. I never log out anywhere that I frequently go to and I never close my browsers unless there is a problem or I have to reboot or the electricity goes off. I also never shut down my computers. I have tried closing the Wilders tab but gee, this is why I use tabbed browsing so I don't need to close windows all the time like one is forced to do with the oldfashioned IE browser. Closing the tab here though and then using bookmarks to open a new tab later here doesn't seem to affect what shows as last visit. It seems to be willy-nilly never the same behavior. Maybe affected by the fact I have the tab still open here on Mozilla but closed it on Firefox? I don't know. What I do know is that this is awful software. Any software that places the burden on the browser makes it horribly difficult then on the user. Thank goodness my home site doesn't do this!

This software must be written with the notion that no one has a powerful computer with plenty of RAM. The reason I got 1 GIG RAM on this box was partly so I never need to close anything...there is no way I can use even half the RAM I have. But you are telling me that this software assumes that I constantly close my browser which I do on my old box that only has 224RAM. So, IMO, this software is written for those with computers like my old one. I expect refresh to work properly and it doesn't on this site. I now understand, thanks to your explanation, why. But that is MAJOR shortcoming of this software. If I didn't really like this site and didn't have software that has official support forums here, I wouldn't bother coming here with software that makes it so difficult for me. This software works AGAINST anyone who has a powerful computer with W2000/XP that is never shut down and uses a browser other than IE.


As for your comment that this software allows for faster browsing here? Huh?? It is the same ...actually sometimes slower. Plus, how is it faster if you have to just forget about bolded vs nonbolded because it is meaningless so you have to just try to remember who made the last post in the threads you are following. Plus, how is it faster when you click on a thread, you can't see the last post. So you have to try refresh to get the current page. You can see on the list of threads page for a forum the current last post and who posted it but you can't view it! Refresh doesn't refresh until about the fifth try on Firefox and Mozilla and sometimes never will refresh actually refresh to the current page (even with clearing the browser cache). I have to wait hours, not 15 minutes, sometimes before I can view the current page here. So, this software is a LOT slower for me. It does display nicely (with the exception of the tiny icons) on Firefox and Mozilla.

 

May I ask why Wilders needs 12!!! cookies from me?

I had no idea it was THAT many until I was trying to log in on IE on my W98SE box just now and my Cookie Crusher was rejecting the cookies. There are 12 of them.

I am being frequently logged out here on all browsers on both computers (XP and 98SE). I log in and then a while later, I am logged out. The only possible reason on my part was the IE5.5SP2 problem on W98SE box just now because of Cookie Crusher but Cookie Crusher has no influence on Firefox or Mozilla and I had to log in again on them just now. I also have had to log in several times on the XP box tonite.

The reason I was trying to come your site on IE5.5 on the 98SE box was because I wanted to see what happened with the attachment popup. My suspicion was right. IE5.5SP2 on W98SE has no problems keeping the popup window in view. So this is a IE6 SP1 problem on XP Pro and possibly on W98SE. (Need someone with IE6 and W98SE to test it). I also cannot get the popup on the W98SE box on Firefox or Mozilla but that is because I haven't yet told those browsers to allow popups at Wilders.

Can you tell me why I got this error page when I had to log in yet again just now on Mozilla? What the ?

vBulletin Message

Mele20, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

1. Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
2. If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.

Log Out Home

 

I'm using 98SE with IE6 and I am always logged in when I visit Wilders. No problem staying logged in either. I'm not up on all of the problems you are having as I haven't tried doing any attachments on this site.

 

I'd guess you have so many cookies because each browser uses its own. On IE6 I have a grand total of 5 -- I haven't checked the full set, but I know two are specifically for recording date/time of last visit (to keep the "new" flags correct) and for remembering rollup/compression preferences, respectively.

 

I realized after I posted and looked more closely at the cookies listed in Cookie Crusher (on the W98SE box) that I had gotten 17...not 12 for that session but several of them were rejected by CC. That older version of CC will reject any on the fly session cookies. I can't use Rhapsody on that box because of CC and Rhapsody sets on the fly session cookies so that each cookie is slightly different and I can't tell CC in advance to accept slightly different cookies for a site that I have told it to accept all cookies from. It expects them to be the same each time. I was curious about this but it doesn't matter as I usually use Firefox or Mozilla which don't need CC as they have built in cookie control like IE6 finally does. (I have had IE6 on that box - got it one hour after MS first released it - and it wouldn't show jpegs and gifs and had other problems so I went back to IE5.5).

As for the attachment popup window not staying on the screen in IE6 on the XP box, I posted this problem in the MS Help Forum at dslr. I didn't get much response. Was told maybe my TIF wasn't emptying on exit but it is, was told to use default instead of custom settings for trusted zone, I did and it made no difference and my custom was only different from default in that I had Java Permissions on medium safety instead low. Changing it to default did not help. It was suggested that I post at VBulletin's boards. So, I went there and read their boards...interesting stuff about this software...but I didn't see anything about this problem and it looked like the boards were mostly for admins ...not users. So, I didn't post there.

I think it is an IE problem because I have had it happen at other sites where pop up windows will not remain and I have been bypassing Proxo when this has happened. I don't like IE6 at all and IE5.5 on the other box has no problems with keeping the popup window on the screen - with or without Proxo. At any rate, I am not any closer to solving it.

As for my problems being because I use multiple browsers and switch back and forth...I have been doing this for 5 years with various browsers and on W98SE at this site I didn't have these problems. Then I got this XP box and I have so many problems but my internet behavior has not changed. Only thing that has changed is that I now have this OS called XP! It is unstable compared to W98SE which I seldom had problems with and which has been running the original installation for many years.

 

Mele20,

For scaling/zooming web pages try using Opera. It will do both text and graphics - and if you have a mouse with a wheel you can use it (with the Ctrl key) to scale on the fly.

I would suggest that you reconsider using CookieCrusher. Proxomitron can handle cookies for you and offer far more flexibility with them (e.g. it can turn a permanent cookie into a session cookie). It does sound as if you may have "too many cooks spoiling the broth" on your system so cutting down on the number of third-party utilities could simplify things.

 

I use Firefox and Mozilla for text zoom and my vidio card also does a zoom window when I shake my mouse vertically. So, I don't really need Opera. I used it when it was version 4 and liked it but didn't want to spend $40 on it just get text zoom.

I know Proxo can handle cookies well. I only have Cookie Crusher on the W98SE box and I had that application long before I got Proxo. It is one of my oldest applications that did not come installed on the box and the first program I ever bought (that didn't come installed on that computer) and I am quite attached to it. Plus, it can do more than Proxo can with cookies and it gives me detailed information that Proxo can't. In fact, I may put a dedicated third party Cookie control application on the XP box also because of the versatility of these applications. I would stop coming to Wilders before I would give up Cookie Crusher. But CC is only on the W98SE box and it only works on IE so it is not an issue if I use Firefox or Mozilla. It is not an issue either on my XP box (and I can't put the version I like on the XP box anyhow).

Same for any other application I use. If a web site doesn't like the applications I use then I usually forget that site. I had the head of technical support for Rhapsody help me via phone call for several hours and we could not get CC and Rhapsody to work together so although I really liked Rhapsody I have never used it again on the W98SE box and won't use it on the XP box because of the way it handles cookies...on the fly which I don't like. This software here does the same thing ...on the fly cookies. Plus, Rhapsody forces you to bypass Ad/subtract (which I had at the time or Proxo). That is awful considering that you pay monthly for Rhapsody so you shouldn't be forced to look at ads....if it was free that would be different. At least this is how Rhapsody worked when I tried it when Road Runner first offered it, two years ago I think it was, so it might have changed.

Problem here is that I not only like this site a lot and the people here but my AV has its official support forum here so I can't really just forget this site.

 

Opera zooms graphics *as well*. The latest version is free (with an ad-pane which will show nothing if you are running an ad-blocker) and has changed a lot since version 4 (although I'm a version 6 holdout myself). I suggested it since you seemed to want to be able to zoom graphics but if this is no longer an issue then pardon me.

I'd be interested in specifics here - Proxomitron sees everything there is to see about the cookie. Of course, crafting a filter to make use of or amend this information is another thing altogether. If you have not already done so, checking the Matching Rules page should give an idea of Proxomitron's real flexibility.

I would empathise here - visiting a web site is like looking through a store window. If a webmaster tries to tell me that I can only use certain software, that's like a shopkeeper telling me what clothes I have to wear - both deserve a push-off. However, this site uses cookies only to identify you as a logged-in user (as does every other forum on the Internet) so you have the choice of blocking them completely and still being able to view threads (and post as a guest).

Incidentally, you may find the Buying music online - iTunes thread of interest about alternative music download sites...

 

Thanks for that link to the thread with the review of the various music services. Very interesting and thorough review. I've tried all of them reviewed except EMusic which I didn't know about. Unlike the reviewer, I think Rhapsody is by far the best service and I didn't know it was Real now...it was listen.com and I had to use IE with it when Road Runner had the free trial way back. If it is Real now I should be able to use Firefox instead. I'm going to look into it again and look at Emusic. My main problem is that none of them have songs I want. I want mid 60's onward - Hard Rock artists primarily...like Queen, Aerosmith, The Eagles, Black Sabbath, AC-DC, Joan Jett, etc. Most of the artists I like none of the services have any of their songs or just one or two. I want entire albums of Queen and Led Zeppelin, etc. to replace my aging collection. I can't go in a music store and buy many of these albums so I was hoping to get them this way.

I didn't mean to sound abrupt about Opera. Plus, I didn't think about the fact Proxo would block the ads. I might try it...I'm curious as it was neat as version 4 (even with MS blocking my Hotmail) so I'm sure it's greatly improved by version 7 now.

I'm too lazy at the moment to go to the bedroom and fire up the W98SE box that has Cookie Crusher on it. I've read the matching rules page in Proxo help but I am not advanced enough to write filters. It may be that Proxo can tell you as much or more about the cookies than CC...but CC is easier for someone who's not that advanced with using Proxo to deal with and to set up.

Yes, I realize I could post here anon. And while I brought up the cookie thing, that doesn't bother me that much. What bothers me is that the burden is on my browsers as it is difficult to have to remember what threads I am following and who posted last before I left. I can't rely on bolding at all or on seeing the latest posts even with refresh. I am so spoiled at my home site. I spent so much time there for the last three years...seldom going anywhere else! that I just assumed all board sites operated like dslreports. Until recently, when I would leave dslr, it'd be briefly and just for a specific reason...ie ...I needed to ask a question about NOD32 so I would come here just to do that. Dslreports is so large and so versatile that I could get almost any question answered there except NOD32 ones (although that has been changing).

I decided I was spending too much time there and so I wanted to spend more time at other sites like here and Computer Cops. But now that I am trying to do that...I am finding that my browsing habits that work beautifully with dslr don't work well at other sites. I have no problems there with running multiple browsers and a bunch of tabs open to various spots on dslr...refresh, bold, followed new posts, etc. all work properly. I can be logged on dslr on both computers on three different browsers on each computer at the same time with no problems. I am not at restricted to only one browser and all kinds of ridiculous rules about 15 minute time outs and if I look at a forum and then don't read all the new threads right then the bolding gets lost! That is just awful! I see now why dslr members seldom leave the site and are totally addicted to it.

 

Are you talking about backing up CDs of an existing collection? If so, ripping and encoding them is a far better option - there is free software to do this, you can make your own decision on the size/quality tradeoff and you have no DRM. The main issue about most of the stores in my view is that DRM can impose a limited lifespan on the files - anything that restricts one's ability to copy files over to another computer will at some stage kick in with a future PC upgrade. Of course, the Russian site avoids this but you may wish to check the legal issues.

Subscribing to threads of interest can help here - having the board auto-subscribe you to threads you post to (setting in the User CP) is very handy also (you get an email whenever someone posts to a subscribed thread).