Whoa!!

[imann08]

Did the site change today? I got on today and all the problems I was having are gone. Everything that used to be in text is now in an icon. I see the smiley icons instead of the text. The text icons instead of text descibing them. The site loads way faster than it used to. I can't believe I was putting up with it before. The thing is that I didn't do a thing. Didn't change a setting, didn't change the browser I am using. If it goes back to what I was dealing with before I will definitely have to get it fixed pronto. I'm stoked. Much more appealing to visit now.

[Doug Nelson]

I wish I could take credit for something (anything) but I honestly didn't change a thing.

[Kraellin]

generally what you describe is a condition of your connection, your 'throughput' (the overall connection speed and quality of lines and terminals from one site to another) to the site. a very slow, iffy connection will tend to time out on the graphic portions while displaying the text. a good, fast connection will load everything in seconds. so, i'd suggest here that something changed in your internet connection here to the site. it may be that your isp cleaned up its lines, gave you more speed, or that some other line or terminal improved, thus improving your 'throughput' to the site here.

craig

[imann08]

Damnit all! I get back on today and the damn site is back to bogging. People keep telling me it is something on my side or my server or something but all I know is that I don't have this problem with any other forum site I visit. I'm not saying I haven't encountered the problem before but it's usually just a one day thing or I no longer visit that site for certain reasons. I love this forum, I just wish that it would perform for me. Oh, and before this is suggested, I am on broadband.

[NancyJ]

I've had the problem too, I'm on 1.5Mb (soon to be 10Mb yeeee!!) Hasnt been a problem in a while, its just an occasional problem I get - usually with vBulletin forums. But I get it when my throughput it fine - seems very random.
What browser are you using?

[imann08]

Originally Posted by NancyJ

I've had the problem too, I'm on 1.5Mb (soon to be 10Mb yeeee!!) Hasnt been a problem in a while, its just an occasional problem I get - usually with vBulletin forums. But I get it when my throughput it fine - seems very random.
What browser are you using?

I'm on a current version of firefox. I run on a DSL. Like I said, so far I've only seen this site work one time for me. It's frustrating since I enjoy the site so much. There isn't a nicer site or better forum in this area or any other area of photoshop or graphic design.

[byRo]

In this thread, Robin was having trouble with her internet and Craig suggested using the tracert command.

You could try this. Maybe you'll be able to find out at what point between you and RtP the problem is happening.

Rô

[imann08]

Originally Posted by byRo

In this thread, Robin was having trouble with her internet and Craig suggested using the tracert command.

You could try this. Maybe you'll be able to find out at what point between you and RtP the problem is happening.

Rô

Thanks a bunch

[imann08]

well these are the number I got

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>tracert www.retouchpro.com

Tracing route to retouchpro.com [69.73.171.50]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms 192.168.1.1
2 85 ms 28 ms 27 ms L100.DSL-18.LSANCA.verizon-gni.net [71.109.96.1]

3 29 ms 28 ms 28 ms 130.81.35.26
4 29 ms 30 ms 29 ms so-7-0-0-0.PEER-RTR2.LAX80.verizon-gni.net [130.
81.17.151]
5 30 ms 29 ms 29 ms 4.78.200.1
6 30 ms 31 ms 30 ms ae-2-56.bbr2.LosAngeles1.Level3.net [4.68.102.16
1]
7 65 ms 66 ms 66 ms ge-7-0-0.mp2.Houston1.Level3.net [209.247.11.166
]
8 67 ms 65 ms 65 ms so-11-0.hsa2.Houston1.Level3.net [4.68.96.54]
9 67 ms 67 ms 65 ms unknown.Level3.net [209.247.109.114]
10 70 ms 70 ms 70 ms hou-rtr3-vl2.cyrusone.com [69.7.175.19]
11 71 ms 70 ms 71 ms vl2-rtr1.nocdirect.com [69.7.160.227]
12 71 ms 72 ms 70 ms chimera.nocdirect.com [69.73.171.50]

Trace complete.

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>

They seem fine to me but I don't know what they mean really. The ms times seem consistent at least.

[Doug Nelson]

Every graphics-only problem I've ever seen always eventually boiled down to some sort of privacy/security setting on the end-users' side. Check the FAQ for some potential details. I'd temporarily disable each of your security programs (popup blockers, firewalls, antivirus, etc.) one-by-one to see if there's any improvement, then re-enable it and move onto the next one. That might help narrow it down.

Also, I used to have problems only with small graphic like smileys but not with large graphics like images. Not just here, but it did seem to be limited to PHP-driven sites (as this one is). It turned out to be a known bug in Internet Explorer, and upgrading to the latest service pack fixed it (moving to IE7 would also do the trick).

[byRo]

The trace is fine - much better than mine!
So you can rule out connection problems and just concentrate on Doug's post above this.

Rô

[Kraellin]

yup, the trace is fine. the first 3 columns of numbers are simply pings to each terminal on the route from your place to retouchpro. smaller is better here. anything under 100 is very acceptable. all of yours are under 100.

and as doug said, you could have security setting blocking things. so, take his advice first.

i do see that the first address on your tracert is 192.168.1.1. that's your router address, and if i had to guess i'd guess a linksys router.

almost all routers have a built in firewall. so, the next question is, are you also using a cable modem or dsl modem and, are you also using a software firewall such as zone alarm?

if you are using a software firewall, especially the windows firewall, turn it off and see if things get better. dont worry; you're still safe with the hardware router firewall in place.

also, if you are using the router, a cable or dsl modem AND a software firewall, it is generally NOT recommended. i have done this myself and it can work, but it can also cause a few problems at times. bear in mind that at least some of the modems also have a built in firewall. so, the chance exists that you have 3 firewalls in place if this is the case. that's a LOT of blocking. add to that what doug said about popup blockers and such, and you might be lucky to even get text

also, if your browser security settings are set at 'High', try turning it down to 'medium'. oh, and allow cookies to this site.

umm, and i dont recall specifically, but retouchpro may also need to have, what's that thing called, activex enabled also. i forget. but check that also. at least set your settings to 'prompt' for it.

craig

[imann08]

Thanks guys! Big help I'll check things out. I am running a DSL and I think I've got Norton as a software firewall but I'll have to check that out. I know that firefox blocks popups and that is something that I don't know if I can do without. I hate popups more than my little sister. My sister may be more annoying though. j/k I'll check these things out and see where it gets me. Thanks again for all your help. This board is too cool.

isaac