[Resolved] GOOFY ERROR MESSAGE . . .

I'm using AOL 8.0 and DSL.

I have many other problems with AOL when I am trying to sign on to A2K or Abuzz.

Whenever the crap starts, I simply go over to Internet Explorer -- and get in that way.

Never a problem with IE.

Hey, Craven! Whatever was causing my problem for the past four or five days has passed. It was the weirdest thing because I could get to my home page...no problem. I could sometimes get to the control panel and the help link. I even got into the chat room on Saturday. But every time I tried to open forums or open the "new posts" link, I just got a blue background as my browser (IE btw) attempted unsuccessfully to open the page. I never got an error message. Sometimes I was able to get in, but then the next time...not.

Anyway, all better now. If it happens again, I'll let you know.

Yay! Glad your problem seems to be solved.

I'm glad it's working now Swimpy! Mainly because I have never heard of a problem like that and it sounds like it would have been a headache! :-)

Were you unable to get into other sites as well?

I'm afraid I spoke too soon. The problem came back right after I posted last night. I've been trying to get in for about 4 hours and finally had success. I hate to give you a headache, Craven, but this is driving me nuts! I have no problems at all with other sites. It must be something in my computer if no one else is having the problem, right? Anyway, Jespah has been in touch. I realize I'm not explaining the problem well enough for you to understand what I am experiencing. Basically, no error messages. I get the blue background color of the site but no fonts or images. My browser tries to load the page but it never loads and no "timed out" page loads either. I don't use AOL. I have Windows 2000 and Internet Explorer 6.0

Swimpy I have no idea what it can be. I'm sure it's something related to your computer enviroment because what you describe is not something that can be server-side.

What is your ISP? Do you use some kind of proxy? Ad-Blockers?

I get similar symptoms to what Swimpy describes on many sites when my PC is over occupied fending off and logging TCP and UPD attacks on my computer. If you too are using a firewall, this might be the cause.

When I experience such sudden increases in the firewall defense I usually run Ad-ware and it finds and removes some spyware files. Then the trouble with TCP and UPD dimenishes to a low enough level for my PC to operate normally.

If it has been a few months since you last cleared cache and deleted temporary files, you might also want to do that and also refresh your bookmark for A2K.

I'd clear the cache at least. Swimpy I sent you an email.

Craven and everyone, I think I found the problem. I had set my cache disc space allotment to 1MB and forgot that I did it. I discovered with the help of PCPitstop.com that if your cache is less than 5 MB you may have problems loading pages that are heavy with content, such as the forums of A2k. I set it back to 5MB and all seems well. Time will tell. Thanks for helping. BTW, Craven, I did not get your email.

Glad you got it sorted out. I think very highly of PC Pitstop, and use it frequently. Another valuable site for checking out suspected browser problems is: www.browsertune.com, run by Fred Langa. Fred's site is listed as a resource on www.pcpitstop.com, and is well reviewed by folks such as TechTV and AboutComputers. Both are free, but offer ample opportunity to spend money if you wish. Just remember to set a restore point, if available with your OS, before executing any recommended changes.

I'll keep my eye on this topic for a while, and if there are no further issues, I'll mark it "Resolved".

Just adding that it's worth the one dollar/month for Fred's "plus edition"!