Win '98 - Javascript + IE/Firefox + NYT = Random GIF. Fixes?

October 10, 2004 8:28 AM

Web browser image cache mayhem: We've got a fairly ancient Dell box running Win98. On Javascript-intensive websites like the New York Times, following a link or a form button ends up redirecting to a random GIF image on the source page, rather than the target destination. We have to hit refresh a bunch of times before the page actually loads. Switching between IE and Firefox doesn't seem to make a difference. Any software fixes for us? (We don't want to install XP as we don't want to rock the boat and we're not sure the system can handle it.)
posted by PrinceValium to computers & internet (5 comments total)

That's pretty strange. How "ancient" are we talking. Maybe an upgrade to Windows 2000 would help? Win2k doesn't have as huge a CPU/RAM requirement as XP since it doesn't have all the graphical bells and whistles XP ships with. I've run W2k on a P2-300 on 128 megs of RAM with little problem. Have you tried upgrading the browser?
posted by PWA_BadBoy at 10:05 AM on October 10, 2004

Switching between IE and Firefox doesn't seem to make a difference

In that case, it sounds like you need to download and install an updated Java Runtime Environment from Sun.

^{Cute, they make the download site a .jsp page . . .if the link doesn't work I'm sure there are other sources out there . . .}
posted by sixdifferentways at 3:54 PM on October 10, 2004

sixdifferentways: I don't think that's going to solve any problems. PrinceValium's having troubles with JavaScript, not Java itself. (and, for the record, you don't need any special software to view a JSP-based website.)

PrinceValium: what version of IE are you using? how ancient is ancient? what sort of internet connection do you have? Tried clearing your cache?

The only possible casue that I can think of is that your system/connection is too slow for bandwidth-heavy sites (like NYT), and isn't caching them properly, is giving up and just showing you the image. It's also a possibility that you could be overrun by spyware which is causing odd side-effects.

Perhaps if you provide more details, we can help a bit more.
posted by cheaily at 9:12 PM on October 10, 2004

OK, maybe not that ancient: P3 with 128 MB RAM, but it's pretty sluggish for the 21st century. IE6 and Firefox 0.8ish. It was happening with older versions too. Broadband internet. Spyware check okay, and cache periodically cleared.
posted by PrinceValium at 9:29 PM on October 10, 2004

Tried one of the latest versions of firefox?

Otherwise, the only thing I can think of is that you're running some memory-chewing background processes, or you've got a lot of built-up cruft from using windows 98. i usually made the effort to back up my documents and re-install windows 98 once a year when I used it.

otherwise, perhaps an upgrade to windows 2000 would suit you well. it does manage memory and CPU better than windows 98, but has a lot less support for various scanners and printers. and games are trickier.
posted by cheaily at 9:49 PM on October 10, 2004