Where are the images?

May 24, 2006 6:24 AM

On some websites, on some days, I can't see some images. What the heck is going on?

I'm noticing this more and more - on some websites, images are missing but there are no red x's to indicate a broken image - the image simply isn't there.

For example, when I try to view catalog pages on Red Envelope, I only see a few product images. If I refresh, I see a few different product images, but never all of them. (see screenshot)

Another example is the Yahoo! Toolbar download page - I can't see the download button. (see screenshot)

The weirdest part of this whole thing is that some days, suddenly, the images will all reappear, and hang around for a few hours before disappearing again. I have not made any changes to the computer or browser settings when this has happened.

Tech stuff: I'm running Windows XP, Version 2002, Service Pack 2; Firefox 1.5.0.3.

I'm guessing this is a easy fix, and I just have some setting set incorrectly, but I can't for the life of me figure out what's wrong.

posted by xsquared-1 to computers & internet (6 comments total)

Are you using adblock or any similar plugins? Many large web sites hand their image hosting off to a third party, and in the past I've mistakenly blocked some of those sites. Common examples include Akamai.
posted by sohcahtoa at 6:30 AM on May 24, 2006

I knew you were using FireFox.

Have you ever augmented your HOSTS file? Either directly or through some spam-blocker? Mayhaps the page links to off-site pixs from a disallowed domain?
posted by RavinDave at 6:33 AM on May 24, 2006

Also check Firefox's built-in image blocking settings (Preferences->Content->Load Images->Exceptions).
posted by mbrubeck at 6:35 AM on May 24, 2006

Are you using Zone Alarm? You might need to reset the ZA database.

1. Boot your computer into the Safe Mode
2. Navigate to the c:\windows\internet logs folder.
3. Delete the backup.rdb and iamdb.rdb files in the folder.
4.Reboot into the normal mode.
posted by essexjan at 7:01 AM on May 24, 2006

Thanks everyone - it appears that McAfee Privacy Service was the culprit. Unchecking "Block Ads on this Computer" restored all my missing images. I've never noticed any ads being blocked, and Firefox prevents pop-ups, so I don't think I'll see any ill effects from the change.
posted by xsquared-1 at 10:57 AM on May 24, 2006

Awesome. I have been wondering for days why Netflix was all wonky when I use Firefox.
posted by desuetude at 12:01 PM on May 24, 2006