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Problem loading pictures

Started by Greg G., February 28, 2015, 02:01:00 AM

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Greg G.

Is anybody else having problems with pictures being loaded?  I'm running into this a lot.  Sometimes even the avatar won't load, or will partially load.  I've tried it with Chrome and IE, same problem.
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e

twocvbloke

Yeah, things have been going a touch slow with this forum for me too, I'm guessing the server's getting choked up or the connection between server and web is under a lot of heavy traffic (possibly a DDoS?)...

WesternElectricBen

I've been had the same issue from time to time. Personally, I just hit the re-fresh button and that usually fixes the problem.

Ben

HarrySmith

I have ha that problem loading multiple pictures also. I solve it by posting message with only one photo then going back to edit it and add the rest. Works for me!
Harry Smith
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Greg G.

Quote from: HarrySmith on February 28, 2015, 07:07:43 PM
I have ha that problem loading multiple pictures also. I solve it by posting message with only one photo then going back to edit it and add the rest. Works for me!


It's not just the posts I make with pictures, it's other members posts with pictures as well.  Hitting refresh doesn't seem to work for me.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

Dennis Markham

Things were running slow for me this afternoon (Saturday) but later when I checked, things were normal.  The server may have been doing some maintenance.

Greg G.

Quote from: Dennis Markham on February 28, 2015, 10:30:44 PM
Things were running slow for me this afternoon (Saturday) but later when I checked, things were normal.  The server may have been doing some maintenance.

It's been like this for at least several weeks for me.  Here's an example of someone's avatar not completely loading:
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

WEBellSystemChristian

Earlier today I was having trouble fully loading pictures here. That problem seems to be gone now.
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

TelePlay

#8
I'm starting to wonder if this might be a problem with the user's ISP since only a few are reporting problems. The photos reported as slow to load are really quite small. I've had very large photos load slowly, especially some collection topics that have a lot of large photos in each reply. The ones I remember most are when clicking on a "new" post in the "unread" list, I am taken to the very last post and while reading it, I have to keep scrolling down because as each large photo above the new post loads, it pushes the post I am reading down screen. If I scroll up at those times, I see the picture file names listed, 6 on 6 lines, but no pictures. They then start to load simultaneously so I get partial pictures of each until all are fully loaded. The pictures on the next reply then start to load. And this I can duplicate time after time by clearing temporary files and by going back to those topics and reloading the page.

I just went into a few "collection" post and have seen 3 or 4 that took a second or two to load, not long enough to get a screen capture, but long enough to see half a picture for a half second as the download re-buffered. Those "problem" photos were all over 2 mBytes in size leading me to believe it is not a forum software issue but an issue with my ISP and the internet download speed I am paying for.

Just ran a speed test ( http://www.speedtest.net/ ) and my download speed is quite slow, as is the ping, first image, st #1.

I currently have 6 windows open so I am just guessing that trying to open a collection topic filled with large photos will cause some of the large pictures to load slowly. The text loads immeditely, the photos take "time."

I just ran the speed test again and found the ISP service magnitudes better, the second image below, st #2 below.

So, what I conclude is my ISP is overloaded. Being TWC and all they stream, I guess they are "busy" at times and it's at those times that I experience the "slow" or "stalled" picture loading issue.

I also have Netflix and have always had a problem (a lot of long re-buffering periods and some lost connections) watching anything on Saturday night when TWC must streaming a lot of stuff. I realize Netflix is currently in a bandwidth conversation with Comcast, TWC's parent company, and Netflix is apparently not buying enough bandwidth to keep that re-buffering during busy times from happening but that's a business decision to be made or agreed to between Comcast and Netflix, out of my control. With the FCC net neutrality rules now in place and regulations coming, I assume this problem or issue will increase over time.

The speed test at http://www.speedtest.net/ is free and if you use it, click the green "begin test" button, not the blue "start now" button, 3rd image below.

I may be wrong in all this but this is my experience with slow or stalled download issues.

xzzx-speed test-xzzx

twocvbloke

I tested my fibre connection while the forum was in a go-slow mode, and of all the websites I tried and the speedtests I did, the forum was the only one to have speed issues, so, possibly an issue connecting to the server (bad gateway for example) that some of us got stuck with using... :)

If you hit the "Share result" button you can share your results in a neater package, such as mine here:


TelePlay

Quote from: twocvbloke on March 01, 2015, 09:51:13 AM
If you hit the "Share result" button you can share your results in a neater package, such as mine here:

Yes, the share button gives a link but it is an external image and how long will it be available from Ookla? The screen capture to jpg to post in this, and my prior posts, are forever.

I just re-did my test and it's better, considering I am only guaranteed 10 mBytes download and 1 mByte upload. That's a variable with the ISP, not the forum. Didn't have the forum loaded when doing the tests. I have internet over the same wire I would have for cable TV, but don't have cable TV. No fiber here.

Just loaded the collection pages that were slow an hour ago and had no problem with the images loading. They all loaded "instantly."


twocvbloke

Quote from: TelePlay on March 01, 2015, 10:08:12 AMYes, the share button gives a link but it is an external image and how long will it be available from Ookla?

As I've seen posts on other forums from well over half a decade ago with their speedtests posted in them, I'd say a very long time...  ;D

NorthernElectric

The problem could be the result of a bandwidth bottleneck (not necessarily with your isp, but somewhere between you and here), and your browser.  You may have noticed when the problem happens that you have multiple images partially displayed, but some or none completely.  This is your browser attempting to download the web page's html and multiple images concurrently.  Somewhere, and it will be different for each browser, will be a setting that limits the number of concurrent connections to a web server.  I think it is in the system registry for IE, so only attempt to change this setting if you are comfortable with using regedit because you can mess things up if you make a mistake.  For chrome, I don't and won't use it, so I don't know and will leave it up to you.  For Firefox, in about:config there is a setting named network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server.

So my idea is that if your browser is trying to download too many things all at once for the bandwidth you are getting, some or all may time out resulting in incomplete images.  Try setting the concurrent connections per server lower, even down to 1, and see if this helps.

Try this at your own risk!   :)
Cliff

TelePlay

Quote from: NorthernElectric on March 01, 2015, 12:06:51 PM
The problem could be the result of a bandwidth bottleneck (not necessarily with your isp, but somewhere between you and here), and your browser.  You may have noticed when the problem happens that you have multiple images partially displayed, but some or none completely.  This is your browser attempting to download the web page's html and multiple images concurrently. 


For Firefox, in about:config there is a setting named network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server.

Yes, that is what I see but I don't see it as a problem. However, they all fully load given a few seconds.

I use Firefox exclusively and except for trying to make that happen, I rarely experience the issue.

As for Netflix coming in by cable wire and routed to my TV with a Roku WiFi. every Saturday night it's the same thing - slow - so that makes me think it is the Netflix-Comcast-TWC contract situation, the ISP is only providing, throttling, the bandwidth Netflix is willing to pay for, as I understand that as the current contract contentions/issues.

And it's not a computer issue. I can make or see the same slow picture load on everything from my XP desktop to my XP Notebook to my Win7 laptops (3 of them) and my Kindle Fire - all of which get their internet connection from the same ISP/cable/WiFi system.

Not being that up on changing computer code at that level, I am fine with what I have and see but others may want to try those changes.

Dennis Markham

My Comcast is relatively fast and I don't normally have problems.  As I stated earlier in this thread, I did experience slow loading pages yesterday but it was short-lived.  Here's the result of my test from just a few minutes ago.