Incomplete Slide

[Josette]

Every so often the old page doesn't completely slide off.  In those instances, if I manually move down through the page, it eventually disappears.  However, if I'm using the "new post" feature, because the old post isn't completely gone, it never gets around to jumping to the first new item and I have to look through the old ones on the page to find my place.

And, while mentioning your new features, no one has commented on the opening page.  I'm sure it must be a deliberate feature you've added.  When one first enters, all of the menu items at the top are very spread out and bit by bit close up to their normal position.  It's kind of cute!

[Josette]

I just thought I'd check if anyone ever saw this one.  It still happens to me frequently.

[kuanyin]

It did happen to me twice one night, right after you posted this. I thought, "Oh, THAT'S what she was talking about!" But, fortunately, it hasn't repeated yet. The slide takes long enough without doing that.

[Josette]

Bumping this up again - did anyone who knows about these things (presumably MB!) ever read this?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Bumping this up again - did anyone who knows about these things (presumably MB!) ever read this?

Yes, he did. But as I've mentioned before, the slide is processed internally by each person's computer. Whatever may be happening during the slide has nothing to do with the forum. So, unfortunately, other than advising you to upgrade your computers, there's really nothing I can do to help the people who've experienced this situation.

[Josette]

Thank you!

[kuanyin]

So, unfortunately, other than advising you to upgrade your computers, there's really nothing I can do to help the people who've experienced this situation.

Ewww, I did that with my old Compaq and now live in mortal fear of the thought. I'll probably get a new computer first....

[Josette]

Still questioning!  I'm quite willing to accept that it's my system and there's nothing you can do about it.  But -- if it's my system, wouldn't it happen all the time?  How is it that most of the time all is fine and it just occurs once in a while?  Occasionally, I get a bad day where it happens a bit more frequently, but still a minority of the time.  Other days it's just an occasional instance.

[Nancy]

Yes, he did. But as I've mentioned before, the slide is processed internally by each person's computer. Whatever may be happening during the slide has nothing to do with the forum. So, unfortunately, other than advising you to upgrade your computers, there's really nothing I can do to help the people who've experienced this situation.

I've viewed this board from four different computers in the few six months since the initial few days the feature was introduced and there aren't any problems on this end at all.

Nancy

[Connie]

Still questioning!  I'm quite willing to accept that it's my system and there's nothing you can do about it.  But -- if it's my system, wouldn't it happen all the time?

This is really bugging you, isn't it!  When you're dealing with computers, I've found sedatives to be helpful.
I don't understand any of this, but here's something I've found...

This incomplete slide has happened to me occasionally.  It can happen on days when the board is jerking or a little slow for me.  One thing that might help is to reset your computer before going online.  I find that if alot of people have been on (5 people using 1 computer) and the system hasn't been reset for awhile, things get bogged down.  I think the memory gets full of crap 'cause we don't have the proper memory management program installed.  

I'm just guessing, but try resetting or even doing a complete shutdown and restart.  Maybe that will help.

-CLC  

[Mysterious Benefactor]

But -- if it's my system, wouldn't it happen all the time?

No, because your computer's memory usage is always in flux. However, if the problem was with the forum, it would happening to everyone all the time. The forum doesn't pick and choose how it's going to behave with different visitors - the exact same scripts are always in control. Differing behavior is most often a result of a given browser, the computer that browser is running on, and the computer's Internet connection. The exception would be if there was a server problem. But again, any problem with the server would occur for everyone who happened to access the forum while the server was experiencing the problem. And at any rate, the slide is completely unrelated to the server because, as I've mentioned, it's handled internally by each person's computer's memory.

if ...  the system hasn't been reset for awhile, things get bogged down.  I think the memory gets full of crap 'cause we don't have the proper memory management program installed.

This is an excellent point, Connie. If a computer doesn't have the correct memory management settings, it can easily get bogged down because many Windows programs/processes don't return memory to the system when they're done with it. In fact, DLL files can remain in memory LONG after someone is done with them.

One really good FREE memory utility is Cacheman. Here's an excerpt from a recent PC Magazine review:

"Memory-optimizing utilities are a dime a dozen, but the one that includes the most effective tweaks for enhancing drive and memory usage is Cacheman. A wizard interface helps users change settings in the Windows file system that can noticeably improve system speed. Cacheman's options cover a lot of territory and best of all have some very detailed wizards to make sure you know what you are changing. Also, any changes are easy to undo if you goof up."

A free download of Cacheman 5.11 (the latest version) is available from PC World. The installation file is only 856KB and using a dial-up connection it shouldn't take more than 4 or 5 minutes to download.
You'll also find links to several other useful utilities on that same page.

[Josette]

Connie and MB, thank you both for your insights!  I don't necessarily reset before coming here, but there are occasions when things "break down" in the midst of viewing other sites and I have to start all over.  I don't recall whether things worked more smoothly here on those occasions or not.

I have been considering a new computer for a while now, as I'm almost out of hard disk space and I might be getting close to actually getting one!

As to it bugging me, yes!  But, now that I know it's not a problem with the forum, I can put up with it.  Originally, I assumed that something was wrong here and was hoping it could get fixed.  I think you (Connie) were the one who recently asked about keeping up with everything and I described my system for trying to get through it all as quickly as pssible.  So, when it gets stuck, I either have to go through all the posts of the thread to find the "starting point" or go back to the listings and click on the post a second time.  Especially if it happens several times in one session, it really gets frustrating.

[Connie]

A free download of Cacheman 5.11 (the latest version) is available from PC World. The installation file is only 856KB and using a dial-up connection it shouldn't take more than 4 or 5 minutes to download.
You'll also find links to several other useful utilities on that same page.

Whoa.  Thanks for the info.  I downloaded it.  (Now I'm afraid to install it.)  LOL   No...it sounds like EXACTLY what I need.
I also downloaded the RegClean program.

Would you recommend the RAMBooster program and the Clean System Directory programs as well?

-CLC

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I also downloaded the RegClean program.

With RegClean, just be sure to save whatever registry entries it removes when it asks if you want to. The Windows registry can be a very temperamental thing, so by saving those registry entries to a file, you'll be able to restore them if something on your computer starts acting weirdly. I'm not saying you shouldn't install and run RegClean - it can clean out a LOT of junk that can accumulate in the registry - but just be careful.

Would you recommend the RAMBooster program and the Clean System Directory programs as well?

I've never used RAMBooster, but the description of its features sounds like some of Cacheman's settings can do just about the same thing for you. But, hey, if you're using Win95, 98, Me or 2000, it won't hurt to give it a try. If you don't like it, you can always uninstall it.

Clean System Directory is good. It can remove a lot of useless DLL files that Windows doesn't delete whenever you've upgraded or removed any software. The only problem with this program is that it only works under Win3.1 (is ANYONE even using THAT anymore?!), 95 & 98.