FAQ I'm having problems with the site - PLEASE READ BEFORE REQUESTING HELP

[Mike]

If you are having problems using the forum from a computer standpoint because something is misbehaving, the pages aren't displaying properly, or you just can't access the site at times, here are a few useful pointers and tips to help you diagnose the problem, and if you can't fix it yourself you can at least post a thread asking for help in "Help & Support" that will have lots of useful information that will help others to help you.  You won't believe how unhelpful it is when someone posts "The forum's not working - what have you done to it?", as it doesn't give us a jot of information from which to start helping you.  The list below should give you at least some opportunity to help yourself, or at least rule out some issues, which will again help us to help you.  Have a read

 

• Try to do the same thing with a different browser than your current one, and if it works, you may have a problem with your browser.
• If you are using Internet Explorer or Edge, which is pretty much the same thing, try a different browser for everyone's sake, as MS have really ruined the previous leading internet browser with LOTS of incompatibilities with the internet.
• Deactivate all your browser add-ins and see if it stops this behaviour.  If you don't know how, Google "Disabling add-ins on XXXXX" where XXXXX is the name of your browser.  Follow those instructions, then come back and see what's going on here.  If it works, add them back one-by-one until it breaks.  You'll know which one to get rid of then.  It would be helpful if you made a post in help & support to let people know that an add-in is toxic to the forum.
• Post your setup to the forum with details of your device type, Operating System, Processor and memory too if it's a PC, and what browser you are currently using.  It may trigger a memory from another member.  Examples of Operating Systems (OSes) are Windows 7, Windows 10 (PCs), OSX (Macs), Android (tablets and phones), iOS (iPhones), Windows Phone (very few phones), Linux in some flavour or other, Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, CentOS etc.  Popular browsers include Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera and sadly, Internet Explorer (See above).
• Disable all but ONE antivirus or malware software if you run more than one.  Running more than one may seem like a good idea to the uninitiated, but they can often squabble over resources and cause problems.
• If you have another device in the house (or wherever you are), try accessing the site from there with the same browser (if possible) and with a different one.  If the site seems ok there, you can isolate the problem to your device.
• If you have security software that is constantly clearing caches and deleting cookies, that's going to slow down your browsing experience because your device will have to reload everything every time.  If you're on a metered connection (4G/3G data) it'll also cost you more of your precious data.  Create an exception for the forum, or switch it off whilst browsing.
• Clear your browser's cache.  Corrupted cache data isn't a major issue for a device in general, but if it's being reused to save re-downloading something (an emoji for example), it may be causing problems.
• Clear any Britmodeller cookies from your browser.  You can usually list your cookies, and any that have "britmodeller.com" in them can be deleted, but you'll have to re-login, so remember your username and password before you do.
• If you can't access the forum from (for example) your PC, but you can from your phone or work PC, there's a possility that our server's defences have identified you as a 'bot that have in the past tried to take down our server through spite and general malice.  If that's the case, drop me (Mike) a PM from your unaffected device and tell me the IP address of the device that is blocked.  You can find that by Googling "What's my IP address" from the affected device, and you'll get a number like "86.154.19.234" back.  I can then flush any block out of the defence software's system for you, and you'll be back on immediately.  We'd like to not have to run these defences, but while there are morons out there that think it's clever, we have to protect ourselves so that you guys don't have to talk to your family  

 

After trying all the above, if you've not managed to fix yourself, come back with as much information as you can muster and be as specific as your can, which will allow the Mods and IT literate helpful members to assist.  Your query should include all the stuff you tried above, your device details, and if you get any error messages, either take a screen shot and post that in your query, or write down the error message, as it's highly likely the text of the error message will be important.  "I got an error message" gives us nothing useful to go on, sadly.

 

I'll add any more items I can think of along the line, and if you've tried all these things before you post your request for help, I'll be very happy

[CliveB]

Hi I joined 3 days ago and mike let me through yesterday but I cannot get anything to work ie introducing myself to the forum. I'm using my self build PC running W10 i've tried using my default browser Opera and just tried the edge nothing. If I move the curser into the the introducing myself area it does not respond to clicking at all so it looks like a very short membership. Regards Clive.

[Mike]

Clive - it sounds to me like something is playing havoc with your browser, so I would suggest you disable any add-ons, and try again.  For it to be going across two browsers however is a little odd, but one of them being Edge, I wouldn't set too much store by their results.  Try Firefox or Chrome by preference, as Edge is a known problem.  We've been speaking in email, so contact me there once you've had a go with a more industry standard browser that doesn't try to rewrite the rules.  My machine's a self-built one too, but I'm on W7 and Firefox.  As you can imagine, I'm not having problems.

 

Are you having problems clicking or using your mouse in the other apps on your PC?  If not, try what I've suggested, re-install your default browser Opera (I've not used Opera for years myself), as something may have gone wrong.

[CE1]

Just to let you know that the puzzle security thing for signing up won’t work on iPads. I tried on two and I couldn’t get it to work. Ended up on the tiny screen on my phone which worked but was a pain. Glad I managed to get it working, great site!

[Neddy]

@CliveB: As previously suggested above, try a fresh install of either Firefox or Chrome without any add-ons as a start point.  Opera and Edge both have their problems and neither can be described as "industry standard" these days.