Some early version 3 Netscape and MS Internet Explorer browsers had bugs which might prevent the software from loading or executing properly. You should upgrade your browser using the buttons below if the troubleshooting tips at the bottom of this page don't solve your problem.

• Upgrade your browser to the latest version
  • To upgrade your Netscape browser use Netscape's painless SmartUpdate by pressing the button below
    
  • To upgrade your Microsoft Internet Explorer, press the button below and choose the appropriate link for your computer
    

Other Hints

Try clearing your browser's cache

The usual cause of many problems is that you have a corrupted file in your browser's cache. So, the first thing you should do is clear your browser's cache.

Netscape Navigator 3.x (Windows, MacOS, and Unix):

Choose Network Preferences from the Options menu. Click on the Cache tab. Click on the Clear Disk Cache Now button and click OK. Then click OK to close the preferences dialog. Then quit and restart Netscape Navigator.

Netscape Communicator 4.x (MacOS):

Choose Preferences from the Edit menu. Click on the triangle next to Advanced in the left panel. Click on Cache under Advanced in the left panel. Click on the Clear Disk Cache Now button and click OK. Then click OK to close the preferences dialog. Then quit and restart Netscape Communicator.

Netscape Communicator 4.x (Windows and UNIX):

Choose Preferences from the Edit menu. Click on the plus sign next to Advanced in the left panel. Click on Cache under Advanced in the left panel. Click on the Clear Disk Cache button and click OK Click on the Clear Memory Cache button and clock OK. Then click OK to close the preferences dialog. Then quit and restart Netscape Communicator.

Internet Explorer 4.x(Windows):

Choose Internet Options from the View menu. Click on the General Tab of the pop-up folder and then click on the Delete Files button of the 'Temporary Internet files' section. Leave the 'delete all subscription content' check box unmarked and push OK. Then quit and restart Internet Explorer.

Internet Explorer 3.x(Windows):

Choose Options from the View menu. Click on the Advanced tab. Click on the Settings button in the Temporary Internet Files section. Click on the Empty Folder button and click Yes. Then click OK to close the settings dialog, and click OK to close the options dialog. Then quit and restart Internet Explorer.

Internet Explorer (MacOS):

Choose Preferences from the Edit menu. Click on the Advanced tab. Click on the Empty Now button in the Cache section. Then click OK to close the preferences dialog. Then quit and restart Internet Explorer.

America On Line 3.0 (Internet Explorer 3.00):

Choose Options from the Prefs menu. Click on the Advanced tab. Click on the Settings button in the Temporary Internet Files section. Click on the Empty Folder button and click Yes. Then click OK to close the settings dialog, and click OK to close the options dialog. Then close the browser by clicking on the X in the upper left-hand corner. Close any open browser pages in the same manner. Go back to the AOL welcome page and click on Internet.

America On Line 4 (Internet Explorer 3.02)

Close web browser (click on the 'x' in upper right corner of internet browser window). Click on My AOL. Select Preferences from the menu. Select WWW from the Preference window. That will pop up the AOL Internet Properties window. Select the Advanced tab. Go down to the section on Temporary Internet Files and click Settings. That will bring up the Settings window. Click on Empty Folder button. It will ask you to confirm delete. Click Yes. Click OK on the Settings window. Click OK on the AOL Internet Properties window. Close the Preferences window. Open your browser and go back to the MPIP.

After clearing your cache, you need to quit and restart your browser. If you don't quit the browser, your cache will not be completely cleared out.

How to see error messages

If something bad happens, the next thing you should do is check for Java error messages. How to do this depends on what browser you're using:

Netscape Navigator 3.x (Windows, MacOS, and UNIX):

Select Show Java Console from the Options menu.

Netscape Communicator 4.x (MacOS):

Select Java Console from the menu with the lighthouse icon.

Netscape Communicator 4.x (Windows and UNIX):

Select Java Console from the Communicator menu.

Internet Explorer (MacOS):

Select Java Messages from the View menu.

Internet Explorer 3.x(Windows):

You need to open the file C:\Windows\Java\javalog.txt.

Internet Explorer 4.x(Windows):

Choose Internet Options from the View menu. Click on the Advanced Tab of the pop-up folder and then scroll down and check Java Console Enable. Restart Internet Explore. Now under View choose Java Console

The Chat Room never starts

It takes a while for the application to load over a slow connection, sometimes up to two or three minutes. Look at your modem lights to see if the application is still downloading. If the lights aren't blinking, then there is a problem. Don't forget to check for Java error messages.

If you're using Netscape 3.x on the Mac, you may need to increase the memory allocated to Netscape to use the chat room. To do that, quit Netscape, select the Netscape application icon, and choose Get Info from the File menu. Increase the preferred size by at least 1000 (or as much as 3000 if you have enough memory), then close the window and try again.

Cannot connect to the chat room

The usual cause of this is that you're situated behind a security B firewall. The chat applet needs to open a communication connection back to the server. The more strictly configured firewalls will not allow this connection to go through. Unfortunately, the only solution is to chat from another machine that is not behind the firewall.

My connection to the chat server keeps dying

If you leave the chat servers web page, you will automatically be disconnected from the server unless you have enabled the chat room monitor by pressing the "Detach Panel" button. On some operating systems, hiding the browser window is the same as leaving a web page, so you will be disconnected. Make sure you leave your main browser window open.

The chat server tries to contact you approximately every thirty seconds to make sure that you are still there and have not been disconnected from the Internet. If your browser doesn't respond within another thirty seconds, then the server disconnects you, thinking that your connection was dropped unexpectedly.

This means that if you are using a modem, and then you download something in the background, you will tie up all of your modem's bandwidth with the download, and you will not be able to respond to the server in time. Doing downloads in the background is not recommended.

Running ICQ will also tie up a lot of your modem's bandwidth for use by ICQ, leaving too little bandwidth left over for the chat client. I do not recommend running ICQ, CU-SeeMe, video phones, Internet phones, or other high-bandwidth applications while in the chat room.

My browser quits/crashes (Windows 95 users)

There are several things that can cause this problem to happen. Make sure you try all the suggestions listed below before giving up.

JIT Compiler Enabled (Internet Explorer Only)

Internet Explorer 3.02 may crash if you have the Just-in-Time (JIT) compiler enabled.

To disable the JIT compiler, select Options from the View menu, click on the Advanced tab, uncheck the Enable Java JIT compiler checkbox, and press OK. You will need to quit and restart Internet Explorer for the change to take effect.

Running ICQ (Internet Explorer or Netscape)

Running ICQ ties up a lot of your modem's bandwidth for use by ICQ, leaving too little bandwidth left over for the chat room to run smoothly. If your chat room connection closes for no apparent reason, try not running ICQ while in the chat room

Try using Netscape Communicator 4.x

If you're using Internet Explorer and can't get it to stop crashing, try switching to Netscape Communicator 4.x which seems to be more stable for most people.

Otherwise, the problem is most likely with your machine's configuration. It could be that the chat room is unable to resolve the hostname of the server. Don't forget to check for Java error messages.

If you've tried all of these tips

If you've tried all of these tips and it still does not fix the problem, send me a bug report with all the details. Make sure you tell me what operating system (Windows 95. MAC etc) and browser you are using. If possible, include any Java error messages

If you do find something that fixes your problem that isn't listed here, please tell me about it.