Netscape 7.2 hangs every 3-5 minutes

I just got a new computer and loaded Netscape 7.2. The operating system is Windows XP. When I am using Netscape (I use the browser and the mail and have the problem in both) every 3 to 5 minutes my cursor turns into an hour glass and I cannot do anything in Netscape for a couple of minutes, then it clears up. If I close the window I get a message that the program is not responding. I can minimize the window and open other applications, for examplee Word Perfect. I have used alt/ctrl/del to view the processes and the system idle process is at 99. I have tried with both blocking and not blocking pop-ups, but the problem persists. I have re-installed Netscape. Any suggestions?

 

Welcome to the Forum, RSFarber

RSFarber,

I still run Windows 98SE, and as a non XP user a guess would be the Restore feature backing up data? Does this happen with any other application other than Netscape?

Ramona

 

So, it is a new computer, which never had any other Netscape6/7?
Did you empty you Disk cache? (from Advanced|Cache).Also was it doing this from the beginning, or did it get worse?
If you have a new high power computer, I can't think of a good reason, but I am nopt trying to guess, until you can confirm what I asked.

 

When I am using Netscape (I use the browser and the mail and have the problem in both) every 3 to 5 minutes my cursor turns into an hour glass and I cannot do anything in Netscape for a couple of minutes, then it clears up.

With both browser and mail are open, "close / end mail.
Does the 3 / 5 minute stall continue. Just suspicious could be a mail connnection issue.

 

Answering everyone's questions in order

Romana - The problem doesn't occur with any other programs. I usually use Netscape instead of IE, so to test IE I am using it to respond and am having no problems with IE. I am new to XP what is the restore feature to which you are referring?

Westside - Never had Netscape on this computer before. It has had the problem since I first downloaded Netscape. After reading your suggestion I cleared cache, which is set at 50 MB and I am still having the problem. Also the page is set to compared when it is out of date. Also, it is set to prefetche pages when it is idle. The computer is a 3.0 Ghz with pentium 4 intel processsor.

Dennis L - Mail doesn't have to be open. I can simply open the browser and and it will stall/hang within a couple of minutes. Also, If I just open Mail and not the browser, it will stall/hang.

All - I have just had the computer for 2 weeks. Built it with my teenagers so I had to load all of the programs myself. I have updated Windows XP with all of the latest patches. Also, when Netscape first loaded, it had me download a few patches. The computer uses a Phoenix (I think - I will need to reboot to verify that it is Phoenix) bios with an ABIT motherboard and an Intel chip set. Based on what I have been able to observe, it appears that Netscape is doing something every few minutes and is getting lost.

I used Netscape 7.1 on my old computer (Pentium 2 450MHz running an old version of Windows98) and had no problems.

Any suggestions?

 

RSFarber,

Try disabling the setting to "Prefetch pages when it is idle ". Did you create a new Profile, or did you copy your Profile data from another PC?

Try this.

Create a new Profile, and set up one Mail Account.
Disable the prefetch pages,
Disable Quick Launch, if you have it enabled.

Open the browser only. Does it hang?
Now open only the Mail component. Does it hang?

The "Restore" feature on Windows XP is similar to the "GoBack" application.

Windows XP Professional Features

Do a Google search on this topic and you'll get more information than you can imagine on System Restore.

Ramona

 

If Hang is continuing ....

Open Task Manager - Click on "Processes" Tab
Click on "CPU" column to put highest use activity on top
Which process is using most of the CPU cycles during a "Hang" event.

Also, have you checked your "Event Manager "?
May want to "clear/delete" previous messages and let it develop a new listing.
If you clear list, why don't you reboot and load Netscape.

 

Ramona - I did simply copy my profile directory from a Windows98/Netscape 7.1 computer to the new computer (windows XP/Netscape 7.2) after creating a profile with the same name. Do you think I will be OK creating a new profile and then move the old profile or should I uninstall and reinstall Netscape 7.2? I found your information on moving profiles between computers with the same version of Windows, but I didn't find instructions on what to do if Windows is different. Can you point me to instructions?

 

RSFarber,

This is the Solutions page for transfering from Windows 98 to Windows XP:
http://home.att.net/~cherokee67/ns7pctopc.html

I think if you do the prefs.js edit, as you did name the Profile the same as the Windows 98 Profile, that you may be O.K. with the existing Profile.

Uninstalling and reinstalling Netscape won't be effective at all, as the problem is with the Profile.

Let us know if the above doesn't help...

Ramona

 

I have redone my profile after reading the instructions that you linked me to. I am pretty confident that my profile is now working. However, I am still hanging. I even reloaded the lan driver.

Could there be a problem with Netscape 7.2 and the network. I have a simple ethernet network at home, with a linksys router and a DSL Modem. The modem is off of the router as opposed to being off of a computer. One odd thing that I have noted concerns the lights on the router. As you may know, when a computer is turned on and connected to the router a set of 3 lights comes on for that particular computer, and if I turn off a computer the lights go out. Well with this new computer the router lights are always on unless I physically take the network cable out of the back of the new computer. Does any of this help?

Also, I think, but have not been able to verify, that when Netscape hangs, the bar on the bottom right of the netscape window is green, whereas it is usually white.

 

I used to have a lynksys router, and a Cable Modem, but I remember very little about it ( in fact, I wish I knew where the router is, since my son needs it). You should able to eliminate some incompatibility by removing the router. The lights are always on the cable modem, as you say, but you have the network router variable. Since this is a long thread, I tend to gloss over some of the questions and answers, but, if you have a router, it is for a reason. Is you old computer still connected? From what I can read, you have a router now. NS7.1 was working on the old computer, with or without router? I did not get this part. All I understand is that you use a router, and have a new computer with 7.2 in it. What are we comparing?

 

yes. I now have three computers on the network. Let's ignore my oldest one since it is windows 95 and can only run Netscape 4.3. The second computer is the one that I used all of the time before I got the new computer. It has a Windows 98 OS and runs fine with Netscape 7.1. Since I haven't gotten the new one working with Netscape 7.2, I still use the second computer for mail and internet and have no problems. When I got the new computer, I loaded Netscape 7.2 and it hangs. Since I seem to have Netscape loaded correctly on the new computer, I thought I would start tryinjg to determine if there is a router problem with Netscape 7.2.

I have also noticed that every once in a while I get a message "transferring data from us.intellitxt.com ". Is us.intellitxt.com part of windowsbbs?

 

As for the last paragraph, yes, of sorts. Ramona would know more but you may have seen the underlining of some words( for advetising purpose)...
So, you have had, all along, the router, and the Win98 computer with 7.1 works fine, while the new on, with XP and 7.2 is causing problems. Do you have SP2? I could not find this info, in the previous posts. If so, do you have the Windows Firewall on? You should not need it, because the router has a firewall. If you have such Firewall, try to disable it. There may be some conflict there, which is not found in the other OSs. I don't believe that it is because of 7.2.
I have refused to to update to SP2, and my XP Home has not given me any problem. Zone Alarm is good enough for me, but my son was having problems when he used Zone Alarm, router and XP. At that time, I was using Win98.

 

Thanks Westside. I turned off the firewall and the hangups are not as long, but still happen every 3-5 minutes. Does notscape send or look for information periodically, even when I have not asked it to communicate with the internet?

 

It is not Netscape, but certain websites which refresh frequently. Are you using Tabs, or, in other words, do you have more than one page open at the same time. Your computer is excellent, but I did not see if you have broadband or dialup. There is no excuses with broadband, but I don't know about dialup.
But, you should find out if some settings in
Zone Alarm may cause the problem. You should contact tech support. Their newsgroup has been even better than the tech people, but here you will have to fight with the fact that not many user have experience with Netscape/Mozilla.
I hope that you will get an answer, but your situation may be very different from mine.

 

If Netscape is "calling home" I wonder if you have AIM, or NIM? That is definitely known to try and connect, unless you change the settings.

In the Preferences | Advanced | Cache setting, what have you selected for:
"Compare the page in the cache to the page on the network: "

One other thought, are you using Quick Launch? If so disable it, and see if that might help. I wasn't sure what you meant when you said that the lower right side of the toolbar was green, and not white?

Ramona

 

Comparing cache pages is set to "when out of date "
Quick launch is disabled.
I misspoke when I said toolbar. I should have said status bar. I am referring to the green bar that indicates how much has been transferred. It is always full green in Netscape. In IE it increases as the page is loaded and then goes white until another page is loaded.
My daughter uses AIM. It is the version that is downloaded with Netscape. I didn't see an option that told it to connect. What option do I need to look for?

 

The only thing worth commenting is the possibility that IM is trying to connect. The one which comes with Netscape, is often referred to NIM (netscape IM), and there is a setting in the Preferences|Instant Messenger. I have never used IM, so, I cannot be of much help, you will need your daughter's help, but if she gets plenty of IM, it would explain the problem.