Changes to the 'Files

Kell, are you running Windows 7? If so, it looks like Microsoft quit supporting it last January. Can you upgrade to Windows 8 or 10? Most sites (including ours) don't optimize for operating systems that are no longer supported, because it stretches us too thin with too many variables to try to account for. The other thing to try is a different browser.

I hate that there doesn't seem to be a time/date stamp any more. Also (I couldn't figure out a good way to scan the previous posts so forgive me if it's been discussed) will we be able to skip to the first new post again, I hope?
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You should try another browser, like FireFox. On most browsers, you can control the size of the display. Just hit Ctrl + to get larger display. Hit Ctrl + again and again if necessary. Likewise, hit Ctrl - to make the display smaller. The pages I see here have a warm white background.

The only way to truly give your computer and your hard drives a rest is to turn your computer off. Your computer is not actually off in the sleep mode. It is running all the time, waiting and watching for you to give the signal via the keyboard or mouse to "come back on".

You said you can only see maybe 9 words at a time, and you have to look at the preview for that reason. Your screen capture confirmed that, but as I said before, that is not what the rest of us see. That 9-word limitation is something wrong with your system. Part of your problem may be Google Chrome. I suggest you download FireFox and give it a try. FireFox is free.

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

And, as Terry suggested, consider the upgrade to Windows 8 (it may be too late for 8) or the upgrade to Windows 10 (that is available for free now until some time next year).

ZM


This message was edited Dec 10, 2015 11:55 PM

Hi Terry and Zen_Man
I may try to update but just a couple days ago a friend from DG told me he upgraded to 10 and it wiped his hard drive clean. LOL. That is all I need!

Odd that Microsoft wants me to download the Windows 7 Driver Optimizer. if they no longer offer support on it.

I have used FireFox in the past and can't remember why I changed. I have been very happy with Google Chrome so I am not eager to change it.

Perhaps upgrading will not be an issue for now things are looking so much better here on DG. And my message box is almost as big as it used to be. The font bigger too! The posts have alternate shading and the whole look is so much better than it was earlier. Before it was so unfinished looking. Best of all, I am not getting a headache after looking at a DG page for 5 minutes!!!

Now if I can just enter new plants on PlantFiles again, I will happy!

A lot of people have upgraded to Windows 10 with all of their files intact. If your friend from DG wants you to believe that upgrading to Windows 10 will wipe your hard drives clean, that is a little odd.

But if you are now in the "If it isn't broke, don't fix it" mode, then all you have to do is to wait a bit. They will probably fix the Plant Files problem.

ZM

I haven't had much time lately to spend on DG, so I haven't noticed many of the problems mentioned... except the very annoying Forum problems (skip to new broken, no dates on the posts, etc.). I just wanted to let you know that I'm running Windows 10 on my laptop (my main computer), upgraded (?!?) from Windows 8.1. I had no problems with the initial upgrade, but the major updates to v10, which came out a couple of weeks ago cause me to disconnect from our wireless network multiple times every day. I thought it might be a problem with my laptop, but a friend of my husband's is having the same problem. Running the Windows troubleshooter (which "resets the network adapter" usually fixes the problem. Other times, I have to shutdown and reboot. As for the "Driver Optimizer"... that's a malware problem. I somehow had it installed once, but got rid of it. See the info here:
https://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-windows-7-driver-optimizer-virus/

Oh... and I'm running Chrome browser. Only one VERY annoying problem I've noticed with it. When I press the "Ctrl" key, many times the page zooms out, making the text too tiny to even read. "Ctrl" + "0" (zero) resets it to normal. I still haven't figured out if it's a Chrome or Win10 problem, but it only started after the upgrade from Win8.1 to Win10.

Admin? Is there a way to add the page counter? If that is what it is called- to the TOP of the long threads as well as the bottom?.
Guys? Preview b4 posting now allows you to add pix in preview page b4 posting if you forgot them, without losing the entire post. I DO like that.

Nothing is free my Mother always told me and that goes for these improvements too! We all have to pay for them in some trying way!!! LOL

So SallieKr, are you saying that pop up ad itself for the Windows 7 Driver Optimizer is malware itself plus had I downloaded that optimizer I would then have been infected with something even worse? I kept forgetting to ask my husband about it so I never downloaded it. I rarely download anything! I am so glad I didn't do it! It looked so official too! The pop up I got looks just like that first picture on your link.

I have Malwarebytes Antimalware already on my computer. We have run several scans this week besides whatever it does on its own. So I shouldn't have anything, but who knows!

Today I had something new happen when I was posting photos to PlantFiles. At least 10 times when I did a search on Google for a particular plant on PlantFiles, I would find the plant on a PF link, click it and up came an odd looking page on Plantfiles full of ads. Or a page with FORBIDDEN on it and I think some numbers. Like FORBIDDEN 20. Then up would come a malware pop up telling me it was blocking an evil site or blocking something. I would then quick close the page. I have seen that malware warning before when I would open a link from Google search but very rarely and none recently as in months. I am pretty sure it is from my malware program working its magic But today I had at least 10 of them.

But lots of times, the google link would be fine and open to a normal looking PF page and with no ads. I think I downloaded at least 100 photos to PFs this morning.

I have had no trouble on any of the other sites I frequent, just here when accessing PlantFile pages thru Google.

Anyway, thank you Salliekr. I am going to have my husband read that page of that link you gave me and have him deal with it if needed. And Thank God I never downloaded that Optimizer. I think I still have the pop up minimized. I will look for it and delete it now!

And yes Zen_Man, I am of the school that if it is not broken, leave it be! As you can tell, if anything goes wrong my poor Tom hears me screaming TOMMMMMMMMMMMM and he has to fix whatever for me. So I try not to need to much fixing!

That is not Microsoft wanting you to download the Windows 7 Driver Optimizer. That is a malware infection in your system wanting you to do it. I see that you have become aware of that from Sallie's link to the malwaretips.com site. Malware getting you to download other malware is a common trick. It is odd that the scans you ran did not remove that malware. Hopefully you did not use malware to scan for malware.

ZM

LOL. I sure hope not! But I just googled Malwarebytes Antimalware just to check and no warnings have been posted. LOL
https://www.malwarebytes.org/

And that Optimizer download window has disappeared on its own.

I have I think 3 different programs on here to protect me so I would hope at least one of them would be working! LOL

Hey, folks, you figure out how to speed trough the other stuff, you get to the new post you want to read, then how do you get back to the home page? The old way I would do it is straight and left, but now I can't figure out how to proceed except backing out, which feels so wrong and very slow, too.

There needs to be a "Return Home" button at the bottom of the threads. Right now the only thing I can figure out to do is scroll all the way back up to the top of the page.

Is there a particular browser that works best for DG?

Agree, Joan! They used to say Mozilla was best with DG, but I think that was quite a while ago. I switched to Chrome after I started having problems with Mozilla, and I like Chrome a lot.

I haven't installed v10 I've been advised to back up my hard drive before doing so bc it can wipeout your hard drive. So that advice isn't just coming from somebody on DG.
kell-I had very similar issues with my last computer. I finally ended up taking it into a local shop and they fixed it, I could not believe how much better it worked. I had all the anti malware stuff but some how it got by it. Now I know what to look for and not to click on unknown links even if they are by trusted senders.

Yes, a Home button is needed at the bottom and a page counter is needed at the top. Don't mind the changes just wish more testing had been done....

Yes, Chrome is the browser I use. Somewhere on the Home Page it used to say that DG is best viewed with Firefox. But I tried that and it doesn't make any difference in all the snafus I am seeing.