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[Bob Spiers]

I think you may be correct Tim, If I use Internet Explorer to search in Family Search I get the same result as Bruce.

Interesting, IE I recall way back was FS's Windows default recommendation, certainly in the XP & immediate post XP period. As you and Tim say (and I am sure Alexander is waiting in the wings to agree as he even told Carol in another posting she should consider ditching 8.1) - XP has had its day. That should really read 'ERA' -and sadly even W7 (its worthy successor), is approaching that line in the sand. W10 is now FS's Windows flag carrier almost regardless of browser choice and anything before W7 can expect access problems.

I'm still using Windows XP, so maybe that's the problem. I have a laptop which I use for my family tree and do not use for the internet ...

By all means use XP for off-line projects -many people still do - but if you want to avoid the endless revolving blue circle, now is the time to consider an upgrade for online research, and even a basic laptop (professionally refurbished and upgraded to W10 if necessary) will do the trick.

 

[BruceW]

Thanks Tim for the advice. However I have several programs that probably don't work with later operating systems. For instance I have one database programme that works in Dos and is better than many more recent programs as it does calculations and I can program it myself. Just because a system is old does not mean it is bad. I use a fraction of the Microsoft Office 97 features and the later ones just add more stuff I find useless.
Incidentally Heather, I don't use Internet Explorer as that does not work. I use Google Chrome and occasionally Firefox/Mozilla. I'm not a fan of built in obsolescence just to keep some hippies in California or Seatle feeling good about themselves.

 

[Bob Spiers]

For instance I have one database programme that works in Dos and is better than many more recent programs as it does calculations and I can program it myself. Just because a system is old does not mean it is bad. I use a fraction of the Microsoft Office 97 features and the later ones just add more stuff I find useless.

How nice to find someone still working in DOS as I did for more years than I can recall, and your reference to Microsoft Office 97 screams volumes, especially as you find it has more 'stuff' than you need. I forget how many upgrades to Office came after 97 and I dread to ask what you think of it under its latest subscription creation: Microsoft Office 365.

But most of all I like...

..I'm not a fan of built in obsolescence just to keep some hippies in California or Seatle feeling good about themselves.

Well said, but whilst I recognise they aligned with my own sentiments - resisting the need for constant upgrades (particularly using Genealogical software) - there comes a time when one has to realise enough is enough. That became more and more obvious when trying to communicate and keep up with others, who seem to have no such problems. But good luck anyway there's room for all types in this world, so welcome to the Manana club!

 

[Tim]

Bruce, you were talking about your issues with Family Search, and hopefully that is now resolved.
By all means keep this old pc and it's operating system and the old programs that run on it. However, it maybe be time to invest in a newer pc with up to date software so that you can use websites out there.
It will come to the point that your old pc will eventually be standalone and not be able to connect to anything. TBH I'm surprised you're only experiencing issues with FS.

And from memory, I think XP was the first MS offering that used NT, so doesn't actually run DOS.
Also I believe you can run XP programs on Win 10, by selecting "Run this program in compatibility mode"

 

[At home in NZ]

Manana club

Suggest you search for that, they perform. Based in Havana, Cuba.

 

[Bob Spiers]

Suggest you search for that, they perform. Based in Havana, Cuba.

Well what do you know, and I thought I had come up with an original name... should have known nothing new under the sun.

 

[At home in NZ]

I thought I had come up with an original name...

It's easy to think we can invent something but it does pay to check that nobody else has done so.

 

[Bob Spiers]

It's easy to think we can invent something but it does pay to check that nobody else has done so.

What, each and every time and spoil the flow of rhetoric..on your bike It is wise to check clinical fact that others (particularly Peter) can disprove or show in a different light, but words and prose conjured up when writing (as my tongue-in-cheek remark most definitely was) should be free from schoolmasterly (or mistressly) comment. My mother would have called that 'nit picking'.

 

[BruceW]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I know I'm Fred Flintstone, but "if it ain't broke don't fix it" is my motto. And my PC isn't broken, its everyone else who has moved the goalposts. However, coming to terms with the inevitable (Ancestry has yesterday stopped showing me pictures, but will let me look at them when I download), I need to find a guru who will transfer all my stuff and programmes onto any new computer. That is going to be tricky in this continuing lockdown as they will have to come into my house to do it. or I will have to go to theirs.