Genealogy Chat

Why oh why does this happen? I am normally on Ancestry.co.uk and use it a lot. Suddenly tonight, on clicking on BMDs I only have access to 1837-1915. No 1916-2005 index there. I click on More or whatever it is, and I get transported to Ancestry.com which is asking me for a subscription.

Is it just me?

I use this link to access BMD's and rarely have any problems.

http://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/rectype/vital/freebmd/bmd.aspx

However, Ancestry makes use of Cookies on your PC to determine which pages you go to, based on your previous activity. If these cookies are deleted or missing for whatever reason you will loose your preferences and end up going to different pages.

If you switch between .co .com sites, different cookies come into play. If it is asking for you to subscribe then this would tend to indicate that you are not logged in on the alternative site. You have to tell your computer to remember your password for each of the sites. Try logging in again whilst you are on the .com site and see what happens

I have no idea what you are all talking about. I am subscribed to Ancestry.co.uk. I have never been subscribed to anything else. I don't use any link to bmds. I go to the Ancestry site and on the right hand side I choose whatever BMDs I wish to view.

I don't switch between anything. I stay on that site.

As per my post of about 2 weeks ago, I think all my cookies have disappeared and I don't know how to get them back. I thought they just generated themselves according to my usage of the internet. I wouldn't have a clue how to enable cookies. I always ask sites to remember me, but the request no longer works (since about 2 months ago, as I posted on another thread).

Please help or I am up on the stool with a rope just above.

I might be okay at searching for dead bodies but adjusments to computers leave me quivering in fear.

Margaret

You subscribe to Ancestry, the business, not to a particular Ancestry website, so, at least in theory, is doesn't matter which website you use. The only difference is in the layout of the pages - the .uk site being set out to better suit UK researchers.

I still think, though, that the problem is with the way your PC is managing Cookies.

It may be that your browser cookie settings are not set quite right. Could you specify which browser you use, e.g. IE8, Firefox 3 etc and which operating system i.e. XP, Windows vista, Windows 7 etc.

Do you use a program such as CCleaner? This will delete cookies unless you program it to keep those for the sites that you use regularly.

Walk away from your computer.
Have a cup of tea.
Switch computer off.
Go to bed.
Get up.
Switch computer on.
Everything working as normal.
Solved.

(Yes, I have been transported to 'wrong' sites for no good reason, just random fluctuations in the ether. I have also been told I am logged on twice, so am unable to access for half an hour. I also sometimes find certain censuses have disappeared e.g. all the Welsh ones. This is part of the mystique of computing. It is not important, but keeps people in jobs)

Patricia, funnily enough, doing the obvious sometimes does sort things out. One of our IT support staff a couple of years ago, was convinced that a lot of problems could be solved by doing just that, switching off and starting up your PC from scratch so there could be a lot of truth in in what you say.

Just looking at the Ancestry Help pages, in addition to ensuring that your cookies are enabled properly for the site, they also suggest that you clear your temp files regularly, something I am always harping on about when people complain that GR has suddenly stopped loading pages correctly. Again another top tip from our IT support people at work.

I once saw a lovely cartoon - God up in the clouds looking down sadly at the Earth going crazy - and an angelic advisor saying "have you ever thought of switching it all off and starting again?" and I assumed it was related to computer advice even then!

Yep, switching off and on again worked.

Must remember that.