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Images and formatting not loading for certain sites

  • 2 replies
  • 7 have this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by PlastoJoe

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I've noticed problems with some websites not loading images or page formatting. These sites have worked in the past.

Two examples:

www.theoatmeal.com -- site will not load any images (.pngs and .jpgs). I've checked the recommended solutions for images not displaying and have run through all except resetting Firefox to factory settings.

www.patheos.com -- site displays only basic text on a white background. It does display images however (.jpgs). It also displays a message at the top of the screen that I am running an outdated version of Internet Explorer.

I've noticed problems with some websites not loading images or page formatting. These sites have worked in the past. Two examples: www.theoatmeal.com -- site will not load any images (.pngs and .jpgs). I've checked the recommended solutions for images not displaying and have run through all except resetting Firefox to factory settings. www.patheos.com -- site displays only basic text on a white background. It does display images however (.jpgs). It also displays a message at the top of the screen that I am running an outdated version of Internet Explorer.

Chosen solution

Reload web page(s) and bypass the cache to refresh possibly outdated or corrupted files.

  • Press and hold Shift and left-click the Reload button.
  • Press "Ctrl + F5" or press "Ctrl + Shift + R" (Windows,Linux)
  • Press "Cmd + Shift + R" (MAC)

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance/Themes).


Did you check for any image exceptions?

You can try to use "Clear Recent History" to clear all "Site Preferences"

Note that clearing "Site Preferences" clears all exceptions for cookies, images, pop-up windows, software installation, and passwords.


If images are missing then check that you aren't blocking images from some domains.

  • Check the permissions for the domain in the current tab in "Tools > Page Info > Permissions"
  • Check that images are enabled: Tools > Options > Content: [X] Load images automatically
  • Check the exceptions in "Tools > Options > Content: Load Images > Exceptions"
  • Check the "Tools > Page Info > Media" tab for blocked images (scroll through all the images with the cursor Down key).

If an image in the list is grayed and there is a check-mark in the box "Block Images from..." then remove that mark to unblock the images from that domain.

Make sure that you do not block third-party images, the permissions.default.image pref should be 1.

There are also extensions (Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) and security software (firewall, anti-virus) that can block images.

See also:

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All Replies (2)

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Chosen Solution

Reload web page(s) and bypass the cache to refresh possibly outdated or corrupted files.

  • Press and hold Shift and left-click the Reload button.
  • Press "Ctrl + F5" or press "Ctrl + Shift + R" (Windows,Linux)
  • Press "Cmd + Shift + R" (MAC)

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance/Themes).


Did you check for any image exceptions?

You can try to use "Clear Recent History" to clear all "Site Preferences"

Note that clearing "Site Preferences" clears all exceptions for cookies, images, pop-up windows, software installation, and passwords.


If images are missing then check that you aren't blocking images from some domains.

  • Check the permissions for the domain in the current tab in "Tools > Page Info > Permissions"
  • Check that images are enabled: Tools > Options > Content: [X] Load images automatically
  • Check the exceptions in "Tools > Options > Content: Load Images > Exceptions"
  • Check the "Tools > Page Info > Media" tab for blocked images (scroll through all the images with the cursor Down key).

If an image in the list is grayed and there is a check-mark in the box "Block Images from..." then remove that mark to unblock the images from that domain.

Make sure that you do not block third-party images, the permissions.default.image pref should be 1.

There are also extensions (Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) and security software (firewall, anti-virus) that can block images.

See also:

more options

Thanks for the help. Looks like it was a conflict with AdBlock Plus. Disabling it on those websites has solved the problem.