http_fetching_issues - [Things to Try]

Quite a number of issues are related to HTTP fetching, including some unexpected ones:

• all avatars except your own appear grey
• in-world objects remain grey, or they repeatedly go blurry and focus
• mesh objects do not rez in
• your avatar bakes, then goes blurry, then rebakes, etc
• inventory is stubborn to load fully
• problems with voice
• music/video doesn't work or is intermittent

All of these issues can boil down to one common cause: problems successfully using HTTP to fetch textures and avatar bakes from SL servers.

Please try these things one at a time. If one fixes your problems, stop there, don't continue to the next.

• If you are wearing any HUD, including Catwa, WowMeh, Toodledeedoo, The Shops/The Mesh Project/TMP, Maitreya or similar, detach it. These (and a few other high texture HUDs) are known to cause in-world textures to rez then blur repeatedly.

• Other objects can also cause this problem.
  • Step 1: Go to an empty region such as Cyclops or Aich, and see if it stops. If it stops, then one or more objects at your previous location may be overloading your graphics.
  • Step 2: If it has continued, then also remove ALL attachments (everything in Inventory > Current Outfit folder with a box icon, except for the Firestorm bridge). If removing your attachments fixes the problem, one or more of them may be overloading your graphics.

• Power down your router and/or modem. This generally means unplugging it from the power source and removing any batteries. Leave them disconnected for at least a full minute before reconnecting (and reinstalling batteries). Wait for them to complete the power up sequence, then reboot your computer.

• If you don't have the Advanced menu enabled, enable it with Ctrl-Alt-D. Then, Advanced → Debug Settings. Type in TextureFetchConcurrency - set the value to 4, then close the Debug Settings window and relog.

• Preferences → Graphics -> Hardware Settings→ Viewer Texture Memory Buffer:
  • 32bit versions only. This setting is hard limited to a maximum of 512MB. Try with a setting of 384. If you reduced this yourself as a result of the "Textures Discarded" error, then be aware that increasing this value will likely cause that problem to return.
  • 64bit versions only. This setting is hard limited based on the VRAM available with your graphics card. It is recommended you increase the slider to use the maximum available to prevent texture thrashing.
    • GPU 1GB = up to 768MB
    • GPU 2GB = up to 1024MB
    • GPU 4GB+ = up to 2048MB

• Preferences → Graphics -> Hardware Settings→ Enable Lossy Texture Compression: Enabling this, and then restarting the viewer, will cause the viewer to compress textures while they are in Texture Memory, thus reducing the amount of memory each texture requires. This can help reduce or eliminate the constant re-blurring of textures. The caveat is that the compression is lossy, meaning some parts of the texture are simply lost, so overall texture quality might be reduced and may be noticeable especially along sharp edges.

As noted above, the problems are caused by the HTTP protocol - more specifically, it overwhelms some lower end routers. Many people find that HTTP makes rezzing MUCH faster; others instead, those with lower end routers, wireless ones in particular, have the issues described at the start.

If the fixes above work for you, then great. BUT we strongly recommend looking to upgrade to a better router. In particular, Belkin G series and the LinkSys WRT are two which are best avoided.