Flunking the Test

Post here if you are having any kind of problem with the Stardust@home website.

Moderators: Stardust@home Team, DustMods

Tracy Barnes
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2006 5:02 pm

Flunking the Test

Post by Tracy Barnes »

:?: Every time I click on a track it tells me I'm incorrect and then shows me that there is a track exactly where I clicked. I have done the test 3 times and am a perfect 15 out of 15 at "incorrect" clicking. I have read the FAQ on the calibration and realize that it is necessary to hit within a 30 pixel radius. I have meticulously clicked as close to the center of the track as possible with the same result every time. What am I doing wrong? Do I have a hardware or software incompatibility?
Gamma^Ray
Posts: 46
Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 11:13 pm
Location: USA
Contact:

Post by Gamma^Ray »

Are you using Internet Exployer ? What is your screen size, How old is your computer ?? It seems to me that if you are missing every one of them, Then it sounds like a compatibility issue somewhere, Between your computer, And their server.

G^R
A.Einstein wrote:"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."
Tracy Barnes
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2006 5:02 pm

Computer Specs

Post by Tracy Barnes »

I have a Dell XPS Inspiron GEN2 (that's a laptop) with NVIDIA GeForce Go 6800 Ultra (running 1920 by 1200, wide screen), about 1 1/2 years old with XP Pro SP2, IE6 SP2, all fully updated software and drivers. Is the wide screen a problem?
fjgiie
DustMod
Posts: 1253
Joined: Sat May 20, 2006 8:47 am
Location: Hampton, SC, US

Test

Post by fjgiie »

Hi Tracy,

Recommended resolution is 1024 X 728. (at least) Try 1024 X 728. Please take a look at these links.

http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/gs_techfaq.php Tech FAQ Help
http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ ... nking+test Test
http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/definitions.php Definitions
http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ ... m.php?f=10 FAQ Forum

Be sure not to have a magnifier going during the test. Your mouse may need batteries. You will get going, just may take a while. Wait until you get dusting for real - (talking about frustration)

Just kidding, come back here with more problems.

Thanks,

fjgiie
Tracy Barnes
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2006 5:02 pm

Post by Tracy Barnes »

The 1024 by 768 is the recommended minimum display resolution not the recommended resolution to use. Anyway, I tried setting the resolution down and got the same results. There is no magnifier in the Test, so that is not a problem.

Any more ideas?
fjgiie
DustMod
Posts: 1253
Joined: Sat May 20, 2006 8:47 am
Location: Hampton, SC, US

Test

Post by fjgiie »

People with a laptop have had trouble when using a touch pad. People using a mouse with batteries have had results when replacing the batteries.

The site is very slow right now, probably with the east coast heavy load.
Empty your cache file and also try again later when the site is not as slow. I had to quit dusting a while ago because of the slow site.

Be patient, allow movie to load completely with IE. We still have months to go so we will save you some focus movies to view.

More members will also post what seemed to help them here.

Thanks,

fjgiie
Gamma^Ray
Posts: 46
Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 11:13 pm
Location: USA
Contact:

Post by Gamma^Ray »

Judging by your setup, It seems like it should work fine, ALthough I never tried it on a laptop. But my guess is that for some reason, The server here isn't recognizing your mouse clicks on your computer for some reason. Thats about the only reason I could see that you wouldn't score at least one correct answer. Have you looked at your mouse properties in the control panel to see if there is something there to help. Do you use a wireless mouse or a touchpad ? Or have you tried to use a regular mouse thats not wireless on your computer to see if that helped ? Just some thoughts.

G^R
A.Einstein wrote:"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."
Tracy Barnes
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2006 5:02 pm

Post by Tracy Barnes »

Thanks all for the advice. I've tried both the touch pad and the mouse, neither work.

Oh well, I guess I just can't help. :? Thought it was worth a try.

Go find that dust!!
GelDelve

Post by GelDelve »

Tracy Barnes,

Don't give up! We want your help and we'll all do our best to try to solve this dilemma. I don't have the answer, but sooner or later one of us or you will. Please stay tuned and keep trying!

The only question I have at this time is I am wondering when you set your resolution down, did you set it at 1024X768 or 1280X768(widescreen)? It shouldn't really make a difference as far as I can tell, but we don't want to rule anything out at this point.
Senator
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 9:39 pm
Location: San Diego, California

Flunking the Test

Post by Senator »

I use a Gateway laptop running XP Home and I have a wired mouse. I have had no problems with Stardust, except that IE has been giving me trouble since all the Microsoft upgrades.

My first suggestion is calibrate your mouse in case it is off. Next...

I downloaded Firefox for a browser and I have had no browser trouble since. You might want to try that browser. It's free at:
http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/ :)
Tracy Barnes
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2006 5:02 pm

Post by Tracy Barnes »

I have tried a variety of screen resolutions, both wide and normal. It makes no difference. I don't think that I have a mouse calibration problem, the mouse changes from the arrow to the hand cursor and back at the exact image edge (and I checked all edges multiple times). And I have no interest in installing a new browser, thanks for the suggestion anyway. So, short of someone teling me that they had the same problem and that they can provide the solution, I'm out of luck.
Tom_Gutman
Posts: 47
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2006 11:38 pm

Post by Tom_Gutman »

Seems like there may be some sort of problem with the coordinates. You can check that. Click on the lower right hand corner. Then check the URL of the next page. Scroll that URL over to the right, and at the end you should see the coordinates that you clicked on. That should be very close to 500,375 (I think that bottom right pixel is 499,374).

Also, make sure you have cookies enabled. Since http has no concept of a "session" (each page request is a complete and isolated transaction) cookies are usually the only way related requests can be recognized.
Tom Gutman
Tracy Barnes
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2006 5:02 pm

Post by Tracy Barnes »

It does indeed seem that there is some sort of coordinate problem. The LR coordinates are (624,468) not the (499,374) you suggest that it should be. I did manage to hit (0,0) on the UL, so I think that my mouse is ok.

I tried resetting the screen resolution down and got the same results. I think that the problem has been identified. Now, any ideas how to fix it?

Thanks for everyone's help.
Tom_Gutman
Posts: 47
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2006 11:38 pm

Post by Tom_Gutman »

You have some setting in MSIE that is causing it to zoom the picture. But I don't know MSIE well enough to know what that is. You could just look through all of the options (probably the advanced ones) to see what might be relevant, and change those. It might also be some sort of add-in, adjusting the pages.

The figures you quote indicate a 25% enlargement. That is the difference betweeh the standard small fonts screen option and the large fonts screen option. Which option do you use? But this might be just a coincidence -- most people use the small font option (largely from ignorance of the existence of an alternative) and work, I use the large fonts option and it works for me (both in Win98, my preferred platform, and WinXP). So if it's related to the large fonts option it is in conjunction with something else.

You might also try changing the MSIE display size option (view/text size). You might have an option or add-in that tries to adjust pictures to the text size.

I see you are running 1920x1200. I assume that is the native (physical) resolution of the screen. That is quite high for a laptop sized screen, and I can see where Dell might have arranged to enlarge all pictures to make them readable. It might be worth checking the documentation, or asking them, about any such options.
Tom Gutman
Tracy Barnes
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2006 5:02 pm

Post by Tracy Barnes »

Thanks, Tom. I run my screen in high resolution with large fonts turned on. I couldn't read anything at that resolution if I didn't. I will play with that and see what comes of it. I'll get back and let you know.
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