Images or animations do not load

This article is about problems loading images (PNG, JPG, or GIF) or animations. It does not cover problems with video or plugins such as [Flash]]. Those can be found in Video or audio does not play.

First steps

1. Run your browser through this diagnostic to test for the most common configuration problems, such not having "Load Images" or "Enable JavaScript" checked in your Firefox Options (both should be checked by default).
2. Hold down the <Shift> key and click the Reload button to force a fresh reload of the page [1].
3. If you are using anything to block ads (e.g Adblock, a hosts file, or security software), disable it. If you use ZoneAlarm Pro or eTrust Firewall, see the Security software section below.
4. If you have enabled network.http.pipelining (a "tweak" designed to improve page loading time), disable it in about:config by typing "pipelining" in the filter and right-clicking all entries and choosing Reset. (If you set this preference by editing the "user.js" file, remove this edit.) Some websites do not support pipelining, which may result in images not being sent.
5. Clear your cache and cookies in Firefox "Tools -> Options -> Privacy" (under "Cache" and "Cookies" ) or in Mozilla Suite preferences (under "Advanced -> Cache" and "Privacy & Security -> Cookies -> Cookie Manager").

If none of these suggestions help, try the rest of the solutions in this article.

Images do not load

Make sure that you are allowing all images to load and that images from specific sites are not being blocked:

• In Firefox, look under "Tools -> Options -> Content (Web features in 1.0.x)" and
  • Make sure that "Load images" is checked ("Load images automatically" in Firefox 2)
  • Make sure that "for the originating website only" is not checked. In Firefox 2, this option has been removed from the user interface [2]. Use about:config to make sure that the preference permissions.default.image is set to "1", the default value (right-click and select "Reset" if any other value is shown).
  • Open [Exceptions] and remove any sites being blocked.
• In Mozilla Suite, look under "Edit -> Preferences -> Privacy & Security -> Images and
  • Make sure that "Accept all images" is selected
  • Open [Manage Image Permissions] and remove any site listed with the status, "site cannot load images".

Other reasons that images may not load:

• The site hosting the images may be down or experiencing difficulties, try loading the site from another computer or browser to see if this is the case.
• Images from a site can be blocked from a context menu (right-clicking, in Windows). A site could be blocked accidentally by right-clicking on an image.
• If images such as google maps don't load (or won't zoom in and out): In Firefox 1.0.x or Mozilla Suite go to your advanced JavaScript settings and make sure "Change Images" is enabled. This option was removed in Firefox 1.5 [3] so you'll need to type about:config in the address bar and check the list to verify that the related preference dom.disable_image_src_set is set to "false". If it isn't, context-click (right-click) the preference name and select "reset", or double-click to toggle.
• Some image references contain backslashes (e.g. something.com\blah.jpg), which cause the images to be loaded in Internet Explorer but not other browsers. If you see the image's URL contains a backslash, contact the webmaster about the issue. The Slashy extension will let you work around this problem.
• Some sites will block the request if no referring URL is sent. Use about:config to make sure that the preference network.http.sendRefererHeader is set to "2" (default) and reset, if necessary. Also make sure that all proxies, firewalls, and other security software allow the referrer to be sent.
• As a security precaution, references to images on your local computer from a remote web site are disabled. If you encounter this restriction and you understand the security implications, you can disable this security measure.

Many of the solutions under Error loading some websites and Websites randomly don't load will also fix image loading problems.

Images load but look wrong

• If the colors appear wrong, try the solutions in Website colors are wrong.
• If you are using any sort of web accelerator software, disable it and see if images load properly.
• If the image is very large, Firefox by default will resize it to fit inside the browser window. If you prefer to see the image full size you can either click on the image to resize it, or, in Firefox 1.5 or earlier, you can go into "Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> General" and un-check "Resize large images to fit in the browser window". (Starting in Firefox 2.0, this option has been removed from the user interface [4].)
• If you are using the Image Zoom extension, go to "View -> Image Zoom -> 100% (Original Size)". Additional support for Image Zoom

Images load as text or gibberish

See Page displays as gibberish.

Images do not animate

Access about:config and find image.animation_mode, which determines how to animate multi-frame GIF images. Reset the preference to the default setting, if necessary. Possible value are:

• none: animated images will never play.
• once: animated images will play once.
• normal (default): animated images will play as normal.

Security software

• Some security software may block certain images by identifying them as "web bugs" or may stop .gif image animations. If you are using ZoneAlarm Pro or CA (eTrust) Personal Firewall, do the following to correct these problems:

1. Open the Firewall Control Center.
2. Select "Privacy" on the left tabs.
3. Select "Custom" in the Cookie Control section.
4. Uncheck the box for "Disable web bugs" in the "3rd Party Cookies" section.
5. Select "Custom" in the Ad Blocking section.
6. Uncheck the box for "Animation", as shown here.

• If CA Personal Firewall 2007 is installed and images on certain websites aren't loading, see the support document, Pictures do not load on websites since installing CA Personal Firewall 2007.

Images still do not load correctly

If you have tried all of the solutions in this article and images or animations still don't load correctly:

• Try the rest of the solutions in Websites look wrong.
• In some cases, a corrupt profile can cause images not to load. To see if this is the case, close your browser (if open) using "File -> Exit" and make sure it is not running in the background. backup your profile, then create a new profile. If it works, you can selectively copy back your important profile data to the new profile. If it still does not work, you should perform the rest of the standard diagnostic.
• Post your problem with as much information as possible in the User Support Forums (registration not required).

See also

• Permissions.default.image